Google cuts the Crap

Google announced it's cracking down on what can be best described as crappy websites. These are websites that make clever use of search keywords, but spend little time or effort on actual content. They're designed to fool, to lure you to bad things.

It's a favorite tool (or used to be) of companies trying to combat horrible online reputations by digitally burying the negative comments with, well, crap. I actually talked with a company that does this sort of thing last year. It was a fascinating conversation. They flat out told me they just publish gibberish, sprinkled with good keywords.

I asked them, if they're publishing content, why not make it good content? But their model was gibberish. Why not, it worked. Up until now.

It wasn't that long ago that the Internet was akin to to Tombstone or Dodge City on a Saturday night with 600 drunk cowboys in town. Technology was moving so fast, it was difficult keep up with the bad guys. Not anymore. Think of Google's efforts as a digital version of Wyatt Earp.

Google says its new efforts are working, although a few legitimate companies are getting caught up in the round-up. I'm sure they'll work it out.

But if this helps get rid of the online charlatans and crooks, good for Google.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you" (Using good content)

What's our future in flight?

A huge crowd down in Florida and an even bigger one on television yesterday watched the final launch of Space Shuttle Discovery. It's hard to believe it first started flying when Ronald Reagan was President. When it lands next month, that's it. Only a couple of missions are left for the remaining Shuttle fleet. Moving forward (backward?) we're going to have to hitchhike to space aboard a Russian Spacecraft.

There are so many things wrong with this picture. For all the good work NASA does, it fails miserably when it come's to planning "What's next?" Maybe the answer is to take space exploration private. But it's in our nature to explore and we need to keep doing just that.

It's important to get the next generation of engineers, astronauts and pilots interested in flight now. A great way to do that is to attend tomorrow's Aeromodeling Expo at Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum. You and your kids can learn about flight and even sit in the actual cockpits of real planes. Wings over the Rockies is an up close and personal experience. Rather than have exhibits behind rope lines, you can actually touch historic aircraft.

Another great way to get your kids interested in aerospace is this great app called F-Sim Space Shuttle. It's very realistic and lets you "land" a Space Shuttle either at the Kennedy Space Center or Edwards Air Force Base. At just $1.99 it's a no-brainer app for your iPad or iPhone.

Let's get, and keep, our wings on.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

A blanket, beans and rice.

We sponsor a young child in Tanzania. Her name is Aziza. We sponsor her through Compassion International which does such great work around the world. We just got a letter from Aziza talking about how she celebrated Christmas. We sent money to Compassion International to purchase the appropriate gifts for her, which were a blanket, beans and rice.

No, not a PS-3 or iPod. Not much use for that sort of thing for a young child in Tanzania. But a blanket keeps her warm, the beans and rice keep her fed. Compassion International helps with her education.

In her letter she asked about our Christmas. We won't mention gifts, just that we were so happy to be together with family. Whether you live in Tanzania or America, that's what counts the most

Along with keeping warm and having something to eat.

Ponder that.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Tranparency: It's a Twitter thing.

A couple of recent (and major) announcements by John Elway and the Denver Broncos are notable for the method used. Not the traditional news conference, but by Twitter.

New coach? Tweet everyone. Champ is staying? Tweet the good news.

What Elway is doing is the digital equivalent of the shortest distance between two points being a straight line. Before, he'd tell reporters who'd then tell us. Now @johnelway tells us directly.

Just Tweet baby.

Dave Logan talked about this yesterday on KOA's "The Ride Home" and the goal of the Broncos to be more transparent as to what's going at Dove Valley.

John Elway is doing just that, and at the same time building a relationship with fans.

All it takes is a Tweet. It can work for your business or organization too. If you need help, let us know.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you" (Then Tweet about it)

3G, 4G. G-Whiz! So what?

Have you seen an ad that features a guy running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop, hooking up cables while a lightning storm rages around him? The final scene shows, what I think is the latest thing in PDA's that features "Blazing Speed."

For the life of me I can't remember either the name of the device or who is marketing it. But that's just me.

I'm not impressed with all this "G" talk because I've pulled over 6 G's in an F-16 fighter jet. OK, two very different things but all this doesn't pass the "So what?" test. New technology is coming at consumers so fast, that by the time you walk out of an electronics store your new device is obsolete. Sort of like when you drive a new car off the lot and suddenly it loses thousands of dollars of value within a tenth of a mile of where you bought it.

The aforementioned ad seems targeted at a younger demographic. If it weren't for the actual product at the end, one would think it was a movie trailer for the never ending stream of alien invasion movies coming out this spring and summer. But it's my demographic that has the most disposable income. We're also a tougher sell.

All I ask is, please tell me how this new device will make me more productive, how it will recoup the initial investment and why my life will be measurably better if I buy it.

I don't think that's too much to ask, is it?

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

20 + 21 add up for NASCAR.

A young kid proved the adage that 90% of success is showing up. 20 year old Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 yesterday. Unlike the superstars he beat, he drove to Daytona in his pickup truck rather than coming by private jet. He's drives for a legendary but woefully under-funded team, the #21 Wood Brothers. He wasn't supposed to win. But he did.

No one is happier than NASCAR. Ratings and attendance have dropped significantly the past few years. The root cause being NASCAR itself. It embraced the glitter and glam of Hollywood and left behind the southern folks who built the sport. It moved the Southern 500 from it's traditional Labor Day weekend spot on the schedule. It abandoned tracks like Rockingham. The fans who helped build the sport rebelled. I was one of them.

The light bulbs eventually went off at NASCAR offices and the sport began a return to its southern roots. It paid off yesterday. Brad Paisley kicked things off with a terrific set of country tunes and Martina McBride sang the national anthem. She even remembered the words. There was a prayer and fly over by the USAF Thunderbirds.

As for the Wood Brothers, they were there at NASCAR's very beginning. Back then you owned the team, you worked on the cars and pitted them during the race. They were shoved aside by the super teams. But the Wood Brothers kept on showing up. As of Sunday morning they didn't have the money or sponsorships to even run a full schedule. They took a chance on a young kid because that's all they could afford.

Some will argue that early wrecks by NASCAR superstars like Jimmy Johnson made it possible for Payne's victory. Nonsense, Racing is about running at the end. That's what Trevor Payne did. He finished first and the 2nd place car was simply the first to lose.

Payne got a huge payday but no points. His commitment is to the Nationwide Series, not Spint Cup so he won't get any points for winning, while losers will.

It doesn't matter, at least this week, because NASCAR got a winning result when a 20 year old got behind the wheel of the 21. It added up to a big day for racing.

Old school took everyone else back to school. Dale would have liked that.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you" (Boogity boogity boogity)

Odds and Ends.

A couple of topics this morning, so here we go.

Watson wins the pennant! Watson wins the pennant!

In a case of man vs machine, machine wins. Big time. I think PC Magazine did a great job in its post game coverage. I love this quote: "Watson had become a personality. Viewer's marveled over the computer's quirky bet choices."

Kudos to Denver's 9News for updating their website. They've pioneered multiple information pipelines in the market place, but never rest on their laurels. The new site, viewed here purely as a consumer is clean, elegant and easy to seek out and find exactly what I'm looking for.

Denver is recognized around the nation as one of the best cities in broadcast journalism. Everyone in this town works very hard to bring you the news each day. Very, very hard.

As consumers, we all benefit.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Man vs Machine for 200 Alex

Have you been watching "Watson" on Jeopardy? I have to admit I haven't watched the show in years, but we've been watching at our house as the tech behemoth takes on Jeopardy uber-champs and as of today, is kicking digital butt. (Other than that odd answer about Toronto instead of Chicago and some weird wagers.)

While being in the PR Business, my interest has been piqued about the computer itself and not the publicity. Watson in reality, is a room full of servers, racks and the hum of the air conditioning needed to keep Watson from going all "Hal" on us. Sort of like those monster machines IBM produced in the 50's. Today the PDA in your pocket has more computing power.
Watson is the follow-up to "Deep Blue" which took on Chess Grand Master Gary Kasparov and beat him. Now we have Watson which can, at least so far, master the type of thinking you need to impress Alex Trebek, eh?

So what use is a computer that can compete on a game show like Jeopardy? I'm guessing plenty and sooner than later all that computer power will be available in a tablet or even smaller device.

Now if I can just get that image/sound of Hal singing Daisy, Daisy....

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Cutting the Budget by not printing the Budget

Did you hear the new Federal Budget is out? It's all over the news. One of the frequently used pictures is what you see on the left, the budget bound and printed. No doubt at considerable expense.

Printed. How quaint. The whole PR campaign about the budget is how it's going to cut the deficit. They could have started by not printing the darn thing in the first place.

Couldn't it just be posted online and leave it at that? What a missed PR opportunity. Proving you're serious about saving, by actually doing just that. While a picture may be worth a thousand words, no picture might have been worth much more more.

Granted, the opposition would find a way to slam it, that's what the opposition does every year the new budget comes out regardless of party.

Budget management is all about sweating the small stuff. It's where you win or lose the budget battle. One way is not to print a bunch of unnecessary books.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you" (Mostly digital-saves you money)

Why use a studio when you have a pocket?

I love technology, especially tech that enables regular folks to turn out some pretty cool content. What could only be done by professionals a short while ago, now can be done by just about anyone with affordable and easy to use devices and software.



The video was shot using an iPod Touch. I edited it using the iMovie app which is available for just a few dollars. It's intuitive and easy to use, you can go with either natural sound or use music from the program plus some basic but elegant graphics. Everything I needed carried in my pocket.

Imagine what you could do as a small business owner or non-profit that wants to add video to their social media content. You don't need a studio, just a pocket.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Oh Canada!

My cousin from BC shared this with me, eh? Only a hoser wouldn't laugh at this.

Only In Canada, eh?

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
1. Vancouver : 1.5 million people and two bridges. You do the math.
2. Your $400,000 Vancouver home is just 5 hours from downtown.
3. You can throw a rock and hit three Starbucks locations.
4. There's always some sort of deforestation protest going on.
5. Weed.

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN ALBERTA
1. Big rock between you and B.C.
2. Ottawa who?
3. Tax is 5% instead of the approximately 200% it is for the rest of the country.
4. You can exploit almost any natural resource you can think of.
5. You live in the only province that could actually afford to be its own country.
6. The Americans below you are all in anti-government militia groups.

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN SASKATCHEWAN
1. You never run out of wheat.
2. Your province is really easy to draw.
3. You can watch the dog run away from home for hours.
4. People will assume you live on a farm.
5. Daylight savings time? Who the hell needs that!

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN MANITOBA
1. You wake up one morning to find that you suddenly have a beachfront property.
2. Hundreds of huge, horribly frigid lakes.
3. Nothing compares to a wicked Winnipeg winter.
4. You can be an Easterner or a Westerner depending on your mood.
5. You can pass the time watching trucks and barns float by.

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN ONTARIO
1. You live in the centre of the universe.
2. Your $400,000 Toronto home is actually a dump.
3. You and you alone decide who will win the federal election.
4. The only province with hard-core American-style crime.

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN QUEBEC
1. Racism is socially acceptable.
2. You can take bets with your friends on which English neighbour will move out next.
3. Other provinces basically bribe you to stay in Canada .
4. You can blame all your problems on the "Anglo A*#!%!"

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN NEW BRUNSWICK
1. One way or another, the government gets 98% of your income.
2. You're poor, but not as poor as the Newfies.
3. No one ever blames anything on New Brunswick .
4. Everybody has a grandfather who runs a lighthouse.

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN NOVA SCOTIA
1. Everyone can play the fiddle. The ones who can't, think they can.
2. You can pretend to have Scottish heritage as an excuse to get drunk and wear a kilt.
3. You are the only reason Anne Murray makes money.

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
1. Even though more people live on Vancouver Island , you still got the big, new bridge.
2. You can walk across the province in half an hour.
3. You can drive across the province in two minutes.
4. Everyone has been an extra on "Road to Avonlea."
5. This is where all those tiny, red potatoes come from.
6. You can confuse ships by turning your porch lights on and off at night.

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN NEWFOUNDLAND
1. If Quebec separates, you will float off to sea.
2. If you do something stupid, you have a built-in excuse.
3. The workday is about two hours long.
4. It is socially acceptable to wear your hip waders to your wedding.

Pass this along to Canadians who need a laugh and foreigners who can learn something about Canada and then enjoy a good chuckle.

Let's face it: Canadians are a rare breed.

The Official Canadian Temperature Conversion Chart

50° Fahrenheit (10° C)
· Californians shiver uncontrollably.
· Canadians plant gardens.

35° Fahrenheit (1.6° C)
· Italian Cars won't start
· Canadians drive with the windows down

32° Fahrenheit (0° C)
· American water freezes
· Canadian water gets thicker.

0° Fahrenheit (-17.9° C)
· New York City landlords finally turn on the heat.
· Canadians have the last cookout of the season.

-60° Fahrenheit (-51° C)
· Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
· Canadian Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door.

-109.9° Fahrenheit (-78.5° C)
· Carbon dioxide freezes makes dry ice.
· Canadians pull down their earflaps.

-173° Fahrenheit (-114° C)
· Ethyl alcohol freezes.
· Canadians get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg

-459.67° Fahrenheit (-273.15° C)
· Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops.
· Canadians start saying "cold, eh?"

-500° Fahrenheit (-295° C)
· Hell freezes over.
· The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Move over Rupert

Many of you likely have heard about Newscorp's new electronic paper called the The Daily. Rupert Murdoch if anything else, is an innovator.

I've always found it wises to take a cue from people smarter than me so I just launched my own electronic daily; The Conversation Starters PR Daily. Like The Daily, I have a staff of hundreds providing customized content to my readers.

A couple of differences however; I have zero dollars invested in the paper (delivered twice daily) and my staff works for free! Some of you may be asking yourself, "Self, how does he do that?"

Easy.

There's a terrific new social marketing website called Paper.li. Essentially it simply takes content provided by the people I follow on Twitter and automatically publishes it in a newspaper style format.

When you have multiple social media pipelines coming in with updated posts and tweets literally every second, this is a great way to organize it all. An even better way to share it with others.

So join me and Rupert and become E-Paper Moguls. Newscorp makes more money than I do, but I think I'm having just as much fun.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

It's nice to be Nobody

The most seen piece of video from Super Bowl XLV has to be the footage of Cameron Diaz feeding popcorn to A-Rod. Unlike game highlights, the images are seen from tabloid to sports television, print and online.

Likely more than a few other couples did just the same thing, but not one of them had a FOX Sports Camera pointed at them.

It was only "interesting" because it was A-Rod and Cameron. Maybe they should just have been texting like John Madden was. One and done.

Is it fair? That's a fair discussion. When you're famous and in public, the whole world is watching. And if you miss it live, a camera of some sort will be there so you can see it later. Over and over if you'd like.

It sure makes me happy to be a nobody.

Happy Wednesday everyone, we're almost halfway through the week.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you" (Unless you're feeding someone)

Testing, click click, click, testing...

I'm conducting a Social Media "Boot Camp" tomorrow and will focus on four key social media tools; Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogging. I know, blogging tends to sound quaint these days but research shows it's a great tool for search regardless of whether or not anyone reads the darn thing. It's fresh content, and search loves all things fresh.

Two more on the list, and I'll be right with attendees in testing mode are a couple of new social media outlets called "Quora" and "Instagram."

Quora uses a Q&A format, and let's you drill down for subject matter of interest to you or a client. I just discovered Instagram while reading the current issue of Businessweek. As of now it's in official start-up mode. It has no revenue, four staffers (including founders) but 1.75 million users. Best of all it's free.

Instagram is an app for iPhone and Touch. It's a photography editing and sharing tool. Before you brush it off, they've got million in VC funding coming including investments by Benchmark Capital and more importantly, Jack Dorsey who helped found Twitter. Add Adam D'Angelo who founded Quora to the list. Synergy and Strategery?

I won't get into any more detail about either other than encouraging you to join me in trying both out. I think they have enormous potential and just could be the next two big things. Until the next big thing comes a long.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Denver IS a Super Bowl City

The Super Bowl is played in an amazing variety of cities, from Miami to Detroit. Even cold, snowy Dallas. Denver never makes the list. The main reason I've heard is the game is played in February (or is it March?) when it's winter in Denver. The whole cold and snowy thing.

Which doesn't remotely pass the "So what?" test.

I started thinking about all this last fall watching Canada's Grey Cup Game. It was played in Edmonton. You can see the North Pole from Edmonton. Kick-off temperature was 8 degrees, the place was packed and they had Bachman-Turner Overdrive play the half-time show. Oh yeah, no dome.

Fans dressed accordingly and had a ball. Watching how the snow essentially paralyzed Dallas last week I became convinced that Denver deserves the shot. The good folks in Texas know football. Dealing with snow, not so much.

Invesco Field at Mile High just off Federal is as good a venue anywhere, including the one in Jersey that has a Super Bowl scheduled. As for Super Bowl Parties, our convention center is among the best there is. Should it snow, our cab drivers know how to drive in it. And if you can afford several thousand dollars for a ticket, you can afford a warm coat, hat and gloves. For an added incentive, Pat Bowlen won't sell more tickets than he has seats and Pat likely knows more than a few people who know the words to the National Anthem.

Football should always be played outdoors, and the Super Bowl should be played at least once, in Denver. If Denver can host an NBA All Star Game and a Political Convention, it can host a Super Bowl.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Et tu Cap'n Crunch?

I've been seeing/hearing/reading about many companies reducing the amount of actual food they're putting in packages these days, while maintaining the same old prices.

Truth hit home this morning over breakfast as Cap'n Crunch broke my heart. I opened the same sized box I've been used to, but the bag inside seemed....smaller. Less cereal. Perhaps it's just my imagination. (I do have an active one)

But the packaging failed the ultimate test: The "How much cereal spills back into the box and not into the bag after pouring a bowl full then closing the box?" test. When the bag inside is the same size as the box it's in, you don't get the "Spill Back" into the box instead of the bag.

But because the top of the bag wasn't near the height of the box, cereal ended inside the box, not the bag. A serious cereal faux pas.

Cap'n...you broke my heart.

(In the event the Cap'n has a response, I will post it in its entirety)

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversations about you"

"the Daily." The 99 Cent Question.

News Corp rolled out "the Daily" yesterday. It' a digital daily newspaper, an app available (at least for now) for the iPad only.

News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch says, "Our aim is for the Daily to be the indispensable source for news, information and entertainment."

What it won't be, is free. It will cost you 99 cents a week or $39.99 per year. There is a two week free-trial.

As iPad early adapters at our house we're intrigued and lwe'll will check it out for the free trial. We stopped getting a real newspaper when the Rocky Mountain News (RIP) ceased publication. We get much of our news online with apps from USA TODAY, MSNBC, CNNfn and Bloomberg-- just to name a few. All are....free. Content is updated all the time with fresh news about everything we're interested in.

The challenge for any online news outlet is generating revenue. The very same people who thought nothing of paying for a print subscription, shudder at the thought of paying for the same thing online.

Rob Pegoraro writing in the Washington Post does a nice job (especially because the Post is a competitor) pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the Daily.

I haven't tried it yet so I'll refrain from any comment other than coming back to the question is whether we at our house, or you at yours, will be willing to pay for it?

Ultimately, like everything else in the news business, it will be the value of the content that will either driver consumers to, or away from the Daily. Value, like perception, is an individual reality for each consumer. The "Reality Check" will come after the two-week free subscription.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Weather Separates "Haves from "Have Nots"

It's -15 as I post this morning. Up in Laramie, WY the wind chill is -59. Over in the Midwest and East snow is measured in feet. Baby it's cold outside.

A big subject of debate in the Denver area this morning was Denver Public Schools decision to open schools. Parents did have the option to keep kids home if they wanted to. But the argument was why on earth would you want kids out in such cold weather? A fair argument.

There are essentially three groups of kids:

1. Those who understand that it gets cold in the winter in Colorado and have the appropriate clothing available when it does.
2. Kids who don't have warm-weather gear but it isn't "cool."
3. Kids who can't afford warm clothes.

When I was in college in Wisconsin, I volunteered at a local Head Start. It always broke my heart to see so many kids in the middle of winter who didn't have warm clothing. As a board member of the Jeffco Action Center I've learned first-hand about the alarming number of people who simply can't afford what most of us take for granted. In so many cases families who used to donate to the Action Center are now clients.

The "Have Nots" of society don't fit the perception many have of the poor. They're educated, have played by the rules and due to circumstances beyond their control are on the outside looking in. And baby it's cold outside in more ways than one.

So regardless of where you live, donate your dollars or your gently used warm clothing that does nothing more than hang in the closet.

Dressing warm shouldn't be for just some of us.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Location, then there's location.

While watching the SAG Awards on Sunday, I was a bit surprised when Julianna Margulies noted the show is shot in New York. What? The setting for the "The Good Wife" is Chicago!

Having covered the movie and television business in the 80's and 90's I shouldn't have been surprised.

Did you see the terrific film on Hallmark Channel; "Goodnight for Justice" this past weekend? Much of the storyline was set in Wyoming. But it was shot in British Columbia. (All the lush green scenery was a tip-off) It reminded me of the story about Clint Eastwood's classic, "Unforgiven" set mostly in Wyoming but shot in Alberta. Eastwood is rumored to have quipped that Alberta looked more like Wyoming than Wyoming looks like Wyoming.

Then there's "True Grit" which takes place in Arkansas and "The Indian Territories" but was shot outside of Austin, TX and in New Mexico. Most of the original version starring John Wayne was shot in Ouray County, Colorado.

Hooray for Hollywood replaced by Ouray instead of Hollywood.

Back in the 1970's the folks in British Columbia noticed the province could look like a lot of places, from Alaska to San Francisco, New York or Hong Kong. The back country could be the locales for any number of westerns. So they put together a package of incentives to lure Hollywood-based production companies to come shoot in BC instead. Lots of tax breaks, an affordable talent pool for supporting cast and extras and any deal possible to make it a financial no-brainer to leave Tinseltown.

It worked. You can't walk around Vancouver without running into a movie or series in production. Toronto has also established itself as an affordable alternative to Chicago or New York or European cities. Here in the United States, many states have active film commissions hustling the movie business to bring the film business to their state.

For some states it works. For others, it's just worth the ROI for all the financial incentives vs money actually spent on the production. It's hard for a state like Wyoming to compete against Texas, but in the case of movies like "Goodnight for Justice" or "Unforgiven," as long as the state gets mentioned and the locales look fabulous, there has to be a pay-off in terms of potential tourism.

Of course Uber-Producers like James Cameron shoot movies like "Avatar" on gigantic sound states, using green screen and the latest computer wizardry in post-production.

So the next time you see a film, stick around for the closing credits and see where the movie was really filmed as opposed to where the plot took place. Unlike real estate, location really isn't about location. Just perception.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you" (But never in the movies)