A legislative snap shot

As the legislative session continues, the GH Spin thought it might be fun to take a different look at what happens at the Capitol. This photo shows the crush of people trying to get a copy of the new tax bill. Goff & Howard's Brian Bergson is the second person in from the right. We thought this photo begged for a different perspective and a different caption.

After a quick contest in the office – here’s what we came up with.

Jodi Saari’s winning caption:

"This interesting creature, known as a lobbyist, is seen here in its natural habitat. Each spring they engage in a highly ritualistic paper frenzy sometimes known to include shoving, kicking, crying and groaning. Not all will survive. "

The photo is from Session Weekly, published by the Minnesota House of Representatives. Click here to see what the real caption is.

Hyperlocal and doing just fine, thank you.

For some in this new media world, the glass may not be exactly half-full, but there might be a way to put a little water in it. A community media publisher from Maine has a model – called Village Soup – that blends together print, online, and social media technology. This new model could be what others need to survive.

The traditional community newspaper publisher spent years experimenting and has now evolved into an operation with online sales that collectively generate 19% of its $2.5 million in annual ad revenues. This is something that appears to be a first in the print media world.

At the core of the success is the buzzword “hyper-local.” It focuses on a very specific area where the media company can offer something of value to its readers. Think Highland Villager vs. the Star Tribune’s national news coverage. For some in the news media, this is a concept beneath many reporters and editors who would rather focus on Washington, D.C., Europe, and Asia.

But for Village Soup, hyper-local is a way to serve customers, connect with the community – and make money. Village Soup has a branded Web site and separately branded weekly papers for each of four communities. Each city also has a section on the Village Soup site.

The Web site has content from reporters, but two-thirds of the Village Soup sites’ front pages are filled with citizen and business posts. New revenue comes from sponsored postings that businesses can buy. The posts, which run right next to the ordinary editorial content, are not controlled by Village Soup. It’s a blend of new, old, and social media.

This may not be the solution, but is an example of an idea that is actually working at a time when so many others clearly are not.

A mailing is only as good as your list

When did you last update your organization’s e-mail and direct mail lists?

If it was more than a year ago, expect the lists to be as much as 20% inaccurate. Why would there have been so many changes? According to the United States Postal Service:
• 19.3% of all businesses move each year
• 13.7% of Americans move each year
• 1.8 million new mailing addresses are added annually

With ongoing maintenance, your lists will stay in such good shape that you can be ready for a mailing at a moment’s notice. Accuracy will also save on mailing costs, reduce waste, and greatly boost your mailing’s chance of effectiveness.

While e-mail blasts avoid the expenses of mailing, an updated e-mail list is critical to your effectiveness. As you meet people and collect business cards, make sure they don’t only occupy a growing pile on your desk. These cards are a critical way to keep your organization’s lists up to date.

So, while list updates may not be your favorite task, they are critical for making sure your mailings and e-mail blasts accomplish your intended goals.

Statistics source: United States Postal Service, April 2008 Mail Systems Management Association IMB Forum.

The hottest new profession?

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday on the growing trend of professional blogging – citing that there are now more paid bloggers than there are firefighters or computer programmers in America.

Social media viruses – and how to fight them

The Internet has made it possible for anyone to share thoughts, ideas and opinions with the entire world. But with this freedom to share information comes the potential for these thoughts and ideas to significantly damage individuals’ and companies’ reputations.

Case in point: Two employees from an individually owned Domino’s store shot and shared a video online that showed them tampering with customers’ food (to put it mildly). The video was supposedly a prank, but instead it created a social media frenzy.

Domino’s corporate headquarters immediately sprang into action, working to remove the video wherever possible and respond to the situation – including answering inquiries from bloggers and traditional media and reassuring its customers that its food is safe. Domino’s reaction was strategic and fast, and may have minimized the damage from the viral video.

To learn more about how Domino's responded to this crisis - click here.

AN UPDATE
To learn more about what happened to the people who created the video and the company's response - click here.

Do you get Internesia?

In keeping up with the latest style guide additions for The Gregg Reference Manual – Goff & Howard’s main go-to for style questions – we came across a glossary of computer terms.

Among the 25 pages of terms were entries like blog (technically called Web log), multimedia, browser, and spam that most computer users are familiar with. Then there were the occasional few that enlightened us:

Dead-tree edition. The paper version of a publication available online.
Dot-bomb. A dot-com that fails to stay in business is referred to as a dot-bomb. Internet surfers who spend a lot of time in the .com domain are sometimes referred to as dot communists.
Internesia. Forgetting where one obtained a piece of information on the Internet.
Kluge (pronounced klooj). An expedient (but often inelegant) way to solve a problem when time is of the essence.
Mouse elbow. A repetitive strain injury (similar to tennis elbow) that is caused by repeatedly using a mouse.
Mouse potato. A person who sits glued to a computer screen.
Netiquette. A set of guidelines for formatting and composing e-mail messages.
Netizen. A “citizen” of the Net; an active participant in the Internet community.
Shouting. The use of all caps in e-mail. This practice is considered a violation of netiquette and is actively discouraged.
Word of mouse. Gossip spread by e-mail.

All definitions courtesy of William A. Sabin, The Gregg Reference Manual, “Glossary of Computer Terms,” 10th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2008, http://www.mhhe.com/business/buscom/gregg/glossary.htm.

Got stuff? Give stuff.

Here’s a picture of the latest Goff & Howard “stuff” going to good use. Just like at home, sometimes we start to collect things we don’t need – like extra office furniture and books – and our employees sometimes have work-related clothing that they’d like to go to someone who needs it.

We have been fortunate to have a relationship with Community Action Partnership (CAP) of Anoka and Rasmey County. As Goff & Howard’s Patty Dunn, who is also a founding member of CAP’s new community advisory board, puts it – we like how they, “match up needs with haves.”