At a recent blogging convention in Qatar, many attendees were interested in how the Arab world can catch up to the west (I think West needs to be capitalized based on how you are using it) in blogging. Several notable problems preventing growth include the practice of blocking blogs and arresting bloggers when their views are seen as a threat. This is obviously a great hindrance, but even in countries that don’t practice this, blogging activity is significantly lower. For instance, Qatar has 436,000 Internet users with only 1,141 bloggers. There have been a few notable efforts made to increase activity such at Al Jazeera Talk’s platform built to help Arab youth discuss world issues. The Middle East and North Africa region currently has 54 million Internet users and is expected to have 83 million by 2013. Blogging will hopefully follow suit.
Read more on blogging and Internet use in the MENA region at The Gulf Times
Latest Updates: Blogs RSS
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No Stopping Them
Pat McCarthy
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WOMMA Summit 2009 Day 3 Recap
Pat McCarthy
Last Friday, WOMMA Summit 2009 came to an end. On behalf of WOMMA, I would like to thank all of the people, sponsors, speakers, country music stars, and companies that helped make Summit 2009 WOMMA’s best conference to date.
If there was one overarching lesson from Summit, it is that to succeed in WOM you first have to listen. Before delving into a WOM campaign, you must first invest in a listening campaign. Once you are in touch with the consumer, the conversation can begin.
Over the course of WOMMA Summit 2009, we heard presentations from WOMMY Gold Winners who were competing for the ultimate prize, The 2009 WOMMY Grand Prix. All WOMMY Gold Winners had highly effective campaigns that pushed the boundaries of our trade, but in the end Intuit Small Business United took home the 2009 Grand Prix. Congratulations to Intuit and all the other winners!
In classic WOMMA Word fashion, we also want to show a little news from the industry folks. The following are a few of the many great articles written by attendees about WOMMA Summit 2009.
John Bell, WOMMA President, wrote two great articles complete with his own pics:
Part 1: http://johnbell.typepad.com/weblog/2009/11/headlines-from-the-2009-word-of-mouth-marketing-association-summit-part-1.html
Part 2: http://johnbell.typepad.com/weblog/2009/11/headlines-from-the-2009-word-of-mouth-marketing-association-summit-part-2.htmlOne interesting Summit 2009 happening was the unveiling of the merger of Ant’s Eye View and The Church of the Consumer. Congratulations to both!
John Moore, WOMMA WOM Evangelist, picked the top 200 talkable tweets from Summit 2009 and rolled out a slideshare presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/WOMMAssociation/talkable-tweets-from-wommas-2009-summit-2560941?src=embed
Pete Blackshaw, WOMMA Co-Founder and Board member, wrote a post about where WOM is going and how it will get there, complete with a video from industry all-stars Gary Spangler of DuPont and Jamie Tedford of Brand Networks. Read and view here: http://notetaker.typepad.com/cgm/2009/11/wordofmouth-marketing-association-summit-notebook.html
WOMMA Governing Member Brains on Fire wrote a great post on the Patagonia Keynote presentation by VP of Marketing Rob BonDurant. Read the key takeaways here: http://brainsonfire.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/19/patagonia-presentation-2009-womma-summit-in-vegas/
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FTC Guides Resources
Pat McCarthy
Last week was a big week for word of mouth marketers and bloggers. The revised FTC Guides generated a lot of chatter, questions and concerns. Below are all the resources WOMMA has made available for you to learn everything you need to about the Guides.
Blogs:
WOMMA’s General Counsel Tony DiResta’s blog: http://womma.org/diresta/Our Ethics Blog: http://womma.org/ethicsreview/
Slidecasts:
John Moore posted some new Slidecasts as an update to last week’s FTC webinar presentation. See them on his blog here: http://allthings.womma.org/Practical Answers to Important Questions about the FTC Guidelines
http://www.slideshare.net/WOMMAssociation/practical-answers-to-important-questions-about-the-ftc-guidelinesUnderstanding the FTC Guidelines (Short Version)
http://www.slideshare.net/WOMMAssociation/short-version-understanding-the-ftc-guidelinesFrom the Source:
Mary Engle, Associate Director - Bureau of Consumer Protection, FTC - Discusses What’s New About the Endorsement Guides
http://ftc.gov/multimedia/video/business/endorsement-guides.shtm -
What Now WOMMA?
Pat McCarthy
Webinars:
Is Your Social Media Program A Boom or A Bust? How to Use Analytics to Find Out What’s Working and What’s Not. Learn the tools and metrics of social media analysis to optimize your time and effort.
Presenter: Ben Straley, CEO, Meteor Solutions
When: Wed. Oct. 14
Time: 10am PST | 12pm CST | 1pm EST
Register Here: http://bit.ly/MeteorWebinar
Health Care & Pharma Webinar: Keeping Within Regulatory Guidelines While Exploring New Frontiers in Healthcare Social Media. Registration is limited to WOMMA members and their appropriate brand clients.
Presenters: Arnie Friede, Former Associate Chief Counsel at FDA, Mark Senak, Pharma & Biotech Strategist, and Ann Moravick, EVP of Ketchum
When: Thurs. Oct. 22
Time: 12pm PST | 2pm CST | 3pm EST
Registration: http://bit.ly/Oct22HCPWebinarBlogs:
WOMMA’s General Counsel Tony DiResta has posted on his blog about the new FTC “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Tony has been involved with WOM ethics for years and is considered one of the leaders in the field.
See his blog here: http://womma.org/diresta/Ethics:
Last week was a big week for word of mouth marketing and bloggers. The revised FTC Guides generated a lot of chatter, questions and concerns. We have opened up our Disclosure Discussion blog for your comments. The FTC reviewed comments submitted to us for our Living Ethics blog in preparation for the new Guides. If you have something to say, this is the place. Visit http://bit.ly/FTCdisclosure. -
What Now WOMMA?
Pat McCarthy
Webinars:
Is Your Social Media Program A Boom or A Bust? How to Use Analytics to Find Out What’s Working and What’s Not. Learn the tools and metrics of social media analysis to optimize your time and effort.
Presenter: Ben Straley, CEO, Meteor Solutions
When: Wed. Oct. 14
Time: 10am PST | 12pm CST | 1pm EST
Register Here: http://bit.ly/MeteorWebinarBlogs:
WOMMA’s General Counsel Tony DiResta has posted on his blog about the new FTC “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Tony has been involved with WOM ethics for years and is considered one of the leaders in the field.
See his blog here: http://womma.org/diresta/ -
What Now WOMMA?
Pat McCarthy
Partner Forum:
ARF Social Media Council launch recording and upcoming Industry Leader Forum!
During the ARF’s Social Media Council launch, both Digitas and Peppercom emphasized listening as the launching pad for social media while Verizon and General Mills illustrated how they are actively listening to their customers. This meeting recording is available for WOMMA members.
The upcoming ARF will show you how you can best use listening for your brand and service. Winning with Social Media – The ARF Industry Leader Forum features Chris Brogan, who has a blog in the top 10 of the Advertising Age Power 150, chrisbrogan.com and the co-author of the best seller, Trust Agents, as the keynote. Plus, Google, IBM, and ESPN will present listening case studies showcasing how to use different listening applications while Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Meredith, and Motivequest will share insights. Join Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Colgate-Palmolive, Kraft, Novartis, Fidelity Investments, Hasbro and more to discover the tools for listening and which techniques are best for your specific business. Learn more and register at http://thearf.org/assets/ilf. WOMMA members can register for $595 using the code WOMMA.ARF Social Media Council Launch
https://webexevents.webex.com/webexevents/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=1589597&rKey=59e2258182572683 <file://localhost/webexevents/lsr.php>Webinars:
Is Your Social Media Program A Boom or A Bust? How to Use Analytics to Find Out What’s Working and What’s Not. Learn the tools and metrics of social media analysis to optimize your time and effort.
Presenter: Ben Straley, CEO, Meteor Solutions
When: Wed. Oct. 14
Time: 10am PST | 12pm CST | 1pm EST
Register Here: http://bit.ly/MeteorWebinarBlogs:
WOMMA’s General Counsel Tony DiResta has posted on his blog about the new FTC “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Tony has been involved with WOM ethics for years and is considered one of the leaders in the field.
See his blog here: http://womma.org/diresta/ -
What Now WOMMA?
Pat McCarthy
Webinars:
Special FTC Guides Webinar – Join us this Thursday at 11am CST for an in depth webinar that will explain what the new “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” means for your business and blog. Paul Rand, WOMMA’s President Elect, and Tony DiResta, WOMMA’s General Counsel will give the most informed analysis in the industry and field your questions.
When: Thursday, Oct. 8
Time: 9am PST | 11am CST | 12pm EST
Registration: http://bit.ly/FTCwebinarBlogs:
WOMMA’s General Counsel Tony DiResta has posted on his blog about the new FTC “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Tony has been involved with WOM ethics for years and is considered one of the leaders in the field.
See his blog here: http://womma.org/diresta/ -
Blogging without Purpose
Pat McCarthy
There are about 133 million blogs on the Internet. Standing out is hard these days, but when Julie Powell started hers in 2002, the field was much more open. She wrote about cooking her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Other Child fans caught on. Her blog eventually led to a book and a movie. But what is unique about Julie’s blog was its organic nature. It was simply a way to express herself without some profit making agenda. Every year many new blogs are started with profits in mind. The new FTC rules may curb this trend. The organic blog may see a resurgence if new bloggers are hesitant to become professional bloggers.
More on blogs and their differences at The New Star -
The 10 best blogs for, well, Everything
Pat McCarthy
Any avid blog reader needs a to hear a new voice every now and then. Here [Link] we have a list of blogs that will satisfy anyone under the sun. Need to know the latest in bass fishing? Hankering to master the art of language and editing? Okay, maybe not, but that was the one I clicked. No matter what your interests, this extremely comprehensive list will offer at least one fresh blog to your daily consumption. Enjoy.
More blogs than you will ever need at Blogs.com