12 Commandments from Contributed Content Gatekeepers
April 26, 2022
5:46 am
This month we studied guidelines from contributed content gatekeepers. Dozens and dozens of them.
>> deep-dive
Deep-Dive: Tim Keary, VentureBeat
April 13, 2022
2:02 pm
After becoming a VentureBeat freelancer last month, Tim Keary wrote 41 stories in 42 days. With rare exception, the articles focused either on a product announcement or a funding round. Dozens of companies saw their news covered thoroughly — in a context useful to buyers.
Deep-Dive: Jennifer Liu, CNBC Make It
March 23, 2022
7:35 am
CNBC Make It reporter Jennifer Liu isn’t just a reporter covering the workplace, hiring trends and professional success. That may be her job, but she’s also proficient in WordPress, Drupal, Google Analytics, SEO and Adobe Creative Suite.
Cracking ‘The Future of Work’ — The Tactical Path
August 10, 2021
10:21 am
When “no one knows anything” and chaos reigns, journalists go broad, not deep. Slack discussions heat up. Coverage planning intensifies. Editors are told, literally, to fan out and bring back the context that readers require.
Cracking ‘The Future of Work’ — The Strategic Path
August 9, 2021
10:27 am
“The Future of Work” affects every industry and every company. Top edit brands swarm for insights and scramble for an edge. So where are all the tech PR victories — the big hits?
Overview: the SWMS Deep-Dive on 2021 Sponsored Content
June 3, 2021
4:05 pm
A while back — OK, a long while back — a subscriber asked us to look into sponsored content. What were the trends? What was more common, one-offs or comprehensive packages? Are agencies increasingly “owning” sponsored content for their clients?
Sponsored Content: Two Data Models to Guide Decision-Making
June 3, 2021
4:01 pm
Sponsored content can be a very daunting investment (at least it was to me when I first learned about its cost) but offering target audiences a controlled message with a massive credibility boost presents a significant opportunity.
Deep Dive: Five Business Purposes for Sponsored Content
June 3, 2021
4:00 pm
Sponsored content is a tool in the toolbox. Considering the expense, it’s smart to know exactly what one hopes to accomplish with it, and that it’s the right tool for the job. To that end, our sponsored content deep-dive spotted five prominent themes/purposes in 2021.
SWMS Deep Dive: Privacy
January 7, 2021
1:26 pm
[SWMS contributor Rachel Odenweller writes:] Historically, few of us have thought much about data privacy, either from a personal perspective or the perspective of clients. But in 2020 privacy came into focus with several data breaches, fears of government surveillance and the continuing saga of Big Tech regulation challenges.
Where Privacy Meets Cybersecurity
January 7, 2021
1:07 pm
[SWMS contributor Rachel Odenweller writes:] As logic would suggest, the more we rely on data, the more at risk we are for cyber attacks. In addition to the myriad struggles 2020 presented us with, it was also the most active year for cybercrime. Reports suggest that cybercrime rates during COVID-19 — from ransomware to phishing — have spiked at rates between 40 and 400 percent.
YOUR ACCOUNT
FRIDGE NOTES
Congress to Investigate the Omnicom-IPG Deal
December 20, 2024
Well, for now it’s Jim Jordan… but such news illustrates the kind of world we seem to be headed for. Adweek has the details, subscription required.
SWMS Predictions for 2025
December 10, 2024
No “predictions” post will appear on this site. That said, quite a number of subscribers have asked for a Zoom/MS Teams presentation on what 2025 will bring. A conversation is precisely the right tool for the job. After the election — and with AI transforming publishing and life — “2025” is best discussed among peers, not predicted. So if you’d like to have a confidential group exchange on what stands to unfold, and why, and how comms pros can come out on top in spite of it all, drop a line and we shall schedule something.
Talk About Confidentiality…
December 10, 2024
According to Adweek, Omnicom CEO John Wren and IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky were in merger talks for eleven and a half months before the transaction was announced this week. Amazing that it didn’t leak.
Introducing ‘SWMS Sound Thinking’
November 22, 2024
Should PR pros stop visiting X, with all its lies and hate? It’s only going to get worse. Or are tidbits from targets too important to walk away from? Click here to watch tech edit vet David Strom and I disagree (at high speed) about this, as one compelling visual after another pops up on your screen. In 2025, SWMS will officially launch “SWMS Sound Thinking,” designed to be “argumentative insight in six minutes or less.” Each segment will explore a timely and controversial topic of interest to tech comms pros. This prototype runs 5:25. Hope you enjoy it — feedback vital and welcome! –Sam
Business Insider Reporters Starting to Go on Camera
November 19, 2024
New EIC Jamie Heller has asked her reporters to start going on camera — for the BI TikTok channel — to explain the big, deep-divey story they just published. Other publications do this — especially archival Fortune. BI is now on that too. Game on.
The ‘AI Fantasy Draft’ From Eric Newcomer
November 13, 2024
At this time last year, Eric Newcomer and his two podcast co-hosts — Max Child and James Wilsterman — each formed an “AI startup fantasy team” and picked five AI startups to seed their rosters. We’re now in year 2 and it’s time to draft again. The podcasters wonder… which startups do they dump? Which do they add? The player whose startups accumulate the most total value by Nov. 1, 2028 is the winner, so there’s plenty of time to make adjustments. Here’s a link to the AI fantasy team podcast — you may need a password. Not sure.