Brad Marley

Each week, Brad recaps the best stuff he’s read on the Web and shares it with you, the reader.

There’s quite an array of stuff to sift through in this week’s Grab Bag, but I think there’s something for everyone. So why don’t we get started?

On The Media: Fake news flourishes under the feds’ noses (LA Times.com) – I don’t know if this is a national phenomenon, but the local sports talk radio station requires their hosts to read the ads on the air right before they cut to commercial. The advertisers pay the hosts to speak as if they can actually vouch for the services they’re discussing, but we know better. Er, at least most of us know better. This is just one example of “fake news.” It’s a troubling trend.

New Journalism Degree To Emphasize Start-Ups (NYTimes.com) – I wish this program had been around when I graduated from college. And, honestly, I’m surprised it took this long to introduce a similar program. It’s exactly where journalism is headed, and could spark interest in an entirely new generation of students.

Stuck In An Intellectual Silo (Becky-Johns.com) - This is an extremely well-written post that explores the idea of an “intellectual silo.” Basically, Becky wonders aloud if the upper echelon of entrepreneurs and communicators using social media are setting the bar too high for others. I, for one, agree with her take.

Why Environmental Activists Embrace Social Media (Fast Company) – The obvious answer to the headline is that social media is very grassroots-ish. (And the fact that it’s free doesn’t hurt.) It’s another in the long line of articles that explores why @BPGlobalPR was so hugely successful, but it’s worth your time.

Running in place? 14 Ways to Break Free (The Simple Dollar) – Like the headline says, this post contains 14 simple, logical things to keep in mind when trying to attain that huge goal, but feel like you’re stuck in wet cement. We can get so focused on the end, that we have a difficult time seeing the twists in the road. This is a great read if you’re striving toward a goal, but are not seeing what you think is progress.

5 Mistakes Everyone Should Make (Yahoo.com) – Striving to be perfect? Maybe you should re-think that strategy. Read this.

That’s all for this week.

If you read anything this week that struck your fancy, tell us about it in the comments.

Whew. Hard to believe it’s Friday already.

The 59 blogs I subscribe to yielded some good content this week, which compliments a few links I came across in my daily monitoring.

So, without further adieu, let’s dive right in. I hope you find some value in this week’s Grab Bag.

RIP, the Press Release (1906-2010) — and Long Live the Tweet (AdAge.com) – Seems like every other week somebody is “calling it” when it comes to the press release’s lifespan. This time, Ad Age is suggesting that marketers take their PR cues from celebrities, who fulfill our desire to know intimate details of their life with 140-character tweets, by limiting their news to short bursts of information. Seems like a decent thought, but wouldn’t the Twitter announcements need to be accompanied by some context?

Open Letter to PR Pros From the Press Release (Laurenafernandez.com) – Here’s Lauren Fernandez’s rebuttal to the piece above.

Share what you know with the Charlotte Observer (CharlotteObserver.com) – Hmmmmm. Verrrry interesting. The Charlotte Observer has started something called the Carolinas Public Insight Network, which gives people living and working in the Greater Charlotte area the chance to connect with the Observer’s newsroom through the Web. Essentially, when the paper is working on a certain story, they’ll cull their database of experts via email to find sources for those stories. Sounds like something Charlotte-based PR people should investigate, doesn’t it?

The Problem With PR (Waxing UnLyrical) – Frankly, this is a post that needed to be written. Public relations professionals get a bad rap from people who don’t know what PR is. (I’m often asked if PR means advertising.) Kudos to Shonali Burke for breaking it down for everyone, although, will anybody outside of the PR universe read it?

That’s all for this week.

In the comments, tell me what grabbed your attention this week.

Based on the majority of the content featured in this week’s Grab Bag, the subtitle for this edition could be, “How To Do Things Wrong On the Internet.” (And don’t think I didn’t consider it.)

Included below is a post on social media doubling as a popularity contest, why updating your media lists is crucial, and why using Twitter to bitch and moan can be an exercise in futility.

Please. Read on.

101 Ways To Live Your Life To The Fullest (Personal Excellence Blog) – We will start with the good stuff. Quite often, a list of ’101 Things…’ loses momentum around number 75. Not this one. There are seriously some great ideas in here for getting the most out of your life. #24 is one that I’m particularly fond of.

How The Seattle Times Is Using Mobile Video, Twitter To Report News Fast (Poynter Online) – This is where journalism is headed, frankly. We’re seeing the Journal Register Company experiment with digital means as a way to deliver the news, and now the Seattle Times is bringing it to the mainstream. Won’t be too long until this is the standard news delivery model, methinks (I hate that word.)

The Internet Has Become A Big Popularity Contest (SimplyZesty) – One of the best things I read this week, and I thought about devoting an entire entry to it. Basically, it operates under the premise that numbers (Twitter followers, “likes”, etc.) make social media too numbers-heavy when it comes to identifying valuable content. Read the whole thing for gist. I think you’ll dig it.

Why I’m Tired of #Fail (Brass Tack Thinking) – Amber Naslund is one of those people who writes exactly what I’m thinking, and I admire the shit out of that. I’m also extremely jealous of her abilities. This post captures something that bugs me about Twitter: a rush to complain. If you’re going to read two articles in this week’s grab bag, make it this one and the one above.

Magnalight.com’s Rob Bresnahan and the Dim Bulb Pitch (Bad Pitch Blog) – The key takeaway, if you will, of this post is that you need to keep your media lists updated, especially in today’s day and age of high turnover rates. The reporter who was covering technology last week might be this week’s food & beverage correspondent. So, if you send them a pitch for a new Web browser, for instance, they’re going to think you are stupid, and we don’t want that. This post takes a PR professional to task for this very sin.

That’s all for this week.

What captured  your interest?

For any new readers, let me break down how the Weekly Grab Bag works.

Every Friday, I share links to stories, blog posts, etc. that have captured my interest throughout the week. While there is no set-in-stone subject matter, I try to keep it in the technology/PR/media realm. Occasionally, like the last link in today’s edition, I’ll stray outside of those topics, just to keep you on your toes.

Make sense? Good. Check out the links.

Studying the Brain Off the Grid, Professors Find Clarity (New York Times) - This is actually one part of the New York Times’ series on how technology affects our brains, and it’s fascinating with a capital “F”. I’ve always had an inkling that the 24/7 influx of information affected the way I operate, but this confirms it. I find that staying focused is a skill I need to sharpen.

Take Control Of Your Stream (Becky Johns) – This is a great post for those who are overwhelmed with the amount of information they glean from their social media network on a daily basis. The best piece of advice is that it’s your stream. Don’t be afraid to limit what you’re taking in.

How Positive Thinking Re-Wires Your Brain (Steve Aitchison) – Another brainy link, and this might be the best thing I’ve read all week. What daily trips to the gym are for our muscles, daily positive affirmation can be used to “exercise” our brains. Feeling anxious? Depressed? Sometimes, just thinking positively can help. Yay, science.

Mount Puckmore: The Four Faces Of The Detroit Red Wings (Puck Daddy) – The Puck Daddy blog has been posting the four faces of each NHL franchise while waiting for the season to start. Earlier this week, it was the Red Wings turn. Gordie How, Ted Lindsay, Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom got their faces on Detroit’s Mount Puckmore. Can’t say that I disagree.

That’s all for this week. Let me know what captured your interest in the comments.

There are only three links I deemed worthy of passing along to my people, but I challenge you to find a better three links somewhere else.

Go ahead.

Try.

Seven Easy Steps to Your Dream Job (The Simple Dollar) – If you’re stuck in a dead-end job, or are just looking for a career that you can call your own, this is a good list to review to get started. For the record, I’ve got #6 taken care of.

17 Easy Steps to Brilliant Blog Posts (Copyblogger) – I don’t know how I missed this post when it first came out, but I did. I won’t make the same mistake twice. I saw it in Copyblogger’s weekly roundup and I immediately thought of you guys. Please read this post for some stellar insight into the blogging process.

You’re Welcome, You Bastards(TechCrunch) – It’s no secret that Michael Arrington is not fond of PR people, but he has a legitimate beef here. In short, he was threatened with legal action if he didn’t take down two book excerpts that he was given. (He even honored the embargo!) If you read the e-mail, there are many things less confusing than the wording. Regardless, they asked him to take it down, ignoring the massive amount of publicity he drove.

As usual, everything is on Delicious.

Leave something you liked this week in the comments.