In November of ’08, I set out to offer, in my new blog, musings and thoughts about the way things are and their possible PR and marketing implications.  At times, the blogs were either simple commentaries or driven by social outrage.  Or maybe they offered a chuckle about a happening or an outlandish stance or event.

So, because it is that time of the year where one looks back on how it was to learn from it and move forward, I went back to check what it was that I mused about and found that the French had it right.  “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”

What I found is that change comes slowly.  For instance, social media caught on quickly as the great “socializer” among “friends,” yet was slow to be adopted by Corporate America as the marketing tool it turned out to be.  It took some forward-thinking companies such as Ford, to lead the way for other companies to understand the power of social media.

What else I found is that mistakes happen to the best people – professionals who should know better, but didn’t.

And mostly I was taken aback, to recognize that we Americans are not all in the same “glass bowl” and that the human element is not always a natural instinct…

So, for an end of the year musing, I offer brief glances at the way we were a year ago today, through my first ten blog entries.

Hello World!

The first blog last November was a comment on the foreboding pessimism that engulfed the country…

Nips and Tucks…

With hope against hope, the foreboding massive layoffs could be warded off with a few nips and tucks…

The Human Element and the Holiday Season.

The holiday season always offers a pause for reflection.  In 2009 it can be about extending the human capacity for empathy.

What’s With the Flying Shoe?

Not since the 50’s was a shoe used so publicly as a prop as the one that was so unsuitably hurled at the then President Bush in Baghdad.

Social Media Watchdogs.

The real “costs” lie in manning the social media ‘rudder’  — people.  It is a matter of having watchdogs on hand to take care of a company’s back – and yes 24/7.

For Fear of Tomorrow, We Are Handicapping Ourselves Today.

What’s stopping us from rising to the opportunity today of becoming the next edition of the “greatest generation?”

For the Love of a Whopper…

Imagine, dumping ten Facebook friends for the love of a Burger King Whopper! What were they thinking?

Off the Cuff “speak” never works

So it seems that impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich’ off the cuff “speak” lost him his lead criminal defense attorney who quit on him.  That’s not all he lost…

That Gray Area

Even a venerable New York Times columnist such as Nicholas Kristof can muddle the PR/Advertising waters and use his editorial platform for a self-serving cause.

Going Beyond the Moment…

America becomes a part of a defining “world” moment.  What does one name a movement that seems to engage waves and waves of people that then create bigger and bigger waves that engulf even more people?  It cannot just be about change, for change itself has no description.  It must be about “hope.”

And there you have it.  Let’s together, shape 2010 to be a better year.

Happy New Year to all!

When Amazon’s Kindle DX, a multi-purpose version of its digital eBook reader was unveiled in late Spring ‘09, I wrote in a blog dated May 7, that the debut of that device could very well be the “knight in shining armor” that would save the beleaguered newspaper industry.  It didn’t, as yet, but it certainly is on its way to boost the book publishing industry.  Most newspapers can still be had for free.

Now, just six months later, publishers are making big plans for another potential savior, one that has yet to hit the marketplace.

Rumor has it that the much speculated and anticipated Tablet due to be created by Apple (who has yet to confirm that it is even being worked on) has publishers salivating at the opportunity for salvation. Publishers are in the throes of making big plans and spending big money for a device that has yet to come to market.

First it was Condé Nast, who announced they are preparing a digital version of Wired magazine for the Apple Tablet by the middle of next year, followed by its other 18 titles. And now it’s Time Inc. that has just released a video demonstration of a “tabletized” Sports Illustrated.

Magazine reading will now be as much about watching and browsing and choosing video elements, as reading, in essence delivering information and the interactive experience that is already available on the Internet, but within a new portable format.

It’s not clear how the Apple Tablet would be publishers’ salvation as yet.  Just as newspapers’ continue their struggle to monetize their content when it can be had for free on the Web, why would a magazine thrive on a tablet, when it too can be had for free?

Digital magazines are not the same as books, read Amazon’s Kindle or music, read iTunes, — neither of which offers content that can be had for free elsewhere.  If digital magazines will not be totally supported by advertising, as I suspect they won’t, then clearly they will need to seek subscribers for their digital versions and charge, as Amazon does per book, per magazine.  And what would be the lure to spend for what can be had free?

The only answer that seems plausible today is that it becomes a lifestyle choice, as in convenience when traveling or on the go — a take-along choice, with 30 or so, favorite titles, on one tablet.  In that sense it would simulate Amazon’s Kindle, which is also a lifestyle choice, with the difference that lifestyle choice or not, the books are not free.

Still, Apple may have something else in mind helping publishers monetize as they did for music publishers and developers in the app store.

Watch them swoop in, as anticipated, and grab the publishing world by storm, much like they did the music world.