The Social Media Tour

In PR we commonly organize media tours for clients. The concept, invented by Daniel J. Edelman, is simple, but ingenious. We take the spokespeople on the road to meet the media in order to build relationships and promote the product or service.

Over the past several days three bloggers/podcasters have asked to interview me. They are Stowe Boyd's Conferences That Matter series, The Best Damn Tech Show Period and Tom Raftery's Podleaders podcast. I booked them all for Thursday, March 2. This is one of my buffer days in between CooperKatz and Edelman. (I will be with Edelman in Chicago from Mon through Wed next week but I don't actually start in NYC until March 6.)

So call me suicidal, but now that I have these all lined up for one day I had an idea. In celebration of my joining Edelman, I am going to go on a marathon, day-long Social Media Tour! On Thursday, March 2 from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Eastern I will conduct as many blogger and podcaster interviews as demand warrants and time allows. (Yes, I will take short breaks to eat and, um, well you know.)

However, there's more. I believe in Dan Gillmor's maxim - "my readers know more than me." Rather than just talk about my boring self, I am going to turn the tables on my interviewers and ask them about why they blog and/or podcast. We'll engage in conversations about social media, Web 2.0 and I will run links to the episodes/blog posts on my blog. All conversations will be recorded using Skype. All I request is that you handle the editing and post in a relatively timely manner.

Who wants in? Anyone? Leave comments here. I have no idea if I am going to get 50 interested parties or none so let's see where this goes.

Technorati Tags: Edelman, CooperKatz, Media Tour

Comments

[Ernie Landante]

Count me in, Steve. You tell me what time on March 2 works for you, and that's when we'll do the podcast. If you'll be in NYC, I can come with my mobile studio to record. And if I can ask questions, you can ask them too.

[Jeffrey Treem]

Steve,

I would love the opportunity to pick your brain (or it seems have you pick mine). I'll plan on using the conversation as a blog post for now, but perhaps will use this rare A-lister access to launch a podcast series. If you are up for a chat I look forward to it.

Also, I am sure you will be in a lot of meetings in Chicago next week, but I'll still extend a lunch invitation. As you said, you have to eat some time.
Cheers,
Jeffrey

[Dino Baskovic]

My students would be honored with your presence on the LTU Web Design blog :) Heck, I'll even try to make it fun.

[Steve Rubel]

Jeffrey, I hope that I am still able to have a brain by day's end!

Ernie, Jeffrey, Dino, I will email you to book.

[david parmet]

I'm at the New Comm Forum that day but I'd still love to get in on this in one way or another. How about we exchange questions / answers via email?

[Fard Johnmar]

Steve, I'd love to participate. I'd especialy like to pick your brain about blogging in healthcare, which is my main interest. I'm thinking that the interview will be published on my blog, Envisioning 2.0. Just pop me an e-mail and let me know when you're available to speak. I'll put some questions together for you. Please e-mail me (info@envisionsolutionsnow.com) and let me know when you can chat -- after 10:30 a.m. on Thurs.

[R Craig Lefebvre]

I would really enjoy the chance to talk with you about blogging and its applications to support public education and communications programs for public sector (read 'government') agencies and nonprofits. Give me a time that fits your schedule. I can send you a few relevant posts to see where I am with it and the dialogue sounds great!

[Jeremy Pepper]

Wow. Totally amazing, and yet, not surprising. Is there going to be enough room for your blego on the 27th floor?

Humility isn't a bad thing, you know.

[drew b]

The UK PR blogosphere would be interested in your thoughts Steve! I'll drop you a mail.

[Eric Mattson]

Steve,

I'd love to participate. Specifically, I'd like to chat with you about blogging by large corporations and how to help them measure the effect on the online/offline conversation around them.

Please let me know if this is a possibility.

Thanks,
Eric Mattson
eric@marketingmonger.com

[mobilejones]

Sure I'd be interested in chatting, but would you consider using Gizmo in lieu of Skype? The reason for this request is the built-in record capability of Gizmo which makes it silly easy to create a podcast from the phone call.

I'd be interested is discussing the role of mobility in social media. Is that obvious? There are so many developments in the mobile industry around media sharing and social networking that's it becoming difficult to track. Further, new intiatives in ad supported WAP content/applications and other mobile marketing concepts make this a ripe albeit emerging arena for social media revenue options. In addition, location services are set to roll out this year. Lots to noodle and chat about.

An early morning time slot would be preferable. Let me know. Thanks.

[Steve Rubel]

Craig, email me. I need your contact info.

[Jeremy Pepper]

Bet you thought you'd have more takers.

If someone else wanted to put it on their blog - I wouldn't put it on mine, as my interviews are more about PR - I bet most people would like you to sit down with an interview with me, as I'd be the only person to ask the questions that everyone else wants to ask, but won't.

Could you handle that? How about we do it as a podcast for someone else? Jaffe? Schwartzman? Bueller?

[B.L. Ochman]

can you say "sour grapes" jeremy?

[Denise Wakeman]

Steve, my partner and I would love to interview you for a special edition of our Conversations with Experts Teleseries. What's the next step to schedule this?

You can check out what we've been doing since April 2005 at
http://snipurl.com/CE_Audio

[Jeremy Pepper]

Yep - it's pronounced "Ochman."

[Robert]

B.L., as I saw it stated once already, Larger agency - check. More tuned in city - check. More respect from others - check.

I don't see that as sour. Jeremy is fermenting, like fine wine ... not whine.

[Tom]

B.L. - I don't think this is about "sour grapes" at all, frankly.

[scott]

Ouch. This thread has gotten VERY sour.

Here's what I think:

1. Steve's social media tour is obviously justified by the mere fact that so many people have signed up to interview him. I'd love to talk with him myself, but am out of town that day.

2. Jeremy has exacting standards for others, which is fine with me because he's not a hypocrite. He observes those standards himself, so I respect his opinion.

3. B.L. is a fine blogger but can be just as snarky as Jeremy, if not moreso. So her comment comes off as a little pot/kettle to me.

4. Everyone needs to just chill out and have an apple martini. Nobody reads blogs, anyway.

[David Maister]

I'd like to be considered to be one of the interviewers.

[Tom]

Heh. Good call, Scott, re: the chilling out and apple martinis.

[Mike Warot]

I'm game... we can talk about pretty much anything you want

--Mike--

Steve, I'd be delighted to
shoot the blogging breeze with you
for one minute, maybe two -
I'm sure I'd learn a tad from you.

[Mindi Pettitt]

Hi Steve,
I wonder if you would consider me for your Social Media Tour. I run a website in Nanaimo, BC (Canada) which is all about all the events going on in and around Nanaimo. I'm not a Blog or a podcast, but I do believe that I run another kind of "Social Media" As well as the website, we do a weekly e-newsletter talking about things that are going on every week. Since launching in Oct. 05 we have over 3000 subscribers to the e-mail. I have questions about being a Social Media website and think you might be the guy.

Thanks
Mindi

[dahowlett]

What a great idea. I'm a long time Skype user but Telefonica cannot guarantee service. Even so I can still get a decent recording with my rig. there's a free call-in conference number I can recommoend.

Oh yes - I'd like to ask you how you would encourage my audience to make best use of this medium. I'm an accountant by trade. My take is as per the link at the top. I'm also British. I've bgeen critical of some of your ra-ra stuff.

But I still learn.

[Drew Olanoff]

I'm really looking forward to it, thanks Steve!

[R Craig Lefebvre]

Steve, assume in-between dodging the barbs that you got me email?

[Kenton Ngo]

Great idea! I'm in.

[Shawn Lea]

If you're interested and still have time, I can add you to my E&N Interviews section: http://everythingandnothing.typepad.com/mississippi/en_interviews/index.html

You would be the fourth interview, right after a skin doctor, an energy drink blog and the creator of the orgasmic diet! ;)

[David Terrar]

If you've still got a slot free, I'd like to ask a few more questions from the UK viewpoint.

[Frank Paynter]

Count me in, and thanks for your generous spirit! How are you scheduling the day?

[Baba]

Great concept Steve. Let me know if you still have room in your day.

Baba

[Nicola Mattina]

Hi, I'm an indipendent new media consultant in Italy, I teach at Accademia di Comunicazione (www.hdemia.it) and I condict a radio program on the national broadcasting service (http://www.radio.rai.it/) about Internet (it will soon became a podcast).
If you would accept, I would be glad to interview you for my blog... I can send you a couple of questions and you can ansewer writing a text or recording an audio. In both case, I will translate the material in Italian and propose both version on my blog. Thanks. Nicola Mattina