The Music Download Work Around - Ultimate Box Sets

For about seven years, the music industry has been trying to figure out how to work around music file sharing and on demand music in general. Many caved in years ago making deals to offer their music on ad hoc basis through services like iTunes and Rhapsody.

But let's face it folks - marketing music has done a 360 degree maneuver. With virtually no one going to a music store (hey remember those?)they must use very innovate marketing tactics to sell more than just a few songs for artists - especially musicians that have been around for a while. So what is amusic executive to do? Well they reinvent the wheel.

Univeral Music Group is releasing what I am calling an ultimate box set for Dutch Pop Star Marco Borsato. This set will include an mp3 player pre-loaded with Marco Borsato collection of music among other offerings. I would say that the music industry is getting creative with their marketing and branding because they have no choice. Music downloading rules and there is nothing they can do, but work around the issue try to make their money the old fashion way. Reuters tells more about the Marco Borsato box set:

Listen Quietly- Is the Bubble About to Burst?

I am hearing more and more often that the bubble is going to burst. That is the web 2.0 bubble. "Oh no not again."

Steve Rubel, the advocate of all that is web 2.0 and noted PR pro, is now getting that sinking filling that there isn't enough room for everyone in cyberspace. He makes a good case on his blog micropersuasion.

Online advertising - do you think it has peaked or will peak soon?

A GAP In Judgment: Child Laborers Cause PR Nightmare

Gap Inc.,the largest clothing retailer in the U.S. based in San Franciso, had to put out a PR fire this week when the London Sunday Observer published an investigative report on how a vendor of a Gap subtractor uses child laborers in unfair and grueling conditions. Check out this report from the CBS 5 in San Francisco:

Google Phone in Two Weeks - Really???

News stories are popping up everywhere the Google Phone. Computer World is running a story saying it will release in mid-2008. The Wall Street Journal is saying that the Google phone software platform could debut in two weeks.

Google brand can certainly compete with the Apples and Microsofts of the world. But if it gets in to telecommunications - it could be unstoppable.

Google Docs - An Online Application a PR Professional can fall in love with

I have been using google docs for about a year and I find it more and more useful professionally. If I need to work on a document from anywhere, I need only to upload to google docs for worldwide access from any internet connection. Need someone to edit what you have written? Invite them as a collaborator. It is genius! You can ven email it as a MS word document.

But what one of google docs new features is mobile access. Just go to docs.google.com/m and you have acces to all of your saved files from your smart phone. Just the other day, a client called me while I was on the train looking for some company specific verbiage. I logged into the mobile version of google docs found the verbiage I needed - copied it and pasted it into an email. I took care of the request in under 10 minutes. It is a highly efficient online application.

Military PR Coup

Check out this story about $500k of the Stars and Stripes budget used for a questionable PR campaign.