Here's your weekly curated rundown of news, reports and posts from the past week that, while they didn't go viral or attract much attention, are still interesting and useful for communications professionals. I select Wrap items from my link blog, which you're welcome to follow at http://tumblr.com/blog/LinksFromShel

Hashtag Hell

Tale 2: Washington Redskins -- The National Football League team in the nation's capital has been fending off an increasingly vocal campaign to change its name to something less horrifically offensive. Seeking support from its fans, the team asked for tweets to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid demonstrating their #RedskinsPride. "Tell him what the team means to you," the team asked via its Twitter account. And they did. "The @Redskins name means racism," said one. "Celebrating genocide and touchdowns" said another. Yet another was accompanied by a photo of dead native Americans piled in a ditch, while still another included a newspaper clipping of a massacre in Minnesota. These are just the tip of the iceberg. Seriously, who thought this was a good idea? Read more

News

Zappos dumps job postings in favor of social media -- The only way candidates for new Zappos jobs will learn about them will be by joining a social network called Zappos Insiders, "where they will network with current employees and demonstrate their passion for the company," according to The Wall Street Journal. If they show enough love, they'll be informed when a job opens up. Read more

Conde Nast drafts native advertising manifesto -- Mega-publisher Conde Nast distributed a 4,000 word document to its editors and publishers outlining its approach to native advertising. The document is designed to prevent (or resolve) disputes between the editorial and business sides of the books. It's a different approach than other publishers have taken; Hearst and Time "have avoided putting their policies on paper." Read more

Google unveils Panda 4.0 -- The latest iteration of Google's search algorithm will "lay the groundwork" for future updates, according to Google's Matt Cutts, who said the latest version "is a bit softer than previous versions" and should make it easier for small businesses to be found more easily. Read more

Research

Earned media still delivers the most value -- A study from research consultancy Insights in Marketing found that the public doesn't trust marketers and advertisers. While that may seem like a blinding flash of the obvious, it does call into question the value of content produced directly by an organization as opposed that that carrying the credibility of a third party, whether that's the media or user-generated content. Only 26% of participant agreed that advertisers and marketers are trustworthy; roughly the same number said the images portrayed in advertising reflect reality. Not many people admitted to buying products or services based on advertising. Read more

Top leaders still distant from social media -- A Corporate Board Member report on legal risks to corporate boards of directors concludes with some data on social media that shows the boardroom remains well distanced from social media. Only 22% of directors responding to a survey said they have discussed social media and have a good understanding of it, while 45% say they've discussed it but need more information in order to have a good understanding. 19% have no plans to discuss social media at all and 14% haven't yet but plan to. If it seems your company's social media remains marginalized as a marketing tool, lack of leadership direction could be a big reason why. Read more

Twitter users have better TV recall -- Among the data Mary Meeker presented during her annual state of the web presentation is that people who tweet while they watch TV have greater ad recall than those who just sit and watch. They also perceive the brands advertising more favorably and have a greater intent to purchase. Read more

Trends

Great Ideas

IBM crowdsources ideas for smarter cities -- IBM's focus on networked devices building a better world includes the "People for Smarter Cities" campaign. For the campaign's second phase, the company crowdsourced videos "showcasing how residents would improve their cities." Partnering with Zooppa, which connects creative talent with brands and agencies to create user-generated campaigns, IBM wound up with 80 videos leading to eight winners covering subjects like "repurposing empty spaces and aiding the physically challenged to spur employment." Read more

Resources

It's time to update your review-and-approval process -- I was approved for LinkedIn's publisher tool and turned to the review-and-approval process for my first post there, offering up five ways to streamline the process for a digital world. Read more

This week on FIR

• On FIR #757, Neville and I talk about the evolution of virtual worlds, the state of social media as viewed in the wake of Scott Monty's departure from Ford Motor Company, the fate of the independent PR blogger, and how GE uses social media to support its digital strategy. We also look at public views of content marketing, a campaign that targets ads based on hair color in online photos, the mashup of books and technology, and the media habits of UK consumers. Dan York's Tech Report covers the attention lenses we use to find news. Listen
  
  
• Linked Conversations host Chuck Hester spends sosme time with Kathy Klotz-Guest, founder of marketing firm Keeping it Human, about her amazing LinkedIn profile. Chuck also covers the new How You Rank tool. Listen
  
  
• In an FIR interview, Neville and I talk with Scott Monty about his departure from Ford and his view of the various commentaries about the deeper meaning of his resignation. Listen
  
  
• Rachel Miller brings us episode 7 of All Things IC, highlighting the recent Institute of Internal Communication annual conference. Listen
  
  
• Micha Weinblatt, co-founder and CEO of Betterific, joins me for an FIR interview about the site some have called Reddit for customer feedback. Listen
  
  
• On episode 24 of Thought Leadership, Mitchell Levy and Michael Procopia share insights with Kurt Shaver, who spent 20 years in corporate sales before setting up his own shop, The Sale Foundry. Listen
  
  
• The different roles of budgets is up for discussin as Andrea Vascellari presents the 19th episode of FIR on Strategy. Listen

• I'm conducting a webinar June 4 for PeopleFluent. Register here
• I'll be speaking multiple times at IABC's World Conference in Toronto, June 8-11.
• On June 25, I'll be in Columbus, Ohio presenting a workshop for communicators from Owens Corning.
• I return to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in August for three days of teaching at the national communications association, ABERJE.
• In October, I'll head to Warsaw, Poland to speak at an internal communication conference.
• In November, I'll speak at the Global Intranet Forum in New York.

Need a speaker?

Visit us at Holtz.com.