Markus Merz of Performancing writes a great tech tip on how to use BlogBridge’s automatic save feature to save both articles and enclosures of selected feeds.

Michael Pick who works with Robin Good has written a great, up to date, and detailed article on RSS, the technical scene, the uses and benefits. Not to blow our own horn, but in this article Michael says:

“Another excellent desktop feed reader, and one that works on Mac, Windows and Linux is Blogbridge. I reviewed version six of this simple but very powerful feed reading application recently, and found it to be an excellent solution, especially given that the reader itself is free.” (from What is RSS, by Michael Pick)

What is APML?

APML is a new and evolving standard in the space of attention profiling.

My understanding of it (after doing a reasonable amount of homework) is that it’s an xml-based standard or format for recording and publishing a profile of where attention is focused.

I purposely use that clumsy passive form because I believe that it’s not only what a specific person (i.e you or me) is paying attention to.

One could conceive recording what a group of people, a club or community, or even a computer program is paying attention to. The format doesn’t care.

I won’t go into any detail of what APML is but recommend you to two comprehensive posts on the topic. Check out what Marjolein Hoekstra writes about APML and then also check out what Michael Pick, with Robin Good’s Master New Media writes about APML. Between the two you should get a good picture.

BlogBridge support of APML

Clearly BlogBridge is a good source of attention information. What blogs am I subscribed to? Which ones do I actually read? How many Starz have I assigned to each one? Even which links within blog posts do I click on?

APML support would also fit very neatly within the existing model. We have “My BlogBridge” user signups. So BlogBridge could offer an opt-in, after which a url would be available, for example: http://www.blogbridge.com/apml/pito_salas which would serve up an up to date APML for that user.

Of course as usual, development resources are limited and we think twice and three times before embarking on something like this.

What do you think, as a BlogBridge user? Should we build APML support? Why? What would you then do with that magic URL?

Please let us know via comments to this post, in our support forum, or with an email to support@blogbridge.com

In coverage of the Blog World Expo, a major topic is Tracking Reputation in the Blogosphere:

“[snip…] moving past monitoring, and into gaining insights from your customers. That’s a pretty powerful statement. Rather than just looking at whether someone is talking about your brand, you can use the blogosphere as a giant focus group. Your customers are telling you what they want. Are you listening? [snip…]” (from Tracking Reputation in the Blogosphere)

That’s a great image and metaphor, a giant focus group; and not just for PR purposes but also for new products and services, feedback and even perhaps competitive analysis.

While there are high priced, and specialized services out there that claim major proprietary technologies to offer so-called marketing intelligence, BlogBridge is an open source product that puts much of this kind of power in your own hands, which is where it belongs.

I recently wrote about the notion of “Online Reputation Management” and why in my mind a better way to look at it is “Online Reputation Awareness.” The idea that you can outsource this crucial function to a consultancy, in my opinion is off the mark.

Another commentator at the same panel says:

“[snip…]Also, understand who the influencers are. Now this is the tough part. The definition of influence is much harder. Robin does a good job of explaining that influence has to be eyeballed, one-on-one. Her presentation also makes the point that companies should be proactive, instead of reactive, and corrective, while remaining authentic.[snip..]” (from Brandstorming)

Bingo!

ORM is an interesting term I hadn’t heard before. It stands for “Online Reputation Management”. I encountered it in a very interesting article by Kalena Jordan about “Social Media: The Instant Brand Killer”. (As an aside, it’s fun and refreshing to find someone who is not ga-ga in love with social media and networks.)

The article makes numerous excellent points. When the concept of “Online Reputation Management” comes up though I am a little less on board. Why? I am not so sure about the “M” there, as other than being careful about what *you* say, it’s next to impossible to “manage” what others say. The closest I know how to get is by working hard at not giving people reasons to denigrate your product or service. That’s why I like “ORA” better - Online Reputation Awareness.

Google doesn’t forget. Once it’s out there, it’s hard to pull back. The more workable approach is to be quick to find out when you, your company, your product, or your segment is being discussed and join in. And talk personally, give your (company, product, self) a human face.

It’s important to realize that there are excellent tools out there (from Google Alerts to BlogBridge) with which it’s possible to set up “standing sentries” that catch mentions both positive and negative of your product or company, instantaneously, almost. Tools such as BlogBridge offer a lot to Public Relations and Marketing professionals.

They give you a chance to get into the flow of news, commentary - even gossip. And when you encounter something that has an impact or resonates with you, then jump into the fray and participate.

(This post itself is an example of what I am talking about )

Here’s an interesting article by Lesley Shroeder of BizCommunity.com which describes some of the challenges that PR firms have in showing the effectiveness of their work to clients:

“In a two-day workshop members debated technologies and methods for measuring editorial media publicity and looked at best practice models from around the world. The whole question of using advertising value equivalent (AVE) was hotly debated” (from “Does Size Still Matter?“)

I wonder though how much all that really matters any more. Measuring the number of media mentions presumes a certain definition of where to look. The problem is that more and more there’s no identifiable ‘media’ - both positive and especially negative mentions of your clients occur in the wild-west sometimes known as the ‘blogoshpere’.

True story: A certain customer is unhappy with the treatment they got from their car dealership and car maker, and posts the story on their blog. As the story develops, in his frustration he starts naming the car, the dealer, and even the manufacturer’s top marketing person, by name.

Result: if you enter the marketing executive’s name into Google, today, you see this one solitary customer’s tale of woe. What is the cost to the PR firm and more importantly, the client? Think about it.

That’s one I know about first hand. I am sure there are lots and lots more like it, and importantly, the trend is in that direction.

So what is ‘the media’? Where is ‘the media’?

Luckily there is a new generation of software that attacks this problem head on. Read more about tracking tools for Public Relations Professionals.