PR/Marketing

Well, another issue is out. At least some of the copies. Around 17,000 will be mailed October 8th. The rest I'll be handing out around town and at events. There's a thread at AFP - where we actually have quite an active close-knit community.

Three years ago, around this very same time, I sent out my declaration of independence from big media. I thought it was worth a smile, but I was also trying to send a serious message. Amidst the soaring newsprint prices and declining ad revenues, the media corporations have more to worry about.

Whew. What a roller-coaster ride. And not just recently. The whole thing. Approaching year three at light speed. I'm happy with what I've been able to accomplish so far (with little to no money.)

On this Thanksgiving (thanking everyone who gave a little this past week ... and a thanks to Mike Tuesday (liquidtuesday) for the great Risk photos. I've been wanting to use them for a while now and thought they were appropriate for this piece...) Anyway, reflecting recently, I'm sensing that I'm near a turning point.

Heh. Was driving down Main Street in Elwood today and remembered back to a few people who were commenting on Al Jordan's site about people not mowing their yards on Main Street.

As you might have noted if you're a regular reader, I'm one of 50 people selected to participate in Nikon's Picture This program. (Basically, they're loaning Nikon D80's to 50 online personalities for 6 or 12 months... more here.) At any rate, I emailed some questions to Tom Biro, Senior Director, New Media Strategies at MWW Group. He was kind enough to answer them. (Again, note, I am participating in this project and will probably be writing about the experience more as time goes by...) Enough intro writing, though. Here's the Q&A.

Nikon's Blogger Outreach Program for D80 Already Generating Buzz The Viral Garden

Does Taking A Freebie Mean You Can't Trust Me? - Biz Solutions Plus

I was contacted (via MySpace) by Lauren's Show, someone who does short video of various things in Indiana. It was a great opportunity to test the new video module. She was able to get two videos up.

Wow. Got something in the mail today that was pretty interesting. It seems Nikon is giving out D80's to people who like to take pictures and share their opinions. Heh. I guess that's me. I signed up for the program.

The company I'm going to be working with on advertising is CityNFocus. We haven't officially signed the deal yet, but I feel confident enough to talk about it some more here. One of the first things I've done (ahead of schedule) is to launch Jomo William's CityNFocus Business Directory as a branded section of Muncie Free Press. This type of thing is common in the major leagues, so why not at this level too?

I had another idea for Muncie Free Press the other day and finally got around to implementing it. I'd love to have input on both the idea and execution. Thanks!