Yes, this is another ‘obligatory’ blog post following a keynote by BG (blogging guru) and Google search engine’s number one Robert (Scoble) at the 2007 Counselors Academy Spring Conference.

He was, in many ways, an anti-motivational speaker. No power point. No empowering epithets. He talked with a little boy’s excitement that was contagious and was personable, passionate and mischievously smart. It was refreshing.

Here are a few of Robert’s thoughts that stood out for me:

– He can now shoot and broadcast video live from his cell phone. And the quality looks pretty good. Talk about reality TV… It’s quite amazing when you stop to think that not that long ago families were huddled around Ed Sullivan on Sunday nights.

– He feels the question: ‘How do we get to important bloggers?’ is the wrong approach. Stories that interest people can start from anyone, anywhere and spread really fast. It’s like the tipping point on warp speed.

– PR lesson #1: If a story breaks that’s not true, advise your client to refute it immediately – on video, online. And you need a credible C-suite rep as spokesperson.

– It’s a Google world. So if you want someone to find you, you need to figure out ways to boost your proverbial ‘Google juice’.

– When he reads about a new story, his initial reaction is that it’s untrue. Then, as more posts come in from credible sources and the story takes shape, it begins to become ‘more true’. But Robert Scoble’s an informed reader and mass consumer of blogs. I just don’t know if the general public reads things with the same critical eye. I think it’s difficult for many people to differentiate between opinion and documented fact.

– Watching Twittervision made me realize how much stuff out here is based on pure chance encounters – entropic, really – which is one of the things that makes it so appealing.

About Martin Waxman


Martin Waxman, MCM, is a digital communications strategist. He conducts AI research, leads digital and social media training workshops and speaks at events across North America. He's co-founder of two PR agencies, president of a consultancy and has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years. Martin is a LinkedIn Learning instructor, teaches digital strategy and social media at McMaster University, the Schulich School of Business, University of Toronto SCS and Seneca College. He's a member of the Institute for Public Relations Digital Media Research Center and a past-chair of PRSA Counselors Academy. He has a Master of Communications Management (MCM) from McMaster-Syracuse Universities.