David Kamerer

Associate Professor of Communication, Loyola University Chicago

A Twitter toolkit

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One of the nice things about Twitter is that other developers have taken the API and built useful extensions that leverage Twitter’s power. You can take control of your Tweetosphere with these handy tools, posted by Brian Solis at PR 2.0, one of my favorite public relations blogs.

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The tool I’m most excited about is GroupTweet. You can use GroupTweet to create a workgroup and then share private tweets amongst the team members. The tweets remain outside of your public Tweetstream. Handy for workgroups of any size, or perhaps as a discussion forum for an online class (or physical class, for that matter).
Here’s another batch of Twitter tools you’ll want to explore. Also, be sure to spend some time with Twitter Search if you’re at all interested in reputation management.
iPhone user? Consider Twitterific, a free product available from the Icon Factory.
Follow me on Twitter @DavidKamerer

Blog design: does it matter?

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Last week, my colleague Bobby Rozzell observed that blog design might matter for attracting new readers or occasional readers, but not so much for regular, ongoing readers.

He’s right. Most readers first see your blog through an RSS reader. If they do click through, they’re likely to see a familiar template from a popular blogging platform like WordPress, Blogspot or Movable Type. Templates are the great democratizers of online design. They make enough design available to all. If you’re not a designer, that’s a good thing.
And the other reason blog design isn’t that important: it’s the content, stupid. But you already knew that.
What do you think? Does blog design matter to you?

Google Confirms RSS For Web Search Results

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Google Alerts is one of the most useful, yet basic tools for monitoring the Internet. With the current service, you receive email notification of your preferred searches when new information is added to the index.

If you’re new to RSS, or just hungry to learn more, visit this link, which aggregates popular links tagged “RSS” at del.icio.us.

PR needed here: $700 billion bailout

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Richard Edelman points out how the Federal government failed to tell – and sell –  the story of why an infusion of cash was needed to stabilize our financial markets. Note that the post was written on Sept. 30, before the bailout passed Congress.

One sure sign the project is being railroaded: no attempt to construct, frame and sell the message. Just gimme the dough.

What’s needed: more time to listen

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dylan.jpgWhile I’m working my way through the excellent “Traneumentary,” I’m also happy to report that Bob Dylan’s “Theme Time Radio Hour” season three begins this Wednesday.

If you’ve ever seen Dylan in concert, you know how enigmatic he can be. So I was a completely surprised to hear him open up on his radio show. He’s a charming, genial, quirky host, with an excellent sense of humor and an even better playlist. Each episode is based on a theme, which is explored with music, anecdotes and interviews, all held together with Dylan’s bemused presence. You’ll hear lots of vintage roots music, including jazz, country and rhythm ‘n blues, along with a sprinkling of the best music from modern times.
CROZ FM has archived the shows from seasons 1 and 2. I highly recommend you visit and grab a few shows. Or, you can subscribe to XM Radio and listen on channel 2, XMX, every Wednesday.
Finding time to listen? That’s your problem.
In the photo: Bob’s playing a sweet old Gibson J-45.

“Snag” a film and support independent filmmakers

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I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather watch a film in a theatre than on my computer. But sometimes, you just don’t have a choice. There’s a ton of content online, and some of it is good. An innovative site called SnagFilms makes independent films available for free. If you like a particular film, just “snag” it and show it on your website. 

Here, you can watch “Be Here to Love Me,” a documentary about the wonderful songwriter Townes Van Zandt (“Pancho and Lefty”). There’s a catch: wildly inappropriate commercials may intrude on your viewing (in my case, eye lash makeup ads, not exactly great targeting). Oh well, small price to pay. Enjoy the film, click through, and share the love. 
If you’re an indie filmmaker, this may be a worthwhile distribution channel. 
Learn more from Walt Mossberg’s column, originally published in the Wall St. Journal. One more warning: the service is still in beta, so you might find some bugs. But it worked fine for me.