As you may have noticed, we’re in the process of moving our two WordPress blogs, PR and Marketing Mentor™ and What’s Innovation Got to Do with It? to our own company domains, respectively:

http://www.CathrynHrudicka.com and http://www.CreativeSage.com

Instead of a smooth, overnight corporate transition, I have purposely allowed this one to be a bit messy, for a reason. I wanted to have the freedom to experiment a bit with the two blogs and figure out how each one would work in the context of an entire site; and most of all, I wanted your input, as a reader.

With the help of a designer and programmer, we ultimately are planning to customize the two blogs on our domains and further develop the content on the side pages, as well as the main blog pages. We’re also planning to add some specific products and services that will be available through an attached shopping cart, and we’ll probably change the widgets and some other features. Through this whole process, which could take a few months, I would like your input. When you see or read something and have an opinion about it, I would appreciate your comments, providing they are relevant to the topic at hand and are respectful of other readers. Honesty with respect is all I ask.

The main content of the two blogs will continue to be informational, and they will not turn into mere marketing vehicles. If the blog content interests you in finding out more about the services or other products we offer, you are free to check out the side pages and contact us for more information (or not).

Since many of our readers are getting feeds of the two blogs from the WordPress.com sites, you will have to change your feed URLs, unfortunately—WordPress Support told me there’s no way around this, but we’re also going to leave the WordPress.com blogs up for a while, with links to the new blogs on our domains. You’ll be able to read the first few lines of each post on the old WordPress.com blogs, and follow a link to the new domain to read the entire post. If you want to change your feeds from either blog, we’ll have RSS links for you to do it on our own domains.

In the spirit of Open Innovation, I have concurred that we need and want input from our readers, clients and friends. If you have any other questions or private thoughts, do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to bringing our loyal and growing community of readers along with us, as I think the new domains will eventually offer even more useful information and content. Thanks for your patience and feedback during this process.

You can also read this post here. Our other WordPress blog, What’s Innovation Got to Do with It?, has moved here.

You may have also noticed that the WordPress.com theme for the PR and Marketing Mentor™ blog has been changed at the new site. We had a technical problem installing the “Rubric” theme, designed by Hadley Wickham, on our own domain, and we’re in the process of resolving it now. Since it is likely that we’ll customize both our company sites with a new design, this is probably a temporary situation. I look forward to your feedback as the work continues.

~Cathryn Hrudicka, Chief Imagination Officer
Creative Sage™/Cathryn Hrudicka & Associates

Win a Trip to BlogHer 07, Courtesy Scrapblog

The deadline date for submissions has been extended. Please note below.

Win a trip to BlogHer Conference ‘07! Scrapbog will pay for your airfare, hotel and conference admission!

Sound too good to be true? Not if you are in touch with your inner scrapbooker. BlogHer has partnered with Scrapblog, the premiere multimedia scrapbook creation tool, to offer BlogHers a chance to win a trip to BlogHer Conference ‘07!

Visit blogher.scrapblog.com to participate!

Entering the sweepstakes is easy. Simply create a scrapblog, publish it, and tag it with “blogher07”. The more views your scrapblog gets, the more entries you have in the sweepstakes. Simple enough, right?

We’re giving BlogHer members first dibs on generating buzz by giving them a sneak peak of the tool before the sweepstakes officially opens with a full-blown promotional campaign on BlogHer.

Ready to jump in? Here’s how to get started…

1. Go to blogher.scrapblog.com and create a scrapblog. The step-by-step instructions make it easy or you can take a quick tour.
2. Publish your scrapblog and tag it with “BlogHer07”. You will be automatically entered into the sweepstakes.
3. Come back to this page and list the link to your scrapblog in the comments section below, start generating buzz around your scrapblog, and let your friends know that you’ve posted it.

Since you are the first to know about this sweepstakes, Scrapblog would also like your feedback on the experience of creating a scrapblog. Feel free to offer your feedback below in the comments as well. Scrapblog will start selecting outstanding entries and posting them to a contest page on Scrapblog.com and Flickr.

Keep checking back here, as we’ll be linking announcements regarding the official contest rules, outstanding scrapblogs, and the winners which will be announced on July 17! Entries will be taken until July 16. Good luck!

I’d really be remiss if I didn’t mention the following major PR conference, for those of my readers who are PR professionals and don’t already know about it—just got the word that there are still some tickets left, if you act fast:

RSS, Blogs, Podcast and Social Media Experts to Share Knowledge at PR Online Convergence Conference in Los Angeles on May 16-18, 2007

Knowledge and best practices on deploying RSS, blogs, podcasts and new media for public relations and corporate communications revealed

(Los Angeles/March 22, 2007, ed. May 10, 2007) Experts on the use of RSS, blogs, podcast and new media in public relations and corporate communications campaigns are converging at a premier conference in Los Angeles May 16-18, 2007. PR Online Convergence 07: Deploying Social Media for Business Advantage, a 3-day event set for the Universal Hilton in Los Angeles, will address critical issues facing PR and corporate communication professionals in the age of social media.

“The way people get media, information and entertainment has and continues to change. It’s become strategically unwise for PR and marketing to let online presence be handled exclusively by the web guys down the hall. For those executives who have accepted that denial is not a business strategy, we’re bringing this professional development opportunity to Los Angeles,” says Eric Schwartzman, PR Online Convergence Conference Chair and founder and chairman of iPressroom Corporation, which helps organizations extend the reach of their PR and marketing campaigns using the latest new media tools and services integrated into one powerful, online dashboard. “

“Corporate communications, public relations and marketing is being forced to make the seismic change from controlling messages to facilitating conversations,” says John Gerstner, President of the Communitelligence Learning Academy, which is producing the event. “We’re challenging the most knowledgeable and experienced PR and new media pioneers to connect the dots for business executives needing to adeptly deploy the new media tools and services for competitive advantage.”

Sessions:

• Integrating the Web into Conventional PR Campaigns
• Building Public Awareness through Social Networking
• Integrating Blogs and News Feeds into Corporate Communications
• How to Drive Traffic and Transactions Online
• Building a Business Case for New Media through Measurement of Results
• How Organizations are Integrating Their Web Presences into their Organizational Outreach Agenda
• Benefits of Podcasting: Beyond the Press Release with Sound and Picture
• Generating Word of Mouth through Peer Marketing Initiatives
• Practical Applications of Real Simple Syndication for Marketing and Public Relations

Keynotes:

• Adapting to a Fragmented Media Landscape: Integrating the Web into Conventional PR Campaigns, by Eric Schwartzman, Conference Chair
• Bloggers and PR People: Why Can’t We Just Get Along?, Stowe Boyd, CEO of Blue Whale Labs
• PR in the Age of Blogging — How to stop spinning and be authentic, Jason Calcanis, CEO and co-founder, Weblogs Inc.

In addition, there are four pre-conference half-day workshops scheduled for May 16 on effective business podcasting, strategizing social media, establishing a social media dashboard and keeping up-to-date about conversations online.

About the Communitelligence Learning Academy. Communitelligence is a knowledge-sharing portal aimed at improving organizational and interpersonal communication. The site is organized around expert-led learning communities with blogs focused on key corporate communication, PR and marketing disciplines. The Communitelligence Learning Academy produces How-to Teleseminars, CDs, workshops and conferences focused on business communication knowledge and skills. Online PR Convergence will give public relations and corporate communications professionals a better understanding of how to integrate RSS, blogs, podcasts and new media into conventional outreach campaigns.

Contact Info available at: http://www.communitelligence.com/convergence

Summary: Knowledge and best practices on deploying RSS, blogs, podcasts and new media for public relations and corporate communications will be revealed at PR Online Convergence 07: Deploying Social Media for Business Advantage. Produced by Communitelligence, the 3-day event set for the Universal Hilton in Los Angeles will address critical issues facing PR and corporate communication professionals in the age of social media. In addition to nine general sessions and three keynotes, there will be four half-day workshops on effective business podcasting, strategizing social media, establishing a social media dashboard and monitoring conversations online.

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I’ll be writing a lot more about how to integrate “new PR” methods and social media into your next PR and marketing campaign…stay tuned to this blog.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

I am on the advisory board, and my company, Creative Sage/Cathryn Hrudicka & Associates, is a partner in the following innovative Social Entrepreneur/corporate philanthropy programs that serve people on local and international levels. Here is the announcement for an upcoming event in San Francisco that we are co-producing, and the Web links:

http://givefoundationonline.blogspot.com/

Global Initiative to Advance Entrepreneurship

Event: May 10, 2007
Alleviating Poverty Through Microfinance:
Three Bay Area Programs Initiate Social Change

Location:

Hotel Rex
562 Sutter Street (at Mason)
San Francisco, CA 94102
P: 415.433.4434

Time: 6:00 pm check in; 6:30pm-8:00pm program
Cost: $30.00/includes dinner
Register in advance at: http://sfmicrocredit.eventbrite.com/

Microcredit is breaking the cycle of poverty. By providing credit via small loans to the poor, microcredit programs are transforming the lives of millions of families and communities around the world. Based on the idea that the poor have the capacity to improve their own situations, microfinance programs help impoverished people build viable businesses and create their own economic opportunities.

Alleviating Poverty Through Microfinance, the first event in the Social Entrepreneurship Lecture Series, will showcase three Bay Area microcredit initiatives. Three featured speakers include:

Vijay Kapoor, I Create India. I Create, Inc., provides Integrated Entrepreneurship Training to disadvantaged communities in India. Vijay will discuss how I Create is working with Bay Area nonprofits to “adopt” villages in low-income areas in northern India and providing training and seed money to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Bob Graham, NamasteDirect. Bob is founder and Chief Executive Officer of NamasteDirect, a San Francisco-based nonprofit focusing on microcredit in Central America by providing small loans to first time women borrowers. Bob will discuss opportunities to provide microcredit to underserved communities in Central America.

Keith Axtell, Rotary International District 5150. Keith is World Community Service Chair for Rotary District 5150, serving the greater San Francisco Bay Area. He will discuss local Rotary microcredit programs in Guayaquil, Ecuador, resulting in three hundred small businesses in one of the poorest areas of the country.

Who Should Attend?

This two hour event is for anyone interested in the exciting field of microfinance, including nonprofits, social entrepreneurs, and members of the business community. The event will encourage innovation among organizations already participating in microfinance programs, and provide opportunities to form strategic partnerships to build and expand the outreach and success of microcredit and microfinance.

Sponsored by Rotary Club San Francisco Golden Gate, Global Initiative to Advance Entrepreneurship, Creative Sage and other nonprofit and business partners, this is the first of an ongoing series showcasing social entrepreneurship initiatives in the Bay Area and around the world. This series will be comprised of speakers, expert panels and film screenings that showcase the emerging field of social entrepreneurship. To learn more, visit http://www.givefoundationonline.org.

Just a quick post to let our community of readers know that we’re offering a great prize to FIVE WINNERS who become the 20,000—20,004th reader hits for our sister blog, Creativity and Innovation Notations...read about it at the Creativity and Innovation Notations blog.  Since many of you here also read that blog, I wanted to give you a heads-up that this is happening right now, so YOU have a shot at winning one of the five prizes!

This prize requires doing a wee bit of homework, so go over there now and follow the instructions—you can win a great bonus prize for yourself or your organization (for-profit or non-profit)!  If this is successful, I may offer a similar prize again on this blog—keep watching for announcements.

~Cathryn Hrudicka, Chief Imagination Officer, Creative Sage™/ Cathryn Hrudicka & Associates

OK, I want to hear from someone out there about the virtual International Podcasting Expo this past few days, as I wasn’t able to participate. Instead, I attended a conference presented by the Arts Council of Mendocino County, about Arts and Tourism Promotion and Marketing in the beautiful, rural Northern California County of Mendocino, a topic I may write about soon. Meanwhile, if anyone out there wants to submit a blog entry for this blog, about the Podcasting Expo or another relevant PR and marketing topic, please email me for guidelines, and I’ll be glad to give you full credit and promotion for your entry.

I also want to call your attention to the innovative marketing and PR video clips on the VodPod widget that I’ve posted on the right-hand sidebar of this blog (if you haven’t already watched them). There’s a new, terrific one I just posted that’s also mentioned on my Creative Sage™ What’s Innovation Got to Do with It? blog.

Created by Stanford graduate student Gus Bitdinger, based on a fabulous, original song he wrote about innovation in organizations, “Back to Orbit,” it’s well worth watching below or on YouTube .

I predict you’re going to see a real viral video effect with this one, and probably some great job offers for Gus in the future, if not a recording contract and a tour! This brings me to my second request—if you’ve got a short video clip, audio clip or podcast that fits with the overall themes of either the PR and Marketing Mentor blog, or What’s Innovation Got to Do with It?, please feel free to email the clip or a link to me, or send it to my VodPod account, and I’ll consider posting it. A word of warning, though…I’m a busy person, so I’ll only get back to people who really send me something that is relevant in subject matter, not infringing on someone’s copyright, and is suitable for viewing by all age groups. Please indicate how YOU would want to be credited, with correct title and copyright information, and if the clip or podcast was used by another media source before (name the original source). We may have to get permission to use it, so please include the correct contact information, if that is the case.

We love it when someone’s college video project becomes a personal or business viral PR and marketing tool, whether it was intentionally created for that purpose or not. A personal commentary on innovation becomes a great story angle that could also be formatted into a social media press release, as well as a video blog clip. You just have to keep your eyes, ears and mind open to find the great, viral story angles. In that spirit, our team at Cathryn Hrudicka & Associates is always aiming to innovate in print, broadcast, trade, social media, network and other PR and marketing channels. We bring your message to the world and the world to you!

This just in…download .pdf: International Podcasting Expo, April 20-21

Learn How To Podcast for Free at the Online International Podcasting Expo, April 20-21. Learn WordPress blogging techniques, too!
Participate in three (3) free audio/visual Podcast Instruction Sessions April 20-21, 2007. These classes include “Step-By-Step Podcasting”, by Podblog.dk’s Karin Hoegh, “Promoting Your Podcast”, by author Jason Van Orden, and “Legally Using Music on Podcasts”, by George Smyth of the Association of Music Podcasting. These free sessions at the Online International Podcasting Expo are only a few of the 35+ sessions regarding everything you need to know about Podcasting for your business or for pleasure.

(PRWEB) April 16, 2007 — The success of Podcamp Atlanta and Podcamp NYC proves that Podcasting is an incredibly effective tool for entrepreneurs and people passionate about what they promote. People fly from all over the world to visit the Portable Media and Podcast Expo every fall to see the newest in technology and meet with other podcasters in person. Once toted as a fad, Podcasting has become a respected tool for broadcast companies, media outlets, blue chip companies and entrepreneurs.

Legally Using Music on Podcasts

Every spring, the Online International Podcasting Expo opens its virtual doors and offers over 35 audio/visual sessions by respected Podcasters from around the world. Sponsored by Pamela Systems, the creator of the Skype digital assistant named “Pamela”, Revolution Wealth TV, and 1st Podcast Publishing, this Podcasting Expo makes it extremely easy and affordable for anyone in the world with an internet connection to participate in classes and networking sessions. In addition, all 35+ hours of sessions are recorded and sent to attendees on data DVD after the Expo, with access to a downloadable library available right after the Podcast Expo.

Visitors can participate in three (3) free audio/visual Podcast Instruction Sessions April 20-21, 2007. These classes include “Step-By-Step Podcasting”, by Podblog.dk’s Karin Hoegh, “Promoting Your Podcast”, by author Jason Van Orden, and “Legally Using Music on Podcasts”, by George Smyth of the Association of Music Podcasting. These free sessions at the Online International Podcasting Expo are only a few of the 35+ sessions offering everything you need to know about Podcasting for your business or for pleasure.

Additional classes include introductions to recording, editing and mixing audio using free programs such as Audacity, Wavepad and Mixpad, as well as an introduction to Video production using Techsmith’s Camtasia. Other classes provide strategies for podcasting for profit, as well as for increased search engine ranking. Learn about new Podcasting technologies and services, such as TalkShoe and CrowdAbout.us, and also how podcasts can be delivered to listeners via Mobile Phones.

Attendees will receive free recording, editing and mixing software, a lifetime license of Pamela Pro for Skype, a free multi-media Podcasting Handbook, the opportunity to win $5000 worth of prizes from Revolution Wealth TV, as well as many other door prizes and freebies. Groups of 10 or more receive discounted tickets, so professional organizations for Virtual Assistants, Web Designers and Online Marketers can benefit from learning podcasting as an additional service that they can provide for their clients.

For more information about the Expo and about discounted tickets, go to the Online International Podcasting Expo site.

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Here’s another example of how to partner with colleagues who have complementary areas of expertise and will help drive a new audience to your business or nonprofit web site—create an exciting online event, forum or webinar! Then, get other notable and popular bloggers to announce it, and send out press releases to print, online, social and broadcast media, podcast and videocast it, and watch your Web traffic soar!

I wrote about that before when a group of online marketing and PR colleagues got together and participated in Web Content Awareness Day, created by my copywriter colleague, Dina Giolitto—each of us contributed articles for the event site in our own areas of expertise. Here’s how one of my Innovation colleagues, Jeff De Cagna, got a group of colleagues together to create an Innovation Bloggers Forum:

News From my colleague, Jeff De Cagna, of Principled Innovation

March 12th, 2007

“Innovation is now recognized as the single most important ingredient in any modern economy.”
–The Economist

Innovation continues to be a top priority for leaders in all sectors of the global economy, yet actually making innovation happen remains a profound challenge for many organizations. What’s more, the new dynamics of a rapidly-changing, Web-enabled global marketplace are shifting how we think about innovation itself.

If you would like to better understand the current state of innovation thinking and practice, as well as the emerging trends that will shape the future of innovation, join some of the Web’s top innovation bloggers for the first-ever Innovation Bloggers Virtual Forum on April 26, 2007.

Here is the Forum line-up as of right now, and my colleague, Jeff De Cagna, of Principled Innovation, will be adding more bloggers. I have signed up to participate in the forum, as I’m also an Innovation Journalist, as well as an Innovation program designer, management consultant and executive coach:

Morning Forum Roundtable (11 am EDT)

Renee Hopkins Callahan, IdeaFlow
Chuck Frey, InnovationTools
Jeffrey Phillips, Innovate on Purpose
Dave Pollard, How to Save the World

Afternoon Forum Roundtable (2 pm EDT)

Dominic Basulto, Endless Innovation
Sanjay Dalal, Creativity And Innovation Driving Business
Mark McGuinness, Wishful Thinking
Joyce Wycoff, Heads Up! on Organizational Innovation

Keep checking—we’ll update this list and provide more information about the event as it becomes available. This is a unique opportunity to participate in two outstanding conversations involving many of the blogosphere’s smartest innovation thinkers and practitioners. I hope you will be able to join us!

Please also keep checking our other blogs, What’s Innovation Got to Do with It? and Creativity and Innovation Notations for updates…and start thinking about a dynamic online event you might create!

NewComm Forum is the premier conference that brings together industry leaders from around the globe to explore the impact of Social Media on professional communications, business and traditional media. There are 28 interactive sessions in four conference tracks focusing on corporate communications, PR, marketing and advertising, new media and journalism. Get hands-on training, learn best practices for Social Media program implementation and hear the latest case studies.

The 3rd Annual New Communications Forum, takes place March 7th-9th, 2007, at the Venetian in Las Vegas, NV.

Chris Heuer, SMC Co-Founder, will be on hand to moderate a session on “How to optimize the Social Media Release for the future of PR.” We will also be organizing a blogger dinner for Thursday night (8th) – so stay tuned for additional details which will be posted on the Social Media Events page shortly.

For more information on the NewComm Forum, or to register, visit the NewComm Forum website or call +1.800.493.4867. We are proud to announce Social Media Club members are eligible for a $200 discount. For more information about the Social Media Club, go to their “About” page.

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I’ve been following what my friend and colleague, Chris Heuer, is up to with the Social Media Club, and I’ll be writing more about Social Media and its impact on how we do PR in future posts. Meanwhile, to keep up to date on what’s happening in this vital area of PR and marketing, consider a membership.

There are Social Media Club events and activities springing up all over the U.S. and in other parts of the world. As the club’s tag line says: If you get it, share it!

Now that the Web Content Awareness Day 2007 web site has launched, and you’ve had a chance to read the first few articles I’ve posted in this blog, I’d like to ask YOU what kind of advice you need, related to PR and marketing. I may set up a survey, but for right now, if you’re willing to email me, I’ll try to answer your questions in future posts or articles.

By the way…who ARE my readers? Could you tell me a bit about yourself—whether you are an entrepreneur, corporate employee, manager or executive, work for a nonprofit, are an author, artist, performing artist, etc., so I have more of an idea who is reading this blog for advice. Please mention your level of experience in doing PR and marketing campaigns, what relevant issues keep you awake at night, and what specific guidance you are seeking here.

A few people asked if you can post comments on this blog—yes, you can, and your comments are welcome. When you click the link to post a comment, if you’re not already registered with WordPress, you’ll get a simple screen asking you to register for WordPress. All that means is you need a username and password. You will NOT be required to sign up for a WordPress blog—although that might be a good idea—and you will not be spammed with email from WordPress. I will review comments before posting them, mainly to make sure they’re relevant to the topic posted, and that they’re respectful of other posters’ opinions, even if you disagree. Mainly, I just want to keep the discussion focused on the topic at hand.

By the way, I tried a switcheroo today—I started this blog using the free Andreas Orange WordPress theme, and now, I’m trying the Sandbox theme. Ultimately, I hope to customize my blogs, with help from a CSS expert—anyone out there who may want to help me? Just shoot me an email. Let me know what you think of the switch, too, as I can always switch back.

What’s really interesting is how different Sandbox looks in Firefox (where the headings are ORANGE and the links are ORANGE), and Safari (where the headings are PURPLE and the links are BLUE.) In Firefox, there are also orange borders around my logos, whereas in Safari, no borders—the logos just seem to float in white space. I have not tried looking at the Sandbox theme in Explorer or Netscape yet—that should be interesting! Go figure…maybe a CSS expert can show me how to make the colors consistent and help me change the font, which I’d really love to do.

More PR and marketing tips are coming soon…meanwhile, always feel free to email me or subscribe to my e-letter, which has even more great PR and Marketing Mentor tips!