Chris Carosa, Author at Chris Carosa

The Best Social Media Manual… Ever! A Book Review of David Meerman Scott’s The New Rules of Marketing & PR

By Chris Carosa on January 25, 2010

“What’s the best book I should read to get started with this whole ‘social media’ thing?” When I asked my good friend @mikefixs this question last year, he strongly suggested I read David Meerman Scott’s The New Rules of Marketing & PR, originally published in 2007 with an updated paperback published in 2009. This may represent one of the best pieces of advice on the subject I’ve ever received.

Why?

To begin, just take a look at the author’s subtitle: “How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing & Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly.” What else can I say except, “It works.”

Here’s how.

Continue Reading “The Best Social Media Manual… Ever! A Book Review of David Meerman Scott’s The New Rules of Marketing & PR”

Posted in Book Reviews Tagged astronomytop100, blog, buyer persona, content delivery, David Meerman Scott, e-book, e-mail, facebook, fiduciarynews, forum, LinkedIn, News Release, news site, Online Media, podcast, Podcasting, Press Release, report, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, social networking, The Long Tail, The New Rules of Marketing & PR, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, Twitter, videocast, Viral Marketing, Web 2.0, Web-Based Communication, webinar, white paper, Wiki

Western New York Media Market: Whole Greater than Sum?

By Chris Carosa on January 18, 2010

A decade ago, before the financial crisis that opened the first decade of the new millennium, Adelphia Communications, in addition to a cable channel called the Empire Sports Network, owned a radio station with the call letters WNSA. The two worked in tandem and, at least until the falling stock market exposed the Regis family, this modest media juggernaut gained a respectful audience.

On the cusp of a content driven era, the small cable company had, together with the Buffalo Bills, successfully begun to build connections within a broader Western New York Region. This bigger footprint would include not only Buffalo and Niagara Falls, but also Rochester, Jamestown and several other cities within the roughly seventeen western-most counties of New York State. With a growing national market, Adelphia offered the allure of becoming the new century’s CNN (or at least ESPN). And with its intention to build an impressive headquarters in the state’s Queen City, Buffalo finally had a new hope – one that might bring it to rival Atlanta in cable communications.

But, as it seems to have happened to our region ever since Canada left us no choice but to build the Saint Lawrence Seaway, fate once again dealt a bad hand. Continue Reading “Western New York Media Market: Whole Greater than Sum?”

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged 107.7, Adelphia, Bills, Buffalo, Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Channel 2, CNN, D&C, Democrat & Chronicle, Democrat and Chronicle, Empire Sports Network, Enron, Entercom, ESPN, Jamestown, New York, New York State, Niagara Falls, Queen City, Regis, Rochester, Sabres, Saint Lawrence Seaway, Southern Tier, The Lake, Western New York, Western NY, Wethersfield, WGRZ, WGRZ-AM, WGRZ-TV, WLKK, WNSA, WNSA-FM, WROC-AM, Wyoming County

The Snow Monster Returns: Buffalo Bills, Undefeated for the Decade!

By Chris Carosa on January 4, 2010

Should I stay home or should I go?

With red letter snow warnings, ominous travel advisories and a plethora of church service cancellations, the question wavered annoyingly in my own mind and unspoken on my worried wife’s barely wakened lips.

Should I stay or should I go?

The last game of the season. A meaningless game. Against a team that expects to bench most of its starting players. The beleaguered Buffalo Bills, banished for the past decade to the Siberia of no-playoffs, have done little to earn back the loyalty of staunch fans since the heresy of hiring Tom Donahoe. Why should any humble fan place their body in harm’s way, especially when the kind Gods of Time-Warner decided to sell-out the game (the only way they could then broadcast it to local viewers).

Should I stay or should I go?

Continue Reading “The Snow Monster Returns: Buffalo Bills, Undefeated for the Decade!”

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged Batavia, Bills, blizzard, bomb, Bruce Smith, Buffalo, Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Charlie Brown, Days Inn, DiPaolo, Dipaolo's, HSBC Arena, Ilio, Ilio DiPaolo, Ilio DiPaolo's, Ilio's, Jim Kelly, Kodiak, Lake Erie, Lake-effect Snow, Marine Midland Arena, New York State Thruway, Ralph Wilson Stadium, ravioli, Rochester, Sabres, snow, Snow storm, Terrel Owens, Thruway, TO, Tom Donahoe, touchdown, Twitter, Victor, Western New York, Western New Yorker, Western NY

It’s a Wonderful Western New York Life

By Chris Carosa on December 23, 2009

For the umpteenth time I find myself watching Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. Yet, in all the years those reels have run through my retinal receptors, for the first time I really see the poignant – if unintended – metaphor.

We – Western New York – are Bedford Falls.

I don’t mean in the literal sense like Seneca Falls. I don’t mean in the physical-proximity sense because the movie mentions Buffalo and Rochester. And I don’t mean in the meteorological sense because those are definitely lake-effect snowflakes in the film. Rather, I speak of a much more mysterious philosophical aura that borders on the eerie similarities of tragic prognostication laced with a fringe of hope.

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Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged Bedford Falls, Berman, Bills, Binghamton, Buffalo, Buffalo Bills, Capra, Chris Berman, Clarence, Elmira, Finger Lakes, Frank Capra, George Bailey, It's a Wonderful Life, Lake-effect Snow, Rochester, Seneca Falls, Tom Sawyer, Western New York

Six Things I Discovered From My Twitter Experiment

By Chris Carosa on December 17, 2009

Have you ever read a book that offered a great idea and wondered if it really worked? That’s precisely what I felt after I read Twitter Power by @Joel Comm (here’s the book review). In the book the author outlines a 30-day plan for “dominating Twitter.” So from November 14, 2009 through December 13, 2009 I conducted an experiment. In the process, I discovered these six critical facts about my Twitter use. Has your own Twitter experience revealed similar eye-openers?

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Posted in 30-Days to Dominate Twitter Experiment Tagged Brogan, Chris Brogan, honesty, Joel Comm, Putting It All Together: A 30-Day Plan for Dominating Twitter, tweeting, Twitter, Twitter Power, Web 2.0

Final Tally – Midnight, December 13, 2009 – Did It Really Work?

By Chris Carosa on December 15, 2009

Start of Day Twitter Stats: Follow: 172 Followers: 194 Listed: 9

Missed yesterday? Go here to read what happened on Day 30 – December 13, 2009 (Sun): Have Fun!

Above you see the final tally as of Midnight, Day 30. In fairness, if I used the same criteria as in all other previous days, the number would have been reported as of the following morning: 202 followers. Who estimated the closest? @mikegastin, who guessed 207. If you’re interest Mike, I hit 207 late on the 31^st day. Now, before anyone says anything, Mike was also the first person to guess – on Day 13 – so he really did do the best job.

@mikegastin wants a free trip to Aruba as a result of his grand prognostication. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything the budget for prizes, so the notoriety of the mention represents all I have to offer. Hopefully, it’s good enough. On the other hand, Mike might be pleased to know Continue Reading “Final Tally – Midnight, December 13, 2009 – Did It Really Work?”

Posted in 30-Days to Dominate Twitter Experiment Tagged Aruba, astronomy, astronomytop100, bar, bikini, fiduciarynews, Gastin, hotspot, momentum, niche, social media, social media campaign, tequila, Web 2.0, wi-fi

Day 29 – December 12, 2009 (Sat): Find Followers on Your New Timeline

By Chris Carosa on December 13, 2009

Start of Day Twitter Stats: Follow: 165 Followers: 160 Listed: 10

Missed yesterday? Go here to read what happened on Day 28 – December 11, 2009 (Fri): Create a Second Timeline

Here we sit with less than 48 hours to go in this experiment. We (my daughters and I) started a new timeline – @MightyMovie, a classic movie quote Twitter account meant to direct followers to my daughter’s classic movie teen review site. Cesidia takes care of the reviews and Catarina takes care of the quotes. I did this most of the day with my daughters. The going was slow at first, but I think I created a monster in Catarina.

And then @mikegastin asks me something that takes me back to my newspaper days:

@ChrisCarosa Did you break the @chrisbrogan story?

Continue Reading “Day 29 – December 12, 2009 (Sat): Find Followers on Your New Timeline”

Posted in 30-Days to Dominate Twitter Experiment Tagged Chris Brogan, Chris Voss, Honeoye Falls, Lima, Mendon, Mighty Movie Moments, movie, newspaper, quote, review, RSS, RSS Feed, Sentinel, teen, teenager

Day 28 – December 11, 2009 (Fri): Create a Second Timeline

By Chris Carosa on December 12, 2009

Start of Day Twitter Stats: Follow: 156 Followers: 147 Listed: 9

Missed yesterday? Go here to read what happened on Day 27 – December 10, 2009 (Thu): Have Fun!

Do you love watching classic movies? I mean movies that have withstood the test of time. Made more than 25 years ago (that would be 1984 for all you Orwellians in cyberspace), you can still view them in their entirety to this day and still not notice the ravages of time. Perhaps you’ve seen a particular magical scene over and over, but its message resonates as if eyed for the very first time. Wouldn’t it be great to pass these moments on to the next generation? After all, whether we admit it or not, these cinematic features have framed our lives. They’ve become a legacy for us to will to our young.

But, what do adolescents think of classic movies? Without the benefit of our years of living, will they take away the same meaning? Will the aged reels of celluloid unwind the same emotional response in them? I’ve finally figured out a way to discover this once and for all. Would you like to me to share it with you?

Continue Reading “Day 28 – December 11, 2009 (Fri): Create a Second Timeline”

Posted in 30-Days to Dominate Twitter Experiment Tagged adolescent, Anderson, bit.ly, blogger, Chris Anderson, Christmas, Christmas tree, cinema, classic movie, classic movie actor, classic movie line, Clout, e-book, famous movie actor, famous movie line, film, George Orwell, Google Analytics, Influence, Long Tail, marketing, Mighty Movie Moments, MightyMovie, movie, movie line, movie star, movie title, next generation, Orwell, page views, problogger, promotion, scene, selling, twitalyzer

Day 27 – December 10, 2009 (Thu): Have Fun!

By Chris Carosa on December 11, 2009

Start of Day Twitter Stats: Follow: 152 Followers: 137 Listed: 8

Missed yesterday? Go here to read what happened on Day 26 – December 9, 2009 (Wed): Drive Followers to Purchase Without a Special Offer

Charlie Brown snowflakes – don’t you just love them? I do.

Today’s the day I substituted for Monday. Today, instead of having fun – well, I guess this is sort of fun anyway – I try to drive followers to a blog – my blog – ChrisCarosa.com. Here’s the strategy I used: Every other tweet I tell the followers I’m tweeting the daily results of Chris Carosa’s 30-Day Plan to Dominate Twitter Experiment all day. In between, I send them a link to a different day’s update. Oh, yeah, as for the header, I used @joelcomm and #TwitterPower. Will this repetition annoy people? I’m about to find out.

Continue Reading “Day 27 – December 10, 2009 (Thu): Have Fun!”

Posted in 30-Days to Dominate Twitter Experiment Tagged blog, Britney, call to action, celebrity, compelling offer, copywriter, copywriting, external link, fast food, free lunch, hash tag, hashtag, honesty, Link, lose weight, marketing strategy, more sex, NASCAR, Survey Monkey, Tease, Title, Trending Topic