I’ve spoken about the fundamentals of policy before. You can communicate all you like, but if you ain’t got . . . → Read the rest of this entry...]]> So there is this story doing the rounds that BP managed to photoshop some pictures – check out the blog post by Andrew Price on the GOOD blog.

I’ve spoken about the fundamentals of policy before. You can communicate all you like, but if you ain’t got the policy, I’m not convinced.

Having said that, this story about BP and photoshop reminded me of this Greek proverb “Όποιος καεί στο χυλό, φυσάει και το γιαούρτι” – which loosely (really loosely) translated means that if you’ve burned your tongue with soup you probably blow on yoghurt before you taste it as well.

It would be good to keep this in mind in times of crisis.

At times like that isn’t better to make sure that every single part of the organisation – especially the outwards looking ones – are just like saints? (or nuns. or whatever)

Fine, I get it, it was all a bit of an aesthetic change, nothing significant. Still, when confidence in a company has taken a grave blow, perhaps it’s time to make sure that everything is 100%, crystal clear and transparent quite unlike the Gulf of Mexico.

I’m just saying. Think yoghurt.

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Beer O'Clock Uploaded by Ben Harris-Roxas on 24 Feb 06, 4.44PM BST

Stan Schroeder reports over on Mashable that the poor bloke who lost that iPhone has been offered a free trip by Lufthansa. (Original story on CBS news)

In . . . → Read the rest of this entry...]]>

Beer O'Clock Uploaded by Ben Harris-Roxas on 24 Feb 06, 4.44PM BST

Stan Schroeder reports over on Mashable that the poor bloke who lost that iPhone has been offered a free trip by Lufthansa. (Original story on CBS news)

In a few words this is how it went. Gray Powell, Apple engineer, goes for a drink at a German beer place and looses an iPhone prototype. Apple being legendary for its secrecy you can realise that all hell broke loose. On a completely unconnected note (you would have thought), Lufthansa opens up a Bavarian Beer Garden Business Lounge in Munich.

Enter the brilliance of the Lufthansa staff in terms of communications, engagement, marketing, beer, life, the universe and everything.

They actually write to Gray Powell in a very very nice tone and offer him a free business class trip to Munich so that he can enjoy his German beer and relax from all the onslaught.

Now if that is not an epic win I don’t know what is.

Why can’t companies be as innovative as this and as engaging as this more often?

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UPDATE: Thanks to my twitter chums (@fotious and @larios) for asking some questions after publishing this for giving me an opportunity to clarify a bit more what I think about this one.

1. Lufthansa was nice
Their letter was lovely and polite. They didn’t make fun of him, just offered a break in a lovely and friendly way.

2. Lufthansa realised the opportunity that a disaster represented
And they took advantage sensitively and with good humour (unlike others in the recent volcano disruption)

3. Lufthansa let others do the talking
From what I understand (correct me if I am wrong) the company approached Powell and he chose to make the letter public. Kudos to the big bad corporate monster for keeping quiet in the meantime.

4. Lufthansa made a brilliant connection
Between geeks, bloggers, travellers and the social media world. A lot of people who will discuss this and write about it and advertise it and and and…

5. Lufthansa created value
Let’s say Powell never made the letter public. Lufthansa has given away a flight but gained a happy customer – who’ll probably chat about it to some of his friends. Let’s say Powell made it public (he did). Lufthansa effectively gives a free ticket and gets a free, huge, self-perpetuating marketing and communications campaign. Which strikes people as basically smart, funny and honest.

In the meantime other companies are trying to discuss return on investment and other management speak gobbledygook. While the true value comes from real actions with real people.

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UPDATE 2 (24 April, 14:45):  I initially read that Powell made the letter public but I now found this - from Lufthansa – which shows the letter as an Open Letter. Disregard all my comments on privacy – I still think it was a stroke of genius but a touch cheeky if they really did put it out there as an open letter.

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Outdoor advertising campaign from the Greek National Tourism Organisation

I’ve been reading quite a lot lately regarding this year’s advertising campaign for tourism in Greece, organised – as it happens every year – by the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO). The campaign has been . . . → Read the rest of this entry...]]>

Outdoor advertising campaign from the Greek National Tourism Organisation

I’ve been reading quite a lot lately regarding this year’s advertising campaign for tourism in Greece, organised – as it happens every year – by the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO). The campaign has been presented (and defended) in the media by politicians and criticised in the media and blogosphere. Interestingly I’ve only seen the debate in Greek (which, for an “international” campaign I would assume kinda beats the purpose?)

I don’t want to go into the campaign itself nor do I want to discuss the creative element. Advertising is not my domain. However, I know policy and communications. And I think it’s a mistake when marketing is used as an attempt to cover up bad or non existent policy.

Greece is a lovely country, granted. Montenegro is an equally lovely country. It is impossible for tourism nowadays to be based on a model that is antiquated and redundant, that of beauty, sun and sea. In other words, for Greece to actually make a difference and continue being a tourism destination, as well as develop the industry more for the future it needs a number of competitive advantages.

What those competitive advantages should be is a decision for the market AND the regulator/ ministry. Incentivising the tourism industry to develop a number of characteristics and offerings requires robust policy planning and development as well as stakeholder engagement both on a national and international level. All parts of the market need to work together on this and realise that Greece is competing on an international plateau of destinations and traveller preferences.

Taking advantage of Greece’s natural beauty has been a haphazard process so far; we seem to have assumed that people will come, disregard all other elements that make up a holiday experience, and just stand in awe of a scenery that is already being destroyed by over-development and inadequate environmental safeguards.

Without robust and well-developed policies any industry will fall into disorganisation and at some point into disrepute (if it hasn’t already). Big players make the market their own, new players and innovation is discouraged. A culture of short-sighted money grabbing schemes prevails and in the long run the whole industry suffers.

This is where policy development and stakeholder engagement comes in – and critically it will need to come in before marketing campaigns. Policy is the building block of any industry and it is currently missing from Greek tourism. Any marketeer who is worth their salt will tell you that advertising is all very well and good but if it misrepresents the product it will ultimately cause more hurt than profit.

I am hoping that the debates on the latest marketing campaign will slowly shift from the advertisements themselves to the underlying structure of the market.

Otherwise, I can’t see how the country can secure the tourism industry and encourage its further development.

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Full disclosure: I work for SoMaFusion, a digital comms agency which also works in the hospitality and travel sectors.

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~ Paris ~ Gare du Nord le matin ~ Uploaded by Janey Kay on 27 Oct 09, 9.55PM BST.

Apart from everything else the eruption beneath Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull glacier and the ash cloud . . . → Read the rest of this entry...]]>

~ Paris ~ Gare du Nord le matin ~ Uploaded by Janey Kay on 27 Oct 09, 9.55PM BST.

Apart from everything else the eruption beneath Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull glacier and the ash cloud it created that forced airspace closures across northern Europe throws up in the air an unprecedented opportunity for transport policy makers and lobbyists – albeit perhaps not the ones from the airline industry.

Travelling overland – and especially by rail – has a number of advantages that are rarely presented in a convincing manner and I find it a bit disappointing. The volcano eruption and the travel chaos it left in its wake bring to sharp focus our reliance on air travel in a time when trains can be a lot more sustainable, safe and relaxed (considering the chaos of the security restrictions) to name just a few of the positives.

I’m not trying to say that air travel is bad. I think it has a purpose and it’s great. However, it seems to have taken over the world and the balance is gone in… (pun intended) in a cloud of smoke.

Lower costs in flights, constantly lower investments into rail networks and exorbitant train ticket prices (to name just a few) have left rail with an image of a dilapidated ancient system that has little to offer. Projects about high speed rail are announced again and again and then seem to go away quietly into the night. While on the other hand airport expansion plans abound and seem to progress quickly. What can the rail industry do better I wonder in terms of lobbying and engagement?

The profound disruption of these last few days is a marvellous opportunity for a media, policy and public affairs offensive from the rail industry which I don’t see happening (at least in the public domain). The situation is a perfect storm and a blessing in disguise for alternative means of travel and not just for the rail industry. Sustainability experts, green lobbyists, related trade associations, politicians with an alternative and sustainable travel agenda where are you?

I’m just wondering when we’re going to see them get out there and make their arguments.

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After nagging endlessly about the abysmal search facility on twitter I can’t resist being very enthusiastic about Google Real Time Search.

Now, immediately after conducting a search, you can see live updates from people on popular sites like Twitter and FriendFeed, as well as headlines from . . . → Read the rest of this entry...]]>

After nagging endlessly about the abysmal search facility on twitter I can’t resist being very enthusiastic about Google Real Time Search.

Now, immediately after conducting a search, you can see live updates from people on popular sites like Twitter and FriendFeed, as well as headlines from news and blog posts published just seconds before. When they are relevant, we’ll rank these latest results to show the freshest information right on the search results page.
(via)

I had a chat with some friends yesterday on this (they did me the honour of inviting me to their podcast #NoNameCast – sadly only available in Greek) and we had a bit of a debate on whether this is a gimmicky thing for Google.

I certainly don’t think it is  gimmicky even though I am looking at it from the point of view of Communications, Public Affairs and Policy professionals rather than users in general.

Immediate access to what is going on
It might not give me time to truly analyse but I’ll know on the spot. Invaluable if a big story is breaking and you work in a Press Office.

Immediate access to blog posts
You won’t have to wait for your press mentions service to report to you once a week. If you need to know now you can find out now.

Getting a ‘feeling’ for what’s going on
Do not underestimate how important it is for comms people to have a ‘feeling’ for what is going on out there. Sometimes it’s equally important with the more substantiated view that serious analysis can give you.

Be on top of the ‘now’
Sometimes it’s important to understand what is going on now. This is not to underestimate the value of good analysis and substantiated research. It’s just that you may be on your way to a meeting or a brainstorming session and you’d like to understand the ‘now’ of the equation.

Can’t wait to see how this will develop.

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Read on:
Relevance meets the real-time web by Amit Singhal on The Official Google Blog
Google finally gets real-time by David Meerman Scott on Web Ink Now

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I don’t know why but as comms people we frequently get over-excited by the latest shiny thing. In that respect I think we are a little bit like academic researchers – go crazy . . . → Read the rest of this entry...]]>
Anti-Social Media?
Uploaded by Intersection Consulting on 23 Apr 09, 6.48PM BST.

I don’t know why but as comms people we frequently get over-excited by the latest shiny thing. In that respect I think we are a little bit like academic researchers – go crazy over something and think it has an application absolutely everywhere.

These days it’s social media. We just stick it into whatever comms strategy comes to mind as if the awesomeness of twitter and facebook (which are either way disputable) is enough to elevate a campaign and make it relevant. Which is of course ridiculous.

I seem to recall that the same thing was happening a few years ago when it came to campaign micro sites and website design with heat maps and eye-tracking technology. The whole world went mad over trials that were expensive, thorough and in some cases completely unnecessary.

There is a question that comes before social media. There is a question that comes before design. There is a questions that comes before heat maps.

There is a question of substance that comes before appearance.

Who are you and what do you want to do?

This question addresses the two fundamental aspects of an online digital strategy. Your identity and your goals.
Without them we can give you all the shiny tools in the world. And you will – sadly – still be struggling to make sense.

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Following a database meltdown (long live the server move processes) this post and the comments were uploaded again manually.

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It’s time for the Greek elections (again – they seem to happen more and more often) and I am watching with more interest than it . . . → Read the rest of this entry...]]>
Kostas Karamanlis – current Greek Prime Minister
Uploaded by Νέα Δημοκρατία on 26 Sep 09, 10.19AM GMT.

It’s time for the Greek elections (again – they seem to happen more and more often) and I am watching with more interest than it can possibly be good for me.

As always my interest revolves around political communications (public affairs will do that to you) and I have been watching digital communications attempts by the Greek political parties especially closely. Not to mention that I can’t vote (you can’t vote for Greek national election from abroad).

I will leave PASOK (Greek Socialist Party, currently the opposition) aside for now, I’ve mentioned before that in terms of online engagement and digital communications they have a well thought out strategy and seem to be innovating every day.

The current government party, ND (Nea Dimokratia/ New Democracy) has been lagging behind for quite some time in terms of online communications and engagement for quite some time with the possible exception of some of their most prominent members like the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dora Bakoyanni.

It seems that the upcoming election has nudged ND out of its traditional comms position and onto some engagement projects. The most talked about in the Greek blogsphere these days is what the party calls LIVE with the President, which quickly became known as #askND, due to the Twitter hashtag they have asked people to use when they are submitting questions to their Party Leader (usually called President in Greece) and current Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis (pictured).

The process is quite clear. Users can submit any number of questions they like via Twitter using the relevant hashtag. These questions will then go on to the ND blog and a voting process will begin. Kostas Karamanlis will answer the 10 most popular ones via “LIVE streaming video” (capitalisation theirs – as if answering live to a set of pre-set questions is some sort of an achievement which – duh – it’s not!).

As you can imagine all hell broke loose. Sure there were a lot of questions but let’s look into some worrying trends for a bit.

• Some questions were serious and legitimate
• More questions were a bit on the humorous side (well, quite a lot)
• Some questions (and here is the fun part) came from Twitter users with 0 friends and 0 followers

And here lies the problem. By seeing quite a large number of questions submitted by newbies on Twitter the Greek Twitter community started asking uncomfortable questions. Who are these people? Are the questions planted? How can we trust the process? How can we know for sure that the voting will be honest? (nikan visualised some of these – blog post in Greek)

New users posing questions is obviously quite legitimate. They might have seen the project on ND’s website and decided to start a Twitter account in order to participate – nothing wrong with that.

Leaving the Greek love of conspiracy theories aside, the problem is with how ND is actually running the process.

There is nobody to answer concerns
See, if PASOK had done the same and the same questions were raised they have a team of quite recognisable people (let’s call them Community Engagement Managers even though it’s an inaccurate term for what they do) who would step in and answer any concerns. The PASOK people would have been largely believed because they have been present for years and they have built up their credibility. There is nobody from ND doing the same and even if they did they are an unknown quantity – why should the community believe them?

Last minute engagement counts for very little
It’s a bit worrying that ND jumped onto the online engagement bandwagon so late in the day. It looks as if an election simply forced them to talk to people. Not cool with hardcore Twitter users and bloggers (and in Greece the majority is hardcore)

Discuss the process – be there
It’s a lovely idea and hats off to them for organising it but they are underselling it massively by not actually being there to fight for it. It’s too late for them to build credibility now but something could have been done if they nominated one of their comms people to handle this campaign and defend it to the online world.

If you’re doing it for traditional media exposure you’ve won
It all depends of course. This kind of project can be marvellous for getting you some exposure into traditional Greek media who might not understand the subtleties of online engagement. A tv news report into the wonderful project by ND will actually communicate an air of ‘we are here for the voter – we are listening to your problems’ instantly. So from that perspective I would count this as a short – term win.

The point of course is there is nobody to ask about all this.

Such a shame.

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I’ve been browsing various websites lately – especially design studios, small hosting service providers and web development companies (I’ll disclose soon why). It strikes me as extremely weird why people would not put their name on their websites. . . . → Read the rest of this entry...]]>
wedding name tags
Originally uploaded by [nico] www.nicodewal.com

I’ve been browsing various websites lately – especially design studios, small hosting service providers and web development companies (I’ll disclose soon why). It strikes me as extremely weird why people would not put their name on their websites. There are so many that I saw that had no name whatsoever. The content was about ‘we do this and that’ but no information on the people. At all.

Talking about small or niche service providers I just don’t like not seeing a name. It makes me think that the person is embarrassed or something is amiss. In the age of online reputation and network building why would you conceal that type of information?

I want to see your name because it makes me feel like …

• … you take pride in what you do
• … you are willing to associate your name with your work
• … you are a real person and we can do real work together
• … you have a past, a present and a future (workwise) that you will hopefully share with me
• … somehow I know you a little bit better

Why are these things important? I had a bit of a chat with online friends about my annoyance at the lack of names and information on some websites. A friend mentioned that the product should interest me more than the person. I don’t doubt that at all. And I am not trying to underestimate the product. But!

Especially with services like design, content and development the product is not a finished thing – it’s not like a can of beans that will always be the same. For example the niche London design studios (I don’t mean to brag but the city is quite famous for them) have designers that are quite well known in the relevant circles. You trust the person for their past work, their work ethics and their reputation within the industry because when you give them a brief you try to minimise the risk.

Hence, when it comes to me browsing your website I want to be able to feel like you are a real person. I might even ask my network if they know you, if they’ve seen work done by you. How else can I take the risk?

What do you think? Is my extreme exposure to social media making me a bit weird on this one?

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And now for something completely different: Two companies that actually helped me online and engaged with me and responded to me via social media.

You know how we all nag ALL THE TIME about companies who don’t get it? It’s . . . → Read the rest of this entry...]]>
Customer Service Hero
Originally uploaded by lepriveconcierge

And now for something completely different: Two companies that actually helped me online and engaged with me and responded to me via social media.

You know how we all nag ALL THE TIME about companies who don’t get it? It’s difficult to count how many times I’ve read/ written blog posts about things that we don’t like and companies with major fails in engagement and comms.

Well, here are two very good stories for you – good examples of why I was a happy bunny after talking with these people.

TOPHOST.GR

Tophost is a company offering hosting/ support/ registrar etc. services. They were running a clever promotion a few days ago via twitter. You basically had to RT them and follow them to get a free .eu domain (I got one). I thought it was a clever promo – they had 600 domains and they went pretty quickly.

I went to their website to set up the thing and discovered that they system would not accept my postcode. You see, in Greece postcodes are numbers only whereas in Britain they are alphanumeric. The system refused to accept that my postcode could have letters. “Major fail” I thought but then saw their little online support icon.

Let me be clear. I don’t trust these web based chat systems I had yet to find a company who actually responded in time through them. Not tophost.gr. They were quick, polite, realised exactly what the issue is and fixed it for me on the spot.

I was so pleasantly surprised that I sent out a tweet about it. They responded with their thanks via twitter. Our network Re-Tweeted. Happy all around.

PAPAKI.GR

Papaki is basically a registrar (I know, I agree, their website is a kinda allover the place) but I noticed that they had a good offer of free hosting with any .eu domain (I need it for a static website I’m planning, more on that another time). So I went and bought one, submitted my credit cards details and waited for the e-mail.

First I got one that said they would need to verify my order. It was after 15.00 on Saturday so I had to wait until Monday. I found that a bit redundant since I was paying by credit card but anyway. Second e-mail arrives first thing Monday morning asking me to call their customer services dept. to verify the order. Call. On the phone. On a Greek landline. “Ach, major fail” I thought but being the little nosy parker that I am I actually updated on friendfeed about it including @papaki. Fine, I accept that they might have internal processes that require verification for new customers (the lady on the phone was lovely by they way). But why do I call THEM? Why not give me a callback option?

Hey presto they come back to me via twitter, apologising for the inconvenience and reassuring me that they are already changing the process to include a callback. They even thanked me for the feedback and invited other users to make any suggestions they might have.

YOU GET THE POINT?

Both companies had some sort of process that I didn’t like or prevented me from using their services. Both companies were thinking too locally (Greek postcodes, Greek phonenumber) and papaki has the added complexity of a process that I just don’t understand.

But (and here is the good stuff)

1) Make it easy for me to complain/ ask for help
They both have online chat, visible e-mails, comment submit forms, they are on twitter. The more channels you offer me the higher the probability that I will ask you to resolve it instead of closing the browser and going to one of your competitors.

2) Come back to me yesterday
Yes, we are all spoiled, we want an answer as soon as possible. Both companies came back to me quickly, people took responsibility for my issue and resolved it. No forwarding, no holding for another department. On the spot.

3) Listen to comments, change when you need to, adapt when you can’t change.
Tophost changed and I completed my order with my UK postcode. Papaki probably can’t change their process but they are adapting – they are now adding the option of callback.

4) Be there as a person AND company, thank the user, involve the community.
Alkistis is on twitter for tophost. Marianna for papaki. They are identifieable people for their companies. We exchanged some tweets these days – isn’t it funny how I now view both companies in a very good light? Not only did they deal with my issues but they publicly engaged with me, thanking me, inviting more people to participate.

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By the way. A bit unconnected with the post but it needs to be said. What is up with Heraklion, Crete? Both companies are there. The Foundation for Research and Technology is there. Really worthwhile stuff is coming out of the place. I suspect it’s got something to do with the University of Crete having a campus there and nobody wanting to leave after but can please somebody go to Heraklion and study their innovation cluster?

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Anything new crops up and we think that we are inventing the world all over again. In my experience we don’t. We are just re-discovering things that others have said a lot better (and researched a lot more diligently) than us. . . . → Read the rest of this entry...]]>
Multiple Personalities
Originally uploaded by moostang78

Anything new crops up and we think that we are inventing the world all over again. In my experience we don’t. We are just re-discovering things that others have said a lot better (and researched a lot more diligently) than us. I have a number of theories in mind but the recent acquisition of friendfeed by facebook reminded me of the dramaturgical perspective.

I use the various tools on the web differently. Facebook for me is a closed network, used for friends and family (I certainly don’t want my boss to know what I did over the weekend). Friendfeed is a public lifestream, sure I meet people, we jest, we chat, we share likes and interests. I don’t need to know them. Here is a fundamental difference. I will publish a picture of me and my sweetheart in a tender hug on Facebook – people who know me will see it. I will NOT publish a picture like that on Friendfeed. People who don’t know me will make assumptions. I don’t like it.

Why do I do that? Because I act. I create characters every day. Sofia as a member of staff, Sofia as a student, Sofia as a daughter, Sofia as a lover. They are different facets of the same woman but people don’t see the whole. They see 1) what I want to show and 2) what is relevant to the relationship and the situation. This might sound a bit weird but we all do it – as Erving Goffman has so eloquently discussed in his lovely book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.

Goffman’s greatest contribution to social theory is his formulation of symbolic interaction as dramaturgical perspective in his 1956 book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, which begins with an epigraph by George Santayana about masks. Largely working within the tradition of symbolic interactionist, he greatly elaborated on its central concepts and application. For Goffman, society is not homogeneous. We must act differently in different settings. The context we have to judge is not society at large, but the specific context. Goffman suggests that life is a sort of theater, but we also need a parking lot and a cloak room: there is a wider context lying beyond the face-to-face symbolic interaction.
(via Wikipedia)

According to Goffman, the social actor has the ability to choose his stage and props, as well as the costume he would put on in front of a specific audience. The actor’s main goal is to keep his coherence, and adjust to the different settings offered him.
(via Wikipedia)

Allow me to (clumsily) transpose the theory onto the web. Sofia Gkiousou on Facebook is different than Sofia Gkiousou on LinkedIn and once again different sofiagk on friendfeed. In the same way that this blog is more about work and my academic blog is more about university. Why do we do this?

People don’t know us
Why would the whole world be interested in every single thing I do? If you are into academia you’ll go to the other blog. If you are into comms you’ll stay here (well, hopefully). If you are my mother you want to see the picture from my birthday party on Facebook. If you are an acquaintance you want to see my bookmarks on Friendfeed. Sure perhaps I’ll also publish a pic of the cake but not the one with all of my friends.

People don’t need to know us
You don’t need to know me as a person. You only need to get the information you require. In the same way that my colleague doesn’t need to see a funny picture on Facebook but they might be interested in an interesting bookmark on friendfeed. If we get friendly in the process even better. But that can’t happen with everyone.

Our identity determines the use of the tool
By having clear barriers in mind it becomes easier to use each tool according to your needs. If you want to keep some things personal Facebook is ideal (apart from, well, some glitches here and there). If you want to share some things with the world you go onto other platforms. Sure, you may want to use complicated lists, permissions and grouping on Facebook. I find that tiring (which again, is part of my identity)

The tool guides our identity
Take my picture for example. It’s that same across all platforms except on LinkedIn. I wear a suit in that one. I look straight on. It’s my office pic. It says different things about me and so it should.

Other actors know the rules too!
As Goffman puts it we socially have a definition in any given interaction (this offers coherency). Hence most actors understand how I use Facebook and how I use LinkedIn. Granted, some times I need to explain but that’s because the platforms are not as old as other ‘places’ like for example how one behaves at a family function.

Misunderstanding this fundamental function and operation of social action/ representation may lead onto designing tools and platforms that bring all of our identities under one umbrella. I suspect that people will be reluctant to flatten out all of their interactions.

What do you think?

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Hat Tip
Hugh Isaacs II for the chat on a Robert Scoble friendfeed update

Read On:
FriendFeed accepts Facebook friend request by Bret Taylor on friendblog
Facebook Acquires FriendFeed (Updated) by Jason Kinkaid on TechCrunch
Facebook Acquires FriendFeed by Adam Ostrow on Mashable
Facebook Users: Here’s What FriendFeed Brings to the Family by Marshall Kirkpatrick on Read Write Web
Oh, FriendFeed is now Facebook’s “official” R&D department! by Robert Scoble on Scobleizer

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