Thursday, June 25, 2009

News of Michael Jackson's Death - Media Coverage


Less than two hours after TMZ reported that Michael Jackson had died, there were nearly 4,000 news stories reported internationally on Google - and these are just the sites crawled by Google.

Flash back 29 years and I still remember hearing the news of John Lennon's death on the nightly news in 1980 - my mother was crying and I didn't really understand what his death meant. There was no question of his death - it was official. Three years prior -- the print, radio and television headlines were dominated by the death of Elvis (I still have the locket my mother gave me commemorating his death).

But today, I learned of the news after posting an article to Facebook about my public relations agency. I happened to notice that TMZ reported Michael Jackson had died. I posted on my status: "Is it true, did Micheal Jackson die?" And the responses were "yes", "No" "he's in a coma", "not sure", and "OMG." I turned on Fox News - they were at the hospital but it had not been confirmed. I turned on CNN -- there were at the hospital and at his home but it had not been confirmed. Twitter was buzzing about MJ's death and still, the news outlets had not "confirmed his death." Then I saw on Facebook that Farrah Fawcett lost her battle with cancer too. And still, the television news outlets had not confirmed Michael Jackson had died.

This all makes me wonder about the future of breaking and delivering news. Is it even possible for newspapers to "break" news stories? What about television? TMZ online had the story - broke it- Twittered it - and shared it all before news cameras, crews, and journalists had a chance.

Yes -- print run headlines on the cover tomorrow of the loss of two universal icons. Jackson will upstage Fawcett. Scandals will break. Speculators will speculate. Monthlies will look for new angles for cover stories.

And tonight, I told our children that they'll remember today (the day that Michael Jackson died) many years from now - just like we remember when Elvis and Lennon died. All universal icons - love 'em or hate 'em.
I'll remember not only that he died, but how the story was reported. News reporting and breaking news has changed forever just as Michael Jackson changed the music industry. I even remember the world-wide debut of Thriller.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Nielsen Says Twitter Grows 1,444% in One Year


Twitter Grows 1,444% Over Last Year
Time spent on site soars 175%
June 23, 2009
-By Nielsenwire

NEW YORK May 2009 data from Nielsen Online show that people continue to spend more time on social networking and blog sites than ever before. Total minutes increased 82 percent year-over-year and the average time per person increased 67 percent year-over-year in May 2009.

Twitter.com was the fastest-growing Web brand in May 2009, increasing 1,448 percent year over year, from 1.2 million unique visitors in May 2008 to 18.2 million in 2009. Despite being the fastest-growing brand year-over-year, Twitter's month-over-month growth has begun to slow, increasing 7 percent from April.

The average time per person on Twitter increased 175 percent year-over-year, from 6 minutes and 19 seconds in May 2008 to 17 minutes and 21 seconds in May 2009. However, month-over-month growth was flat, decreasing 1 percent from April 2009.Facebook and Myspace Stats:

• With 144.3 million unique visitors, Facebook was the No. 1 global social networking destination in May 2009, the seventh straight month that Facebook has ranked No. 1.

• May 2009 also marked the fifth month in a row that Facebook has been the No. 1 social networking site in the U.S., garnering 75.4 million unique visitors -- a 190 percent increase over May 2008.

• Myspace.com continued as the top social networking site when ranked by total video streams in May, with 116.1 million video streams.

• Unique viewers of video content at Myspace.com increased 22.9 percent month-over-month, from 9.9 million in April 2009 to 12.2 million in May 2009.

Adweek is a unit of the Nielsen Co.


Monday, June 22, 2009

Gina Rubel and Neen James Present Marketing, Selling & Distinguishing Yourself in a Down Market for Flex-Time Lawyers

Flex-Time Lawyers LLC will host Gina F. Rubel, Esq. and Neen James who will discuss "Marketing, Selling & Distinguishing Yourself in a Down Market" on Tuesday, June 30, 2009, from 12:30 - 2 p.m. at Blank Rome LLP.

The Blank Rome address is One Logan Square, 130 North 18th Street, 11th Floor, Philadelphia, PA. Please bring a brown bag lunch. Blank Rome will be providing drinks and dessert for attendees.

The topic: With the economic downturn, law firm layoffs and a decline in legal services, lawyers are facing the most competitive legal market in recent history. To enhance job security and future opportunities, lawyers are more pressed than ever to hone their marketing skills and distinguish themselves as leaders and key contributors in their workplace. At this program, attendees will learn how to: determine their own productivity style to make a greater impact each day; communicate proactively inside and outside the office; and, develop a means to be a leader and stand out in a crowd. Public relations expert and attorney, Gina Rubel, and international productivity expert, Neen James, will give participants the tools they need to be more productive, proactive and effective in marketing, selling and distinguishing themselves. Attendees will leave this program with both the tools and the inspiration to maximize their ability to sell themselves and demonstrate their value to colleagues and clients.

Gina F. Rubel, Esq., is President / CEO of Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. A communications expert, attorney, author and publicist, Gina F. Rubel, has handled a wide range of legal communications from internationally publicized death penalty appeals to whistleblower matters. A nationally sought-after speaker, Gina reveals the secrets to law firm communications success in her latest book, Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Gina owns Furia Rubel Communications, Inc., a public relations agency with a niche in legal communications. Furia Rubel provides expert strategic planning and public relations programs to law firms and other service providers, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Gina has received many awards, including being named one of Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business and a 2008 Woman of Distinction by the Philadelphia Business Journal. She is an active leader and participant in numerous legal and public relations organizations. For more information, go to http://www.furiarubel.com/.

Neen James, MBA, is President / CEO, Neen James Communications, LLC. She is an international productivity expert known for her ability to deliver business solutions with credibility, personality, and a genuine sense of fun. She is a high-energy speaker who has entertained and engaged audiences across the globe. Today she counts Comcast, Cisco, Virgin, Pfizer, Wyeth, FBI, BMW, Herrick, Proskauer Rose, and Feldman Shepherd among her clients. Before entering the speaking industry full time, Neen wore many corporate management hats, including general, regional, national and development manager, just to name a few. She was the executive managing director of the Philadelphia chapter of eWomen Network, a membership organization which she helped grow by nearly 750% in less than two years. From The Philadelphia Business Journal, Legal Intelligencer and Singapore Times to Working Woman, and MacWorld Magazine, Neen’s know-how has appeared in publications around the world. In fact, she has authored eight books including Network or Perish and Secrets of Super-Productivity. For more information, go to http://www.neenjames.com/.

Flex-Time Lawyers LLC is a national consulting firm advising lawyers, law students, corporations and legal employers on work/life balance and the retention and promotion of women attorneys. It provides consulting and recruiting services, hosts a membership organization, provides national speaking engagements and serves as an ongoing resource, publishing articles and fielding inquiries from the press, lawyers and employers on work/life and women's issues in the law.

How to Register: To attend the June 30 program, you will need to register with a free password on the Flex-Time Lawyers LLC web site. If you are already on the Flex-Time Lawyers LLC mailing list, go to http://www.flextimelawyers.com/forgot.asp to retrieve your password. The password will enable you to register for the June 30 and future programs, edit your online password and profile and receive new offerings of the site. Once you know your password, you can register for the June 30 program by clicking here, http://www.flextimelawyers.com/philmeeting.asp.

If you are new to the Flex-Time Lawyers LLC mailing list, please click here www.flextimelawyers.com/join.asp to join the free e-mailing list. You are welcome to attend your first program free of charge. Once you join the Flex-Time Lawyers LLC mailing list, you can register for the June 30 program by clicking here http://www.flextimelawyers.com/philmeeting.asp and receive upcoming meeting announcements and other offerings and e-mails about work/life and women's issues in the law.

If you attended a prior Flex-Time Lawyers LLC program to date, you will need to become a paid member in order to attend the June 30 program. Please go to www.flextimelawyers.com/paid.asp to review the membership terms and access a membership invoice to either mail in your membership check or bring a check or cash to the June 30 program. Credit card payment is not accepted at this time.

If you would like to attend the program on your firm's corporate membership, please e-mail Renee Newell at rnewell@flextimelawyers.com and provide your name and your Firm name that holds the corporate membership. If you have any questions about your membership status, attendance at a program or purchasing a corporate membership, please e-mail Renee Newell at rnewell@flextimelawyers.com.

Upcoming Programs: For upcoming programs that Flex-Time Lawyers LLC is participating in, please see the list below. For more information about Flex-Time Lawyers LLC and its consulting and recruiting services and to learn about upcoming events or download articles about work/life and women's issues in the law, please visit http://www.flextimelawyers.com/.

7/13/09 - Pace University School of Law, “Navigating a Successful Return in Unchartered Waters,” New York, NY.

7/22/09 - 7/23/09 - National Association of Women Lawyers Annual Awards Luncheon and surrounding programs, New York, NY. For more information and to register, click here www.nawl.org.

9/15/09 - Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers LLC Best Law Firms for Women, "Can Flexibility Save the Legal Profession? Solutions for Law Firms, Clients and Lawyers in the Economic Downturn," New York, NY.

11/20/09 - Ms. JD Conference, “Balancing Acts”, “The Road Less Traveled: Alternative Schedules”, “On-Ramps: Workforce Re-Entry”, and “Networking & Effective Self-Promotion,” Chicago, IL.

4/30/10 - American Bar Association WILL Academy, "Restructuring Law Firms in a Down Market: Alternative Models & Work/Life Flexibility as Part of the Solution," Philadelphia, PA.

Flex-Time Lawyers LLC ('Flex-Time') does not provide legal or employment law advice and no recommendations provided by Flex-Time during the operation of the Flex-Time chapter meetings, provision of consulting or recruiting services, correspondence, writings, speaking engagements or otherwise shall be construed as such. Any services provided by Deborah Epstein Henry on behalf of Flex-Time should not be interpreted as providing legal advice. For more information, contact Deborah Epstein Henry, Esq., Founder & President, Flex-Time Lawyers LLC, dehenry@flextimelawyers.com.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Civil Litigation 101 -Great Program for New Practitioners Wednesday, June 24

Posted by Katie Noonan

The Pennsylvania Bar Institute is offering an all-day seminar for new civil litigation practitioners and recent bar admittees at the CLE Conference Center in the Wanamaker Building (10th Floor, Suite 1010, Juniper Street entrance) in Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 24 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Our very own Gina Rubel will be presenting PR and Marketing for Lawyers during the seminar.

Topics that will be convered during the seminar include:

Topics will be presented by an impressive faculty which will include attorneys from many of the top law firms in Philadelphia. Attorneys in attendence will earn 6 CLE credits (Including Ethics).

For more informations, click here.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

PR Tip Today: Set up a Google Profile

PR Tip Today: Set up a solid Google profile using content rich language for SEO - I did at http://htxt.it/F9cP