The On-Going Conversation: Blogs

Detroit: The Dormant City?

The census revealed that Detroit's population fell 25% in ten years, equaling 250,000 and the equivalency of 1 person every 22 minutes.

The mayor will challenge the recent numbers in light of it directly impacting the cities federal funding. This thriving metropolis was once the firth largest city in the United States, but has continued to dwindle in population as the manufacturing industry has declined.

With more and more people moving out of Detroit, the city is virtually abandoned in some areas. Is this a public relations nightmare or an opportunity to revitalize? We all realize how resilient the city is, although perpetual hard-ache can lead to discouragement and a lack of consolidated effort on a local governmental level.

However, I have noticed an increased number of advertisements showcasing The Motor City, but will it be enough to transform the distressed state of Detroit into an appealing place to call home?

Mar 28, 2011 9:12:56 PM | Blogging, Blogs, Brand, Branding, Brands, Business, Business Media, Business Relations, Cities, City, Communities, Economy, Environment, Global Business, Global PR, Government, Healthy Cities, Jobs Media, Location, Location Marketing, Marketing, Minneapolis, Minneapolis PR, Minnesota, Online Media, PR, Public Relations

Innovation in Healthcare with a Jeopardy Champion

Watson, the computer that defeated elite Jeopardy players in February is re-thinking domination, by helping diagnose and treat patients.

Read the full article via Mashable

Mar 21, 2011 10:05:34 PM | Blogging, Blogs, Disease, Doctors, Health , Health Care, Health MN, Healthcare, IBM, Industry, Innovation, Jeopardy!, Maintain, Manage, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Healthcare, Minneapolis PR, MN Health, MN Medical, Nurses, Smart Health, Smart MN Health, Tech News, Tech PR, Technological, Technology

A Social Reality: Choose Wisely

As human beings and social animals, we look for guidance from the people we choose to surround ourselves with; that's what we do best.

Mar 17, 2011 9:57:26 PM | Blogging, Blogs, Cities, Communication, Communities, Customer Service, information, International Relations, Life, Living, Minneapolis, Minnesota, PR, Public Relations, Social Media, Social Relations, Social Strategy, Twin Cities, Twin Cities PR

Visa: They're Everywhere Customers Want Them to Be

Visa recently announced the ability of U.S. Visa cardholders to send and receive funds from other customers throughout the world, which may make the financial market even easier to navigate.

However, will this potentially put the market at an even more volatile state, with more financial transactions taking place between consumers. I am guessing that customers will be more than satisfied with the recent development, but could there be ramifications for such a decision?

Read the full article at Fast Company

Mar 16, 2011 9:46:59 PM | Blogging, Blogs, Marketing, Minneapolis, Minneapolis PR, Online Marketing, Online Media, Smart Media, Smart Phones, Smart Relations

LinkedIn Wants Users to Visit Daily

LinkedIn launched LinkedIn Today, a social news tool for business users that encourages perpetual use, similar to Facebook and Twitter.

From a consistent use standpoint, LinkedIn has a hard time competing with Facebook and Twitter. Users seem to view LinkedIn as a professional portal that doesn't require continual monitoring. Facebook and Twitter on the other hand seem to have a connected mantra that requires daily attention, and users feel out of touch if they aren't constantly engaged and interconnected.

Obviously this isn't the case, but users feel a subconscious isolation if they aren't checking their digital lives on a daily basis. Most people view LinkedIn as an environment for career networking, which doesn't consist of frequent changes and status updates. Users even have their Twitter updates linked via an external platform that appears on the LinkedIn feed, which is included on the landing page.

As a result, LinkedIn is trying to capture a degree of success with this approach to social media. They want to encourage uses to visit on a daily basis, by providing more value and the ability to directly search news online. To a certain extent, they want to be a one-stop shop for online content absorption. This may be quite challenging, although it is a great place to commence in a difficult social space.

Read the full article via Fast Company