Hanging on the wall in a family friend’s home is a quilt bearing the name of our grandmothers. Surrounding their names are the names of men and women from their community. Funds were needed for a community project so a quilt raffle was developed. Each participant embroidered their names onto flour sacks in this once agricultural community now lost to the time and the metropolitan expansion of Marysville, Washington, USA. All the flour sack squares were sewn together to create a simple and colorful bed quilt, padded with a left over blanket and backed by a bed sheet.

The quilt was displayed in the community center of the now lost village while community members spent what little money they had on raffle tickets, knowing it was going for a worthy cause. Her grandmother won the raffle and the quilt comforted the beds and the spirits of their family’s sick and cold children for decades, finally finding its way to her wall in honor of the past and community spirit that once thrived in a place covered with housing subdivisions where no one knows their neighbors.

For the village of Sunnyside and others around the world, community quilts were their social media tools and resources. Neighbors would get together in between long days of planting, harvesting, and familial responsibilities to chat and share stories and news over pieces of fabric.

Local bars served the same purpose, along with food and drink, to create a family away from family where people could be “themselves” and share their thoughts with others, often encouraged by the spirits. read more

UK-based Social Media Portal (SMP), which tracks the global use of social networks, believes that it’s vital for companies to build their brands through blogging.

Blogs provide a place for two-way interaction between the organisation and consumers, and allow customers to provide valuable feedback on how the brand is doing.

“Blogs will continue to play an incredibly important role for brands and they should be looking not only to be managing their own blog, but rather becoming part of the blogging community and contributing,” she said cofounder and editor of the SMP, Rachel Hawkes.

Of course, a corporate blog has to be real if it’s to be taken seriously by customers and consumers. Blatant PR exercises are highly likely to damage a brand, no matter how good they might seem at the time.

(Via BCS

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has just announced that it has acquired global distribution rights to online video site Rocketboom.com.

This will include the service being fully integrated with Sony’s own online video network Crackle.com, together with cross-promotion of content from both sites. read more

British companies which pretend to blog as ordinary members of the public, or post multiple positive reviews as if from consumers, are now breaking UK law, yet many don’t know anything about the new legislation, according to Brands2Life.

Its director, Gareth Thomas, said that, “Most people don’t know about this law,” adding, “there is a misconception that these devices are clever, but they can backfire.”

The new Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations legislation came into effect at the end of May 2008.

Drew Benvie, director at Hotwire, said, “This law change affects everyone in PR. If customers have any presence online, it’s definitely their business to know about it.”

(Via PR Week)

The concept may not be that new, but a couple of weeks ago a colleague introduced me to Berocca’s Blogger Relief Pack. I signed up with one of my blogs, and yesterday received the pack.

While it’s not the complete answer to managing the stress of blogging, a tube of Berocca and a nice glass to drink it in is welcome, and the quirky stress toys are amusing enough.

I must make it clear that I’m not on any kind of commission here, though if the Blog Herald makes it onto the “featured blogs” section as a result, so much the better.

Berocca’s welcome letter says that “this is just the start of what we’ll be doing with bloggers and we have exciting plans for the future. If we’re doing something that’s cool, worth blogging about and relevant to you we’ll be in touch, but we promise we won’t spam you needlessly.”

Freebie toys and gadgets from companies are nothing new, and it’s fun to get a few perks for blogging now and again. Companies wanting to get their products in front of more niche influencers (rather than mainstream journalists and other media people) isn’t new either. I just hope that they keep it as real and as fresh as possible.

Oh, and any other companies who want to send me free food, drink, and iPhones gadgets, feel free!