Companies with social media show good use of resources
The Star Phoenix
April 9, 2011

“T. Boone Pickens has powered promotion of “The Pickens Plan” to reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil by using large doses of social media. His team has built a huge 24,000-person following on Twitter and a whopping 36,200 fans on facebook.com/PickensPlan. There they discuss everything from the legislative agenda to upcoming webcasts and town halls on the topic of energy independence.”

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How Social Networking Is Changing Politics and Public Service
US News and World Report
October 15, 2010

“In the past, you would have needed hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a platform like that,” says Ning CEO Jason Rosenthal. Ning charges as little as $2.95 a month. Unlike Facebook, which is free, Ning provides subscribers with a unique domain name and sophisticated website-like features, such as setting specific security and privacy controls, handling credit card donations, and allowing users to write blog posts that then can be promoted on larger services such as LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, and even Facebook.

Rosenthal calls it “a hub-and-spoke model” of social networking that he believes is finally allowing the Internet to do what many hoped it would do a decade ago: change the world. Even those with virtually limitless budgets are leveraging these services, such as former eBay CEO and billionaire Meg Whitman, in her campaign to become governor of California, and financier T. Boone Pickens, whose Pickens Plan to promote natural gas and wind power has garnered over 200,000 members online in 91% of congressional districts, according to Rosenthal. The technology’s global reach means it can be used to help those in crisis, such as victims of the January earthquake in Haiti. The American Red Cross raised more than $32 million in text-messaged donations alone after the quake.”

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Sweet, salty, delicious? It must be bacon.
Magic Valley Times-News
September 15, 2010

“Type the title “Bacon: A Love Story” into Amazon.com, and the site will tell you that the book, by part-time Fairfield resident Heather Lauer, is frequently bought together with bacon air freshener for your car and bacon adhesive bandages. Nearby are bacon mints and “Mr. Bacon vs. Monsieur Tofu” action figures. If none of these things surprise you, you’ve been following the bacon trend. “I don’t think there’s one thing you can point to” to explain that trend, said Lauer, a public relations specialist who spends the rest of her time in Phoenix. She wrote the book based partly on a blog about bacon she has been keeping since about 2004, which she started after her brothers dared her to during a night on the town in Boise.” Click here to read the full story.

Snake River Stampede wants bloggers
Idaho Press Tribune
May 27, 2010

“We’re working to push the Stampede into the 21st Century through Facebook, Twitter and blogger outreach for the first time this year,” said marketing specialist Heather Lauer, who is helping oversee the effort. This year, the rodeo will invite a few select bloggers and tweeters to attend and report on the rodeo as credentialed media members. “We’re interested in people who have a variety of perspectives,” Lauer said. “We’re really open to people’s creativity.” Click here to read the full story.

Miss America and social media
Social Impact Blog
April 26, 2010

“Cameron was a good choice – not only is she an avid blogger and Twitter user, but she is tasked with promoting the nonprofit Miss America Organization, which is the world’s largest provider of scholarships for women. With the job of building communities and interacting with fans, it’s no wonder Cameron has embraced social media.

When it comes to promoting a nonprofit, there’s no doubt it can help to have a celebrity on your side, let alone one with (literally) award-winning looks. But it doesn’t end there. Miss America makes a point of retweeting her fans, making them excited and more engaged to her message of education.”

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