6: Apologies and corrections department

David and Paul talk about the dust-up between Steve Rubel and Jim Louderback, and what it takes to say you are sorry in this Twittering age. We talk about the role of making corrections on various online media, and what alternatives are available to still show corrected information on Web sites. David also has some cheers for PlanetBlacksburg.com, a student-run Web site at Virginia Tech, and mentions this NY Times piece about how Wikipedia has covered the shootings.

You can download podcast #6 here (12 mins).

5: Scoring with product reviews – with guest Keith Shaw

In show #5, we’re joined by Keith Shaw, product testing editor at Network World and author of the popular Cool Tools column. Keith and David have been in the product testing business a long time and they share some of the best and worst of dealing with the PR community in this endeavor. Join us to hear how a product can make Keith’s coveted Cool Tools list and also what are some of the most irritating things companies do in pursuit of a review. In Cheers and Jeers, Paul praises the new social media press release while David bemoans the aggravation of the never-ending cycle of returned phone calls.

Download the podcast here (20:12)

4: How to pitch a journalist

This week, Paul and David get back to basics and talk about effective pitching techniques. The bottom line is to know the reporter, but there are a lot of interesting tools on the Web that can help you focus your message. There is no excuse for cold calls anymore. They discuss several war stories of pitches that worked – and a few that didn’t.

In Cheers and Jeers, David tells of when you should stop e-mailing and just pick up the phone. Paul pays tribute to Renée Blodgett, a PR person who does it right.

Download the podcast here (13:09)

Viral Hall of Fame call for entries

MarketingSherpa is encouraging agencies and companies using viral marketing and advertising to submit campaigns to its third annual Viral Hall of Fame by April 10 at http://s-zpgni-6932.sgizmo.com Entries are free. The judges, all MarketingSherpa researchers and reporters, are seeking the best viral campaigns — including business-to-business marketing, entertainment marketing and consumer packed goods (CPG) advertising — to spotlight in its public Viral Hall of Fame. This third annual Viral Hall of Fame will be publicly available — including creative samples, campaign strategy and agency/vendor hotlinks — to the research firm’s 237,000 weekly readers and site visitors for the next year. Past Hall of Fame winners have ranged from AT&T to Beer.com and CareerBuilder. Last year’s winners, creative samples and viral ad results data are available at www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=3225 Contact: Tad Clarke: tadc@marketingsherpa.com

3: Wagged, Wired, Sierra v. Locke, IDG

Lots happening in the past week to talk about: The Fred Vogelstein briefing memo and his Wired article, David talks about how Google has become the new reputation management tool. IDG is transforming itself into an online company with the announcement that Infoworld will become a Web-only property. And finally the lessons learned from threats on Kathy Sierra’s life and how Tim O’Reilly brokered a rapproachment with Chris Locke.

Download the podcast here.