PR Bag of Tricks: Formulists
Posted on 21. Jan, 2011 by Nicole Ravlin
Lists. I talk about them a lot. I am a list maker for the most part. In fact, I find list making kind of therapeutic.
The one exception: Twitter.
On Twitter, I have made lists. I have updated my lists. I have deleted lists. I have begun again. To what end, sometimes I have no idea. That is, until now. I stumbled across this site… a list making site that self updates. Brilliant!!
If you Tweet and have not seen or tried out Formulists, I highly encourage you to do so. I have made a few lists, and not all are public – but to give you a couple of examples there are Vermonters I Follow and Flacks Like Me. You can get all social-stalkerish and build lists of those who have un followed you, you can find people to follow… there are so many filtering options, you could make lists for hours!
Formulists is in Beta right now, so there are a limited number of invites. You can get access at the bottom of the home page for a limited time. If that does not work, I have five invites. DM me or leave a comment and I am happy to send you one, as long as I have some left!
PR Bag of Tricks: Pearltrees
Posted on 05. Nov, 2010 by PMGpr
Each week we will highlight one tool from our PR bag of tricks. This could range from “old school” books or gadgets to a social media tool or client… and anything in between. Feel free to give your feedback on each tool/trick and tell us about yours.
This tip is from the newest PMGer, Kristena Morse.
What is one tool, app, website, etc. that you love at the moment?
Pearltrees has been a favorite of mine for the past several months. I’m someone who is always looking for new, simple ways to keep things organized, and this tool makes organizing my favorite web content so easy.
Why?
It’s easy to use, and a great way visual way to keep things organized.
How do you use it?
I installed pearltrees extensions on my web browsers (I use Firefox and Chrome), and pearl my favorite blog posts, websites, etc as I find them. Pearltrees lets me organize the information however I want to and to easily refer back to it. I’m also able to find interesting content from other users using the search functionality of the site.
If you’re a long time delicious user (like I was), pearltrees also makes it really easy to import all of your delicious bookmarks, allowing to you keep everything in one place.
PR Bag of Tricks: Vlingo
Posted on 27. Oct, 2010 by Nicole Ravlin
Each week we will highlight one tool from our PR bag of tricks. This could range from “old school” books or gadgets to a social media tool or client… and anything in between. Feel free to give your feedback on each tool/trick and tell us about yours.
What is one tool, app, website, etc. that you love at the moment? Without a doubt, Vlingo has changed my life. I’m not joking. HUGE props to PMGer, Tom Kupfer, who brought this app to my attention. For living at a million miles an hour, like MANY flacks – this is the perfect tool!
Why? I have been a Palm user for MANY years and recently switched to the HTC EVO. Poof!! No more handy keyboard (or little mirror on the back of my Pre – which I would have said is the best thing – so handy for reapplication of lip gloss 
– and I now have to type on the screen, which is no easy feat! Vlingo is an app for your smartphone that is voice recognition software that translates your voice into text. It follows directions and is super say to use. For example, I say: “Text Ken Liatsos. Message Don’t forget to do billing.” This is converted to a sms text on my phone and assigned to the proper contact in my address book. It then appears on the screen for me to approve and press send. For life on the go – in cars, running through airports, walking in town, etc. – this makes outbound communication really easy.
But wait! There’s more! Vlingo also reads me all of my inbound text communications – including text messages, emails tweets and Facebook posts. This is invaluable when driving – eyes stay on the road, hands stay on the wheel and you don’t miss a beat!
How do you use it? I use it in my car with my Bluetooth. I have been known to use it when I do not want to have to fight with the screen-based keyboard. It is amazingly accurate, though you do have to speak slowly which can be a challenge for me.
PR Bag of Tricks: Google
Posted on 20. Oct, 2010 by Alicia DeMartini
Each week we will highlight one tool from our PR bag of tricks. This could range from “old school” books or gadgets to a social media tool or client… and anything in between. Feel free to give your feedback on each tool/trick and tell us about yours.
What is one tool, app, website, etc. that you love at the moment?
Google. I am all about the Google lately. Every time I turn around, it has a new cool feature or tool I can use, in both my personal life and when doing work for my clients. 
Why?
Google’s services are always clean, streamlined and user-friendly. They just seem to “get” what consumers are looking for, whether it involves research, email organization, or fast, optimal searching. They also have a way of making things fun – I know I got caught up in Google Pacman day – and I’m pretty sure you might have too.
How do you use it?
I was introduced to Gmail about a year ago, and have never looked back. I love how easy it is to use – and the organization! (Fellow PMGers will tell you that I have a slight obsession with “a place for everything, and everything in it’s place”.)
For clients, I set up several different Google Alerts that are sent to me each day, letting me know what’s being said, when, and where, about each individual company. This saves me a ton of time, and also can give me a heads up on what’s going on with their industries or competitors.
Another tool I use for clients is Google Analytics. This is the best way to find out everything you’d want to know about a site’s traffic – where it’s coming from, how often, and just what they’re interested in when they get there.
Lastly, and I know there’s been some debate about this new feature – I’d just like to say I love Google Instant. It saves me boatloads of time, it’s super intuitive, and isn’t everyone looking for someone who can finish your sentences? 
PR Bag of Tricks: Twitter
Posted on 11. Oct, 2010 by Tom Kupfer
Each week we will highlight one tool from our PR bag of tricks. This could range from “old school” books or gadgets to a social media tool or client… and anything in between. Feel free to give your feedback on each tool/trick and tell us about yours.
PMGer Tom Kupfer‘s Pick:
What is one tool, app, website, etc. that you love at the moment?
Besides large cups of black coffee, one thing I have been using a lot lately is Twitter. You may already be a tweeter, but I am always surprised at the number of people who haven’t jumped into the tweet nest yet. If you are a student interested in PR, or if you’ve been doing PR for years, this is one tool that you want to become familiar with right away. We all use it at PMG, but many of our interns are new to it and our clients can be apprehensive to participate, even if they’re avid bloggers and facebookers. Try it for a week and I guarantee you’ll wish you did sooner.
Why?
Twitter makes it so easy to share and receive information and news. Instead of checking dozens of websites every day, I now receive most of my news from my Twitter feed. The New York Times, mountain biking, weather, Android news, snow reports, Burlington lunch specials… All I have to do is hit refresh once in a while and it all comes to me. Plus, you can cross-promote and network with other businesses and industry partners very casually. It’s sort of like a giant cocktail party (sans cocktails) — intimidating at first, but after a while you are comfortable, the conversation is flowing and you’re making connections.
How do you use it?
I use Twitter for all types of things, from sharing news about my clients to finding out what the competition is up to. If you want to know what Burlington’s cafés are serving for lunch, all you do is search #btvlunch and a list of mouth-watering specials comes up (I do this around 9:30 a.m. daily. Lunch is important to me). If I am looking for a place to watch the Eagles game on a Sunday, I tweet it with the Burlington hash tag (#btv) and within minutes local establishments will let me know if they’re playing the game and what’s on tap. Jump in and tweet me @tomkups!
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