Burson-Marsteller’s global CEO, Mark Penn, recently published a book titled Microtrends. The book details the small trends that are generating big change in America. Early buzz from clients and media is very positive. I am fascinated by this thinking, and am especially interested in the implications for digital communications. Given how online communications make the world a smaller place it will be especially interesting to identify personal microtrends. Have a look at the Web site, and send a chapter to a friend.  It will be interesting to discuss which microtrends we all find most interesting.

We’ve had a few questions from clients about the new feature that Google introduced within its news service on August 8th. The a new feature allows participants in stories to append a comment to the story. Comments are verified as being submitted by a relevant participant in the story, and then published in full. The service is currently experimental and only available in the United States.

Google’s new feature is representative of a larger shift in the media landscape. As consumers shun one-to-one information sources in favor of many-to-many participatory streams, traditional news outlets and PR agencies must adjust their respective avenues of information shaping and sharing. Sure, most news services allow anyone to comment on articles, but this feature is unique in that story participants can add comments that stay with the story. We believe that clients need to embrace a more integrative way of communicating, and encourage them to participate in online dialogue to ensure they have a fair share of voice. However, as with most digital media, one size does not fit all or apply to every client situation.

Clients have a great opportunity to extend the story, clarify their point of view, or correct misinformation when commenting on articles aggragated within Google News. However, given that manual intervention is required to facilitate the comments being published, a lag time may be experienced. Additionally, posting a comment may extend a story, which may or may not be desirable. Lastly, Google reserves the right not to publish all comments. Therefore, clients should not rely solely on Google News comments as their only means of responding to published news reports.

Clients deciding to comment on stories aggregated by Google News should:

• Evaluate the opportunity carefully on a story-by-story basis, considering the following:
  • Is there misinformation that needs to be corrected?
  • Have critical facts been omitted from the story?
  • Can I extend the story in a meaningful way for readers?
  • What are the implications to this story gaining prominence and being extended in other consumer-generated forums?
  • Is the comment I plan to post completely true and defendable?
• Be completely transparent when posting comments, being clear about who you are and your connection to the story. Google will make efforts to confirm identity prior to publishing comments, but it is very important that commenters are sincere to avoid backlash.
• Be entirely unassailable in your comments as misinformation will be challenged and potentially used to create a larger news story.
• Consider the ramifications of the comment you post, especially in competitive situations, or if other story participants may take issue with your point of view.

Clients wishing to have comments appended to a Google news story should review Google’s guidelines and follow them carefully.