USM fans not believing it really is Rick V....

[DeepGreen]

They generally do this through the blogosphere (hate that word) and usually through their own site. I think I mentioned Cuban's site earlier in this discussion - if not my apologies. I know all sorts of company's have blogs and forums they create and manage. I know companies pay communications specialist to monitor and post on these forums. I do not know of many that engage other people's content as themselves - that is all.

I don't mind if he does it, but I just don't think it should have been the first communication out the door on this. I do like that this board got the answer before the wizards at the DRC.

I'm really  not trying to pick fights - I just enjoy discussing this stuff.

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RV could easily be "blog challenged" just like me. The message board could be easier for him.

[PlummMeanGreen]

My gut instinct was to agree with you about the level of professionalism, SoMissFan, but then I thought about it -- it's a brave new world out there. You've got high profile figures like Mark Cuban and his ilk communicating almost exclusively through e-mails and his blogmaverick.com, you have stories breaking daily through various online blogs and message boards (see Rhett Bomar). Every media outlet worth its salt has moved resources into an online format and into the blogosphere -- maybe accuracy has suffered for it, but it's the way of the day. It's the most instant and direct method of contact with the masses... both media and general public. What's the difference between that and a generic press release?? Only the speed of distribution and the appearance of "direct" contact with the people. It's not like RV is online getting into pissing contests with some of us blowhards -- not hardly. But this is a great way to take the temperature of a small but passionate group of his fanbase, and a great PR tool.

Things are changing -- and sometimes that forces conventional wisdom to be examined.

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Rick Villarreal is actually in some pretty good company with the Dallas Maverick's Mark Cuban but also with..............

...........Bill Gates who was a regular peruser/visitor (and sometimes poster from what I read) of MicroSoft's "grunts" message board because he thought it the right and smart thing to know what the masses were saying. Anyone want to say Bill Gates was being a bit "high schoolish" for doing that?

[Quoner]

Rick Villarreal is actually in some pretty good company with the Dallas Maverick's Mark Cuban but also with..............

...........Bill Gates who was a regular peruser/visitor (and sometimes poster from what I read) of MicroSoft's "grunts" message board because he thought it the right and smart thing to know what the masses were saying.  Anyone want to say Bill Gates was being a bit "high schoolish" for doing that?

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every major company monitors these type of boards - that's not the criticism. I know where I work many people read and summarize boards and blogs all day to keep execs informed.

When does Bill jump on a thread to say "Hi I am Bill Gates. Let me clear this up." Underlings do it for him - usually from corp comm. They even have aliases and post into the system. If executives do this themselves, they do if we a degree of anomynity.

Microsoft is a success story in corporate blogging and have many employees and all levels blogging and communiting. They do not just spew around message boards introducing themselves.

A call for a cohesive communications strategy seems to just piss everyone off.