Posted on 5/29/2007 12:34 PM
Since the inception of MyMediaRoom, we’ve touted it as an
easy way to create a media room for your organization. However, in partnership
with
Cavendo Web, the first web site built solely using MyMediaRoom launched
earlier this month.
The web site was created for
Texas State Representative Mike
Villarreal. In designing the site, Cavendo Web needed a way to more closely tie
in news, events, blog entries, and more. The easiest way to do this was to simply create the entire web site in MyMediaRoom.
After a few enhancements and tweaks, we were able to do just
this. The following is a break-down of the web site and the MyMediaRoom
components that are powering it:
- The Design: The look and feel of
the web site fit smoothly into our custom template module.
- Homepage: The homepage needed to
display static content as well as the latest news, events, and blog
entries. We used the MyMediaRoom widgets to connect the homepage with this
dynamic content.
- In the News: Linking to outside
articles and press mentions is obviously essential for an elected
official. The “Articles” module accomplished this. We actually tweaked
this feature to go to an intermediary page before going to the actual
article. Previously, if you clicked a link in the articles section, it
would go straight to the external article. Now, users can add their own
commentary.
- Press Releases: This section was
also a must for the Representative’s new web site. All news releases are
easily published here.
- Events: Mike’s constantly holding
public events, so he needed an area where people could find out about
these events. The “Events” module was well-suited for this. Visitors can
now go to the Representative’s site, see a list of upcoming events, and
view important event details such as the locations and contact
information.
- Messages from Mike: Public
officials maintaining a blog is still a pretty rare thing. Despite this,
Mike launched a new blog that he maintains on a consistent basis.
Interestingly, Mike went a step further and integrated a YouTube video
into one of his blog posts.
- Take Action: The new web site
called for an online petition feature, so we built it into MyMediaRoom.
Now, Mike can create petitions and enable people to sign them directly on
his web site.
- Email Mike: Anyone can send the
Representative a note using MyMediaRoom’s contact form.
- The Rest: All other pages with “static”
content are custom pages within MyMediaRoom. Building a new page for the
site is as easy as clicking a button now.
Posted on 3/21/2007 10:40 AM
MyMediaRoom is proud to sponsor the
Capital Cabal's 2nd Tuesday "New Media" event on April 10th, 2007. This is essentially the event in the Washington, DC, region for new media professionals held (you guessed it) on the second Tuesday of every month. Details are below from the Capital Cabal web site. If you're in the area, stop by and enjoy a drink and good times!
Who:
The Capital Cabal and Dozens of New Media Professionals
What: Monthly
Cocktails, Networking and Schmoozing
When: Tuesday, April 10th, 20075:30PM - 9:00PM
Appetizers, drink specials and awesome door prizes.
Where: Upstairs at Gua Rapo's private space
2039 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201 - Courthouse area
Gua Rapo
703-528-6500
Use Courthouse Metro - Walk One Block East on Wilson and there you are.
Plenty of metered parking on Wilson,
free after 6:30PM. There's some parking behind Gua Rapo. Also, there's a large
public metered parking lot on N.
Courthouse Road between 14th and 15th Streets,
next to the AMC Theatre.
Price: $15 at the door, includes first beverage, heavy appetizers and door
prizes chance to win some
very cool stuff from D.C. United and WWWW
- see below for detals!
Sponsors: Profiles, Dimension Strategic Marketing,
DCUnited,
MyMediaRoom.com and Digital Industry
Join: Our Mailing List
More details on the Capital Cabal site
Let us know if you'll be stopping by and just maybe we'll buy you a drink!
Posted on 3/6/2007 12:26 PM
So the last several months have been quite busy for us here at MyMediaRoom. We have been working on what we feel is really the bigger issue of business communications for the small and mid-size business market, including and especially non-profits. We feel this requires a balanced approach. On one hand you need easy and targeted distribution of your information, such as press releases and event announcements. On the other hand, you have small businesses with a limited budget and a limited patience for using "big business" tools such as rigid and pricey wire services. So, we wanted something in between. It needed to be flexible enough for everyone while still having some structure and rules to accommodate a business audience. We want anyone to be able to come in and start an online version of their local, trade, or business group.
With that said, today we officially announced our answer:
Commutal, the Local Community Network. I will
defer to our press release for the specifics, but Commutal represents our vision for the future of local communities online. The applications are wide ranging and start today with a slightly more formal business audience. Commutal is flexible enough to work with many types of business groups. Here is just a sampling of who is a great candidate for a Commutal group:
- Blogs and publications
- Chambers of Commerce
- Trade associations
- Conference organizers
- Community groups
- Business networks
How does Commutal affect me?You can
now create, join, and build local and trade networks with other
businesses and professionals. For example, if you are a computer repair
shop in Chicago, setup a Commutal Group for Computer Repair Shops in
Chicago. You can then invite other businesses that work with you to
join your community and share news, events, and other happenings with
you and the community.
Is Commutal international?Yes!
You can create local communities anywhere in the world. We give you the
power to build the community. If a group doesn't exist where you are,
add your area to the Directory and start the first group there!
What about fees? Ads?
For
right now, Commutal is free to get started. It will always remain free
at a basic level. We plan on adding a la carte paid options in the very
near future. This will include custom URLs, increased limits on
members, and increased storage space and bandwidth. We will be making
future announcements regarding advertising, but you may notice an "Ad
Manager" application within your Commutal Group control panel. Think
about running our own local ads for your community.
Who can create a group?Anyone!
That's the beauty of it. You don't have to be a formal association or
group to start a Commutal Group. Of course, existing groups are easiest
to move online, but if you want to be the pioneer for your area, go for
it. You may decide to partner with existing associations in your area
to make it mutually beneficial for everyone.
To setup a group
you will need a media room account. You can only create one group per
media room, but you can join as many groups as you like.
What if I don't want to setup a group?Forward this message to someone you think should. Visit Commutal often as groups form in your area and join them!
How do I join a group?It's
easy. Just login on Commutal with your MyMediaRoom account. Browse the
directory for a group you want to join and click it. You'll see a "Join
this Group" box on the right side of the screen.
How do I get my news/events on a group page?Go
to the 'Distribute' tab from the MyMediaRoom Control Panel. You can
manage your group memberships here, along with sending press releases
and events to those groups.
** Remember, most groups are moderated so your submissions may not show up immediately. **
We
look forward to seeing you on Commutal and getting your feedback. We
feel strongly that the future of business and local networks are
online, and we hope to be the platform for movement that going forward.
Posted on 2/21/2007 10:00 PM
It's official: MyMediaRoom Widgets are here! Now you have the flexibility to take your data anywhere. Want the latest press releases from your media room on your company's home page? How about a list of your upcoming events? No problem, all you have to do is copy over a small block of code onto your home page -- and the data will automatically appear. No updating and no changes required. MyMediaRoom Widgets tap directly into the MyMediaRoom system to get the latest information from your media room.
A great example of the widgets in action is my own
personal media room. Here is what my home page looks like:
It's simple to get started. Simply login to your account and you'll find "Get Widget Code" links available where data is available as a widget. As of today, the following content from your media room is available as a widget:
- Press Releases
- Events (Main calendar and sub-calendars)
- Blog
- Images (Galleries and thumbnails)
- Management Bios
- Press Contacts
- Articles
- Awards
- Newswire
Enjoy!
Posted on 2/21/2007 3:31 PM
If you are a PR firm or even a freelancer who does PR work on behalf of other companies, we want to talk to you.
MyMediaRoom has announced its
Agency Account program designed just for you. To keep things simple, here it how it all works:
What is MyMediaRoom?MyMediaRoom is a publishing platform for media content such as press releases, events, etc. As
Wordpress is to blogs, MyMediaRoom is to media content. Everything is hosted and ready to go. When you create a media room you can choose a page template and add
all sorts of content. Here are a few samples:
Sample media room:
http://sample.mymediaroom.comOur media room (you're already here):
http://live.mymediaroom.comAll of that is free to get started. Under our premium plan you can even customize the media room to fit into an existing web site. Here are some examples:
Gooddogz:
http://gooddogz.mymediaroom.comPRS Inc:
http://prsinc.mymediaroom.comWhat does this mean to you?
You can use MyMediaRoom to directly manage--and publish--media content for your clients. Especially if your clients put their media room on their web site (they should!), you will have direct and simple access to that content. No more hasseling the IT people to get the page updated. There's nothing worse than a stale web site and especially a stale list of press releases.
Our
Agency Account program gives you a structured program to setup client accounts and manage them easily from one place. We also give you private-label options, so you clients don't have to know it's MyMediaRoom behind the scenes.
Did you know?Many PR firms and folks are embracing the
social media press release. MyMediaRoom fully supports this format. We are even hosting the
first social media press release in Germany!
Get started. Send us your feedback.Visit the web site to learn more.
Setup a free account and play around. Send us your thoughts. Drop us a line right here in our comments.
Posted on 2/18/2007 7:54 PM
by
Jonathan Arehart, Co-Founder of
MyMediaRoomThis post is the second part of our series. Click here for the first part in case you missed it.Welcome to social media
and citizen journalismThe bigger issue here is, who are journalists today and who
are businesses trying to reach? Bloggers have gained respect in many circles
for their unique perspectives and high-end blogs, such as Mike Arrington at
TechCrunch. Most importantly, they have become today’s power brokers due simply
to their massive audiences and wide-spread appeal. Where the Shanksville Times (fictional,
of course) is the influential publication for the Town of Shanksville, TechCrunch is the influential
publication for startup technology companies. The Shanksville Times has a
formal office, an Editorial Department, editors, journalists, reporters, etc.
TechCrunch is run from Mike Arrington’s apartment with a handful of hand-picked
writers around the world. One sells column-inches of ad space and the other
sells banner ads. Yet both have the same force and authority within their communities.
TechCrunch and many others like it are an example of how powerful blogging has
become and really leveled the playing field for niche publications.
The term “journalist” is being redefined to include these
types of bloggers and influencers. Just as your favorite local journalist can
influence your take on the local community, leading bloggers can have the same
impact in niche markets. The implications for business are huge, especially
when it comes to public relations. Whereas reaching a key local journalist or
editor in the area can be pivotal to the success of a new restaurant, reaching
a key blogger can be pivotal to the success of a new web startup, for example.
In this new frontier of business communications, how does
one go about creating a targeted public relations campaign? The business world
has its flagship PR tool and distribution network: the press release and the
newswires. For most small businesses, the effectiveness of writing a press
release and sending it out over one of the big wire services is an exercise in
futility. Why would you, the small business owner, pay hundreds or even
thousands of dollars to have your press release beamed around the country, when
your true audience is far more targeted than “all of America.” Of course, you
could just email your press release to a hand-picked group of local
journalists, but that’s not exactly the best strategy in today’s over-spammed
environment. In this era of citizen journalism and social media, there are
certain to be new and better ways for businesses to reach those coveted
targeted audiences.
Whatever happened to
good ‘ole public relations, and where does business fit in?It has been interesting lately to see how businesses adopt
many of these consumer-facing services. I’ve seen companies create their own
MySpace pages, mostly with limited success, to lure college-age job seekers and
to create a buzz for their sandwiches (think Burger King). These are
interesting techniques deployed by savvy PR firms to reach those consumer
audiences. Whether these techniques will have the same impact as reaching those
targeted influencers, such as local and niche journalists and publications,
remains to be seen. It is only one piece of the puzzle, but one to pay close
attention to.
Businesses that don’t exactly have the budget or need to
retain Madison Avenue firms need another avenue to get their message out. Most
prefer grassroots or very targeted approaches. Small businesses don’t want to
spend thousands of dollars to let everyone in the world know they are hosting a
seminar for businesses just in the San
Francisco Bay
area. They should be able to submit that event in one-click from their media
room to targeted groups in the Bay Area who are the intended audience for their
seminar. Members of that audience should be able to subscribe to targeted
lists, via RSS, of events happening in the area.
What we are doing
about itMyMediaRoom is designed more for a business and professional
audience. The foundation is business information most have heard of: press
releases, event announcements, blogs, management bios, etc. We package that
into a fancy setup called a media room. A media room, historically used by
large corporations, is a dedicated web site crafted with journalists and other
public relations officials in mind. Purely from a content management
standpoint, businesses appreciate and benefit from the ease of use and the
ability to quickly manage their public relations content. Businesses don’t have
MySpace pages; they have media rooms.
It is our mission to become the platform for local and
targeted public relations communications for businesses. We have a number of
products already in place in various test markets, including our MyMediaRoom
Wire platform. MyMediaRoom Wire is a group platform where a host, such as a
local association, invites its members to submit news and events to their
community site. In turn, members of the public and other businesses that follow
the host have access to a targeted news source. The content is controlled and
authored by member businesses, and events are local and relevant. No searching
is required to answer the question “what’s happening this weekend downtown?”
Or, “who’s hiring locally? Who’s new to town and opening a new business?”
Our vision revolves around this idea of local content,
created by local people and businesses, and distributed by trusted groups such
as Chambers of Commerce and business and trade associations. By giving people
the tools to create and share their content in a targeted way, I feel we can
help drive social media into communities tied together both geographically and
by common interest.
Take action.This is part of our answer. Others have different
ideas. What do you think? It is up to you to determine if we are right or
wrong. So join the discussion. Post comments, link to your blog reaction, and
spread the word.
Tags: mymediaroom
hyperlocal communities social media
Posted on 2/15/2007 9:21 PM
by
Jonathan Arehart, Co-Founder of
MyMediaRoomBackgroundIn this MySpace and YouTube era of user-generated news,
videos, and everything in between, one can’t help but wonder about the future
of local media. The way we receive information is constantly being
refined—going from daily email digests to nearly real-time RSS feeds. Yet we
still have to pick up the local paper just like 10 years—and even 100 years—ago
to learn what’s happening around the block or across town. Sure, most local
newspapers syndicate their content online at their own web site, and
Topix.net
does a great job of organizing this information for us, but is that really the
future of local media? In this era of Google, RSS readers, and citizen
journalism, where is this all leading and how will we all benefit closest to home,
in our communities?
In the interests of full disclosure, and to avoid making
this seem like a sales pitch, my name is Jonathan Arehart, co-founder of
MyMediaRoom. I am writing this blog post to start a conversation. We at
MyMediaRoom are working on a number of different things that are relevant to
this discussion, and I will highlight them purely as examples of what we are
doing in the marketplace and how they are relevant. It is up to you, the
readers, commenters, and fellow bloggers, to add your perspective and keep the
conversation going. We could be wrong. We could be right. That is the beauty of
the world’s economy. Nobody can be sure until someone reaches that inflection
point. Until then, this is our side of the story, what we think, and what we’re
doing about it.
Once upon a…MySpaceRupert Murdoch struck gold when he shelled out $580 million
to buy a “little” but growing startup called MySpace. People thought he spent
too much and that he was going crazy, but with a
$900 million Google
advertising deal, and now a
reported $25 million a month in revenues, Murdoch
got the last laugh. Numbers aside, MySpace has become a cultural phenomenon.
Rock stars, celebrities, college students and even politicians are using
MySpace to create their own web page and connect with millions of other members
of the site. MySpace brought what many people refer to as “social networking”
to center stage.
MySpace evolved the Internet to where it was meant to be:
an effective multi-dimensional
communications tool. Email and Instant Messaging (IM) were the first steps.
People were able to send and receive messages in near-real-time and real-time effectively
for free anywhere in the world. Web pages, the most effective way to “monetize”
the Internet by facilitating online transactions and sharing information 24/7,
were always very one-dimensional and inherently biased. Only certain people
(read: wealthy or technically-savvy people) could “start” a web page even five
years ago. The barrier to entry was far too high for the average non-technical
person. Most people were still figuring out the power of email and learning
this new “IM” acronym being pushed by AOL Instant Messenger.
What MySpace did, along with blogs and other forms of
“social media,” was break down these barriers. Now anyone can easily create
their own personal web “space” for no cost and no technical knowledge. This by
itself is a huge step forward. We are really just at the beginning of what’s
possible now that normal everyday people (all of us non-techies) can create
their own web pages. But, the real power of MySpace is that “social
networking.” Not only can people create their own web pages, but they can
invite their friends to create pages, add them to their “friends” list, and
comment on their pages. This process iterated itself many times over and so
today you see MySpace with over 120 million members.
This was the same effect behind
YouTube. If you had told
someone ten or even five years ago that an online video sharing site started by
a couple of 20-something self-professed geeks would grow from zero to hundreds
of millions of videos and a
$1.65 billion acquisition in 18 months, they would
have called you crazy. But, it happened. It happened because YouTube let people
put themselves in the spotlight, upload a video, and share it with the world.
They were able to build community around their videos and gain their own
Internet celebrity.
What does it all
mean?People want to do what people do best: communicate.
Blogs, videos, and podcasts are the tools; MySpace, YouTube, and others are the
networks that bring it together. The ability for people to create a community
and create a circle of friends that literally circles the world is here. But
are we neglecting the oldest and most real community of all: our local
community? The power of communicating with anyone in the world in real-time is great
and shouldn’t be diminished. But just imagine if we could extend that power to
those around us geographically-speaking. The killer-app, in my opinion, is the
ability to see what’s happening in the area or the areas I’m traveling to all
in one place. A “community calendar” of sorts is very powerful. There are many
people trying to make this simpler for us, but nothing is really sticking just
yet.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series: A conversation about hyper-local and the future of local media. The second part of this series will discuss possible solutions to the hyper-local community and what several players, including MyMediaRoom, are doing in this space.
Posted on 1/4/2007 1:13 PM
That's right, MyMediaRoom has launched its own TV channel (well, online at least!) called
MyMediaRoom TV. You can visit the web site at
http://www.mymediaroom.tv. Hosted by MyMediaRoom Co-Founders,
Jonathan Arehart and
Chris LeCompte, MyMediaRoom TV covers the latest in the "new media" world including social news and media, social networking, and most importantly, the latest from
MyMediaRoom.
Today we released our second episode and discuss the launch of MyMediaRoom Wire. We are
really excited about MyMediaRoom TV and the launch of
MyMediaRoom Wire.
Be sure to tune in every week for a new episode of MyMediaRoom TV! Of course, below are the badges (care of
Badged.net) so you can keep track using your favorite tools.
Posted on 12/29/2006 6:58 AM
In the course of our everyday work, we sometimes find it easier to build something new to solve our own problems. That's exactly what happened with
Badged.net. We found it utterly tiring and cumbersome to locate and generate those little social networking badges you see sprinkled around the web. So, we figured the best answer to this dilemma would be to create a quick little service we could tap into for our own use, while making it publicly available for the world to benefit from.
So, what exactly does
Badged.net do? It lets you pick and choose which social networking "badges" (e.g., Digg this story, Add to del.icio.us) you want on your web page and generates
one line of code you in turn put on your web page or blog, etc, to get those little badges to show up--automatically!
Here it is in action for
Badged.net itself:
Posted on 12/18/2006 3:02 PM
Want to know what you can do with MyMediaRoom? We've listed out 70 ways you can use your media room. From posting your resume online to managing a diverse newswire, your media room is your professional identity.
How are you using your media room? Feel free to post a comment and help us keep the list going! Don't have a media room? Sign up now!
- Post your resume online.
- Manage your favorite RSS feeds.
- Create a “virtual newspaper” for everyone to see.
- Publicize important facts.
- Easily post and manage a fact sheet.
- Create a blog.
- Combine your professional experience into one place.
- Post upcoming events.
- Let others see stories you dugg on Digg.com.
- Setup a quick web site for collaboration.
- Create a presence for your non-profit organization.
- Link to articles you’ve written or have been mentioned in.
- Create a list of your private contacts.
- Distribute news to your private contacts.
- Add other media rooms as your friend.
- Use “Blog This” to blog about web sites as you read them.
- Let people request an interview with you.
- Bundle a press kit that can be made into a PDF.
- Enable others to search through your facts, news, and blog posts.
- Publicize your organization’s management structure and biographies.
- Fill out applications easily using your media room as a record of your experience.
- Send your media room to potential employers.
- Post awards and honors you’ve received.
- Manage the way your media room looks.
- Upload and categorize images.
- Use a custom URL to put your media room anywhere.
- Give others RSS feeds of your press releases, blog, and newswire.
- Use our special textbox to format content in your media room.
- Add your content to our User Newspaper.
- Use your media room to get the word out about your political campaign.
- Save press releases and blog entries as drafts to work on them later.
- Take advantage of free, professional media room templates.
- Let readers Digg your blog entries.
- Search the entire media room network.
- Copy and paste images and HTML into our special textboxes.
- Give people a reason to trust your expertise.
- Organize your favorite RSS feeds into useful tabs.
- Keep a record of your professional experience.
- Display your favorite web sites that you’ve listed on Del.icio.us.
- Let readers comment on your blog posts.
- Moderate and manage comments on your blog posts.
- Use the MyMediaRoom Toolbar to easily manage your media room.
- Login from anywhere to manage your media room.
- Feature key project you’ve worked on.
- Allow others to contact you using an electronic form.
- Put your media room URL on your college application.
- Tell your story.
- Control what appears in your media room navigation.
- Link to Technorati reactions on your blog posts.
- Hide image galleries that contain personal pictures.
- Create a fully-functional web site within minutes.
- Put your media room URL in your email signature.
- Use your media room to win new projects and accounts.
- Give your organization a public face.
- Adjust the HTML and code in your media room using our special textbox.
- Add maps to your events.
- Create a place that you can proudly link to from anywhere.
- Launch a professional identity for yourself.
- Easily create and add new content to your web presence.
- Manage news and events for your group, club, or committee.
- Put your media room URL on business cards and letterheads.
- Let your clients know more about you through your media room.
- List out your accomplishments.
- Get a leg up over people who don’t have a media room.
- Build trust in others by continually adding content to your media room.
- Give people a reason to keep learning more about you.
- Announce important news using a press release.
- View a monthly calendar of your events.
- Maintain a web presence free of annoying ads.
- Add your media room as a link on your existing web site.
Posted on 12/16/2006 4:35 PM
Meet the people behind MyMediaRoom and get a quick introduction to the service.
Jonathan Arehart and
Chris LeCompte co-host.
Posted on 12/8/2006 4:53 PM
Hot off the presses, the MyMediaRoom Wizard is now available! He wears a blue cape and cap and really knows how to get you moving with MyMediaRoom.
If you are new to MyMediaRoom, or even if you're a long-time user who wants to see all of the new things happening here, just log in to your account and look for the blue man:
Enjoy!
Posted on 12/8/2006 1:00 PM
We are very excited about our latest release, the
MyMediaRoom Newspaper! How is this different from just any news aggregator or reader you may ask? Well, the news sources aren't determined by a computer, robot, or committee.
They're determined by you! Every time someone adds a new news source to their Personal Newswire in MyMediaRoom, it is automatically shared with everyone via the MyMediaRoom Newspaper. For example, if I add
CNN Top Stories to my
Personal Newswire in the National news category (which I have), those stories will also show up on the MyMediaRoom Newspaper under National news.
News sources can be anywhere or anything. As long as they have an RSS feed, you can add them to your Personal Newswire and share it with everyone else with the MyMediaRoom Newspaper! So, get to it. Go setup your own MyMediaRoom and setup your personal news sources to share with all of us. You will find this under the
Personal tab in
My News Sources.
And for our
Technorati and
Digg fans, you can easily see blog reactions and submit stories to Digg right from the MyMediaRoom Newspaper. Look for more tools to come soon, along with easier access back to your own personal media room as well.
Enjoy!
Posted on 12/7/2006 12:03 PM
The last couple of days have been fun here at MyMediaRoom. We have seen quite a flurry of activity from an audience we least expected: International, mainly from Spain, Germany, Brazil, and a handful of others. The newest media rooms are quite interesting as many are in Spanish! Below is some of our recent coverage, so thanks to those authors out there who are taking the time to review MyMediaRoom and spread the word!
Web2null.de - MyMediaRoom [German]
MyMediaRoom Tu portal de comunicación [Spanish]
MyMediaRoom, un gestor de contenidos web [Spanish]
Microsia: The next social media launch
Posted on 12/3/2006 11:10 AM
We've just rolled out yet another very exciting feature: the MyMediaRoom toolbar! You'll see it at the top of this page along with any other media room in the MyMediaRoom network.
The toolbar gives you and your visitors quick access to important MyMediaRoom tools. There are two versions of the toolbar: one for guests (not logged in), and one for MyMediaRoom authors.
Guest (Not Logged In) ToolbarIncludes:
- MyMediaRoom icon - goes to the MyMediaRoom.com web site so your guest can learn more about MyMediaRoom.
- Register - directs the guest to get their own media room!
- Login - for MyMediaRoom authors not currently logged in to do so.
- Search - quick search of the MyMediaRoom network.
MyMediaRoom Author's (Logged In) ToolbarIncludes:
- MyMediaRoom icon - goes directly to your MyMediaRoom home page.
- Control Panel - one-click access to the MyMediaRoom Control Panel so you can manage your content quickly and easy (and yes, the toolbar follows you there as well).
- My Blogroll - links to your personal blogroll page.
- My Friends - links to your friends page.
- Add Friend or Remove Friend - will show for other media rooms so you can quickly add them as a friend (or remove them if they already are a friend).
- Blog This - opens your Blog This window so you can post commentary directly to your blog from any page. Drag this icon to your toolbar (in Firefox) or add it to your favorites (in Internet Explorer) so you can "Blog This" from any page on the Internet!
- Search - quick search of the MyMediaRoom network.
We are very excited about the toolbar. It has really helped bring things together and make many of the tools you use quickly and readily available. Just a few quick notes about the toolbar:
- The toolbar will only be visible for media rooms using our Template Library. If you're using a custom template we will be adding support for you to enable the toolbar for your page as well shortly!
- We will be adding an option for you to disable the toolbar in case you don't want it on your media room (but why would you do that?!).
Let us know what you think! Enjoy the MyMediaRoom toolbar.
Posted on 11/27/2006 10:35 PM
That's right: we don't run or operate an advertisement network or run ads on
any of our sites. Have we gone mad, you might ask? Well, not exactly. Our feeling is that you get annoyed with enough ads on the sites you bring into MyMediaRoom, such as your CNN news feed, or the many blogs you subscribe to, that MyMediaRoom should be more like a sanctuary. That is,
no advertisements.
The catch? Well, there is none, other than the fact that we encourage you to upgrade to a
MyMediaRoom Plan that best fits your needs. Want to add search and or use a custom page template? Upgrade to our Starter plan for $9.95/month. Need an image gallery and more space? Jump up to the Basic plan at $24.95/month. Want a custom URL (e.g., media.ourcompany.com) and a press kit? Take the leap to the Premium plan for $49.95/month.
If you're a small organization or don't need those extra features, you are welcome to stay at our Free/Personal plan. We want to see a nice blend of individuals and small businesses hop on-board who realize the true value of having their own media rooms. Therefore, we trust that some of you will upgrade and pay the modest fees to unlock those features. At the very least, you will help us maintain MyMediaRoom as a sterile, ad-free sanctuary where you can build your own personal
media sphere of influence.
Maybe we're nuts, so prove us wrong! Choose your MyMediaRoom plan wisely and keep our Ad-Free doctrine in mind. Then, invite some local non-profits to get a Free media room so they can better support their own mission, and add them as a friend to your personal media room. Together, we can strengthen our communities and stay ad-free!
Posted on 11/27/2006 4:40 PM
Heads up! We are in the middle of rolling out a
ton of new features on MyMediaRoom this week. You will start to notice a "Personal" tab showing up in your MyMediaRoom control panel with a lot of fun and powerful features. Here's a little sneak preview of what's rolling out:
- Blogroll: Subscribe to your favorite blogs or media sources (as long as they have an RSS feed!) and build your own personal blogroll. This is more than just a simple list as most blog software does. Your MyMediaRoom blogroll is actually a searchable database of posts from the sites on your blogroll. We've been playing with this feature, and it is a lot of fun!
- My Friends: Finally! Build your friends list and invite your friends to get their own media rooms. You can share content and...(hint) will be able to search your friend's "media sphere"!
- "Comment on this" to your blog: Find an interesting story or blog post in your "media sphere" or on a random web site online? With one click you will be able to post a commentary piece in your personal blog.
- New templates: Look for some new and exciting templates to choose from as we continue to build our template library.
- Stories I Like: Do you use digg.com to digg stories you like? Well, now you can access those very same stories straight from your digg account from your media room.
- My Favorites: If you're a fan of Del.icio.us you will love this. Your favorites list from Delicious can now be published and updated automatically from your media room.
What does this all lead to? Well, let's just say you will be hearing a lot more about the term
Personal Media Room in the very near future!
Stay tuned! As always, we love the feedback so post a comment here or email us at sales@mymediaroom.com.
Posted on 11/20/2006 2:38 AM
We're launching a new campaign for MyMediaRoom called
What's your Story? We felt some people weren't sure about using a media room for their organization, so we decided to focus on what a media room is really all about. It's really about telling your story about your organization. We say
organization loosely because it could really mean just about anything from a small business to a Fortune 500 company to even committees, partnerships, joint ventures, task forces, or any type of organized interest. We even have self-employed people like authors using MyMediaRoom!
We are looking for the best and most interesting stories in the world. How do you tell it? Easy, get a media room. (You get all of the basics for free, or you can pay for more space or more cool features.)
Think of it this way: a ton of people use blogs. Blogs are a great way to get started. We think they're too simple to effectively tell your story, though. Don't get us wrong, we love blogs -- we built a blog feature into MyMediaRoom, so if you don't have a blog you can start one with us! Think of blogs as a journal. Great for personal use and even for some organizations to use as an informal way of communicating with the public. But, journalists and many other people who aren't as blog savvy as you may get confused by the format or even turned off. That's why we have a lot of tried and true tools in MyMediaRoom like
press releases, management bios, articles, and a fact sheet. All books have a cover, a beginning, middle, and end. MyMediaRoom is a blank book. We already have the structure setup for you and the pages are blank, ready for your story. So share it!
So now the quest begins. We are looking for the best stories in the world. Go signup for a media room and start telling your story to the world. What is this cool stuff we talked about earlier that you could win? We'll give away free upgraded accounts to the stories (see how effective that is? we really mean media rooms) that we feature at MyMediaRoom.com every week! And maybe some other stuff as we think of it.
Tell us your story! Go to
MyMediaRoom.com and signup today.
