Owning the power of the press is good - blogs are also strong promotional tools.
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My colleague Paul Rummell was interviewed in IT Business.  See: 

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/ComputerCanada/News.asp?id=42746&bSearch=True

Paul and I are currently working together on several interesting client projects. We also enjoy a close friendship.

Good show Paul!

The National Postal Forum: We are going to be telling the “UGLY BETTY” story of the shipping world

Toronto, March 25, 2007 – Business leaders will be following the “UGLY BETTY” story of the shipping world.  We will be discussing what industry watchers should know about the unloved, odd sized and bulky packages being shipped across North America.   For starters they are more expensive, more difficult to ship and are causing big headaches for businesses in the Internet economy. We will be at the National Postal Forum March 25-28, 2007 - Washington, DC, Booth 484.  The National Postal Forum is the premier educational event/experience and tradeshow for shipping, fulfillment and mail professionals.  We will be providing for media representatives individual briefings behind the story on the huge costs being experienced by shippers across North America. The briefing will include an inside discussion about the serious implications of the industry shift to Dimensional (DIM) Weight calculations by major carriers. Freight auditors will be contributing their expertise to this dialogue. It is a developing story and the media are welcome to visit our booth or to contact us directly.

Background to this developing story should include:

-  Looking at the DIM weight issue for organizations

-  Calculating DIM weight and what it means

-  Paying the price for oversized and bulky packages

-  The implications of shifting to DIM weight calculations

-  Avoiding DIM Back Charges

-  Understanding Dimensioning for Parcel Handlers

-  A low-cost solution for package mailers and fulfillment services

About Express Cube:

ExpressCube is a successful veteran in the sensor development, manufacturing and marketing business. Recognizing the worldwide opportunity in the Dimensioning (DIM) and Weighing of parcels, ExpressCube has designed, developed and manufactured the undisputable state-of-the- art, ExpressCube System. Please visit our blog (http://expresscube.blogware.com) for more information and media kit.

Contact Information:

Company Contact: Gordon Cooper – CEO; gordon.cooper@expresscube.com, 905-507-0007, www.expresscube.com

Media Contact: Howard Oliver, What If What Next™ - Web2.0PR, 416-638-8582, holiver@whatifwhatnext.com

Last night was positively balmy at +14C. I spent most of the day grinding out a white paper with Paul Rummell on the health care sector. It is interesting to see how large scale technology procurement is done.  Paul as usual, is a great source of knowledge and wisdom. I thoroughly enjoy the projects he brings me in on.

And, because of all this good fortune and lovely weather, I went for a bike ride this morning! Cardinals were singing their songs all along the way.

Now back to work…..

O.K. So the wife is a bit dubious about my dream machine.  I'll take the written test and then see. But......

The article that got my attention was written by another white middle aged guy (like me) who was flown down to Florida to test drive the bike and write an article. Do kids ever read news papers? How old school is that?

What happened to their Web2.0 campaign? Where is the cool clip on YouTube? Where is the cool community site devoted to 125CC enthusiasts? 

I am going to contact Honda Canada and see if a campaign is being planned. Perhaps this is all waiting for a launch in a few weeks when things warm up.

In case there is no plan at Honda, here are some basic Web2.0 ideas for them to noodle over:

Web 2.0 refers to a perceived or proposed second generation of Web-based services—such as social networking sites, wikis, and blogs—that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users. 

Web2.0 is made possible by ubiquitous high bandwidth, cheap computing power and software advances notably AJAX, Flash, SAAS (Software as a Service) and Grid computing.

Web2.0 sites allow users to interact with focused content. Brochure ware sites have become less relevant for web savvy users who want to hear opinions from a community of users and not necessarily the originators of the material alone.  Trust and participation are key. 

The PR industry has embraced Web2.0. Here is my personal definition on Web2.0PR:

Web2.0PR: The use of new read/write SAAS tools to reduce the cost and enhance the efficiency of the PR process to generate earned media dependably and talk directly to consumers. (C) 2007, What If What Next  

For the fun of it, later in the week, I'm going to outline a Web2.0PR campaign for launching the CBR125R.  

For the longest time I have been tempted to buy a motorcycle. I never got around to it. In recent years bikes always seemed to be just too big and scary. The smaller bikes I lusted after when I was a kid were not being sold. 

My wife and I went to the Toronto car show a few weeks ago. There were 25 bikes on display in one corner of the show floor. Big brutes again. I could only lift one of them– a 750 CC Yamaha.  One caught my eye. A 125cc Honda used by training schools, but not for sell to the general public. How come you can’t buy one? Don’t these guys want customers? Seems my thought had some resonance. 

Motorcycle sales have been flat. Boomers buy most of the big beasts. Kids aren’t. Honda research discovered that each year 30K people get their licenses but only 9K actually purchase bikes. Why? I’m not alone in thinking entry level bikes are too big and scary fast and cost a fortune to buy and insure.  

Honda is getting the message. This spring, Canadian riders who have completed their initial MI license can participate in Honda’s New Rider Program.  Hot CBR125Rs will be offered with a full three year warrantee, driver jacket, boots and gloves for $149 per month in a 36 month financing plan.  The warrantee can also follow the owner to a bigger bike.

The CBR125R is really cool looking and looks like a racing bike. It has fuel injection and a catalytic converter to meet Euro 3 Emission standards. Clutch and throttle are silky smooth. Riding position is comfortable. Mileage is amazing. Bloggers in Europe love theses bikes:

Honda CBR 125cc.........
6 Oct 2006 by chung 
The thrilling CBR125R gives you sleek and sinewy Supersport styling for both the look and feel of swift, light-handling performance that never fails to excite. Your spirits begin to rise the instant you settle into its seat, ...
Bike - http://chung-bike.blogspot.com

A detailed review can be found at: 
http://www.motorbike-search-engine.co.uk/honda_cb125r.html

And maybe, if my wife lets, I just might pick one up!

The Release:

Jeffrey Automotive Introduces Brand New Plan for a DIY Electric Car

Cornwall, UK (PRWEB <http://www.prweb.com/>) March 5, 2007 -- Jeffrey Automotive is proud to introduce plans for a build it yourself electric car. The car can be built for $5,000 or less, with running costs of less than 3 cents a mile and no garage service bills. An excellent vehicle for doing the shopping, commuting to work or just for plain fun, all this and drivers will be helping the environment in the bargain.

source: http://ca.prweb.com/releases/2007/3/prweb509297.htm; www.electric-cars-plans.com

The Conversation:

Hi George: There is currently a gas shortage here in Toronto. Gosh - you should sell a lot of these plans around the world.  Suggestions though - what are the laws on these vehicles in North Amercia. Also I'd love to see a picture. Can I blog about your offering on http://prmeasure.blogware.com. I'm starting a new column called Nicely Pressed. You will get some good google rankings from the effort. I'll do a piece on you if you send me a few words about your company, its technology and how you are doing your PR program. No charge....

Howard Oliver
http://prmeasure.blogware.com

Hi Howard: Thanks for your interest in the car. I designed the car to solve just some of the problems you mention. The big manufacturers, are just not interested in the electric car being in the pockets of the petroleum companies, hence the hybrid the worst of both worlds. I have spent over a year researching and developing this vehicle using my previous background knowledge in the building of racing and sports cars, aeroplanes and boats.

We had hoped to present the car to the world this week, but like all the best laid plans the car is still with the people doing the finishing and painting - we will get their shortly.

The rules governing these vehicles in North America are very similar to those in Europe. There is not a problem as long as the specifications are met and the standard of workmanship is of a satisfactory standard. 
I'll get something together for you hopefully with a photo.

George Jeffrey

Readers:

Please join the conversation and leave a comment.

I spend lots of time looking a press releases. Good, bad, boring, and sometimes interesting. The best ones are worth responding to. This is very web2.0 - interacting with the folks and companies that put these cool press releases out. There are conversations waiting to be engaged in - innovations to explore.

Nicely Pressed, a new feature on this blog, will engage in some of this chatty behavior.

Howard 

 
Layered Technologies, Inc. is a leading hosting provider of self-managed, dedicated server platforms and services over a superior low latency network. With clients in over 120 countries, Layered Technologies' recently launched a 32 node grid-server network called called "The Grid Layer" (TGL). Grid-based solutions empower companies to plan, build, migrate and deploy entire internet based infrastructures.TGL is like an electric utility where customers pay for the on-demand CPU, network, server and storage capacity utilized. Visit www.TheGridLayer.com or www.layeredtech.com for more information.

TGL drives many leading Web2.0 applications. We get to interview them! Way too cool!