February 6th, 2012 
joel Just a few voters shared their interactions with Erie media via social networks when we asked the question. The most common use indicated that people are willing to post a link to an Erie online story on their personal Facebook wall, as well as “Like” local Erie media Facebook pages.
It time for our annual local Super Bowl ad poll. We’ve listed the top ten ads as picked by the USA Today panel. Their favorite this year was from Doritos:
What was your favorite?
Loading ... January 23rd, 2012 joel We haven’t asked your opinion in a while, but when we did ask about how you came down on the looming spectrum war between over-the-air broadcasters and the wireless community, an overwhelming majority sided with the TV stations to keep as much spectrum as needed to maintain free service.
The education reporter at the Erie Times-News, Sean McCracken told us this morning how the newspaper is deepening their commitment to social media, with nearly every reporter on staff now on Twitter. Of course, the paper itself, along with the TV newsrooms and early-adopter reporters have been tweeting for a while now (we’ve been tweeting since April 2009), and most have accompanying Facebook pages that roll stories and ask for input from readers and viewers (and some listeners of radio stations).
The question today is, how are you interacting with old-school media’s leveraging of social media? You can choose as many answers as you like, and weigh in on the comments.
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Posted in Polls 
Tags: Erie Times-News, Facebook, GoErie.com, National Broadband Plan, Sean McCracken, social network, Twitter 
No Comments » July 26th, 2010 joel 
How do you manage Facebook friends?
In our P&T poll last week about the Erie ad climate, I guess I went into that post a bit more optimistic than our readers are. Over half of our respondents say that the advertising climate is at least as bad as last year or even worst. A decent percentage did say that modest gains are being made over last year. Maybe the people saying that we are still in the toilet need to work harder to get some of the sales that the people who are seeing improvement are getting!
I recently marked my 500th Facebook friend on my profile. I’m actually down a few today, either due to people bailing out of the social network, or just defriending me. Anyway, I’d like to get your take on how you manage friends on Facebook. Below are multiple ways I’ve heard people request and accept Facebook friends.
What about you? You can click multiple answers as they apply to your opinion.
How do you manage Facebook Friends?
Total Voters: 42
Loading ... July 18th, 2010 joel I’m all awash in social media these days.
I had an “off-the-hook” birthday this week with well-wishers from across the country on my Facebook profile. I connected with my Mercyhurst Prep classmates about our upcoming class reunion in the Facebook group discussion. And I’m incredulously reTweeting the media news of the moment through the @pressandtower Twitter account.
Of course this blog is first and foremost a community media resource. Please use it to question and comment on what you feel strongly about regarding Erie media. Use the comment box below, e-mail me or send a tweet to @pressandtower (don’t forget to follow…that’s where the hour-to-hour updates are happening).
Embrace the chaos!
May 22nd, 2010 joel A Press and Tower survey of major metro dailies in the Tri-state area shows that of the seven newspaper websites reviewed, four allow comments and just three do not. GoErie.com/Erie Times-News is joined by the websites of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review with a moratorium on reader comments.
However, the newspapers we looked at outside of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania all allowed reader comments. The breakdown:
Finally, I think its funny that some of the sites don’t include Twitter as a top sharing tool. To me, Facebook and Twitter are the two social networking sites where I’ll find out about a story, as opposed to StumbleUpon or Digg.
May 2nd, 2010 joel It’s been exciting watch Erie and the rest of the supporters of the Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation come together to put their cause to the top of the Pepsi Refresh voting in April. It was also a lesson in the power of how viral marketing, social media, along with good old-fashioned public relations and a helpful traditional press can put solid rocket boosters behind a message.
It’s unfortunate that Pepsi won’t release vote totals, because it would be descriptive of what it takes to win that deal. I would anticipate vote totals in the hundreds of thousands if not over a million, and the sheer breadth of the outreach indicating a very large lead over #2. Of course what was shocking was the flipping of #2 & #3 on the last day; almost certainly caused by a last minute St. Louis Post-Dispatch article on the Ben-Gil Boosters situation.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: even though I’m just as excited and in awe of the power of social media, when push comes to shove, you can’t discount the sheer force of multiple messages on media that touches 96% of the entire population of your community, such as radio, TV, and newspaper.
New or old, we are all about Erie media at Press and Tower. Join us on this open forum with your civil and constructive comments below, or e-mail me at joel@nataliemedia.com or tweet @pressandtower.
Embrace the chaos!
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Deep Background for August 2011
Change is the constant in Erie media. The past 30 days saw major announcements and developments in the old media of radio, television, and the newspaper here in Erie. Meanwhile, nothing less than revolutions are occurring in and through social and new media, both globally and locally.
We wrestle with this changing context on a daily basis in this open forum. Participation is key; your opinions in the comments box below are encouraged. You can also connect by sending me an e-mail, or through a tweet @pressandtower.
Embrace the chaos!