talkingDigital

• Panasonic just mentioned that one of their TVs will offer support for "Wireless WiFi" AWESOME! #CES #
• Panasonic is going to "re-launch" the Lumix brand of cameras in the US even though they never left the market. #CES #
• Panasonic press conference has a lot of filler. Hope it has a big finish. #CES #
• I really think TVs will be the device that kills off the OS. #CES #fb #
• Jon Landau – the producer of Avatar – is talking at Panasonic press conference. #CES #fb #
• Panasonic's press conference is pretty bad so far. Samsung had me sold on 3D TV. Panasonic – not so much. #CES #
• If Best Buy employees can't even explain the difference between HD and digital conversion – how do they explain 8 3D formats? #CES #
• Panasonic Press conference begins with 3D TV announcement. #CES #
• Jeff Katzenberg just came on stage at Samsung's press conference at #CES announcing 3D deal with Samsung & Technicolor. #
• Samsung announces technology that converts tooty content to 3D – gross. #
• Samsung announcing TVs & BluRay that support apps. Is this exciting? I have mixed feelings. #CES #
• Samsung is planning on more phones and getting into the app development business. #CES #
• Samsung began their press conference by announcing their new mission statement. Yep. One of those press conferences. #CES #
• At the Samsung press conference http://twitpic.com/wyo27 #CES #
• So, I got the EHX@CES ribbon with my press badge. What do I do with it? #CES #
• Wish #Sprint was having a press event at #CES. All phones seen so far are GSM and Verizon. #
• RT @syahmiafnan889: #CES – so far its only about #netbook and #ebook reader… <- don't forget 3D TV. in reply to syahmiafnan889 #
• RT @saadkamal: OMG….Microsoft To Launch Slate PC Ahead Of Apple? #CES http://bit.ly/6ZwSdZ <- will people wit 3 min for bootup? in reply to saadkamal #
• Today might be a wash. Not enough press events on press day to handle all the press #CES #
• At the Venetian for #CES press day. #fb #
• Day 2 of Pre-show #CES coverage. Rumors are of a much smaller show this year. Change name to ereader/3D TV/USB 3.0 show. #
• Dang. Twitpic is down. #
• Thanks @the_forum_shops @offthestrip @canyonrat @Parrot for the #CES retweets! #
• My production manager and I are really hitting it off. http://twitpic.com/wv8zu #CES #fb #
• Watching the animatronic gods dual over the fate of the Cheesecake Factory http://twitpic.com/wv45g #CES #fb #
• Trojan SWAG http://twitpic.com/wuz6y #CES #fb #
• http://twitpic.com/wuvts What is the deal with this? #CES #Vegas #Seinfeld #fb #
• http://twitpic.com/wufy5 – Maybe we should try crashing this party #CES #fb #
• Just saw a poster for HDMI 1.4. I'll give anybody $100 for their old HDMI 1.3 TV over 42" #CES #
• http://twitpic.com/wuc04 Ya. It's a SCUBA mask camera system. #CES #fb #
• http://twitpic.com/wub4v The AR Drone by Parrot #CES #
• http://twitpic.com/wuac2 Cool demo of a Pico micro projector running on an iPhone. #CES #
• http://twitpic.com/wu9t3 Here it is folks USB 3.0 – say ohhhh! Say ahhhhh! #CES #fb #
• http://twitpic.com/wu95h – The prize for first 3D TV demo we've seen at #CES goes to Sensio #
• http://twitpic.com/wu8ff – The #BestBuy booth at #CES Unveiled press party. #
• #BestBuy is a big #CES sponsor this year. Looks like they have changed their logo slightly. http://twitpic.com/wu2wp #
• http://twitpic.com/wu08c – What we are we are wearing to the #CES parties #fb #
• http://twitpic.com/wtypy – On our way to #CES Unveiled. #
• http://twitpic.com/wtmhd – Yep. We are at #CES – arrived safe and sound #fb #
• http://twitpic.com/wsele – Snow on Vulcan – on our way to #CES #
• anyone know whether they are doing anything new and different with to improve WiFi at #CES this year? #
• I would love to see some tweets from CES "booth babes" I have always wondered what goes on in their heads during the show. #CES #
• I am hoping #CES isn't all ereaders and 3D TVs – two format wars with an audience waiting for the war to end before they buy. #
• RT @HelpMeRick: Hot off press: : A new year, and YOUR chance to contribute http://bit.ly/73H7VZ #
• First thing that has got me really excited about #CES so far… http://bit.ly/6zzQwy #
• Any high rollers going to Vegas – I encourage you to gamble on me. Don't bet that $10k – help me pay for my PhD instead. #CES #
• Trolling for #CES party invites. #
• I will be in Vegas for the State of the Industry discussion. #CES #
• I dropped off my car 5 hours ago at Big O Tires – it still isn't done. #Bigotires #
• Finishing the last of my pre-CES chores. Hope to be on the road by 5am! #CES #
• RT @nicolespag: Way cool! I can send a fax for free w/o a fax machine http://bit.ly/13F4ge #
• I am not ashamed to say that my tweets and blog posts can be bought. #CES #
• Another tip for those covering #CES as press. Don't bother setting up press appointments unless you are compensated. It wastes time. #
• Just read about the Mommy Tech Summit at CES. Very interesting. #CES #
• I will be posting updates all week from CES 2010. Visit talkingdigital.org for regular updates starting January 5 #CES #
• I will be posting updates all week from CES 2010. Visit talkingdigital.org for regular updates starting January 5. #
• http://bit.ly/7K195O Obamatar #
• Kay Ruane can't draw faces. #
• Had a lot of fun camping now I am getting ready for CES. #
• RT @Twitter_Tips: Looks like Tweets will count as votes on Digg soon: [LATimes] http://j.mp/7l3C17 #

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photo credit: [BarZaN] Qtr [Boston]

We are attending our seventh CES and our coverage will begin in less than 12 hours as we get on the road. Watch us on Twitter for live updates. We will also be posting photos to our Flickr account and posting updates here on talkingDigital.

Attending CES as press is quite fun. We enjoy the press parties, the free food, using the press room and the backroom demonstrations of future products.

If there is anything we don’t like about attending CES as press, it is the overwhelming barrage of email press releases.

The typical press release starts out thusly… “Another CES is upon is. We know your time is valuable, but we wanted to give you a special invitation to visit us at…”

Another favorite line is… “Our company is announcing an exciting new line of products that promise to change the way people (insert verb).

None of these press releases does much at all to attract our attention. I do read them, but I don’t care to follow up. If anything, these press releases are primarily tools for building brand recognition at the show.

Here are a few tips for creating a solid press release for CES and other big shows where schedules are limited.

Attach a picture – Sure it was proper etiquette five years ago to include a link rather than an attachment, but those days are gone. Virus writers have discovered far more effective methods of sending viruses and everyone who deserves to hear your message has broadband Internet. As long as the attachment is small (under 1MB) there is no real reason not to include a picture of the product.

Link to the product web page – Don’t just include a link to your company website, make sure there is a link to the exact product you are pitching.

Invite bloggers to cut and paste – Many bloggers are not trained in professional journalists. However, most of them have heard terms like fair use, plagiarism, and copyright and they fear falling on the wrong side of the law. If you invite bloggers to copy and past a well written article in the style of a third party blog post,  you may be more successful in getting the information picked up. If writers know that they have permission to use a well written article verbatim, lazy bloggers will likely do so.

Post video – Include a link to a video on YouTube of your product in action – if applicable. Make sure to use YouTube, not an obscure video service that may require a plug-in or long load times.

Keep it short, very short – If you make a compelling case to visit the website, we don’t need all of the product info in the press release. Pitch the product, get us interested, then close it up with contact information.

Press releases can be very effective, but only if they get the press interested in the product being pitched. If the press release is 800 characters with four hyperlinks and no pictures, there is a good chance it will never be read unless it says “Apple Announces New Tablet Device” in the subject line (don’t do that unless it’s true though).

• Almost all of my CES clothes shopping done. #fb #ces #
• http://twitpic.com/vrfc9 It's my size and everything! #
• Installing WebOS update 1.3.5. I am anxious to see if it changes anything. Still no video or voice recording – I am assuming. #
• I can study no longer. I am going to find out where my wife is and help her shop from groceries. #
• Sometimes I sit in my car for 5 minutes listening to a podcast before I remember that it will pickup from the same spot when I come back. #
• RT @MesaCountyWFC: Part time Waver (Job#5330556) no experience required. Pay: $7.50/hr http://ow.ly/Qs0c #gjco <- They say jobs are scarce. #
• I am tired of my Palm Pre. I hope Sprint gets an Android 2.0 phone soon. #Pre #
• Well, the presents are open. That was a quick 500 bucks. #
• Wish it wasn't so muddy in the desert. I would love to go shooting. #
• Christmas Eve tradition – get to the mall early for the best parking spot then spend the day with the motor running and backup lights on #fb #
• It's cool to see Chrome and Firefox taking over! http://bit.ly/8KjVQi #
• I am making these for everyone on my Christmas list http://bit.ly/7TxVyA #
• Two days until Christmas as a little over a week until #CES. #

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