"Blogola" Scandal at Edelman PR

Edelman PR does it again. From the PR firm that helped coin the term "flog". You don't have to be a PR genius to know that giving out Acer laptops loaded with Microsoft Vista as "gifts" to bloggers is going to backfire. So far, the mainstream media hasn't picked up this story, but will in the coming days. Let's hope that 2007 sees an end to these unethical practices, and Edelman's involvement in the Blogosphere.

Bayonne

Boraie Development and the New Urbanism

Boraie Development, a major NJ based Real Estate development firm and Bruni PR client, has won approval to redevelop the Bayonne Ocean Terminal area, a $900 million project involving a new hotel, condos and a retail complex. In essence, Boraie and several other RE firms chosen, will be reshaping the look of this industrial town, often featured in the "Sopranos". The Newark Star Ledger recently did a profile of Boraie, engineered by Bruni PR.

New York Tech Meetup Xmas Party

The NY Tech Meetup Christmas event this week featured several new startups that will surely succeed. Urbis.com, founded by Steve Spurgat, allows writers, publishers and critics to hookup in an almost social media like format. Cogmap.com promises to disintermediate list brokers. And, uplayme.com offers music play list swapping. It's almost like 1997 in the reborn Silicon Alley, with VCs and key players showing up regularly at these events. One of the VCs predicted that the "next billion dollar Net company" will come out of NYC this coming year. As NYers say, "from your mouth to God's ear...." Kudos to Scott H., our NY Meetup tech organizer and impresario.