Red Rock bill

Utah environmentalists have been trying for 20 years to pass a bill to protect Utah's wilderness. The SUWA (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance), the alliance pushing for the bill to be passed, was cited in a Salt Lake Tribune article today.
The SUWA exectutive director, Scott Groene, said, "This is a historic moment in the long effort to protect Utah's magnificent wilderness landscapes throughout the state. Places like Cedar mesa, the San Rafael Swell, the Green River and the west desert are one step closer to achieving the lasting protection they need and deserve."
The SUWA recieved some other wanted publicity when Congressman Maurice Hinchey from New York is cited in the article, saying, "This part of our country is some of the most remarkably pristine and beautiful land in the world and this bill would ensure that it stays that way forever."
The Salt Lake Tribune is unbiased however, and gives the other side of the story saying, "But the SUWA's proposal has long irritated county officials and the state's Republicans, who say the bill grossly overestimates the land that should be protected and would restrict economic development for rural Utah." Utah Representative Rob Bishop is also quoted saying that the SUWA act is lousy and the his staff questions SUWA's inventory of lands worthy of wilderness designation.
As proven here, using a newspaper article is a good way to get you or your company's name and cause out there and represents a credible source of information to all who read it. You can't always expect it to be one-sided though. Newspapers must keep their credibility.

Croudsourcing

Croudsourcing has become a common new phrase in the business world. A company croudsources when they leave a task to an unpaid third party, often their own customers. Businusses such as Dell, Starbucks, IBM and ebay have taken advantage of social media and used it as a means to interact with customers and other publics. Through these interactions they get ideas and learn about potential business opportunities.

Starbucks, for expample, launched a website called "MyStarbucksIdea" which allows users to communicate, share, discuss and vote on ideas for business. Some of these ideas are even considered by top executives in Starbucks' company.

I think this is a great idea for a couple reasons. First, outsiders have insight into the common, everyday lifestyles and can therefore give input as to what business strategies would be successful. Second, customers don't want to engage with unfamiliar companies. They want relationships with the company. Richard Brewer-Hay, chief blogger at eBay, said, “Consumers are no longer buying from a faceless company. They’ve got a relationship with that brand. The companies that are most successful right now are selling a lifestyle, not a product.” (http://www.prnewsonline.com/features/Crowd-Control-Crowdsourcing-Puts-Brands-in-Consumers-Hands_13168.html)
Crowdsourcing/social media allows outsiders to take part in the companys' activities and build relationships. If the relationship between the company and the outsider is good, then the outsider will keep coming back and give them business.