In the biggest product launch of this short year, Google yesterday afternoon launched their first ever smart phone, the Nexus One. So how did the launch go?

The reviews

Walt Mossberg of the The Wall Street Journal was mostly positive. The New York Times‘ David Pogue was more negative. “Google Phone Is Not Revolutionary,” read his headline. Engadget’s Joshua Toplosky said the launch generated, “legitimate excitement.” CNET’s Rafe Needleman said, “it’s a solid step in Google’s continuing assault on new markets in general and on Apple in particular, but it’s not revolutionary the way the iPhone was…”

“It’s like the Obama of phones. Whether or not he’s really a great president, he can’t possibly live up to expectations he originally set,” said David Berkowitz, Senior Director of Emerging Media & Innovation at agency 360i.

Why No Video?

Flatiron Communications founder Peter Himler wondered why “Google’s PR peeps didn’t go through the trouble of web-streaming their own news conference, while arranging for on-site attendees to record wirelessly, to ensure optimal site lines and audio.” Instead thousands watched a stream set up by blogger Robert Scoble.

“They did the video feed for arguably less meaningful launches like Google Wave,” said Berkowitz.

Courting “influencers”

The list of people receiving Google’s phone in advance wasn’t at all limited to journalists. For example, venture capitalist Fred Wilson received the phone several weeks ago.

Google PR guaranteed feels more “comfortable” giving the phone to Wilson than say Engadget or the Times, as his review is much more likely to be positive. It was.

Wilson does not regularly review tech products and receiving such a high profile gadget in advance surely leads to excitement that could perhaps skew a review. Also, as a tech investor and not a journalist, he is less likely to be critical of the product.

The relatively new concept of “influencers” – some hate the term – means more and more people from different professions getting “pitched” by PR firms than ever before. Even PR people with popular blogs, like Edelman’s Steve Rubel or FutureWork’s Brian Solis get pitched. Robert Scoble, who was invited to the press conference, is a paid adviser to hosting company Rackspace.

Apple crowding

Per usual, Apple made it’s best attempts to crowd the news-cycle as we reported. “I think Apple got themselves in to the news with the tablet, and while iPhone would have been in the articles, it got Apple top of mind as usual,” said POP! PR Jots blogger and tech PR executive Jeremy Pepper. Edelman’s Steve Rubel saw things more positively. “Google plus phone is a surefire for press coverage as Godzilla plus city,” he told us.

After a short stint with Austin-based digital agency Dachis Group, David Armano joins Edelman’s digital division as SVP. He will report to Rick Murray, president of Edelman Digital. Prior to Dachis Group, Armano held positions “as a creative & strategic lead” at firms such as Critical Mass, Digitas and Agency.com.

In what some have called an interesting move, Edelman gave the news exclusively to Advertising Age as opposed to the industry trade publication PRWeek. This is not entirely surprising, as Edelman’s own Steve Rubel pens a column for AdAge and the agency seems to have a close relationship with the publication. It also speaks to Edelman’s and other agency’s desires to be thought of as more than just PR shops and reach a broader audience.

“With Steve Rubel‘s intellect and David Armano‘s creativity, we now provide clients the industries’ most compelling fire-and-ice team,” Edelman CEO Richard Edelman told AdAge.

Armano also posted the news on his popular Logic + Emotion blog. “I’ve known Rick Murray who runs the digital group at Edelman for some time now, and after some considerable deliberation it seemed to make perfect sense to go in this direction,” he said.

You are busy and always on the go. Your mobile device is quickly becoming your “PC.” Do these situations sound familiar?

There are countless mobile applications to help PR pros be more productive, but we’ve narrowed a list down to ten “must haves.” So, as you wind down for the Thanksgiving break and — maybe — have some time to kill, make sure you check out these FREE apps.

Read more

Steve Rubel, the man who once famously appeared in a BusinessWeek cover story titled, “Blogs Will Change Your Business,” is no longer blogging. Well, ok, he’s lifestreaming, which to a layman basically means you can expect shorter bursts of content aggregated from social sites including FriendFeed, Facebook and Twiter, as opposed to solely blog posts. The move is significant, as Rubel is the first high profile PR blogger to move to a full lifestream format. (Please correct us if we’re wrong.)

As he wrote in a post explaining the move:

This site will become my primary publishing hub – my new home on the web. Meanwhile the spokes will become the social networks and platforms where we all spend time. Today that’s Twitter, Facebook and Friendfeed. Tomorrow, who knows. My old site will stay online for the archives but I will not be putting any more content up on the old site…After five years of publishing, this seems like the right thing to do.

Rubel stresses that he doesn’t thing the blog is dead, “However, the blog format needs a reboot,” he said.

RELATED: PRNewser Interview: Steve Rubel, SVP and Director of Insights, Edelman Digital

Edelman Digital SVP and Director of Insights Steve Rubel spoke at Mediabistro Circus today in a presentation titled, “Marketing Using Corporate All Stars.” Rubel started off with a bit of a lay of the digital land, saying, “We’re all dealing with this firehouse of information and there is no end in sight.”

However, as it is PR and marketing’s job to get attention for products or services, our room for getting that attention is increasingly limited. Rubel reminded the audience that the average American visits only 111 domains and 2,554 web pages per mont, and “I don’t think those numbers are going to bet bigger,” he said.

Citing the Edelman Trust Barometer, Rubel said that people trust conversations with company employees most. He hinted at the idea that companies who have the most evangelists are going to win. “You need to put your individual employees out there and let them become brands,” he said.

Why is this important? “It’s about who we follow and when,” and it’s often going to be someone “who I feel is like me,” he said. “Recommendation engines for content and friendships are going to get better and better.” The first way to do this is to think about who the “rock stars” are in your company that are “already out there today that you can blow up. If the answer is one, how can you cultivate them?”

Here are questions we think a few brands would ask about this strategy:

What specific policy, if any do I have to set around this type of communication? What if I am a publicly traded company, how does this change my strategy?

What if my “rock star” leaves, taking his or her network with her? Does this mean it is important to build out a team and not rely on any one evangelist?

We have ten discounted tickets for our Mediabistro Circus conference only available for PRNewser readers! The conference takes place June 2-3 in New York.

Click here to register, use the promo code PRN245 and score a ticket to the Circus for only $245. But don’t wait, because this offer expires at close of business today or when tickets run out (and we only have ten), whichever comes first.

The Mediabistro events team has assembled an amazing lineup for this year’s Circus. Check out our recent interviews with speakers Stephen Baker of BusinessWeek and Steve Rubel of Edelman.

And here’s a fun fact: Did you know that Sports Illustrated, MTV, and Wikipedia were all founded during downturns? In times of economic hardship, opportunities are abound for the bold, the innovative, and the adventurous. That’s why our events team designed this year’s Circus program to give you new skills and business models that can help you turns things around — and make some money.

If you want to take part in the fun, its not too late, but you have to act fast. Register now!

mediabistro.com’s biggest event of the year, the Mediabisto Circus is coming up this June 2nd and 3rd in New York. We hope you’ll be able to join us, as the events team has assembled an all-star lineup that fits into this year’s theme: “Extraordinary Impact: Where Media Meets Technology.”

One of this year’s presenters, Steve Rubel, SVP and Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, took some time to speak with PRNewser about a variety of topics in advance of the conference. Rubel gave us his take on the rapidly changing media landscape – “I don’t know what media is anymore.” – his advice for job hunters – “Decide what your core genius is.” – and PRWeek‘s decision to go behind a subscription wall online – “I don’t think they have a choice.”

Your presentation at Mediabistro Circus is titled “Brand All-Stars,” with the descriptor, “having a powerful personal brand might be one of the most important assets you can have, especially during turbulent economic times.” Who in PR/marketing do you follow that have powerful personal brands?

There are a lot of people.

Read more