Amidst the latest news of impending tablet like devices, including Apple’s newest creation, lies a new and important path for communications campaigns and the practitioners that coordinate these efforts.

First, in terms of the technology, the day of the E-Reader is upon us. Both the Amazon Kindle & the Barnes and Noble Nook experienced extremely successful holiday sales to wrap up 2009. While 2010 is staring off with numerous competitors announcing their own E-Reader efforts at the annual Consumer Electronics show, and mounting speculation as to what Apple will unveil in this space later this week.

The growth of this “reader” type of device in an arena already crowded by Notebooks, Netbooks, iPhones, & Blackberries is interesting; and yet it is an evolution of those devices. The e-reader, despite its name, I believe will extend beyond just electronic forms of books. This type of device, when done correctly will allow for easy consumption and navigation of content on a sizeable screen, in a format that is easier on the eyes (no backlight or optional backlight) and unites a variety of content types including audio, video, & text.

Specifically, with the web’s maturation we are now observing two different types of internet audiences… the first being the desktop/laptop space in which you interact with the web, collaborate with colleagues and essentially get work done. For most of us, that categorizes the vast majority of our day…but the second audience is more concerned with consuming content that is available online from the comfort of their family room, or along their commute. We saw the early evidence of this type of behavior with the iPod and subsequent similar devices; but the shift that has been observed in the past several weeks suggests that we are about to head in a direction that revolutionizes this media consumption in an easier to use and more portable format that that of a 13” or 15” laptop. This new type of device will make it easier to spend that down time “away” from the computer consuming any type of content that you can imagine.

All of that said, this technological shift simply underlines the importance for communications campaigns to seek to disseminate and Touch customers in any number of ways. While the devices continue to evolve and offer each of us new ways to be entertained, with the old phrase in mind “content is king,” it is increasingly important for those of us in the communications business to be content-minded. In doing so, we will be able to use these new types of outreach tools to produce content that can accompany our PR & Marketing campaigns and capitalize on these technologies to reach broader audiences.

Over the past year, as a Nation we have witnessed a financial meltdown, which has been unlike any other series of events that many of us have lived through. Millions have lost jobs, and confidence in the market has eroded. Certainly, it is normal for the market to have fluctuations and for corrections to take place from time to time, but the last year was beyond what anyone including the “experts” had envisioned. The repercussions from these recent events run deep and have impacted millions; leaving many wondering what tomorrow will bring.

As organizations look to the future and to moving forward beyond the financial crisis, and as markets strengthen and projects move forward, perhaps the most important component to the recovery is Communications. I do not write that flippantly, nor because it is the arena in which you or I practice. Instead, in order to get our Nation back to work, and to ease everyone’s concerns we must leverage the opportunities before us in today’s new media landscape to openly and honestly communicate and share the direction that our organizations and clients envision. Whether that means sharing notes and information via today’s social media tools such as Twitter, or Facebook, or doing a periodic Podcast interview with members of the C-Suite, or doing a media tour to promote events and campaigns.

Utilizing these tools affords us the opportunity to share where our organizations (and our client’s) are heading with both internal and external audiences. Further, sharing our message will help to ease people’s fears, and instill confidence in the greater business environment and to our customers.

While the news these days is often about the high unemployment rate and the many negative aspects to today’s economy, despite those headlines, there are millions upon millions of hard working people heading to their jobs every day. They are our colleagues in research and development, customer service, shipping & management and collectively they are doing great things and helping their organizations move forward. As for us, as communicators, PR flacks, & marketers it is our role to shine the light on the positive stories and demonstrate to our communities both locally, domestically, and abroad that we are holding our heads up high and moving the economy forward.

As communicators we manage and implement new strategies that best fit our goals and as marketing and communications have gone through various cycles we’ve adapted our strategies to deal with the latest tactics.  Whether that means having a daylong conference, doing a media tour, producing a tri-fold brochure, or taking a weighty campaign and making it make sense in a one-minute radio or television spot.  Regardless of the medium, it’s our job to tell the story and leverage new communications platforms to find ways through which we can deliver our messages.  With that in mind, I thought I’d take a look at the latest communications tool, which of course has been getting a lot of attention, Twitter.

While I realize that many organizations have already started thinking about and integrating Twitter into their communications campaigns, there are many that have yet to fully delve in.  So, for those that are still leery let me share a few quick ideas about how Twitter can be beneficial for your next program.  First off, the basic premise of Twitter is to share with essentially the World, what you are doing, or thinking, in 140 characters.  Now, I know your first reaction might be that it seems like we have finally reached that point where we’re boiling everything down to the lowest common denominator, and you’re probably wondering how can 140 characters help me communicate about my campaign.

Well, I would argue that upon a closer look and once you’ve taken some time to explore the Twitterverse you may actually realize it is filled with potential and be of a different school of thought.  I know, you’re thinking exactly how that could be, well Twitter allows you to give your campaign and active avenue through, which you can reach your target market and engage them in an open dialogue.  Perhaps, best of all, Twitter opens the doors to having a conversation with audiences that are located anywhere and about any topic.

So, how can you benefit by integrating Twitter into your next communications campaign?  Here are a few ideas, you will be able to:

• Develop an on-going dialogue about your campaign; sharing new information and keeping your brand in front of your audiences.
• Share message points with diverse and geographically dispersed audiences.
• Take an active voice in helping to answer questions in real-time.
• Monitor feedback and control your own message.

Beyond these key points, by utilizing Twitter you’ll be able to engage in a virtual dialogue, which will help hammer home your message.  Further, being active on Twitter will help you establish new relationships, strengthen existing ones, and perhaps most importantly share knowledge and information with new contacts who may even be potential clients.

So, think about it 140 Characters really is more powerful than you would have initially thought, right?  Tweet me @jasoncohen

One of my favorite radio bits used to be a promo for the latest way to read books: “Now introducing Books-On-Tape-On-Paper.”  That always made me laugh since it seemed so ridiculous that we had gone so far that the reintroduction of the printed word seemed “new.”

However, recently, as I’m in the midst of wrapping up my first e-book, Tom Verducci’s The Yankee Years, I have been thinking about the fact that the printed word really has been re-invented and is symbolic of the overall media shift and fragmentation of audience habits.  It seems so simple but there are actually quite a few different options these days for how you can read the latest novel or biography.  Reading used to be such a simple task; you went to the library or local bookstore, browsed around, and if you chose well, went home with, and enjoyed a page-turner.  It was pretty much a choice between hardcover or paperback; which was often a decision that was made for you based on what was “in-print.”

However, in 2009 depending on your preference there are quite a few ways in which you may experience that latest thriller or biography: Are you more of a buy it in hardcover as soon as it’s published type of person? Or do you wait for the paperback version? Do you download and listen to audio books? If so, do you go with abridged or unabridged versions?  Or do you download an e-book to some device, such as the Kindle?

Really, who ever thought simply reading a book could be such a complicated endeavor?  That said, there is an important lesson here for communications professionals; we have to communicate in a variety of ways to reach today’s diverse and segmented audiences.  Books have adapted and become available in a multitude of formats because audiences have changed and everyone’s preferences vary…so shouldn’t we be applying the same logic to how we communicate and showcase experts, opinions, products and events?

Clearly, you may not be dealing in the arena of books, but when it comes time to tell your stories (or those of your clients) this shift is real and people are getting their news and information in a variety of ways; the result is we have to think strategically about offering the same information in any number of different channels.  When it comes to thinking about campaigns we have to move beyond just those traditional methodologies (think hard and soft cover books) and leverage new opportunities to communicate and reach today’s audiences.  So while the press release, and the media outreach will always play a role in communicating let’s take a page out of the e-book and start thinking about how we can utilize new methods for telling the same old story.

Do you read the paper, or surf to their website, subscribe to an RSS feed?  Do you listen to the radio, or download Podcasts, listen to Slacker, or Satellite?  Is prime-time TV your thing; do you watch on a television, via SlingBox, or do you Hulu?

The questions can go on and on, as today’s audiences are increasingly fragmented.  It’s a point I often make during presentations and conversations with clients – today’s audiences are increasingly sophisticated and get their news and information in varied ways.  The translation for communications professionals is that we have to think about communicating differently and in ways that go beyond the traditional methodologies.  That is not to say those aren’t important avenues, because they are clearly still powerful outlets, but today they are just one part of today’s communications landscape.  But increasingly, so are new technologies from audio and video on the web as Podcasts and Webcasts, to desktop widgets, and BlackBerry and iPhone applications; the translation communications and marketing are becoming platform agnostic practices.

There are two recent examples, which showcase how content providers are adopting new strategies that are increasingly platform agnostic.  First, Amazon on the heels of releasing the second edition of its Kindle e-book reader, released Kindle for iPhone.  Now, instead of only selling e-books to owners of Amazon’s own hardware they are able to tap into new audiences who own either the Apple iPhone, or the iPod Touch.  Further, this strategy will expand the availability of Amazon’s e-books; generating increased content sales and potential even furthering interest in the Kindle device.

Secondly, on the heels of the Sirius/XM merger, and under increased pressure to differentiate and compete in today’s media marketplace come rumors that Sirius XM is evolving and developing a new broader internet strategy.  It seems as though the firm is working to give subscribers easier access to the Sat Radio’s content from any number of devices including Windows Media Center, via Boxee, or even via the iPhone and iPod Touch.  These moves suggest that Sirius realizes the importance of reaching subscribers in any number of venues, in order to meet the increased demands of today’s consumer in an effort to keep them as subscribers.

With both examples, we see that these providers are leaving behind the idea of proprietary hardware to access their content – instead they will find greater success with a platform agnostic approach.  These instances can serve as examples of the new way in which communications professionals need to be thinking about delivering their own messaging.  With this approach in mind, the more avenues through which communications professionals can try and distribute their own messaging then the more success we’ll have at telling our stories.

MediaBack Page’s Quick Hits for February 26th :

• Audio Podcast Brings Help To Homebuyers | TomsRiverTimes.micromediapubs.com | Toms River Times - A smart way of communicating about some very important decisions that homebuyers will make in these economic times.
• Small Business Administration - Podcasts - In light of the recession, with the goal of driving the economy forward with the engine of Small Business the Small Business Administration has released a new series of Podcasts.