Wal-Mart, founded in 1962, has decided to update its familiar block-letter logo. As seen below, the new logo eschews the star hyphen, dark blue and blocky lines of the former version for a softer, friendlier look.

We see a hint of Web 2.0 in the design with the move to lowercase lettering and lighter - dare we say more youthful - font. Twitter, Digg and Facebook all showcase lowercase letters exclusively.

Also looks a lot like the Yelp logo:

Yelp is a people-powered site for reviews of restaurants, shops and other locales - very 2.0. Maybe this is Wal-Mart’s homage to crowdsourcing?

Details were released about The Big Tent that will serve as the media center for bloggers and other “new media journalists” during the Democratic National Convention. While we assumed that sponsors would put them up in style, we were pretty impressed by the amenities that were listed on the site.

The Big Tent will be a 9,000-square-foot, two-story structure featuring:

• Free wireless network access
• A lounge with couches, TVs, food and drinks
• A Google Retreat replete with smoothies and free massages
• The Digg Stage, where big-time speakers will hold panels
• Sponsored happy hours
• Late-night entertainment, such as concerts and films

It’s clear from this information that bloggers are not only being treated as well as traditional journalists, but are being feted and catered to like never before. Rather than being relegated to the sidelines with no credentials and limited access, bloggers have gained legitimate respect as political media.

This is truly something to be excited about. And not only because of the free smoothies.

It’s amazing how many resumes we get at JohnstonWells — and it’s amazing how many of them neglect to highlight emerging/digital/new/social media experience or expertise.

These days, we’re looking for candidates who are on top of what’s going on in a tech-driven communications environment that changes literally day to day.

I’ve discovered that many millennials — while they practically live and breathe online — don’t realize that the web skills they have can translate to a career advantage. Sometimes, only when we’re deep in interviews and almost by accident do we suddenly realize that a job or intern candidate actually blogs, knows blogs, is active on social networks, shoots and edits video, tweets on Twitter, etc.

The public relations industry (and advertising and marketing) needs employees who can help companies and organizations to keep up and take advantage of continuous transformations in media and communications.

So here’s the advice: When you’re applying to a progressive company or PR firm (and why would you want to work anywhere else?), highlight your experience/expertise in using new tools and provide links to your blog or Facebook page.

Just make sure you nix the party pics first.

For many Generaton Y-ers, access to Facebook is more important than having a job. According to a study of 1,000 office workers by IT services firm Telindus, 39% of 18-24 year olds said they would consider quitting their jobs if access to Facebook or YouTube were blocked.

Predictably, only 21% of 25-65 year olds said the same thing.

These stats are pretty jarring. Is the new generation of job seekers so fixated on “poking” each other  that they would quit a job over it? We all have websites that we’re especially fond of (Gawker and CuteOverload, in my case), but I could certainly do my job without them.

I wish this statistic had been available for our recent internship seminar, Get Your IN. I would have loved the opportunity to ask the attendees to weigh the importance of Facebook versus employment. It sounds like Facebook is a top priority for some people and work is just a distraction.

A few people in the office are buzzing about a new magazine that’s launching soon. It’s called Rocky Mountain TechLine and will focus on the IT community in Colorado. The site is already up, but the magazine won’t be available until August.

This could be a great opportunity for small, local tech companies who could use more exposure in Denver and Boulder. It’s also a boon for public relations pros - a publication that is targeted directly at Colorado’s tech sector.

Above all, Rocky Mountain TechLine illustrates how rich and vibrant our tech community is. According to the magazine’s “About Us” page, there are nearly 160,000 high-tech workers in Colorado, making us 12th in the nation. We’ve also got the highest concentration of tech jobs in the country.

Given the built-in audience for something like this, TechLine has to potential to fill a needed niche in local media.

I first heard about the Zac Browser on CNET’s “Loaded” and then saw it covered in yesterday’s Rocky. It’s a Web browser (like Firefox or Internet Explorer) designed for children, especially those with autism who may find the typical Web interface confusing or frustrating.

The AP story that ran in the Rocky goes into much more detail about the genesis of the Zac Browser, but I was more struck by its implications for businesses trying to reach younger audiences. More companies are creating kid-friendly devices and software that simplify Web experiences so that, farther down the road, these same consumers are more likely to embrace technology.

Kiddie laptops, kiddie browsers, kiddie apps - this trend isn’t going away. And there are numbers to prove it. According to a report by the NPD Group, the average age at which children start using consumer electronics has decreased from 8.1 years in 2005 to 6.7 years in 2007.

The only thing I’m wary of is encountering a child who knows more about technology than I do. To get schooled by a pre-schooler would be humiliating. I’ve got my eye on you, Generation Z.

YouTube, the 800-pound gorilla of video-sharing sites, announced some new features recently and we’ve finally gotten around to tinkering with them.

Chief among the new features is Video Annotations, the ability to add small text boxes to your videos. This makes it incredibly easy for users to add contextual information, links to other videos or thought bubbles without having to use video-editing software.

Consider the screenshot below:

Clicking on the image will take you to the actual video so you can see the annotations yourself. (They wouldn’t work when we tried to embed the video.) Far from perfect, but the text boxes make the video significantly more interactive.

Businesses may love the idea of easily adding a bit more messaging to their online videos, even if it’s just a simple caption. Really creative companies can probably take advantage of the linking out feature to create a chain of connected videos. As Wired noted, you could even create a “choose your own adventure” kind of experience for viewers.

We just hope the new feature isn’t used to clutter otherwise great videos with link spam.

As new methods of communication pop up, more companies are using alternate distribution channels to increase sales or more accurately target an audience.

Just ask Mötley Crüe.

Sales of their new single “Saints of Los Angeles” floundered on iTunes and other online retailers. The song exploded, however, when it was made available for download via the video game “Rock Band.” The song was downloaded 47,000 times on the Xbox, dwarfing the 10,000 copies sold on iTunes and other sites.

What does this mean for businesses?

That tremendous opportunities to reach their audiences exist in niche communication channels - such as gaming, virtual worlds, the blogosphere, etc. Chalk another one up for The Long Tail.

It also means that Mötley Crüe still rocks. \m/

Many a journalist and many a blogger have declared the death of the press release with probably the most circulated rant - “Die! Press release! Die! Die! Die!” - coming from blogger Tom Foremski.

Recently, however, Foremski toned down his assault on the press release, declaring: “Evolve! Press release! Evolve! Evolve! Evolve!”

About a week later popular tech rag TechCrunch ran a post entitled “The Evolution of the Press Release.”

Why the soft spot for the maligned press release? Guess it’s because, hated or not, releases still serve a purpose: to officially announce something that may matter to some people somewhere.

No one denies there are too many press releases or that many of them are lame. But much like the tenacious cockroach, the release refuses to slide into oblivion. This is especially true today as the wires push releases out to thousands of sites on the web.

Still, we agree the release is due for some evolution.

In the public relations industry there’s a lot of buzz about the social media release. But do we really need two versions of the same release - one for journos and one for bloggers?

Let’s keep it simple. One release will suffice.

Write concisely. Keep it short, to the point. Use bullets. And most importantly, incorporate links! Links can either be embedded in text or included as a list at the end of the release.

Always, to cut down on the clutter, companies and firms should ask themselves if what they are announcing is really worth drafting and distributing a release. A lot of times a short blurb on your website - instead of a release - does the trick.

We had a great turnout at “Get Your IN” yesterday. GYI is our firm’s “day in the life of an intern” program where 30 recent college grads flock to our office to get a feel for what it’s like to work at JohnstonWells. We spend the day showing them the ropes and having our senior counselors talk to them about the industry.

One of the most rewarding parts of the program is answering questions. I’ve put together a list of some of the best ones we received yesterday:

• Have you tried any viral video tactics for your clients?

• Are there peak times to pitch media?

• How do you make your pitch stand out from others?

• How do you handle pitching a story that you don’t think is actually newsworthy?

I think it’s great that they asked so many questions about pitching, since it’s the axis of what a PR firm does. Knowing what your story is, how to develop it into a great pitch and then targeting the right reporter or blogger is crucial. And not just for your career, but for your clients.

It’s comforting to know that new grads are so concerned with getting it right. Bravo!

I was a little surprised that there weren’t more questions about social media and technology. These new platforms are increasingly important in public relations – the best thing a new grad could do is immerse themselves in it early on. PR is evolving and the next generation of professionals is expected to thrive in the new landscape.