CustomScoop Blog

Relating to the Public

Over the course of the past week or so, I’ve seen blog posts that have left me wondering what the heck has happened to the practice of public relations. A number of bloggers have called out PR people for writing bad press releases, or spamming them, and there’s always the constant mantra in the blogosphere of “why do we need PR people at all? They’re just flacks who lie, obfuscate, and spin.”

Steve Rubel on Monday said:

“Meanwhile, demand for PR specialists is expected to climb 18-26% during the same period. So what are all those bodies going to be doing exactly? I don’t believe that the industry is progressing fast enough when it comes to embracing the digital age so there feels like there is some big disconnect here.”

And Strumpette argues that:

“PR is (should be) the business of making the case to the public on behalf of a client. Exclusively! Period. And the disappearance of the skill of writing in our business is inextricably related to the loss of the ability to do just that. By default, this is absolutely why today the business endorses “the conversation.” It’s because the business has lost the ability to make a convincing, meaningful and memorable presentation. If you cannot do formal, endorse casual.”

One is arguing that the industry isn’t moving quickly enough to get up to speed with technology, while the other argues PR has embraced social media at the expense of what PR should be.

I think it’s a little of both.

When I read reports of PR/social media experts speaking at conferences who ask audiences of PR professionals if they know what RSS is and no one raises a hand, I cringe—this isn’t a passing fad, and as communicators, they should be at least familiar with RSS. (But at least they’re there, learning.)

When I read about poorly crafted news releases, sent en masse to bloggers, I cringe. That’s not a rookie mistake anymore; it’s willfully ignoring a changing landscape.

Bad writing is everywhere, it’s an epidemic in our society and it is tragic that many in a profession of communicators cannot write well or clearly. Cringe.

But when I read blog posts about how horrible it is that everyone in PR isn’t completely engaged and up to their eyeballs in all of the new social networks and so on, I cringe at that too.

Strumpette is correct; PR is about presenting a client to the public. The variety of clients and client objectives presents a wide array of how this should be accomplished.

It’s ridiculous to say every client should engage full-force in all that is social media. It’s equally ridiculous to tell every client to eschew any form of social media for some “higher art” PR. As every client is unique, so to should be the mix in their PR portfolio—and that mix should match their objectives. This means giving careful thought to which audiences of the public need to be reached on any given campaign.

The audience and the issue should also dictate the tone used. Both formal and casual exchanges have their places. Don’t wear a ball gown to build a Habitat for Humanity home, and don’t wear a ripped tee and flip flops to dinner at Le Cirque. Use the correct tone for the context.

The PR profession is changing, there’s no doubt about that. It can be a good thing too—the medium of blogs can force a change in transparency that is needed. PR practitioners can use blogs as an excuse to say no to the no-news news releases that clients sometimes want, by explaining that such nonsense is quickly called out by bloggers.

PR isn’t just about pushing a message out to the public; it also needs to understand the public response to that message. So, the “conversation” (established through social media) is important. But the “conversation” shouldn’t be the only objective either. Not everyone is participating in these new tools, and those of us who are in this space every day I think can get a little myopic about the significance of social media to the broader public.

We need balance. Real change can begin when all-or-nothing protestations stop.

 

Technorati tags: Public Relations, Social media

Initial PodCamp Takeaways...

Podcamp Boston 2 wrapped up yesterday, and I had the great  pleasure to be in attendance. Many, many thanks go to Chris Brogan and Chris Penn (and countless others) for putting together such a stellar weekend. I hope the other attendees got as much out of it as I did!

I hope to cover a number of topics from the weekend, and do a few more posts in the next couple of days (a “shout out” post in particular with lots of juicy link love for all the awesome people I met for the first time, and all the awesome people I already knew but got to spend some more time with), but let’s begin with a few simple takeaways:

This community is powerful.

See Chris Brogan’s post on one of the “products” of PodCamp, LOL Saur. Basically, some PodCampers put their heads together, and within a couple of hours (seriously) had a new site up paying tribute to those infamous LOL Cats.

The site is…well, it’s not the greatest. The jokes could be better, and the “LOL + something” meme is kind of played out in my opinion.

Chris makes an extremely valid point: it’s not whether the site “deserved” to make the front page of Digg within hours (which it did), it’s that the site was a brilliant experiment showcasing the power of the PodCamp community when they put their creative minds to work. To go from a silly joke to making the front page of a site like Digg in mere hours is pretty huge, even if the content itself isn’t exactly genius.

All about the benjamins, baby.

As I said in my PR Blog Jots this morning, “The idea of money hung in the air throughout the conference as participants wondered about the future monetization of social media, podcasting in particular.”

Nearly every in-depth discussion I participated in managed to incorporate money somehow, and there were several sessions dedicated solely to monetization issues. Podcasting was a hot topic; particularly how to monetize it when it has not yet hit the mainstream. And what was the answer?

(crickets)

That’s a bit dramatic, but I didn’t hear anything concrete, and what concerns me most is why there appears to be so much urgency surrounding the money issue. Why take something that has enriched our personal and professional lives and grow obsessed with how to commercialize it? That may sound hippie-hippie-dreamerish to some, but Mitch Joel rightly points out in his post over the weekend that for most people, podcasting is merely a hobby. Why can’t we just leave it at that? Am I naïve?

Conversations Friendships

Rooming with the lovely Christi Eubanks of Converseon, I spent a lot of time with her and her fellow presenters for Sunday’s “Reputation Management for Digital Natives” session (more on that and other sessions in a future post).

At one point, Paull Young nixed using the word “conversation” and suggested “friendship” instead. His feeling was that conversation had become too much of a PodCamp buzz word.

I’m on the fence about whether conversation is a cliché (my history in politics only reinforces the notion that when you are so sick to death of hearing something it makes you want to vomit, the general public is just starting to absorb it), but agree that highlighting the relationships we form at events like these is essential.

If one thing is certain, it’s that I left PodCamp with many, many new friends. Not “online” friends or “Facebook” friends that I never actually talk to…just friends. They are friends that may also be “contacts” beneficial to my professional life, but they are creative, thoughtful, fiercely intelligent, passionate individuals who I am just grateful to know, regardless of what I do for a living.

As much as I enjoyed every session I attended, I find that the true value of PodCamp (for me) is welcoming new friends who share my passions into my crazy, wonderful, little life.

Welcome! And if I didn’t get a chance to meet you, I’m currently trying to pick the next PodCamp I’d like to attend (seeing chatter about both Toronto and Nashville), so who knows, maybe we’ll get another chance.

Much, much more on PodCamp to come, hopefully soon!

Tags: Podcamp Boston, Chris Brogan, Chris Penn, Christi Eubanks, Paull Young, Mike Denton, podcasting, monetization, social media

PR missteps

There were two major PR missteps that caught my eye recently, and the response to both was predictable.

First, FEMA's "fake" news conference. I'm not sure whose bright idea this one was, but good grief, someone should have put the brakes on this the second the idea came up. For those who haven't heard the story, FEMA staged a news conference and populated the "audience" with its own employees to ask questions. Inevitably, the press discovered the background of those asking the questions, and FEMA was rightly called out on this charade. Dumb, all the way around on FEMA's part, and totally avoidable.

The second misstep is a bit more complex, but still should serve as a reminder to all in PR that social media has changed the landscape. Last week, the AP reported that it had evidence that Comcast "throttles" or "blocks" BitTorrent applications on its network. This allegation was the buzz of many blogs (and the allegation was actually first made in a popular forum back in May), and in response Comcast issued a very carefully worded statement that appeared to come directly from its legal department, with perhaps a brief pass-over by the PR department--maybe to check for spelling mistakes.

Essentially, it said that Comcast doesn't do any of this "blocking or throttling" but that it has the right to "manage its networks." That sounds like perhaps they don't do it, but that they hire someone else to do so. Which is exactly what Consumerist pounded on, in no fewer than four separate posts on the issue in two days. And that's just one blog. The coverage has been extensive.

Both instances involve some level of deception, which is exactly why the general public doesn't trust PR. Both entities have had these incidents added to their respective Wikipedia pages (Comcast; FEMA), so there it will live. Both entities have lost at least some credibility and trust.

One of the most important skills of a PR practitioner can possess should be the ability to say no to ideas that could harm the organization he or she is representing. Ideas like these--a fake news conference or elaborately parsed explanations--need to be viewed through the lens of new media.

PR practitioners need to ask: does the risk outweigh the reward?

UPDATE: Potomac Flacks is reporting that the FEMA official responsible for the fake news conference did not start in a post he was to have begun today; his record is being reviewed due to his role in the flap.

 

Technorati tags: PR, FEMA, Comcast

Off topic: Go Sox!

In honor of tonight's opening game, a picture of a transplanted fan:

Yes, that is a lobster chew toy and a Red Sox bandana--Ralph is a 100% New England dog!

Social Media Top Five

Do things seem a little stagnant this week, or is it just me? Normally when putting together a Social Media Top Ten, I just rattle things off the top of my head, hardly even needing to check with my del.icio.us page to fill in the blanks.

But this week, I’m having a harder time…Maybe it’s not social media, it’s me. Or maybe the countdown to PodCamp has caused a freeze on all other things social media.

Regardless, a Top Five is better than a Top Zero!

5) John Wall’s Guide to Drinking: One of the dynamic duo behind Marketing Over Coffee presents what I like to call “Networking Over Alcohol,” a guide to drinking in networking situations without losing your head (or your lunch).

4) Boston Blogger Dinner: EMC generously sponsored dinner and drinks for Boston-area bloggers last week, and I continue to be amazed by the turnout to these social media meet-ups. With over 1,000 more people coming to PodCamp Boston 2 than last year’s event, I probably should not have been surprised. Great turnout, great people (Jeremiah Owyang, Doc Searls, to name a couple), perfect pre-PodCamp event.

Speaking of PodCamp…

3) PodCamp Boston 2: More than 1,200 people are currently registered for PodCamp Boston, starting this Friday. Be on the lookout for plenty of live-tweeting from me, starting Thursday night from Blogtoberfest at the Pour House. But will PodCampers from the area be able to focus, with the World Series going on?

2) Twitter and the Playoffs: Twitter has played a huge part in my enjoyment of the 2007 baseball playoffs. A lifelong Sox fan, I’ve always lived and died by the team and spent every October freaking out over the playoffs. This October, I was doing it on Twitter, and I wasn’t alone. Watching each game with my laptop running, Tweeting my frustration and elation, was truly great. I can’t wait to watch the World Series games with the same folks in person, at PodCamp.

Speaking of live Tweeting…

1) Has live-Tweeting replaced live-blogging? Lately, I’ve been turning to Twitter to follow events. This issue particularly came up over the weekend, where Kevin Dugan, Paull Young and Constantin Basturea were all Tweeting from the UGA Connect conference, and checking in on their Tweets was far more effective than reading blog posts later on. Paull argues that the blog posts are necessary, for “posterity,” I can get behind this, but think the Tweets are best for real-time coverage. Thoughts?

Tags: SMT10

Friday Fun

I'm a firm believer that reading is one of the key factors contributing to good writing. I'm an avid enough reader that my book purchasing has sometimes gone from the "expensive" to "problematic" category.

So, here's a link to The Bargainist on how to find cheap books. Some of them are really interesting, and if you are finding yourself cutting back on food and clothing to support your book habit, I encourage you to check them out!

And, via Professor Stephen Bainbridge are my results to the "What Kind of Reader Are You?" quiz:

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Dedicated Reader
Book Snob
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

I'm just surprised my Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm score isn't higher.

Invest (at least some) time in your pitches

After reading both the Bad Pitch Blog's post and Stephen Baker's (of BusinessWeek) account of a less-than-informed PR person, I can't help but think that even if you are an extremely busy PR person, doing a little homework could be invaluable.

Before picking up the phone to follow up on a pitch, spend a few minutes researching the journalist you are pitching. A quick Google search on "Stephen Baker BusinessWeek" brought up all kinds of relevant links. Some clip services (including Clip IQ) allow users to review stories written by a specific journalist. For example, in ClipIQ there is a button next to the byline name--one click pulls up other stories authored by the same journalist.

It only takes a little time, and could save embarrassment. I think whomever contacted Stephen Baker is quite lucky--any number of bloggers would have posted a name, or at least the PR firm's name.

 

Technorati tags: Bad Pitches, PR

Oh, Behave...

Question: How do you protect your personal brand in an era when every last thing you do or say, even on your worst days, can be passed around online to a global audience?

The reason I am so fascinated by the “lifecaster is jerky to movie theater employee” story I came across on Neville Hobson’s blog (and also reported on Valleywag and Techcrunch) is that while the young man was most definitely in the wrong, did that automatically make those attacking him in the “right”?. I made sure to point out in my comments on Neville’s post that certainly, one minute of video cannot possibly come close to giving us enough information to judge someone’s whole life. In remarking on the incident, I judged merely what was presented—one minute of him acting like a jerk, and then his ensuing defensive attitude and refusal to admit any wrongdoing. Neither of those things is enough information to judge a person’s character.

And yet? We do it all the time. (Update: the lifecaster did ultimately apologize, and it’s interesting that his post admitting his mistake attracted a very small number of comments compared to his original post and the subsequent coverage.)

We’re all guilty of snap judgments, the Internet is terrific at it, and loves nothing more than to call attention to the shortcomings of others (the reasons why are probably an entire other post, perhaps for a psychologist to write).

Check out the (admittedly hilarious, if a bit NSFW) comments on Gawker regarding the online dater who wrote a pretty appalling email to a prospective paramour. The guy clearly has some issues, if the emails posted are any indication. But the “worst person in the world,” as he was billed? Please.

Then there’s the guy who harped on his date to split their dinner check with him after she rejected him, also picked up on Gawker (Gawker loves Internet dates gone bad, and I love them for it!).

This example is far more egregious, and again it’s clear that this guy has some serious issues. But anyone—future dates, family members, future children, future employers—will now be able to find out about his tacky and creepy dating faux pas for…how long does Google keep things around again? Oh right, forever.

I’m not defending jerks or bad behavior, I’m just wondering if the downside to all this wondrous technology may be that no one is ever allowed to have a bad day, or behave poorly at any time in the duration of their lives, lest what they say or write ends up online to be viciously ridiculed for all of time.

This concern becomes particularly pressing when you consider the implications it has for employers. If I were employing any of these examples, their behavior would absolutely lead me to view them differently, even if they are not necessarily indicative of the person’s overall character or integrity—not to mention their work performance.

Dan Schwabel wrote a great post this week on the merging of personal and professional lives online, and in social networking in particular. In the era of Facebook, it’s increasingly difficult to keep these worlds apart, and how do we manage? In pre-Web 2.0 days, employees were able to lead “double lives,” if they so desired. Model employee by day, obnoxious Internet dating creep by night, and their employers didn’t have to hear about (thank goodness).

These examples are just important—if a bit dramatic—reminders for everyone to keep on their best behavior when dealing with the unknown. Yes, we’re human, we’re allowed to have bad days. We’re not allowed, not anymore, to react in the extreme. That may be an overly cautious outlook, but I would definitely think twice before letting my temper get the better of me around someone I did not know, particularly if that person was web savvy.

Anyone with an interest in their personal brand might consider doing the same, and if the byproduct is a world that’s maybe a little more harmonious, what could be the harm?

Butting heads with your fans and customers: is it ever a good idea?

While reviewing my feeds, I’ve come across several posts that speak to the same challenge from very different perspectives: how important it is to reexamine policies as technology changes the marketplace. This happens often enough that it’s become somewhat of a sport for me to watch companies cling to the way things have always been done as their audiences change rapidly around them.

The example that is rapidly becoming the poster child for reactionary behavior as technology advances is the RIAA. I’m lumping Sony in there with them, because the points that a Sony exec made in a trial recently echo some of the disconnect I sense between the RIAA/Sony’s positions and reality. Sony BMG executive Jennifer Pariser’s testified during the trial that making even one copy of a song you’ve purchased constitutes theft in Sony’s eyes. The market for music has been changing for a long time now, and the RIAA can try and catch up. Recording labels are going to find themselves irrelevant as bands like Radiohead innovate and create to adjust to the market (and consumer demands). RIAA won its case, but at what PR cost to the industry?

On a related note, we have Twentieth Century Fox Television freaking out over Buffy The Vampire Slayer sing-alongs. Sing-alongs, you ask? Yup, one of the more popular episodes was a musical number ("Once More, With Feeling"—yes, I am a fan). Legions of Buffy followers gather in theaters, dressed as their favorite characters, and sing along to a screening of the episode. And then, like a band of zombies, cometh the Fox TV lawyers. What’s baffling to me is why Fox is raising a fuss—these types of sing-alongs have been popular for years. Two of the most popular that come to mind are the Sound of Music sing-alongs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. These performances bond fans, create buzz, and present all kinds of promotional marketing opportunities. Fox should be hosting these parties, not trying to stop them. It might be beyond “the scope of what they had licensed,” but taking a hard line against devoted fans seems like a bad idea to me.

In both of the above cases, we have companies struggling against their fans—this must make the marketing and PR departments crazy. Building loyalty, creating fans—this is exactly what those departments are tasked with doing. And yet, they are now facing PR challenges because the companies are clinging to business models that aren’t changing with the market.

What churned the thought process on the two (older) stories above was a post on Consumerist today concerning retail stores’ policies prohibiting taking pictures of merchandise. This policy makes perfect sense from a retailer’s point of view (short explanation: competitors price compare and map out paid shelf space so they can match, etc.) but in an era when everyone has a camera phone, snapping a picture is quicker and easier than taking notes for comparison shopping, thus the run-in experienced by the shopper in the piece.

One of the commenters to the Consumerist story had an interesting and in my opinion valid point, if somewhat crudely delivered. Marketers have been using technology for years to pinpoint our likes, dislikes, and so on, refining their processes to an almost scary level of information. Now consumers are using technology to streamline their processes, whether it’s price comparing or sending a picture of a household item to the Significant Other to make sure you aren’t going to have to return the thing if it isn’t the right color. Improved technology is a two-way street, providing benefit to marketer and consumer alike.

How is this going to play out? Chasing each consumer in possible violation of a code or policy will amount to a giant game of Whac-A-Mole, and it makes for angry customers and disillusioned fans. There is no way to keep up. Relaxing the codes/policies becomes a slippery slope—and don’t companies have some right to maintain competitiveness? Where’s the balance? Is there a balance?

 

Technorati tags: Marketing, PR, RIAA, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, consumers

The Rundown on The Rundown

I'll cover it in depth in the PodJots on Friday, but seeing as how yours truly served as the inaugural guest, I wanted to introduce everyone to a new addition to the PR Podosphere (well, kinda new).

Luke Armour, whom you all know from the Foward Podcast, his blog, and as the new PR guy for BlogTalkRadio, has started a new podcast over at BTR, "The Rundown."

Each week, Luke will spend 30 minutes with a PR or social media pro to get the rundown (get it?) on their jobs, companies, blogs, anything.

To his utter detriment I'm sure, his first Rundown "victim" this afternoon was...me! I had a great time talking social media with Luke, and of course filling him in on CustomScoop and all of our terrific services. I offended his hockey fan sensibilities with my preference of the Pats and Red Sox over the Bruins, but other than that I think it went pretty well. In particular, I avoided being forced to choose a favorite between the esteemed John Wall and Chris Penn of Marketing Over Coffee. How could I? That'd be like Sophie's Choice!

So definitely head on over and check out the archives if you're interested in hearing the first show, and tune in on Tuesdays at 1:30pm ET to hear future editions live. His upcoming guests will no-doubt prove far more interesting than me, next week he features Nettie Hartsock, and the week after, Todd Defren. Tune in!