Word-of-Mouth Without Words?

New agencies are finding out that more and more, it doesn't take blogging and tagging and favoriting, but now the electronic book devices, known as Kindle is being used for exposure and spreading the "word."

Everyone knows the power of word of mouth PR can be great- but what if you can syndicate your blog and press release and news articles and anything, really with Kindle, instead of relying on disseminating information with broad internet outlets?

I've seen people reading Kindles... sometimes. It doesn't seem to be an extremely wide-sweeping phenomenon, though. I mean, I don't think that I personally am ready to give up the feeling of a book in my hands- and reading on a computer screen for too long gives me a headache, anyways. I digress... My point is, where's the bad in putting your words out in the kindle world? It shouldn't turn into a sudden advertising and PR frenzy, to the point where you can't read anything without being bombarded with ads, but if there's genuine interest in articles, or columns that can be attained through Kindle just like any other book- then I think being able to look it up on Kindlefeeder is a great thing for public relations.

here's what Jennifer Modarelli said about her company's use of Kindle:

"We saw the Kindle as part of the broader shift toward a more intimate level of one-to-one marketing for our agency. Our prospect gets to experience the Kindle and learn about White Horse. It's a word-of-mouth strategy without the words or the mouth." -Ad age

I think it might work... with reservations. It would be hard to make money off of, and the company would probably spend more time cultivating their client's relationship with the new gadget than creating buzz- but it certainly would be an interesting project.

http://adage.com/smallagency/post?article_id=141050

Pressures on Bloggers by Publicists

http://www.prblognews.com/2009/11/04/corrupt-bloggers-kvetch/

There's a wave of frustration going through the blogging world about PR practitioners and their expectations of blogging sources, almost as if some publicists are acting as a regulatory force, asking questions such as:

• “How many unique users?”
• “How many page views?”
• “How fast can you get our review on your site?”
• “Have you won any awards in the past?”
• “Send us links to past reviews you’ve written.”
• “What angle will you take with this feature? -- prblognews.com

Why shouldn't bloggers who claim to be media credible be held to the same standards of legitimate media? And at the same time, why are those who are product reviewers, etc. being pressured by publicists?

My stance on this issue goes along with the idea that some blogs are indeed corrupt and are not operating for solely professional purposes, but the internet is so vast now that there really are lines drawn all over the topic of what is acceptable media, such as the blog in question.

And then there's the tangled web of non-bloggers and free publicity that some bloggers have to face, as their popularity grows and according to a post by Krizia, the author of the link below,

"My theory is simple: Publicists and companies now know that bloggers have a lot of weight on the Web and with the recession hitting advertising budgets really hard, publicists are turning to bloggers to get the word out about their products and also as quick way to getting into social media networks without having to spend any money." -A guest post by Krizia from Eat Smart Age Smart

The original topic:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/11/02/pr-people-getting-pushier-with-bloggers-since-the-recession/

Libel

Libel: "A false communication that wrongfully injures the reputation of others."

Five proven things are needed: Defamation, publication, identification, damage, and fault. (The burden of proof)

Actual malice, or a higher burden of proof, where the source of untrue statements is proven to have known the falsity of their publishing. So where does privacy come in to all this?

Privacy has more to do with invasions in PR, and the growth of the internet is really something that is making the lines of privacy more and more blurred.

There are gray areas between political and commercial speech which PR practitioners must find understanding in. So the need to understand libel, privacy, and especially copyright laws is important.

In recent news, Tiger Wood's mistress threatens a libel suit:

http://blog.zap2it.com/thedishrag/2009/11/tiger-woods-rumored-lover-rachel-uchitel-threatens-libel-suit.html

here's an example of a libel press release:

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19228515.html

Cross Cultural Communication

Since a culture and a public are very different, and there are many obstacles to successful cross-cultural public relations, one has to think about the relationships between two or more very different business styles, and ethnic groups, etc.

As discussed in class, cross cultural communication really includes many aspects.

Awareness, commitment, research and partnerships, as well as testing and evaluations.

So since many cultures have different attitudes about time, for example, it has to be taken into account that the formalities of one business meeting aren't exactly the formalities of another. Formality, rank, religion, colors and symbols: Research needs to be done diligently to understand these aspects of a company one is working with.

An example of this is formality: Do you shake hands? Bow?

Cross cultural communication, according to the text, "works best when an entire organization commits to it. Commitment requires a persistent focus."

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/cross-cultural-pr.html

JetBlue

The JetBlue issue we discussed in class was a great example of the kind of thing that needs to be dealt with on a daily basis in the PR industry. The CEO, in my opinion, may not have handled the apology in the most graceful of manner, but he did convey his point articulately. But there were other factors that probably needed to be included in their plans before they could move on from their mistakes.

They needed to re-invent their image. This would not be like reintroducing Tylenol to the market after its 1982 crisis, where you could halt all advertisement containing a triple seal tamper resistant packaging. There really is no such thing as guaranteed problem-free plane flights. But they could "polish their tarnish image." Offering vouchers may not have been the most thought out solution. Maybe reinforcing your message, repeating what your new plans include, would have been more fitting.

But, it takes more than just a few appearances on Larry King Live to fix something like unexplained eight hour delays on your company's track record. Instead of letting the public know that their concerns were understood, what I would have suggested would have been to not ask for more business, but to show through our work efforts that we can prove how we have made the company less mistake-prone or more able to fix the bumps we come along. "We have a responsibility to prevent this from happening again," would be the most important message to convey.

http://www.jetblue.com/about/

http://www.ereleases.com/prfuel/can-public-relations-polish-a-tarnish-image/

Kill the Press Release and Eliminate Journalistic Spin?

http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2006/02/die_press_relea.php

The author of this blog, first off, has the following:

Twitter: @tomforemski
Blog: Silicon Valley Watcher
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tom.foremski

So it's safe to say that his call to arms to slay the press release is from the heart. Former FT journalist Tom Foremski reports on the business and technology of media frequently. In his latest blast, he says that "things cannot go along as they are . . . business as usual while mainstream media goes to hell in a hand basket."

Foremski's proposal to assemble the online press release with tags is both understandable and didactic to my generation- those who will be entering the workforce soon, need to know these things.

Foremski also says that eliminating the fluff from press releases by making them more factual and concise makes it harder for journalists to use spin.

"And because we are dealing with tags that are attached to facts--there is no spin so there is no problem in printing the information as it is received."- Foremski

check it out.

350.org

http://www.350.org/

Sustainability. Our class is trying to raise awareness for 350.org!

My Bank Has a Twitter!

This is all very predictable, with the rise of mergers between companies and self-controlled media, but no less cool. My bank, Wells Fargo, launched an active twitter account. There is someone who is actually monitoring twitter, available weekdays 9-5 to answer my basic banking questions.

I researched it, and they were holding an inactive twitter account for a while, monitoring the popularity of Twitter before they decided they wanted to be involved. Yet so far, tweets are usually one-way announcements.

This is very pioneering, to me. Maybe I just find it weird that the bank has multiple blogs too. Now I can post my ATM-related problems for the world to see. I'm thinking that this is probably the last stop for company information to be disseminated, though. (Note the disclaimer on the Wells Fargo Twitter page) Although, it's just shooting out public information, so I guess I can be on board.

But maybe if I actually do need to discuss my bank matters, I'll just physically go to the bank.

http://twitter.com/ask_WellsFargo

Social Media. Officially Everywhere.

Because of new Google Sidewiki, no one can avoid social media, ever. Even if they wanted to. Google Sidewiki (see link) was recently released, and it is a great example of how social media has totally penetrated most communication.

Excuse the sarcasm, but why wouldn’t we want to give anyone with access to a computer more capability to influence our perception on just about every corner of the Internet?

Google spins it like this: Everyone can share his or her thoughts and insights on any webpage! Problem: Anybody can put forth their own views and statements on any webpage or phrase? In PR, this means that any client is social media-competent.

Any PR strategy that doesn’t include social media is already far behind, but now media doesn’t “cover” anything anymore. You influence your audience by use of your own media.

From Google: “In developing Sidewiki, we wanted to make sure that you’ll see the most relevant entries first. We worked hard from the beginning to figure out which ones should appear on top and how to best order them. So instead of displaying the most recent entries first, we rank Sidewiki entries using an algorithm that promotes the most useful, high-quality entries. It takes into account feedback from you and other users, previous entries made by the same author and many other signals we developed.”

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/help-and-learn-from-others-as-you.html

State Parks and Voluntary Fees

http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2216103.html

There is really no logical reason for anyone to be against optional license renewal payments for park funding. If this message was more clearly stated or communicated, maybe there wouldn’t be so much upheaval about “voluntary fees.”

Is it ethical for journalists to suggest a fee to enter state parks? Leave it up to a referendum (votes of the Californians) to vote for a mandatory fee put on their registration when they buy a car or not. Or just do like in all the Canadian parks and charge an arm and a leg to get into a park.

Objective: "unfair to apply the same label to the state parks system now. Since 2001 the state park department has undergone repeated budget reductions... Now have a $1 billion backlog in deferred maintenance."

The social responsibility of the professionals is to report how the closures will affect the workers, the budget, and of course the park goers. The parks want to close for a few days a month to save money. So ethically, the PR professionals for these institutions might realize their employers just can't raise the money through automatic fees on your car purchases, but an optional box for a donation fee could be implemented. Like a donor card on your driver's license.

Promoting Generation X

Why most people don't care about or reach out to the 40 to 50 million people born between 1965 and 1980 is debatable. But why they are an important audience is important to consider from a PR perspective.

It sounds like a massive demographic but compared to the boomers of the 50's and 60's it is a fringe group. They don't really have the celebrity of the younger generations, but they don't not want to make an impact, either. In reality, the 1970's born citizens are the managers of today in most corporate businesses, but they are only opinion leaders in some markets.

Their way is an approach very different than the boomers who want to "mentor younger employees, yet dislike being considered old" (Guth, Marsh 105). The boomers' voices are softer voices which aren't dominant anymore. Many women from this decade are still in the workforce, and these will be the women that my generation will replace in ten years. X'ers were latch key kids who had to become self sufficient and independent.

Expertise? The energy of the X's is subdued, but they have an unconscious awareness and acceptance of diversity because of the Internet and global expansion. Over 60% attended college .... maybe this leads to the idea that they were too busy working and schooling to be in the limelight?

Maybe generation X flies under the radar because the realism they worked hard for takes more effort than the idealism from the previous generation.

So is Generation X unnoticeable? She (or he) is probably your boss.

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1731528,00.html

Boston PR Firm Loses Pentagon Contract

Spin: popular term used to describe the framing of a message in what the source considers the most desirable context.

- Fourth Edition Public Relations: A Values Driven Approach

Current Events:

When big PR firms let their journalistic integrity slack, they face negative outcomes. A Boston firm, called Rendon Group was accused of "reports it helped military brass keep naysaying reporters covering the Afghanistan campaign from traveling with U.S. troops."

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1194564&srvc=rss

Writing negative stories, or having any kind of bias where it is not called for led, in this case, to a ranking of reporters based on their past stories. The outcome was a loss of contract with the Pentagon for the PR firm.

Spin, a type of propaganda that public relations should not be, brings ethics into question. The journalists should incorporate a focus on their values at the heart of the four-step public relations process. As chapter six of Public Relations A Values-Driven Approach tells us, "The rewards of ethical behavior [include] the deep satisfaction of doing the right thing."

YouTube Snuggies

One of the things discussed in class was the necessity for representing a product in the same mediums as they are already portrayed in, especially when the depiction or description of a product is less than beneficial.

In other words, if Snuggies are being poked fun at on youtube, the PR representatives for Snuggie brand should be watching how that specific product is being received, not just with surveys and on their website, but on youtube.

They should also be portraying the product in a positive light as well, in the same media (on youtube). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWHlvtWhum0

In this video, Snuggie wearers are negatively portrayed as occultists. In reality, I could find no video where Snuggies are represented seriously on youtube, and most likely, youtube viewers are the majority of an audience and probably look to this site to find out about any product first.

This doesn't go to say that as a Public Relations person, we are responsible for finding out every twitter or blogger that misrepresents a person or product, and that it is necessary to inundate every website with the ideal portrayal of a product or person. It merely is profitable if an audience has a correct view of a product, in contrast to the propaganda.

Youtube is just one example of many different ways a product or company or person can be publicized. Just because it isn't necessarily the ideal way it was meant to be represented and promoted, doesn't mean the impact of this media on a particular audience isn't huge and widespread.

Here is the second way I could think of researching the intended promotion of Snuggie brand.

Their website. https://www.buysnuggie.tv/flare/next?tag=os%7Caf

Unfortunately, not a lot of video-streaming viewers are willing to hunt down the intended information about this product, especially when they are in for a good laugh about it on their favorite go-to website.

Stay In School.

Media on Obama Education speech.

Obama's intent of his PSA to schoolchildren was not to brainwash socialism into young minds. It started out, and should have stayed a simple encouraging speech to children in schools. Unfortunately, it was made into a political debate and referred to as"political agenda to indoctrinate students," said Tom Benning.

Blog Link:

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/09/03/obama-school-speech-lesson-or-propaganda/

Texas Republicans in FBISD in Houston, Texas even went so far as to send home letters asking parents if they wanted their kids to watch or to do another activity during the program.

The conservatives are afraid to promote his views or attitudes (scared little ones will switch over to the evil side)

Is this entirely reasonable?

Is the media perpetuating anti-Obama views? This sends the message that it's okay to ban Presidential opinion.

It is always good for kids to hear one has to work hard for their future and to take their education seriously, or is there something legitimately wrong with that?

From a PR perspective, as discussed in class, it's important to understand the attitudes and concerns of the parents (community) for or against obama's efforts to advance the education levels and attitudes of students.

The parents are the ones who are able to make a big deal out of it, so the parents are the ones who should be reached, reassured, and informed about Presidential broadcasts. Apparently, there should have been more informing and clarifying going on.

This isn't health care reform or about the war in the middle east. The objective of the president was obviously just to promote staying in school and to clarify his vision for education. Which he should care about, right?

Crude: Not carefully or expertly made. (As In Documentary)

The onslaught of the Dove Campaign’s companies, though perhaps justified, is just one of many issues regarding public relation’s responsibility to respond to attacks on corporations and to handle them correctly.

Damage control can play a vital role in these kinds of cases, although as mentioned in class, the ability to see criticism coming from a mile away can be advantageous. The latest issues in current affairs include the newly over-publicized lawsuits that the oil company, Chevron is faced with in the media today. The main issue revolves around the unreleased film documentary called Crude, and how it brings to light the degradation of land after oil companies have drilled wells and left... after they have given large incentives to the countries which they have business dealings with.

Crude, which is to be released this fall, calls out these oil companies in ways that will reach the sympathies of millions. 60 Minutes portrayed this film in the news as extremely fair and unbiased when in reality, the documentary distorts the public relations of these companies by showing oil covered animals and cancer outbreaks. Most PR professionals are trying to handle the perception of greedy lawsuits that spring up from the ground, the largest of which are 27 billion dollars!

If people want to push for more responsibility from companies who go global, that seems fair and logical. It can only be expected that companies who deal with oil in foreign countries should painstakingly cleanse the land they have drilled. But there should be less one-sided attacks from those who are in fact benefiting from these companies.

The trailer for Crude makes the evidence of contamination indisputable. As with anything that tries to show malice in the world, there really are two sides to every story. Public relations businesses play a bigger part in these concerns than most realize.

Crude Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTnm01lWsTg

Chevron/ Toxico campaign Amazon Crude on 60 Minutes

http://chevrontoxico.com/news-and-multimedia/2009/0503-60-minutes-amazon-crude.html