2010 Predictions in Social Media

Today, Jennifer Leggio posted a group of people's 2010 social media predictions. She graciously emailed me and asked for my input ... but I was at a loss of what to say (shocker, I know). The PR lesson here is to always jump on requests for information, but at the same time to know what you want to say. I wasn't sure what I wanted to say, as I have a lot to say on the subject.

This was hard for me because for the past few years, I have thought that social media was going to disappear and just become part of marketing and communications, that the firms and companies would have finally caught up to us early adopters. Yes, I'm putting myself as an early adopter with a small group of public relations professionals that do not get the recognition they should get for being early: Tom Murphy, Phil Gomes, Mike Manuel, Constantin Basturea and more. If you want to know who you should really be listening to, look at the people that are not talking that much (some of these people do not update much), but are in the trenches.

And, the fact is that social media should not be a separate discipline anymore, nor should it ever have been. Public relations likes to relive its bad decisions over and over again. Back in the dotcom era, PR firms had "online news" teams versus "print teams" ... and it soon crossed over. My main WSJ reporter worked for WSJ Online, but wrote for the paper as well ... when she wrote for the paper, should I have handed off the relationship or stopped talking to her? No, that'd idiocy. So why is social media separate? Isn't it just part of the whole P in public relations? Yah, you don't need a book to know this, it is basic PR skills that we've forgotten.

As for the prediction, I've been wrong so far, but will go with that prediction for 2010, with an asterisk. I think that social media will finally be subsumed by one of the disciplines (public relations, interactive marketing, marketing - one of them) but will still be splintered across the board. Most of the social media mavens and gurus, though, will be finally sniffed out as empty suits, and that will hurt the industry more than most things - for a while, at least.

Social media shouldn't be a special job that is relegated to 25 year olds as they do not have the gravitas or years of experience to understand the deeper issues. No, not an ageist issue, but in public relations there are issues that arise that you need the years of experience to give good, deep thinking, strategic counsel that comes from years of experience ... not being on freaking Facebook or Twitter. It takes the understanding of the whole ecosystem, how social media is affecting public relations, marketing, communications and customer service. It takes the long-term view - not the short-term that is so popular in social media - and understanding what you do today is going to have repercussions in the future.

As for another prediction: the FTC will have wider repercussions than people realize, and will stifle much of the social media outreach done by marketing firms - think giveaways, etc - and will lead to tax implications from the IRS that have not been touched upon so far.

That is something that we - as marketers, public relations, social media, whatever the hell you want to call the discipline - are going to need to really think about. It's about the bigger story, and what might be happening because what the government is doing today. That is what we need to be doing, that is what we need to be thinking about ... and it might not be best held in the hands of people that can only think about social media.

My Suck Up Post to Jeremiah Owyang

I expect to see a lot of these posts today - some as suck-ups, some as true congratulatory posts, some just to jump on a meme. It was announced today that Jeremiah (and a couple others) have joined his old colleague, Charlene Li, at Altimeter Group after leaving Forrester.

I have known Jeremiah since he organized the Lunch 2.0 at Hitachi (I still have the T-shirt and vandalized my old office with the sticker) and probably before then. I have been lucky enough to get to know him prior to Hitachi, and was happy for him when he made the jump.

I've read his blog off and on for the past few years, when headlines have caught my eye and there's things that I know I can learn from his insight.

And, I've watched him be attacked as a fanboy of social media and Web 2.0 by people that don't know him - but can easily throw rocks.

That's the thing - Jeremiah really doesn't talk much about his past experience, and he does love social media and Web 2.0 technologies (maybe, sometimes too much). But that exuberance is real, not just some fake excitement that many people have about the technology and space because it furthers their career. Jeremiah lives in this stuff, and enjoys it.

If you know me, though, you know my stance on social media experts - it's easy to talk the talk, but being in the trenches and actually using it is QUITE different. And that is the background that he doesn't talk about. He has fought the fight that those of us that do do the work have fought, and continue to fight. He's been in the trenches at a company culture not know for pushing the envelope, but keeping pretty steady.

The man has his battle scars - I am sure - from his work in social media at Hitachi Data Systems. That is what makes his a real warrior and someone to listen to in this space: he has fought the good fight, he's lost some battles, he gets attacked by others, but he takes it all and keeps soldiering on.

Let me be one of many to congratulate both Charlene and Jeremiah. Great addition to the team, and good luck on what is likely going to be a great journey - and I'm lucky enough to call him a friend (and his wife, who cracks me up with her eye-rolls at me).

Passing the Buck and Ethics

If you've ever met me, and heard me talk about my first boss, you'll hear me wax poetically about how great a boss he is. I think I might have written about his rules before, but it's always good to rehash The Tiger's rules. He told me these one day when I was in his office, and I always remember them (with his explanations).

1. Blame up, praise down: what he meant is that he gets paid the big bucks (and I was a lowly AAE), and the buck stops with him. He would take the blame, and he would let the client know that we got the hits.

2. If I work late, you work late: No, not the scene from Scrooged but he just meant that if he left the office before me, he'd check in to see what I was working on and what could be taken off his plate. And vice versa - I would check in on him. Mainly, it came down to helping with time management, and being cognizant of what coworkers were working on that day.

3. Take responsibility and own up: While blame up was the end result - meaning he'd take the yelling from the client for a mess up - he wanted you to take responsibility with him if you made the mistake. Own up, and man up.

4. The client comes first: the client is paying your paycheck, so you look out for them. You go over the billing and invoices, and do the line item and make sure they are being fairly billed.

I try to work with the people I work with - in particular, the junior staff - with these thoughts in mine. The Tiger was one of the best bosses I had (yes, there were some bad things), but these rules have stuck with me since I worked for him. And, me and a coworker always tell him we'd work for him in a NY minute.

This seems like an era ago - not because it was 12 years ago, but because these sentiments seem to be lost at major firms nowadays. Time and time again during PR bitch sessions, I hear about senior staff throwing junior staff under the bus, or junior staff working insane hours, or interns wondering if what they're doing is actually public relations, or some bastardization - and can they say no.

So an incident this weekend with a marketing firm - Reverb Communications - brings all of this to the forefront. Thus far, the company has not fully responded to the allegations that they're astroturfing the iTunes Application Store, according to MobileCrunch. And, hey they put marketing first, so I refuse to call them public relations.

The two second version: Reverb is having its interns post comments on its clients iPhone applications to garner more downloads.

The question - and how it fits into the four golden rules - is at what point do the interns push back? Can interns push back at a job (forget the bad economy) and take a stance for what they believe is true and right? Don't the senior staff have an ethical obligation to be teaching their interns the right way to do things, the ethical way to behave in social media? (Yes, that's the rules tie-in).

I know that many public relations firms do go to their interns for brainstorming sessions, in particular for social media ideas. Hey, they're all on Facebook, so they MUST get it!!

But, well, being an intern you also tend to fashion your answers to best reflect what you think the agency wants; you want the job, you make sure your answers are right. Unless, well, you're headstrong like me.

The fact is the interns at Reverb probably should have pushed back - but it is quite easy for me to Monday Morning quarterback as someone whose internship is eons ago. Remember when you're an intern, and you don't push back because you (a) don't know better or (b) really want that job when you graduate from college. And who wouldn't want a job at Reverb? It's a hot shop for iPhone app makers, in the middle of the cool Apple environment. It's pretty much as close as working for an Apple agency as you can get.

So I asked two former interns, current and recent college students on their opinions. One went on the record, the other asked to go off the record. The off the record, of course, is the more damning and more telling.

From Monica Fineis, a Michigan State Alumna: This is sad. Third-party credibility is out the window. I don't think that anyone who represents a product should be allowed to review it, even with full disclosure. Do your advertising, do your promotions, but please don't mess with the reviews! If the reviews say your app sucks--change it! What happened to being advocates for the public? At my first internship, I might not have known better. We take transparency and honesty very seriously here (at my current firm) and theoretically if I was asked to do something like this now I would say no.

From College Student Doe, a current student: 1st incident - we were trying to promote a viral video and it was sent through the company listserv and to drive up views, employees were asked to continue watching etc. I know that this seems like a small thing but it made me feel uncomfortable because it would translate to impressions to the client and if alot of views were from employees, it seems wrong. I didn't push back because I didn't know if it was common practice done by everyone and I was just the loser intern who was behind the times. I wanted to learn; I thought I was learning. It's like looking up to adults because they were grown up and you weren't. I was an intern, these people have been working for years. What should I have said? Who would have listened? Profit is the answer, not ethics.

Nicely depressing, huh?

That is the issue in a nutshell: as senior practitioners, we have a responsibility to be as ethical as possible. But does that conflict with results for clients? As we see with Reverb, it's always inevitable that someone is going to expose your dastardly ways, and then the potential bad press may hurt business (that is a debatable point). And in this economy, we need to provide results all the time, or risk losing a client.

As an intern, you have to stop and ask if you feel comfortable doing what you are about to do. Do you feel comfortable posting reviews under a fake name? Do you feel comfortable with the directions you are being given, or fully understand what you are being asked to do? And, most importantly, do you have a good supervisor and advocate at the firm, whom you can speak to and ask for direction and help? If that supervisor and/or advocate tells you to just go along, at least you know that agency is not the right one for your long-term career path.

And, the reality is that these questions are not just ones you will grapple with as an intern, but ones you will confront throughout your career. It is a serious issue for public relations and marketing firms, and not one that is going to be solved by pointing to good PR people but by having real answers, real solutions for these situations and pushing forward for ethics in public relations ... or at least transparency.

Talib Kweli is Better at Twitter Then You ... and the new Facebook Pages with Twitter!

Talib Kweli - for those that don’t know, a groundbreaking rapper from Brooklyn – is on Twitter. As are many other rappers and DJ’s. Twitter has become the new MySpace, to the point that Twitter (plus Ning) is the big threat to MySpace, not to Facebook (that’s another post – but something to think about).

On August 5, on his Twitter account Kweli gave his top ten ways to use Twitter (or Twitter no nos!, as he put it). I have cut and pasted his full list of top ten ways to Twitter from his account (apologies to Kweli, but it was too good not to post for more people to see), and include the original time stamps.

and number 1- never overtweet. (i just broke that rule, I'm out!) 4:26 PM Aug 5th

2. I will never say something on twitter I can't say to your face. Thats for the e goons 4:25 PM Aug 5th

3. I will never jump into your convo without visiting your profile to say what has been said, this makes you seem slow 4:24 PM Aug 5th

4. I will never ask you to follow me. I'd rather direct you to my site or ask u to follow someone I admire. No messiah complex here 4:23 PM Aug 5th

5. Never repeat what someone wrote without the RT (retweet) 4:22 PM Aug 5th

6. Never send a tweet to someone who is in the same room as you. 4:21 PM Aug 5th

7. Never have someone else tweet for you. Thats missing the point 4:21 PM Aug 5th

8. don't be the twitter police. If I don't like what you say I'll ignore you. 4:20 PM Aug 5th

9. twitter personal business esp. emotional stuff. twitter is not your personal diary and you invite confusion into your life this way 4:19 PM Aug 5th

10 twitter no nos! 10. Twitter other people's business. Should go without saying. 4:18 PM Aug 5th

Despite all the advice from social media / Twitter gurus, here is a man that is doing his own promotion for his CDs, and giving real world advice from real world experience, in a B2C way. This advice is much easier to listen to than that from “experts” who use Twitter to just self promote without real world experience.

The interesting news today – which prompted me to finish this post – was Facebook announcing that you can now push your Facebook Pages updates to your corporate Twitter account.

This is good news for corporations, celebrities and others with Facebook Pages. While you are able to populate your personal Facebook page with your Twitter updates because of the Twitter application and they are tied together with the status updates, corporate Facebook Pages had nothing (or, well, I couldn’t figure out how to do it).

Now, I agree with Om Malik and Fred Vogelstein that Facebook is about Google and data, and by incorporating Twitter into Facebook Pages, Facebook is able to “see” what corporations want to integrate into Twitter - as well as what members are fans, how they interact, etc. and how that can be used for marketing and ads.

So while some companies have already integrated marketing campaigns from Twitter to Facebook (e.g. send out a contest on Twitter, tell people to go comment on your corporate Facebook Page and become a fan), this makes it easier for the internal marketing / public relations / communications person to keep a consistent message. If the internal person or agency wants to send out a message to both its fans on Facebook, as well as its Twitter followers, it does not have to worry about going to both platforms but can send the message out on Facebook.

What does this mean at the end of the day for public relations? It means easier management of two of the hotter social media platforms – which means time savings for the executives. All in all, that’s not a bad thing.

YAWN: WSJ’s "New" Embargo Rules

The big PR news for today was that the Wall Street Journal is no longer going to be honoring or accepting embargoed news, according to Paid Content. They want exclusives, and not to be one of many publications and sites that is pre-briefed under embargo.

Um, so what? No, I mean I understand why some people are up in arms about this, but let’s be honest. In my experience, WSJ would agree to a verbal embargo, but if something happened, they would run the story. For the most part, that has been fine for PR people. It was and is a relationship, one built on trust and an understanding of the PR and journalism dance.

But let’s get back to reality here – it’s the Wall Street Journal. It’s the paper of record, the big kahuna. It’s the paper that is one of the few national publications – USA Today, NY Times and WSJ – and one of the few (if not the only) outlets that people pay for online. It’s a paper that wants – no, needs – exclusives, and it likely tired of being scooped by blogs that neither understand the embargo dance, nor care to partake in that dance.

Why would the WSJ continue to be one of 20+ outlets being briefed? That is the buckshot approach for some public relations executives and firms. But, well, that has never worked and that is not an embargo situation, but scattershot PR.

And in this new digital age, the embargo is dead. News moves too quickly nowadays to rely just on an embargo. Yes, you can call up a reporter prior to the announcement and say “dude, got some big news tomorrow, no I won’t tell you, but don’t be that guy and pass and then be pissed you missed the story.” Of course, too many PR people have no idea what is REAL embargoed news, and what’s just news that is not embargo worthy. I tend to get more of the former, a bit of the latter. Hint: a new social media newsroom is not embargo worthy.

The new reality is that print publications run news online (and have for the past 10 years). They will run a more in-depth article in the print version, or write up a bigger story if there is an exclusive or if they have more information that makes for a deeper, more analytical story. Just look at the Wall Street Journal today – two stories on Whole Foods: one on the blog, and an in-depth article in the paper. Interestingly enough, the article has more comments online than the blog post.

That’s all under the WSJ umbrella. As Ali pointed out on Paid Content, both AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher and WSJ’s Jessica Vascellaro (who writes for the paper and the Digits blog) both covered the new Yahoo! home page, but Kara had the fuller article. When you are in a race not only with other outlets, but a part of your own – and sorry for anyone that goes up against Kara “Woman of a Million Scoops” Swisher, as her Rolodex rocks and she’ll get the online video interview as well.

The problem is that most PR people don’t get this. They don’t understand the value of an embargo that you go to one or two trusted outlets/reporters, and then you go out big post-breaking news. They don’t understand that there have never been any real hard and fast rules on embargoes, but are by the seat of your pants. And, they don’t understand how media has really changed.

This isn’t a “media is dead” idea. This isn’t a “print is dead” perspective. This isn’t “social media” or “Web 2.0” thinking. Many of those ideas are just meme attractors, and have no real value, especially in public relations. The WSJ is still the WSJ and the NYT is still the NYT and they have the top writers and thinkers out there (as do many newspapers with national presence).

This is about how embargoes no longer work in a world where media consumption has changed, and where people are consuming media on a 24/7 platform, and the news cycle is now immediate. People find out things first online; the fast reporters and bloggers get news up immediately, and then people read print (or read print articles online) for the more in-depth analysis, the executive interview and some exclusivity for that one or two outlets. The embargo has outlived its usefulness, but relationships have not been replaced, and the pre-brief is still in existence. It is about the way you do PR in a 24/7 news cycle. And, how you can out-maneuver others in a 24/7 news cycle.

Because, at the end of the day, media is media, reporters will still talk on background and the story will get out there.

Don't be THAT PR person at BlogHer (Or Any Event)

It is BlogHer (the conference) time once again. A time to be part of a huge event – 1500 + attendees this year of female bloggers talking about what they write about, learning from each other, and being part of the bigger BlogHer community.

Well, let's be honest – it's likely 1200+ attendees and 300+ public relations people. And that's not counting the BlogHer attendees that are being sponsored to attend, and who will likely be pushing products or services while also attending.

As I have noted before on this blog, I am a big, big supporter of BlogHer and its community. This will be the fourth year that I am attending – second time for BlogHer Business – and I have built great relationships across the board because I listen, I engage and I don't push or pitch. Heck, I'm like a BlogHer male mascot, welcomed to attend because I go to learn, and can turn it off and not just be a pitch machine.

As I was speaking about this post tonight to a few of my friends that are here already, they noted that I am welcomed by the Mommy blogging community because of my involvement and attendance, and also noted that I am not here to pitch, but have become a part of the community by listening, discussing, and being myself. That at the end of the day, I understand about relationships and when is the appropriate time to pitch. And, when I do have something appropriate, I reach out to them and let them know.

Kids and Media BOF
Originally uploaded by hyku.

Follow these rules, and have a better BlogHer experience. These observations and opinions are based on my attending multiple BlogHer conferences, as well as the IMs and email conversations I have with Mommy bloggers and others.

1. BlogHer is not just about mommy bloggers. It's a huge group of various bloggers and social media people who write on topics that include motherhood, cooking, scrapbooking, politics, car repair and service, consumer electronics, and more. To characterize BlogHer as just Mommy blogging is to ignore the people and their full spectrum of interests. If you just want to consider them Mommy bloggers, you're missing the bigger picture.

2. Turn it off and listen. Yes, we're always supposed to be on - but turn it off, and be a person instead of a pitch machine. We're in public relations, and we are supposed to be experts in coversations. Public relations is supposed to be the leaders in social media because we understand that it is more than just pushing messaging. Public relations is more than just messaging points, but actual dialogue with key stakeholders. If you cannot understand this, you certainly should not be pitching bloggers nor attending events. For example, a top parenting site asked me why an intern and an Assistant Account Executive at a large firm would pitch a widget and not listen to the feedback: if the client wants a widget on their site, buy ad space. Nor did they really want to engage in any discussion beyond the script that they were handed. The parenting blogger felt that the firm neither understood nor respected their work.

3. Don't lie and don't name drop. Don't say “oh, your blog is the top in my Google Reader!” It's insulting because it rings hollow. Same thing is when you're at BlogHer, listen and have conversations, but no need to say “Oh, I read you and you and you.” Because you know what, while that's great, you're missing “her and her and her” that are likely just as interesting and worthy of reading.

4. It's give and take. It's not about you, but your clients. Yes, you are at BlogHer for your agency and your clients, but learn the soft-sell and pitch. It's a give and take relationship, where you are at an event to learn and network. You can (and should) follow-up with people post-BlogHer. Talk, have conversations, and follow-up later. The attendee's have paid good money to come to Chicago. Let them hang out with their friends, make new friends and have a good time. Meet them, have conversations that aren't pitches, find common interests and just be a person. And follow-up with them after the conference on your pitches and clients when it is more appropriate to discuss the clients' products, in a more relaxed setting.

5. There are panels and sessions. Go to them and listen and learn. That means not talking, which is hard for a lot of PR people, but actually learning from others and finding out what they want. Like that picture of me at the second BlogHer, where I participated, listened and learned: the things I wanted out of BlogHer.

There are other issues at play right now – such as the FTC investigation into blogs and paid-for-posts. These are extremely important issues and certain Mommy bloggers seem to be at the forefront of these discussions. But the reality is that the market will shake out – as it always does – and these sites will be less important because people will not trust them. If anyone asks to be paid for reviews or to look at your product, you just look at it as a non-starter and walk away. I know that BlogHer has looked into these issues as well, and is doing its part to keep its community on the up-and-up.

But as PR people, if you cannot turn it off, do not go to BlogHer. Yes, that seems a little harsh, but the reality is that you are not going to listen or engage, but just be that PR person. You know, THAT PR person. So, stay home – and stay out of the way for people that want to have a conversation and learn from bloggers, and build relationships. Which, as the media is flattening, is the most important thing: real relationships that are built on trust, honesty and mutual respect.

Mmm, that's a good cup of Nite Owl Coffee

If you have been following the launch of Watchmen – from the advertising campaigns and posters, to The New Frontiersman and more, heck just read the in-depth look by Chris Thilk on all their movie marketing madness – the one thing that really was interesting to me was the coffee tie-in to the movie.

If you’ve read the graphic novel – and, well, the people who saw it opening weekend likely have read it – you will remember the scene where Dan serves Sally a cup of coffee after they rescued people from the burning building. I think the line was that he was still civilized.

And, when you first saw the coffee online – I don’t remember where I saw the link – but I do remember thinking it was another part of the film’s viral campaign, and that it wasn’t real.

But, well, the coffee IS real. The company – Organic Coffee Company – is real. How it all came into reality, well, that’s sorta unreal but still real.

Clay Enos – a photographer in his day job – is a founding member of OCC, which he views more as more of a coffee cartel than a company. Enos started the company a few months back, after assignment in Oaxaca, Mexico and being inspired by the people who make specialty coffee and their dedication and dependence on the farmers.

So, simply, he decided to become an importer and develop organic, relationship coffee with the belief that if you want good coffee, you don’t ignore the growers, but have a deep relationship with them that is based on trust and value.

And, being a photographer, he uses his own photographs to give the company and its coffees their own distinctive identity. And, since he started this out as a labor of love to honor world coffee, the majority of the profits are donated. When I spoke to Clay, he noted that the company is something that helps him express other principles, and a nice outlet for his photographs.

Talking to Enos, it's evident that he loves coffee and the idea of helping out others. His view of OCC is that it is a cooperative spirit, and that there be a sharing of the wealth. And, well, that coffee is a lovely social elixir – coffee is a lovely way to engage people. It’s the coffee way of life.

So, how did this all tie-in to Watchmen?

Well, Enos went to Ithaca College with Debbie Snyder – the wife of the director, and one of the producers of the movie. And, the photographer part of his life, well, Enos did all the photo shoots in the movie, behind the scenes, the one-sheets and the movie posters (all as work for hire).

As he noted, this was an overwhelming venture, was his first feature film. It was curious, excited, and as a portrait artist, you can’t do any better than a movie with five decades of costumes, hair, makeup – it was just ripe for portraits.

One thing to do behind-the-scenes, etc – but the portraiture work is totally different, an art book of portraits. With any luck, it will hold up past the movie tie-ins, as an example of great portraiture.

As he was doing the photographs, he thought of ways to tie-in coffee (as he notes, coffee is on his brain now). As he read the graphic novel, he noted that when they save the folks from the tenement fire, they then have coffee. Wouldn’t it be fun, to make that real? To do a Nite Owl coffee? And, well, Enos was in the position where he could make it happen and raise money for charity, and satisfy the fans - really, to let people have some of the best coffee they will ever have.

Thus far, the sales have been interesting because people are having trouble believing it’s real – it’s high-quality coffee that is not just for fans. Enos doesn’t care if it’s Nite Owl or one of the other coffees, it’s about the quality and how coffee is part of life.

Each coffee tells its own story, you’re drinking a place and people’s lives. It's fodder for conversation, and you can tell a story with the people. An equivalent of wine stories.

The Nite Owl and OCC coffees are about creativity, and having some fun. It's to inspire people to do the same, instead of looking down – the artistic mode, make better photographs instead of dismissing the idea that they couldn’t do well.

As for the coffee? Well, I got my can delivered - and it's some of the best smelling coffee I've ever smelled. It's rich, heady and you can tell it's going to be one helluva cup of coffee. So, as a fan boy, it's exciting. As a coffee lover, it should be great.

Mommy taught me not to lie

Reading Dan Lyons' piece on the Apple / Media dance - and, let's be honest, it is a great one to watch as a PR person - one thing stuck out for me: The larger takeaway is what this episode says about how the media covers Apple. It's one thing for PR flacks to tell lies. That is, after all, what they get paid to do. But it's another thing for the media to join in on the action. (Emphasis mine, of course).

The article was dead-on. There are a few corporations that get an easy pass, and have a hardcore public relations machine. Apple is one of those, and as a fanboy of Apple (and, well, a person that likes to watch and practice good PR), it is amazing to watch the way they handle press and get out the message. Apple is one of the few (the only?) companies that could probably find a hardcore Apple blogger, tie him up, beat him to a pulp, tar and feather him ... and get defended by other bloggers. It's just that Apple mystique.

But, well, it's not the job of PR to lie. We're a bridge builder, a way for reporters (and, well, social media 'reporters') to get access to the corporation, and get information out to the public. We're not supposed to be the impediment for news, the gatekeeper, but the way to help people get the stories they want. Does this mean to answer every media request, and give out products for review willy-nilly? Of course not - you use your intellect on this stuff. Come on people.

But, no, it's not about lying. What is acceptable?

Pulling the Heisman - that's fine.
Omitting facts - not lying, but, well, omission of details - that's fine.
Blatant lying - well, that's just not. Some PR people can get away with it - when you are at a hot company, you have some leeway with the press. But, well, the press doesn't forget these things. And, it will eventually catch up.

The thing is that I understand where Lyons is coming from with his piece. This is the second time he's called out PR for lying - blatantly - to him, and it really should not be acceptable. That's not how PR works, it's not how PR should work, and it's too often an occurrence.

Hell, just step outside of PR to the publicity / entertainment side of things. How often do you see a report that a publicist said "oh, no, they're not getting a divorce" ... a week before they file for divorce. Paging Liz Rosenberg and Madonna. Hell, paging ANY large entertainment publicity shop.

But, this is the problem with public relations: lying sacks of shit, as Lyons calls them, make all of us who don't engage in this type of subterfuge look awful. The blame is also with reporters, however, who have been duped by "sources familiar" to do their bidding. Journalism, as a means to report the news to the masses, has become sensationalistic and unreliable (and, at times, just lazy), and why the public has become less and less trusting of the media. It's less media and journalism in mainstream press, and more editorializing and sensationalism.

But, the reality is with the shrinking and spreading of media - the traditional is getting smaller, while the new is growing bigger (and, well, more niche and like vertical media, but no one wants to admit that about blogs) - the lies are becoming too obvious, and getting caught too easily. It's the job of public relations to relay information, or truthfully sometimes to keep information private. But if you're getting calls from a reporter on such information ... it's already leaked and out there. And, well, damage control does not mean lie and obfuscate, but rather deflect or respond.

All in all ... pretty simple rules from kindergarten, with less naïveté.

In Defence of Lois Whitman

Someone has to do this, and someone has to say what this really is - it's not just an attack on one PR person, but it's an attack on the PR industry as a whole.

I am not here to condemn Lois, but rather defend. Nor am I here to condone her actions, but rather speak to the PR industry about such actions - as well, as speak to others as a PR practitioner.

So, today she is being held up as everything wrong with the PR industry, because of her actions regarding CES. Yes, her actions and her own defence (or lack thereof) come up lacking - Phonescoop would not care about the clients her employee was pitching, and the laziness of just blasting the whole media list has its own consequences (for example, see Chris Anderson's blacklist) - but it is still a common PR practice, especially during trade show season. And, it is because we are under the gun to get X meetings at the trade show.

I, myself, have received three emails from one PR person asking why I have not responded to the first email ... maybe because I am busy and not attending CES as media/blogger this year?

And, yes, Lois and her PR firm has the distinct honor of being called out by The Bad Pitch Blog; I know Kevin, and I know that it takes many offenses to be publicly called out.

But, I'm here to defend Lois - not necessarily because I think she deserves to be defended, but because PR people are missing the bigger issue. It's another typical attack on PR, and not necessarily warranted. While she is quite a character, and seems to not notice how the game has changed, but added New Media to the firm's name in 2001 (hey, she was an early adopter!) to keep abreast of the latest buzz word game.

In today's world, though, public relations is becoming more and more relevant. With the media shrinking, freelancers becoming more and more prevelant, and, well, online media (or new media or social media) become fragmented where you need VERY targeted outreach to reach the right audiences, well, the PR executive and firm is the perfect choice. And, that includes all the social media / networking brouhaha. Who is better off talking to people than public relations? The classic generalist is trained to work with the media, the public and to engage in discussions, not just one-way messaging.

As for the start of this recent PR is dead meme, but let's put a face to it (with Lois) - it started with the embargoes are dead meme, which is just as dumb, if not dumber. The embargo is based on a working relationship, and when a PR person or firm gets burnt by a reporter or site, you stop working with them (giving them the pre-briefs), and shoot them the news at the same time.

And, really, 90 percent of the embargoes for start-ups are worthless. It's not embargo worthy news, they aren't public companies. You don't send off a release under embargo without getting a verbal or written "yes" that they will honor the embargo. That, again, goes to laziness.

In the era of new media, social media or whatever, though, the embargo might be on its last legs. However, for a public company, it does not. You want to pre-brief reporters on upcoming news, but that pesky SEC stuff gets in the way. So, you do under embargo - usually backed up by an attorney.

During the dot-com era, News.com was infamous for having the fast trigger finger. During the Web 2.0 bubble (or whatever you want to call the recent past), it was Mashable that was whispered about as fast posters. So, if you are a smart PR person that values your relationships, you don't pre-brief or embargo them - you give them the news the same time you send it out on the wire. If you don't get the hit, you don't get it.

And, yes, even I have been burnt by the verbal embargo. Back in the day, I pre-briefed two outlets: WSJ (my choice and person) and AP (the partner's choice and person). AP went early, and burned my relationship with the WSJ reporter and killed the better story (told from my POV, rather than the partners). It happens to everyone, but the good PR person learns from it and redoes the strategy for the next news cycle. Or just briefs.

But, back to Lois. While the PR bloggers love a good dog pile to attack another PR person when they come under fire - and in these economic times, it's a bigger blood sport than usual - with this highly visible and somewhat personal attack on a PR firm, it's an attack on all of us. It's another shot in the PR gut that we're dead.

And, well, we're not. 

We're more important in a recession than ever before. But, if your PR firm or PR person has time to post in the middle of the day, you really should question what they are doing for you. Or if it is themselves they are thinking of first. PR needs to be client first, PR person second. Not the other way around. 

And that also is hurting the PR industry.

Twitteriocy

Twitter idiocy. Or Twitteriocy (I'm coining a term- run with it). It's what we are beginning to see on Twitter, and it is an easy thing to combat. Now, while Twitter right now is the hot thing for corporations, and we have begun seeing more and more and more companies getting accounts, well, it is becoming obvious that there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.

So, I am laying down my simple rules for not being a Twitter idiot. Because, well, no one likes an idiot.

Now, this all came about at Blogworld Expo. Once again, it was a great event and Rick Calvert did a great job. But, as the wonderfully charming Gwen Bell noted - with such the concentration on Twitter this year, next year should be Twitter World Expo.

Zappos had a party at Prive - the CEO of Zappos follows me on Twitter, and vice-versa - and I ended up at the bar with the CEO/CHO, Luke, of Fitfuel. I noticed the sticker of his Twitter name on his head (yes, he had it stuck on his head), so I asked him why he (and, well, most of his team at Fitfuel) was following me on Twitter. It's a simple question, right? I wonder why a lot of people follow me on Twitter as I tend to either talk about 80's music, rap lyrics, rap videos, my personal rules of PR and Twitter (okay, that might be why) and other random shit on my mind. Usually in threaded conversations, so they are discussions with others.

His response was that I must have followed first (not to sound cocky, but with 3000+ followers and following 1325, I rarely proactively add anyone). After that, it was just quiet.

Until he went back to his team and started talking about the stupid conversation he had at the bar about Twitter. I have dog ears, by the way, if you wonder.

See, isn't that nice? Nothing makes me feel better than being characterized as stupid. Now, the simple and easy answers could have been: we follow you because you're an influencer (ego feeding works with most people, just not me); we follow you because you are part of the Twit2Fit (thanks Jason Falls, Equinox and my Yoga person there, Maura Barclay, for keeping me healthy!) hashtag group (true, and, well, might be the reason, but who knows now and I don't care); we follow you because you have a lot of smart things to say about PR and Twitter (okay, more ego gratification, but hey, that would work because it means they know who I am). Shit, make up some reason why you are following a person.

So, with this in mind - and with me having set up a Twitter account for my day job - here are the rules that I have come up for Twitter.

1. Don't have your PR firm set up and be your Twitter account. That seems pretty simple, doesn't it? But, well, I heard a story at BlogWorld Expo of a PR firm charging $7000 for a week of Twittering, and have heard other stories of astronomical figures on setting up and monitoring the Twitterverse. How is aPR firm supposed to respond if they have to go back to the client and get the okay first? Um, social media and quick time conversations like Twitter do not work that way.

2. Don't follow everyone willy nilly. First, it makes no sense - if you follow someone, well, it does not matter unless they follow you back. Otherwise, you're a corporate shill that is just talking to nobody. You're talking to no one and it's obvious that you just are doing it to do it. And, well, if that's what you want, that's great. I have a lot of the Zappos people follow me ... but I so rarely wear shoes and they don't sell Havaianas yet (come on guys, get on the stick). But, I like the company, and don't follow all of them back. But, hey, they must like me enough to follow. My strategy? If someone follows the corporate account first, I follow back. If they Tweet about the company more than once, I follow. If they are a blog that I read that is in the corporate space (or a journalistic space), I follow to see what they are working on. Simple and easy.

3. Get Tweetdeck. At first, I was not a fan ... but if you are in-house and doing Twitter for work, there is no greater tool. Not only do you get the stream, the replies and direct messages, but it keeps your global searches right there to reply. And, well, if you are doing a corporate Twitter account, scan for your name and other terms that refer to what your company does, and what its products serve. Seriously, it rocks. And, those that know me know that I'm stingy with the likes.

4. Be engaged. Be personable. Be responsive. There's nothing worse than sending someone a direct message on Twitter ... and hearing nothing back. You followed ME first, and yet you are unable to respond to a question? And, well, that's just a direct message. If you are sent an @reply, and do not respond, do you REALLY want to be in the conversation, or you just glomming onto the next thing? If it's glomming, well, you are not ready.

5. Be a person. The other day, I noted that I do not like corporate Twitter accounts with no name, but said in my more usual way. Seriously, this is supposed to be a conversation, and you want me to talk to someone with no name? No reference? No bio? Um, no thank you. No, really, go away.

6. Twitter is not for everyone. For another, longer post ... social media is not for all corporations or entities. There are those that social media will NEVER be the right fit because of policies or legalities. Despite the mantra of the social media "experts", social media is not a right fit for all companies. It's a simple rule. In that, Twitter is not right for all groups - but that does not mean they should not be monitoring Twitter. You don't even need to download Tweetdeck ... you can use Filtrbox for Twitter searches (an added bonus to what is being said out there on blogs, and such).

I also spelled out rules for me following others yesterday. Just click on these links and you'll see.

If you are a corporation, though, what exactly are you trying to accomplish on Twitter? That should be the first question. For me, it was to monitor and participate and answer questions. It was cut and dry, and from engaging, I have been able to turn what were active detractors to active enthusiasts - by acknowledging, responding and helping. Simple as pecan pie.