MyPresidential Race (and Other PR Blog Jots)
Tech PR Gems
Doug Halsam examines the 2008 presidential candidates’ use of social media, MySpace in particular. What Doug notices is that while every candidate has a MySpace page up and running, they don’t seem to be using the “social” elements available at the site. That is, there isn’t really any interaction with the large pool of voters at their disposal. Doug compliments John Edwards for his frequent use of Twitter, and Hillary Clinton for her popular YouTube videos, but criticizes Barak Obama for his obvious fake Twitter tweet. “In the end, it's not the media but the messages that will sway voters-- I hope. The candidates are going to the new media because they see new voters there. In the best cases, like Edwards on Twitter, they see a way to engage with their voters and respond to them.”
The Buzz Bin
Michele Capots examines the best ways to get yourself (or your client) onto the front page at Digg. She links to Fuzzy Future’s top ten techniques, and lists advice from other bloggers who’ve successfully been “dugg.” Some techniques are fairly straightforward, such as asking your friends to Digg your post, and making sure you have all the right social media tags available on the post to make Digging simple and easy. Other techniques require a little more finesse, such as accurately timing your post to the most popular time of day for Digging. “A lot of the suggestions are similar. The number one piece of advice offered is to write something worth reading. Lists and ‘how to’ pieces are also extremely popular because they are easy to digest quickly. These, as well as writing short and punchy engaging headlines, are probably the top pieces of advice for getting on the front page.”
Online Public Relations Thoughts
The case of the doctor facing a wrongful death lawsuit who blogged disdainfully about the plaintiff’s case in his “anonymous” blog has been making the rounds on PR blogs today. Jim Horton thinks the case should serve as a warning to anyone wishing to blog, that common sense must be foremost in our minds before putting hands to keyboard. PR practitioners in particular, he cautions, need to practice utmost diligence in not risking damage to corporate reputation with irresponsible social media practices. “Whether we like it or not, vigilance is part of PR's mission. The idea that every organization can be transparent is not correct. There are those for whom transparency becomes a significant danger to corporate reputation. They may be earnest people but they don't understand the limits under which they write. They cannot discipline themselves. It is PR's role to let such persons know that if they blog, they should avoid work-related topics, and if they violate the rule, they risk their jobs.”
Jobs and Gates: Perfect Media Storm
The Flack
Describing the media brouhaha surrounding the Wall Street Journal’s recent sit-down with Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Peter Himler describes the interview as an event generating more buzz in the tech world than anything in recent memory. Peter praises the Journal’s handling of the event, noting that their coverage, including their social media coverage, could be a “model for controlled transparency.” He notes the way the Gates/Jobs appearance resonated throughout even the non-tech oriented corners of the blogosphere. “To explain, Mr. Gates and Mr. Jobs certainly have not lacked in the number of respective high profile public appearances. Yet, together, they struck a resonant chord among the myriad chroniclers of all things digital that transcended what either could have achieved unilaterally. It was a magical media moment.”
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