Social Media SOS (and Other PR Blog Jots)

More Shiny Object Syndrome
BL Ochman
Noting Steve Rubel’s widely-circulated post about social media’s shiny object syndrome (SOS, the tendency to salivate over the latest gadget or new online technology as it is rolled out…the iPhone is an excellent example), BL Ochman discusses the ever growing list of social networks (which she dubs “socnets”). She notes that early adopters are ditching the old (MySpace) for the new and shiny (Facebook). The list of social networks will only continue to expand, so when does the madness stop? How many networks can one person feasibly remain active on? “Many people are heavily invested in creating their LinkedIn networks, and aren’t about to leave those contacts behind in any hurry. Facebook is the “in” socnet of the moment among the digerati, who will most likely abandon it a few weeks from now. It'll be a long time before the monster business networking app makes itself known.”

The Blame Game
Strumpette
In his weekly “gospel” session for Strumpette, Phil Hall warns against attempting to blame the media when suddenly plunged into a public relations disaster. He cites the recent flap over unsafe products and food from China, something the Chinese are attempting to blame on the American press. Phil argues that the media is rarely to blame when a company (or in this case an entire country’s industry) gets bad press, and that attempting to do so reeks of bad spin; he notes the Bush administration’s repeated efforts to blame the media for bad stories coming out of Iraq. “If you are handling the PR for an individual or an entity receiving terrible press, don’t even think about blaming the media. The media is not out to “get” anyone. Instead, it is time to consider an abrupt shift in PR tactics. This could involve acknowledging a problem and apologizing for it (check with legal counsel and risk managers before going ahead on that, of course) or perhaps laying low for a while to avoid overexposure and to let the story deflate (as all stories tend to deflate over time).”

Obama Wins at Social Media
PR Communications
John Cass links to a Journalism.org review of 2008 presidential candidate websites, which highlights the social media aspect the sites have embraced fully in this election cycle. The article notes that candidate sites give voters ample opportunity to engage in two-way conversations with candidates, and start their own grassroots movements for their candidate of choice on the local level. “The study gauged the ability of each candidate's website to allow participation and engage voters. It appears that Barack Obama's website wins out among the candidates. Factors that contributed to this standing include open comments, citizen blogs, and interaction with social networking sites like MySpace.”

Comments

[Gerry]

Hmmmm...interesting to juxtapose Phil Hall's comments given the case I feature on the UK's BBC;
http://www.prdisasters.com/?p=272
In this case 'the media' is the PR problem! And if the media is absolutely not 'out to get anyone', what do we make of chequebook journalism and the cash-funded mudraking that so often accompanies it? Sure Phil, in PR let's not abdicate responsibility, but not exonerate the hallowed 'media' either.

[Sarah Wurrey]

Gerry - thanks for your response; I agree that the issue is not always black and white. But I also tend to lean more towards Phil's perspective; blaming the media for PR disasters, generally speaking, is a waste of energy. The key ought to be preventing such disasters when possible, and dealing with them correctly when unavoidable.