Unconfirmed Reports

by Dan Ward

I absolutely love this line from Buffalo News TV Critic Alan Pergament, explaining why he took several days to write about the use of “unconfirmed reports” in recent news stories:

I tend to do something that is increasingly rare and practically impossible to do in media circles these days:  think before acting.

Pergament was speaking specifically of news reports the previous week about a potential gunman on the University of Buffalo campus, news reports that were spurred by text messages and Facebook/Twitter posts.

Though the university and police were unable to confirm rumors of a gunman (as the story points out, no gunman was found, and there were no reports of shots fired), local media ran with the story.  Act first, ask questions later.

My first instinct was to bash those outlets for airing unconfirmed rumors that could have started a panic.  But as Pergament points out, that ship has sailed.  “Local TV stations and newspapers practically have no choice now but to address rumors for fear that they will look foolish if what they ignore turns out to be true,” he writes.

So I’ve given up thinking that traditional media will stop trying to compete with 100 million Facebook news feeds and instead serve as a voice of reason.

Instead, I see it as more important than ever that we as professional communicators take on that role.  Like the news media, we must be prepared to respond at a moment’s notice to emerging social media reports, but we can’t lose sight of our responsibility to avoid speculation and report factual information.  We have a responsibility to our clients, our organizations and the public to follow Pergament’s example, and think before acting.

More from the Scary Front Lines

by Roger Pynn

I’m not sure what I’m more frightened by … the increasingly common use of unidentified sources by what I used to think of as respectable media outlets or the steady movement toward an online world where your most trusted source is totally anonymous.

Google’s acquisition of a company Mechanical Zoo Inc., operators of a social media search service known as Aardvark was reported by The Wall Street Journal’s Scott Morrison suggesting a price of the transaction by quoting a blog that it said cited an unnamed source.

“Terms weren’t disclosed, but tech blog TechCrunch, citing an unnamed source, pegged the price at about $50 million.”

But, having assumed that those standards are about as important today as teen virginity, I moved on to explore the story because Google has been up to some pretty intriguing stuff in the past week as it scrambles to capitalize on its cloud power to rain on Facebook’s parade with Buzz, and its ability to turn your contacts file into a personalized social network.

By gobbling up Aardvark, Google seems to have done away with the need for confirmed sources not just in the news business, but in our lives. I often refer back to my partner Dan Ward’s classic post back “In Anonymous We Trust,” but this takes our willingness to trust blind sources to a new level.

Listen to this faux conversation that Aardvark uses on its Web site to demonstrate the process it uses in its free question and answer system where Morrison says you ask question and it searches your network of social media contacts for the best person to answer:

Questioner: What’s a great bike path around Golden Gate Park? (Sent 11:16 a.m. PDT)
Responder: My favorite is a secret trail that takes you to the beach … (Sent 11:20 a.m. PDT)

Notice to Questioner: Did you ever stop to think Responder may be a predator? Why not just jump into a conversation with “it” and see if you can get directions to hook up? Maybe we’ll read about you in The Examiner when they find your remains next week “alongside a secret trail that leads to the beach in Golden Gate Park.”

They’re Doing it Right

by Kim Taylor

One of the joys of Twitter is the lessons you can learn simply from observing the actions (Tweets) of others.

Over the past few days, I’ve had the opportunity to watch as a former colleague shared her frustration with SunTrust Bank on Twitter. And, because I also follow SunTrust, I was fortunate to see if and how the bank would respond.

Here’s how the online conversation unfolded:

Colleague:  “After close to 25 yrs as loyal customer, I am VERY close to taking biz away from SunTrust.”

SunTrust:  “I work for SunTrust. What’s going on? I’d like the opportunity to see if I can help. ^BB”

Colleague:  “Local branch fixing problem after wks of working w/ fraud dept.”

SunTrust:  “Sorry about the delay but glad to hear issue is being resolved. Which branch rep are you working with? I can escalate. ^BB”

Also, I’m following now…can you DM the case #? ^BB

No problem! Relayed ur info to VP Fraud, will update u w/results 2moro. Again, thanks 4 opportunity to make this right. ^BB

Colleague:  “SunTrust follow up through Twitter is quite impressive.”

This series of Tweets happened in a period of little more than 24 hours. I don’t presume to know the entire situation, but what I do know is SunTrust is doing it right*. They’re listening, they’re engaging, and they’re helping.

Isn’t this Twitter at its best?

(Hat Tip to Chris Brogan. His newsletter segment, “You’re Doing it Right,” inspired this post.)

Social Media Requires a Conscience

by Roger Pynn

One of the people I really trust and admire in our business is Joe Hice, Chief Communications Officer at N.C. State University and former head of marketing at the University of Florida. His HiceSchool blog is fun, insightful and a great brand tool for NC State.

But when I wrote a piece here a couple of days ago about the evolution of social media titled Brave New World, Hice tweeted me saying it is:

“all about building a network. Directly related to influence. Larger the network, greater the influence. Huxley too complicated.”

I chose my words because SM is evolving so rapidly it reminds me of the somewhat scary world Aldous Huxley envisioned in his 1932 book “Brave New World,” a staple for futurists although his later book “Brave New World Revisited” and his final treatise “Island” probably left book clubs pretty confused.

Actually Hice makes my point. Social media is all about building a network and that is directly related to influence, but as I tweeted back, the question is about the difference between influence and manipulation.

Embracing social media with a conscience requires understanding and respecting that difference.

Notes Come in Handy

by Dan Ward

PalmGate.  The Palm Prompter.  Hand-y Reminders.  Palm-It Notes.

The media pundits are really handing it (sorry) to Sarah Palin over her use of handwritten (literally) notes during a Tea Party Q&A.

The use of notes doesn’t bother me at all, though I’m curious why nobody in Palin’s camp could scrounge up a 3×5 card or two.  Using notes should not be an issue; the issue is writing “hidden” notes in the style of a middle schooler cheating on a biology exam.

Let’s face facts.  Reporters use notes, politicians at all levels use notes and Teleprompters.  Candidates are allowed pen and paper to take notes during Presidential Debates.  Notes are OK.  They’re acceptable.  Why try to hide the fact that you believe communicating key messages is important?

In our Message Matrix^® training sessions, we encourage people to use notes … not for scripted responses but as reminders of issues and key points to address.  When our clients make presentations, we prepare notes for them to help them stay on track.  When I present, serve on a panel or pitch new business, I bring notes along.

When you’re prepared, you can hold an audience in the palm of your hand.  Just make sure they’re not reading from it.

Brave New World

by Roger Pynn

As we work to help a large, sophisticated client develop a comprehensive strategy to deploy social media tools, I’m doing a lot more reading … and, of course, turning to people I trust and have learned from, like Chris Brogan, Lee Odden and Eric Qualman who write artfully on social media evolution.

Our client lives and dies on the habits of a 50+ audience, they’re in a small, wealthy market where they are going to have to be a leader in social media. They’ve accepted that PEOPLE are using these tools, but are understandably wary of how and whether ORGANIZATIONS can use them.

In my search for evidence, I’ve learned a lot … which is at the heart of this brave new world. It changes by the second and every time I log on the wealth of data, reporting and opinion has grown exponentially.

One of the things I’m going to have to share with this client is what Brogan wrote about listening tools.

And Odden alerted his readers that the annual Marketing Sherpa’s 2010 Social Media Benchmarking Report is out and in his review reinforced exactly what we say to clients … that using social media without a strategy is like wandering in the woods:

“What MarketingSherpa introduces in this report is “ROAD” Map, which stands for Research, Objectives, Actions and Devices. The ROAD Map guide along with determining what phase a company is in with it’s social media maturity, helps determine next steps, planning and execution.”

By the way, if Sherpa’s $400+ tab is more than your budget allows, they’ve provided this complimentary executive summary you can download.

Socialnomics author Qualman says the endorsement power of our online connections could rival Google itself:

“You will see search and social media begin to merge with the end result being we will no longer search for products and services via a search engine, rather they will find us via social media. This is one of the true powers of social media! I care more what my friends and peers link than about what an algorithm or opaque rating system spits out.”

I actually find that scary, but I don’t disagree. My partner Dan Ward has written about the intriguing power of anonymity before, but Qualman’s point has to figure into your strategy.

Is an organization’s real goal in the use of social media to overpower fact and drive its audience instead to rely instead on the emotional connections the company has been able to establish?

Can we rely on institutions to build those relationships solely through data and fact? Or do we become much more susceptible to manipulation when we think they are our friend?

News or Views?

by Roger Pynn

Now here’s an essay on the state and fate of the news media worth reading if you care to see how confused our world has become.

There’s a statement at the end about the difference between fact and fantasy I had to read and re-read, asking myself “does the writer really remember the tenets of journalism … or know the difference between reportage and opinion?”

“The world will not be a better place when these fact-based news organizations die. We will be propelled into a culture where facts and opinions will be interchangeable, where lies will become true, and where fantasy will be peddled as news. I will lament the loss of traditional news. It will unmoor us from reality. The tragedy is that the moral void of the news business contributed as much to its own annihilation as the protofascists who feed on its carcass.”

The writer begins another paragraph with the words “Real reporting, grounded in a commitment to justice and empathy…” but I’ll be damned if any journalism teacher I ever had urged me to make such a pledge. My job as a reporter was to seek out information and report it … without getting myself emotionally involved.

To suggest that objectivity killed the news is like suggesting that the practice of medicine is responsible for death because some people die in surgery.

There’s too much crap parading as news today that doesn’t deserve to be called journalism.

Unfortunately, many practitioners in newsrooms today are so engaged with proponents on one side or opponents on the other that they fail to report on the issue and instead write to beat readers into submission on behalf of the side with which they are either intellectually or emotionally aligned.

That’s what killed news.

Game Changers

by Roger Pynn

I’d never thought about it before, but watching a professional management coach friend of mine in action the other day made an important impression: very successful executives can benefit from advice from the sidelines … just like a base runner waiting at third for a chance to steal home.

I learned a long time ago that successful consulting involves helping a client find the right solution, rather than telling them what will work. I rarely know enough going in to be able to hand a client the answer. We have to work together, explore alternatives and select the best option based on careful analysis.

I work in an area where seeking outside help is common … and I love the successes we have. There’s no question that being asked into an organization is flattering … and the rewards go way beyond financial. Seeing results that make clients smile is a unique paycheck.

When an executive is humble enough to seek a coach to help them improve their overall performance, they’ve said “I don’t know it all, I’m not perfect just because I’m the boss and I’m going to get someone that can help me be even better.”

A management coach who tries to tell their client what to do is doomed to failure … just like a college football coach who belittles a young player trying to learn the game. One who reminds and prods with subtle hints and leading questions is sure to produce hall of fame players.

Business may not be a game but both sports and business require strategy … and a good coach helping you keep an eye on your plan can be a real game changer.

On Interns

by Roger Pynn

The value of interns in our business has never been a question. At present count two of our staff started with Curley & Pynn as interns … and they are tremendous young public relations professionals.

Two weeks ago we were fortunate to be finalists in the competition for the public relations needs of a client we really wanted to win. We were competing against three other finalists … all great firms that we truly respect.

When we walked into the room to present our approach, we were greeted by a room full of people who enthusiastically reached out to introduce themselves and put us at ease instantly … one-by-one standing to shake our hands and introduce themselves.

Imagine our surprise when we got to the next-to-last individual and a smiling young woman rose to say “you probably don’t remember me, but I’m Loretta Shaffer and I interned for you 14 years ago. I loved Curley & Pynn.”

There was no forgetting Loretta … an always happy and energetic young woman who we knew from her first day as an intern was destined for success. And, here she was, now the director of marketing for a major tourism development organization. She asked piercing questions and made solid observations. She shared insight with us. She was passionate about her product.

We are, too … so pleased to be reunited with a former associate as we take on the work of representing the Beaches of South Walton on Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast … Florida’s premier collection of 15 beautiful beaches known for their sugary white sand, an eclectic group of beachfront communities and soon the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport that will open up incredible experiences for freedom seekers everywhere.