Of Urban Legends and Parental Behavior

Never, in the United States, has a child died from eating poisoned candy on Halloween.  (No, I didn't do my own research; I'm relying on The Wall Street Journal.)

Why then, the insanity around this relatively harmless holiday?

Lenore Skenazy has her own theories.  I think it's just a great case study for effective public relations and communications.  Consider:

• The overwhelming opinion seems to be that Halloween is a dangerous time for kids.  
• The facts do not support this.
• No one cares.

What we see here is that once a narrative takes hold it is next-to-impossible to dispel it, even if it is blatantly incorrect.

In praise of doing nothing

When I was at my first job - at Renee Sall Associates on Manhattan's East Side - I remember reading an essay in Newsweek, bemoaning the fact that, with business operating at breakneck speed, there was little if no time left for creativity.

I was reminded of that essay when reading this one by Peter Bregman.  In it, he laments the loss of boredom and the elusive downtime.  I agree with him.  I do some good thinking when sitting quietly on airplanes or while stuck in traffic. 

But here's another trend I'm noticing, as I speak to colleagues, clients and prospects.  There is a pressing need for an answer now.  Personally, I'm often in wonder of people who seem to have every answer at the ready.  Nonetheless, more often than not, we would be better served if we waited, reflected or - God forbid - said "I don't know."

The Importance of Doing SOMETHING

I was a Xerox salesman for six miserable months.  I sold five low-volume copiers in that time and, while there is much I'd like to forget about that period of my professional development, I learned one useful lesson: when in doubt of what to do next, do SOMETHING.  At Xerox, that meant "make calls."

We were given a list of "prospects" (in quotes because the list was more of a phone book that a collection of qualified leads) and told to reach out to a certain number every week.  Anyone who has ever done this sort of thing knows what I'm talking about.  For whatever reason, I was a loser at that particular numbers game, but the lesson shared by my manager has since served me well.

Put another way, a supervisor of mine at Edelman (the same one who taught me that "PR is about what you do and NOT what you say") confided in me that "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission."  Clients, media, supervisors - whomever - will likely be much quicker to forgive what you've done than to grant permission in the first place. 

What does this mean in a communications mindset?  Very often, it's tempting to wait until all storytelling elements are lined up and in tip-top shape.  Media kits, backgrounders, bios, press releases, photos, b-roll, research - you name it - can all stand in the way of getting the job done.

Hogwash, I say.  At some point, you just have to dive in.

The ONLY exception is that of message development.  Everything else can fall into line later.  But right now, the single most important piece of preparation is figuring out what you're going to say and how.  Once you do that, everything else will flow into place.

I guarantee it.

I am SO guilty.

When Braverman Communications was incorporated way back in 2003, a very smart man shared the following thought: When you work for yourself you're always doing three things.  (1) Collecting for yesterday's work, (2) Doing today's work; and (3) Pitching tomorrow's work.

He forgot to tell me there are really four things you need to do, the fourth being: "Don't forget to post to your blog."

Which brings me to a thought I've found myself sharing with clients on a rather frequent basis: remember what business you're in.  In all likelihood, you're not in the publishing business.  Put another way (also not my original thought): anyone can publish a newsletter.  The trick is publishing your 12th newsletter.

There are so many great tools available for broadcasting your message.  Not too long ago, the fax machine revolutionized media relations and, today, the plethora of social media is (not "are") doing it again.  The key to success will be to know when to join the fray and when to hold back.  If you think I'm nuts, think back to the late 1990s/early 2000s when every established company under the sun was considering appending ".com" to its name, either as a DBA or legally. New companies with names that didn't start with "i" or "e" weren't taken seriously.

Why?  Because it was the "New Economy" where everything had changed and nothing would ever be the same.  But, guess what?  In the end, investor's still wanted to see profits; and real customers trumped "strategic alliances."

Before you jump headfirst into blogging, newsletter writing, Twitter, Facebook, or anything that resembles publishing, consider what it is you want to get out of the effort.  Are you creating a blog or Twitter account because it's the thing to do?  Why would anyone want to be your "friend?"  Through it all, remember that all the bells and whistles will never replace mastery of the fundamentals.

Twitter Stalling?

Interesting article on Twitter usage. The number of tweets is way up, but number of users is down.

All is not gloomy, however:

On an annual basis, Twitter is still going gangbusters with 1,271 percent growth from 1.4 million visitors in October, 2008. And on a global basis, it still seems to be chugging away with 58.4 million visitors in September. But a hypergrowth company like Twitter cannot afford to slow down in its home market.

Here's what I think this means: People sign up and then realize it's all a bit overwhelming. A smaller core actually use it actively. Plus, with Facebook and LinkedIn offering pretty much the same thing as Twitter...well, I think Twitter needs to evolve, a bit.

A while ago, I posted about a Harvard study on Twitter that showed most people on Twitter follow a pretty small number of posters. I recently waded back into Twitter on behalf of a client and found countless accounts with one or two tweets that were months old.

What does this have to do with communication? I think communicating in 140-character bursts isn't conducive to true conversation. It's more broadcasting thoughts that may, or may not, be interesting to others.

You know how I hate definitive lists...

Well, here's one that I think is a bit over-eager. The writer points out, with apparent glee, that press releases, press kits, faxes, press conferences and trade shows are all "dead" PR tactics.

It's easy to understand her enthusiasm; she's selling expertise in social media and, therefore, relies much on claiming that everything older than right now is, by definition, outdated.

Remember when there was brief moment in time when profits didn't seem to matter? But I digress...

Allow me to share my thoughts on each of the aforementioned "tactics:"

Press Releases - Definitely not dead. In some instances, they are changing. But there is (are?) a whole slew of media folk, top to bottom, who still like to receive their information that way. A press release, by the way, is not a tactic. It's a tool.

Press Kits - If you believe that content has any value, how can you claim "press kits" are dead? What I think she's talking about is "over-produced and over-priced" press kit packaging. Fact of the matter is, people - journalists included - still need wacky information such as company backgrounders, bios, fact sheets, and YES, press releases. Press kits, by the way, aren't tactics. They are also communications tools.

Faxes - A fax machine isn't a tactic. It's a method of communicating. As the first comment to the posting points out, there are still areas of the globe where fax is a relied-upon method of communication.

Press Conferences - I agree here, that for the most part, press conferences aren't worth the time and effort. You really need something big to pull that off successfully.

Trade Shows - From a PR perspective, there are shows that work. Then again, some don't. Again, trade shows aren't really "tactics" but part of a larger strategy. And, I'd stay away from a blanket pronouncement that leveraging trade show presence is a useless (dead) strategy.

"I may not agree with what you say..."

If you know who said that - without Googling it - you win a prize.

Interesting happening last night during the President' speech. He was heckled. No one can seem to recall the last time a President was yelled at during an address to a joint session of Congress.

A couple of questions, though. (1) Was this a planned move by Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, or spur-of-the-moment? (2) Should we care about the outburst?

First, I don't think this was a planned event. The New York Times reports that Wilson immediately bolted from the room when the President finished. Further, such outbursts, in such high-profile events, are always seen as, well, loopy. By all estimates, Wilson did nothing to advance the Republican Party cause.

Second, yes, we should care about such a breach of protocol, but perhaps not for the reason you think. Protocol exists to maintain order, to ensure no one offends anyone else, and so on. (Is anyone else thinking of Goldie Hawn right now?) But, times are changing. The rules of communication are changing. Conversations don't take place any more; shouting matches do. If you don't believe me, take a look at what passes for "news" these days: two talking heads talking over each other with a smirking host who adds nothing.

So, yes, we should care about the outburst, in my opinion, because I think it's a harbinger of more change coming to Washington, the country and the world, in the way we communicate with one another.

Here's something I love.

This is a blog that usually makes me laugh.

His most recent post just serves to remind us that one can never do too much research when launching a new product or company.

What is Twitter, really?

What is Twitter? Interesting article from the good folks at Harvard B-School.

To hear the evangelists tell it, everyone's on Twitter and they're all talking to one another. Quick! Jump in now or risk being labeled a dinosaur.

Not so fast. Turns out everyone's following a very, very small number of users.

What does this mean from a public relations perspective? Not much. Companies should still explore how to use it - some are doing so very well.

But it's time everyone calmed down a bit.

Hugging in an Era of Overcommunication

Your kids, like mine, probably communicate with their friends mostly through the written word - email, text, etc. Interesting, though, that The New York Times recently ran a piece about hugging in school.

One of the conclusions was that perhaps kids hug more now because most of their communication, otherwise, is through a computer screen of some sort.

Interesting. What does this mean for us as communicators? Maybe it means that as companies continue to communicate through a variety of media and even though they are "always on," those with whom we are communicating still crave real interaction.

Is Twittering the same as communicating?

Is Twitter changing the way public relations and communications are practiced? Should it?

Both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times recently ran articles outlining some of the challenges Twitter is facing. The company is growing by leaps and bounds and in addition to enjoying all that success, it’s experiencing some growing pains.

I still haven’t made up my mind about Twitter. Sure, if you’re in the communications biz and don’t get excited when people start holding forth on the miracles and wonders of Twitter, you risk being labeled “old school.” Yes, Twitter is cool if that whole Facebook page is too much for you to consume and you want to know what I’m doing right now (writing this post) or need to know your best friend’s status (stressing over her upcoming history test).

Yes, Twitter is cool. But I’m not sure what the value is to communications pros (other than keeping tabs on journalists).

I can’t help but get that old “2001: An Internet Crash Odyssey feeling.” I can’t help but be reminded of colleagues who looked me earnestly in the eye and said things like “This is the New Economy; profits don’t matter anymore.” Or, “The company represents a paradigm shift away from the old way of thinking.” Or, “It’s all about eyeballs and content is king.” Or, my favorite from Razorfish founder Jeff Dachis, “We've…re-contextualized what it is to be a business-services.”

What’s the point? At the risk of sounding older and grumpier than I am, I’m not sure that compressing communications into 140 characters is a good idea. While “brevity is the soul of wit” and “heard melodies are sweet” continues to ring true, real communication still requires development of thought and appreciation of the process.

The role of marketing during a recession

Nancy Koehn, a professor at Harvard Business School, says, "So [one lesson in downturns] is market, market. Don't cut back on marketing."

You can read the whole interview here.

Of course, I'm not going to disagree. I'll keep telling anyone who'll listen that they have to keep talking to their customers, prospects, employees, etc. Even when business is in the toilet. Maybe not every element of marketing is important, but the key is to communicate.

A colleague of mine pointed out that she's seen public relations budgets staying more or less the same with advertising plummeting. Why? The later costs a whole lot more.

Keep talking to the people you need to reach. Keep feeding them relevant information and they will reward you. Of that, I'm certain.

We're forgetting how to talk.

It turns out that people don't like voicemail anymore. Apparently, it takes up too much time and checking for messages is a complicated and arduous task.

Fascinating, but not really suprising in an era when Twitter is fast becoming a normal way to communicate. If you can't say it in 140 characters, then it's taking too long.

But, is that really communicating?

I think the challenge some people have with voicemail is that those who leave voice mail messages don't appreciate the importance of keeping messages succinct and to-the-point. Callers, somehow, are caught off-guard and aren't sure what to say or how to say it when they have to rely on the spoken word.

Here's my take: I think people are forgetting how to TALK to one another. Think about it. How many times do you get together with friends or family, only to have the people you're with texting, IMing or emailing throughout your conversation? I don't think people are too busy to talk or listen to voicemails, I just think people don't know how to relate to the spoken word, anymore.

Everyone Knows Everything and No One Knows how to Shut Up

Well, we're finally here. Everyone knows everything all the time. And, aparently, a lot of people don't know when to keep their proverbial mouths closed.

Cases are ending in mistrials because jurors are blogging, twittering and otherwise talking about the cases for which they are seated. Everyone knows that jurors are not supposed to talk, yet talk they do, and in ways that are much, much more impactful than casually mentioning something over dinner. Jurors are broadcasting. What makes no sense is that judges surely tell jurors they may not talk, blog, email, research, etc., the cases they are to decide. Yet people do it anyway.

But can you blame the juror? He or she is a regular person who now lives in an online world. "Google" and "friend" have become verbs; Wikipedia is the most successful encyclopedia. (My 10-year-old can't be blamed for not knowing how to research something in the library; he has everything he needs at his fingertips.) Anyone - ahem - can have a blog.

Yes, I say, blame the juror. Having the ability to communicate is not the same as having the responsibility to communicate. In fact, successful, responsible communication often means saying nothing at all.

I'm reminded of an article I once read about SUVs during the height of their popularity in the U.S. Owning one, the writer suggested, wasn't about the need to drive off-road; it was about the ability to do so. After all, he said, how much off-roading does one do on the way to buy some milk?

Don't get me wrong: I think it's great that communication is no longer in the hands of those who have the ability to buy ink by the barrel. Mass communication has truly become accessible to all. But I think many people have yet to learn that having the means to do something does not necessarily mean they should.

Dire economy? Innovation!

This piece from yesterday's New York Times is certainly heartening. Here is (not are) a handful of souls who, thanks to pink slips, all find themselves accidental entrepreneurs.

It is exactly for these folks - who will be driving the economy in the near future - that we've launched a new web site that helps young companies create their first PR materials. We also take it a step further with the Marketing Communications Starter Kit.

Sure, there's plenty of doom and gloom out there. (The Chinese prime minister just reported that he's worried about the money his country has lent the United States.) But if you look hard enough, you'll see people doing what people do when their backs are up against the wall: getting creative. If nothing else, it will be fun to see the next great thing that comes out of this depression.