Crisis Communication

http://adage.com/article/agency-news/penn-state-enlists-ketchum-crisis-communications/231016/

Pennsylvania State University, in the wake of a damning sexual assault scandal involving football coaches and children, has obtained Ketchum to handle their crisis communication plan. Although I think its great that Penn State leaders finally took some responsibility and admitted that they had a problem, I have to wonder why an organization, as large as Penn State, did not have a plan in place and allowed for a PR disaster to spiral down hill even after all the sexual assault allegations were out in the open.

Crisis communication is so important and can effectively help you overcome a crisis when it is done properly and thoughtfully. However, having a plan in place before or emergency blows up is key to containing the crisis. While you may not be able to plan for exact emergencies or crises, you can have a general plan that can be easily adapted to the specific circumstances. It seems to me that Penn State dropped the ball in so many ways. The circumstances are awful, but maybe, if a proper crisis communication plan in place that was executed in a timely manner, they wouldn’t have had to bring down the entire University. 

Reaction to Social Media Governance Workshop

The Social Media Governance workshop brought many interesting and diverse voices to what the current state of social media governance is and how it might evolve in the future, delving deeply into several specific subject areas. The speakers addressed laws and regulations that are or are not in place to govern the use of social media and why or why not they are in existence and the result. The final speaker from Saturday’s session from Penn State University opened his presentation with a simple, straightforward question: “What is social media?”

This is a question that I find myself thinking about often. Something may fall under the umbrella of social media, but is it really? The speaker said simply, “all media is social.” Further, he explained that the purpose of social media is to add a level of sophistication to the way we communication with one another. It enables greater richness by encouraging interactive two-way communication. The speaker went on to discuss implications and other technicalities of the use of social media, but to me, his opening remarks were by far the most interesting and thought provoking.

Social media allows for a meaningful conversation between two or more parties. In my opinion, this needs to be taken into consideration when thinking about ways to govern social media. Social media has allowed for, in may cases, a new level of transparency and openness between organizations and individuals. Although some governance is needed to protect the rights and privacy of individuals and organizations, over governance can just as well detract from the purpose of social media. 

Pakistani Group Goes Viral on Youtube

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/world/asia/beygairat-brigades-youtube-hit-song-challenges-extremism-in-pakistan.html?ref=arts

A group of young, liberal Pakistani men have taken to Youtube.com in order to vent their feelings and issues about the extremism that runs rampant in the country and stifles so many.  The group called themselves “Brigade Without Honor” (English translation) and their viral hit translates as, “Potatoes and Eggs”. The song calls out extremist political and religious leaders as well as conspiracy theorists that reign in Pakistan.

In addition to highlighting the clever, satirical lyrics, the article reinforces that calling out leaders in a country like Pakistan isn’t exactly the safest bet. When a leader opposed a blasphemy law recently, he was assassinated. That being said, I think these young men should be recognized for the importance of what they are doing. Whether or not you agree with what they are saying, they have employed social media to effectively have their voices heard and essentially start a PR campaign against extremism in Pakistan. Youtube and social media are tools that most of us in the free world use for entertainment, but seeing others use them to free themselves from oppression and have their voice heard demonstrates the importance and power of social media. 

Response to Week 12 Reading – Washington Post

Cecelia Kang’s Washington Post article about privacy highlighted the issues that have emerged with social media and devices that are equipped with GPS technology. Often times, children and adolescents are the most vulnerable when it comes to security issues. Lawmakers and privacy and security experts have spent a great deal of time and resources advocating for increased security measures those who use social media or apps that track location and other sensitive information.

To me, this is all kind of ridiculous. People are working to advocate for changes to protect us … from ourselves? If you don’t want people to know your location, don’t “check in”. If you don’t want your credit card info out there, don’t enter it. It’s simple and common sense. As for companies taking advantage of children and adolescents who don’t yet understand the gravity of privacy, there is also a pretty simple answer. Like the last example in the article states, parents or guardians or whoever is responsible for a child should also be responsible for protecting that child online. Don’t give your kid your credit card number if you don’t want people to know it, don’t give your kid a smart phone and let them “check-in” everywhere and anywhere if you don’t want people to know where they are. It all seems pretty standard, and pretty common sense. I don’t know why a lawmaker needs to step in. Be responsible for yourself and those who you are responsible for, if you are, the likelihood of negative repercussions is going to be reduced.

From a public relations point of view, practitioners have the responsibility of upholding ethical standards at all times. Dealing with mobile apps is not without ethical implications and best practices should always be followed.  

A Lesson from @KDTrey5 and @VZWSupport

Last Thursday, Tony Srebnik spoke with us about social media and how businesses can use it for their benefit. His lecture and the two handouts that supplemented it all touched on the fact that many businesses / public individuals are ignoring social media and disregarding how influential it can be in reaching and establishing a good rapore with the public. I though the fact that 95% of companies aren’t responding to Tweets was the most surprising. Offering a brief response is such a simple thing to do that can have such a big impact.

I was thinking about how a simple Tweet can be a powerful message today when I was reading an article about how Kevin Durant recently played a flag football game with a group of OSU students because of a Tweet. I don’t know the reason why he did this, but it certainly seems to have created positive buzz and publicity. Whether it was a strategic move or he was bored and just wanted to play, it benefited him and his image. I don’t really know all that much as Kevin Durant and what kind (if any) sponsorships or endorsement deals he has, but he may have just positioned himself for more.

 Another example that came to mind was something that happened to me earlier in October. I have had one bad experience after another dealing with Verizon and I am sure I am not alone. After one particularly bad experience, I Tweeted about how much I hate them. I don’t really know why I did it, I guess just out of frustration. I have about 10 followers on Twitter, so anything I say doesn’t really have much reach anyway. To my surprise, they responded to my Tweet. I still hate Verizon, but I have to admit that it made me feel better to know that they know that I hate them. It made me feel better that I knew that I was able to reach out to them. And as much as I hate to admit it, Verizon is practicing good business and good PR by responding to Tweets.

Companies and individuals can learn from Kevin Durant and Verizon. Don’t ignore social media! Its such a simple, easy and cost effective way to reach customers and fans and establish a more positive relationship. 

Week 11 Reaction

Democratizing your business, as the creators of Threadless did, seems like it might be the future of business because of social media and the need that consumers now have to interact with businesses. Shopping and making purchases has evolved with social media and Threadless did a great job adapting. 

In the future, I think that we will see more democratization in business. Consumers will tell businesses what their needs are and how they can be met, rather than businesses telling consumers what they need and how their product can serve that need. Democratization in business will greatly affect traditional advertising. Advertisers will be forced to think outside the box to engage consumers, instead of just telling consumers why they need the product. Social media will continue to enable engaging, meaningful conversations between consumers and businesses to create the best possible outcomes.