09/27

Anyone who has paid attention to the campaigns of the incumbent governor, Gray Davis, and the challenger, Bill Simon, knows that Simon has done everything possible to wreck his own campaign.  It is one of the worst-run campaigns that I have ever followed.  Simon simply could not stop himself from self-destructing at every turn, and the only thing that keeps him from being 40 points behind Gray Davis is that Californians don't like Davis.  In fact, many are sick of him and just want him to be gone.  Davis is a man who won't make a decision unless it is a political one and tied to self-preservation.  He shifts blame quickly to anyone but himself.  He ducks and weaves so often that one would think he spends his time boxing rather than governing.  He also is an outstanding fund-raiser who has taken money from every conceivable source in the state and built a mammoth war chest of $60 million.

Bill Simon finally realized that Davis' fund-raising prowess could be turned against him.  He gibes that Davis has  "a toll booth outside the governor's office;" that he is the "coin-operated governor;" the "pay-to-play governor," and he has "state government for sale to the highest bidder."   And, the media are paying attention of Simon's theme because the media have been disturbed for months about the aggressive fund-raising tactics that Davis has used.

Is there a chance for Simon?  Probably not.  He has gone too far into self-destructiveness, but the amazing part of the race is how Simon even has a chance after all that he has done to sabotage himself. 

Changing the subject can be a valuable communications technique if used well.
 

 09/26

Journalistic ethics hold to an ideal of fairness and accuracy. I don't know of any personal weblogs that are trying to do anything like presenting a complete and balanced story. We need to distinguish between journalists doing personal weblogs and journalists doing weblogs for their publication. If I'm a journalist doing a weblog for my publication, do standards of fairness and accuracy apply? How much do I need to know about something before I put it up? I can't just put an e-mail I get up there, or can I?

This is an issue about which PR practitioners should have deep concern.  Blogs are opinionated screeds.  They make no pretense of hewing to accuracy.  I do not believe any reporter committed to a objective reporting of events should have a blog for venting unedited opinion.  And, that reporter definitely should not be allowed to blog opinions on events he or she is reporting as a part of a regular journalism job.  The loss of credibility would be too great.  Imagine a journalist writing a story in a newspaper on the mayor then typing in his blog that the "mayor is a dork." 

The same holds true for PR practitioners.  You cannot blog in isolation.  What you say in a blog reflects on your work.  It can compromise your reputation for accuracy and straight dealing.  Blogs are public statements.  What you write in an online diary is open to all.  Be consistent with yourself.  Never say in a blog what you would not write elsewhere.

Yes, that holds for me as well.
 

 09/25

The question is why Siebel offered these customers as references when they have had so little success?  Someone wasn't thinking clearly.  References are supposed to be happy customers,  not customers who disclose how little a product has helped them.

The company that performed the study, Nucleus Research, blundered into this mistake when it contacted 66 Siebel users to develop a "best practices" paper on how to install and use CRM.  The embarrassment for Siebel is that it costs about $6.59 million to implement its CRM program, not including training and hardware. 

The result is that CRM, which has a bad reputation for being difficult to implement, has taken a body-blow that neither the program nor the company needs. 

Somehow, I doubt Siebel's PR practitioners had anything to do with this disaster.  My guess is that someone in marketing got client permission without examining the client's experience.  The person failed to ask questions before popping the company's name onto the Siebel Web site. 

Well, Siebel knows now -- and so does everyone else.
 

09/24

Freshness dating is a fundamental help to readers that too many web sites forget and too many PR practitioners never think of.   You owe readers the courtesy of letting them know the last time that you posted something on your site or performed maintenance.  Otherwise, they should and will have legitimate concerns about the worth of your site -- especially if they hit dead links. 

Online-pr.com, because it is primarily a link site, always has a dead links somewhere.  It is impossible to stay ahead of rot, so it is especially important that I let readers know when I was last working on the site. 

In their own peculiar way, these daily thoughts are a part of freshness dating.  They are my way of making sure users have something new to read that is easily accessible and for which they don't have to search.   It is hard to keep a record of where one adds and subtracts links.  I have thought of doing that for years, but it is too much bookkeeping for the value that one gets from it. 

Every Web site should be freshness dated, and when one isn't, assume that its material is old.
 

09/23

This is a "born-again" attitude that has long made me suspicious of anyone who has "found the Lord."  Unfortunately, there are often two and even six sides to an issue.  The world is rarely black and white. 

I will grant that the evil perpetrated on 9/11 was binary.  It was bad and it merits actions to make sure that good wins out.  But, on the other hand, since the U.S. got rid of Osama Bin Laden, it has taken few steps to change the environment which nurtured him.  Nor, in the U.S.' rush to free Iraq has the administration discussed openly what it is going to do once Saddam is gone.  And, neither the attorney general nor the president have considered the damage they are doing to civil and personal liberties with draconian prescriptions for protecting the country.

In their rush to combat evil with a sword of truth and justice, they have become intemperate.  And, being intemperate is as evil as the Inquisition in Medieval Europe.  I hope America is resilient, able to take such lack of perception and then, recover common sense.  Some days I am not so sure. 

How does any of this apply to public relations?  PR practitioners convinced of their positions set themselves up for a fall.  They are in a way no different than those who have "found the Lord." 

It is axiomatic in PR that one should maintain balance.  It is unfortunate that many do not.