Political Campaigns

Quotes for the week, ending 21 March, 2009

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“The Holy Grail is to know as much as possible but to protect to the greatest extent privacy rights. Google’s halo has slipped for the very reason that it believes in the first part of the equation but not in the second.”

Simon Davies of Privacy International, on Google’s Street View maps of the UK.

“This is like the captain and the crew of the ship, reserving the lifeboats.”

Congressman to AIG chairman Edward Liddy on Nightline.

“My job then becomes one of ‘comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable.”

Social Media Today’s Blogger of the week Dennis Howlett, on the need for PR and Communicators to get buy in from middle management, who have much to gain from social media, but feel most threatened.

“We’re just now emerging from a dark age, and as we ease out of decadent late capitalism and into a more sustainable way of life, transparency, authenticity, balance, egalitarianism and distributed models will become the norm.”

HilaryBromberg, Writing for CMO Strategy in Adverting Age, on the 8 strategies a marketer could do tp stay afloat in an uncertain economy.

“We need human colors to paint the greatest piece of art that has ever been made – the world.”

A line from a video submission by a high school student, José Vinícius Reis Gouveia of Brazil, that won the online contest for video held by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.

“Forget live blogging everything people say. It’s too much pressure and I guarantee there are way too many pro/experienced bloggers doing it better and more consistently than you in the crowd. Let them.”

Rohit Bhargava, a prolific blogger,with a few tips on how best to manage time and resources at SXSW Conference in Austin Texas this week.

“The role of the curator is to, in a lot of instances, broaden the horizons of the audiences …so that they don’t get stuck in an echo chamber.”

Gina Trapani, founder of LifeHacker, at a session on Curating a Crowd-sourced World, at SXSW Conference in Austin, TX.

“I also suggest to young communicators to showcase their Social Media talents and make sure that is a listed skill on resumes.”

Johna Burke, VP of BurellesLuce, in a Twinterview I conducted this week, responding to a question about the why job seekers in PR and Communications need to be doing

Quotes for the week ending 14 March, 2009

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“Stewart’s attack on CNBC is not some cable cockfight. At the heart of this spectacle is a lesson that reporters, anchors, editors, news directors and anyone with a stake in a vital American fourth estate should heed.”

Joe Vince, blogging about the Jon Stewart – Jim Kramer fight, where Stewartwho has a popular Comedy Central show, attacked Cramer of CNBC for failing to warn people about the risky Wall Street conduct.

“lot of people will actually get to see the Internet”

Tim Berners-Lee, the farther of the World Wide Web, talking about how mobile devices will be the main access points for the web in much of the developed world. He however warned of the vulnerability of being able to be snooped on.

“Guava threw together this spot in which a Blackberry literally shoots through Apple.”

A fruity quote by AdRants about a story about a new TV spot by Blackberry taking aim at the iPhone, without mentioning the latter.

“So is advertising really adding value to our brands or not? I am sure agencies fail their clients from time to time … But the difference is that civilians don’t attempt to do the job of a military man. That is why they are set apart and called civilians and military.”

Udara, a blogger at JWT Sri Lanka, commenting on the eternal problem of how anyone with a Mac and a designer may not be in the ideas business.

“So far “McCain” in gothic letters on the back of my neck is winning my unofficial survey.”

Meghan McCain, commenting on her latest media tour and writing stint.

“We’re going to attempt to conduct a full interview exclusively on Twitter — complete with the 140-character limit!”

George Stephanopoulos of ABC News announcing his attempt to ‘twinterview’ John McCain on twitter next Tuesday

“Some of the communications I see haven’t changed since the 1960s. Same bad photos, same jargon (we need to leverage our core competencies and strive for World Class synergy), same platitudes … same spin.”

Steve Crescenzo, in an interview with ValleyPRBlog, on why he he speaks out against corpoorate-speak. Crescenzo will hold a full-day seminar for IABC-Phoenix on Thursday 19 March.

“You don’t have to have your fingers in every social media pie. All these channels are grouped under one category but … If a chat forum works best then stick to that.”

Sona Hathi, Assistant Editor, Melcru, on the ROI and reasons for using social media.

“The more we can do to open the process to the public, the greater the public understanding – the more legitimacy the public system will have in the eyes of the public”

A Kansas Judge J. Thomas Marten, who allowed a court reporter to use Twitter slthough jurors are told to avout newspaper, broadcasts and online media.

What we could learn from the Rush Limbaugh spat

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If you haven’t been following the heated exchange between the Democratic Party, the Republican leadership and Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, it’s worth going back and looking at the he-said, he un-said, he didn’t mean to say back and forth.

It’s like an ongoing tutorial (check this, this and this) on why it’s important to pay attention to the medium not just the person you are engaging before foot is inserted in mouth. Here is an example:

Loose Lips: “Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh’s whole thing is entertainment … “Yes, it is incendiary. Yes, it is ugly.”

Who Said That: Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee

Oops, I take that back: “Words that I said weren’t what I was thinking. It was one of those things where I thinking I was saying one thing, and it came out differently.”

What??? Steele was attempting to take back his sharp criticism on Limbaugh

You cannot take anything back. Any media relations rookie will tell you that. In fact any SEO rookie will tell you that also. Just Google the words “Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer” or just “Limbaugh Steele” and see. So what can we learn from this –besides never trying to engage nuclear talk-show hosts?

  • Understand that radio is still a powerful medium. The host always, always has the last word. If you don’t believe me, tune in and see how cleverly any show host cuts off a caller with a few simple words:  “I’m coming up on a hard break.” Click!
  • If you have to challenge someone, make sure you have full access to the media platform, or be pretty damn sure you have a stronger one beneath you. I remember Sun CEO/blogger Jonathan Schwartz once said “while a journalist is writing about my blog, I am blogging about his journalism.”
  • Stick to some talking points if you tend to improvise, or your mouth tends to go extremely left field without informing your brain first. Here’s Steele, again.

PS: I have nothing against Steele or Limbaugh –the above may contain “words that I said weren’t what I was thinking…”

Text-Hillary needs to switch to Tweet-Hillary

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Having followed and reported on the State Department for years, I was glad to see Hillary dive into interactive mode on her recent trips to Asia and the Middle East.

Particularly on the openness to respond to text messages from anyone. These were her responses that have just been published online.

However I have two problems and a suggestion:

  • The questions may be legitimate, but there’s just no way of knowing who’s sending them, and when. In this transparency era that the administration is rightly talking up, we the people like to see who’s txt-ing.
  • Clinton’s responses are way too long. One ran into 200+ words. No, I am not suggesting 140 characters or nothing. I love long form answers, but it seems out of sync to respond to a 24-word question with a minor speech.  I know, I know, you didn’t text back those replies. By the way, who in their right  minds uses words like “to end the Gaza blockade and allow humanitarian aid to enter (based on UN Security Council Resolution 1860).” in a text message, with proper spelling, to boot?
  • My suggestion to the Secretary: It’s about time you started responding to people via Twitter as well. @ClintonNews account would be fine to start with. Don’t give up accepting SMS, because we all know that’s what most of the world still uses. But also remember, 60 percent of Twitter traffic comes from international users. Convinced?

Bobby Jindal’s not ready for prime time

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

I don’t want this to sound political, but it might come off that way. Please skip this post if you’re disinterested in the wacky 2-party system in the US.

But the moment I started listening to the Republican response last night, I could see why Bobby Jindal, who has all the street cred of a long-shot presidential nominee, was a wrong pick.

I’m going by the communication parts of the response, remember.

  • Badly needs teleprompter training
  • Desperately needs a speechwriter –especially when trying to jam in a family story
  • Uses wrong anecdote/case study to make the point: He used the predictable Katrina example, which would have been wonderful, had he not used it as a reason why ‘more government’ is bad. Bobby, that was Bush government, remember? Your party’s fearless leader at that time.
  • Repetitive phrase tactic (as in “I have a dream”) only work for grand ideas; not suitable with grocery store analogy.

The odd thing is –perhaps being Asian, but more because I have watched him closely over the past two years– I was rooting for this guy a few months back. I just wish he studied others who bombed in front of the camera (there was, ya know, the other outsider) a bit more before making such a debut.

Quotes for the week ending 22 February, 2009

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“I would be happy to buy him a cup of coffee –decaf!”

White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, to the press, on the CNBC host Rick Santelli’s rant about Obama’s housing plan. Gibbs suggested Mr. Santelli ‘download, hit print and read the report.’

“It’s a crisis that strikes at the heart of the middle class. It begins with one house at a time in Mesa, Glendale or Tempe…”

President Barack Obama, on his visit to Dobson High School in Mesa, Arizona, where he announced the details of the housing plan that intends to address the key issues at the heart of the financial crisis.

“Thank you all for watching out for my brand, I appreciate each and every message”

Jeremy Owyang, to the many people who have informed hiom about the fake Twitter accounts in his name. Reported by Jacob Morgan.

“Business journalism sources come in all shapes and sizes, and my experience is that the ones who purport to have the most explosive stories are typically exaggerating their claims.”

Chris Roush, blogging at BusinessJournalism.org, on the need to verify a source that claims to be a whistleblower, in relation to a story of one in the Bernie Madoff fraud case

“Micro-payments won’t solve newspapers’ pay-or-perish problem, at least not under current proposals.”

Marshall W. Van Alstyne, associate professor, Boston University joining the debate on how to rescue journalism

“Twitter has a lot of power to, with simple changes like that, change the ecology of the system.”

Leo Laporte, host of the podcast, This Week in tech (TWIT) on the new feature that Twitter adds that gives some users a hugs boost in followers.

Joe The Plumber’s fingerprints in Mesa

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In less than an hour from now President Obama is coming to a school less than a mile from my home, to make the big announcement to address the housing crisis.

So I couldn’t resist driving by Dobson High a little while ago to check out the mood out here.

Contrary to what you might imagine watching some of the morning news reports, it’s not all human chaos and traffic snarls in Mesa. Traffic was moving smoothly, as people made their way with signs, lawn chairs, flags and cameras.

But along the way a little detail struck me as an example of how out of touch, or completely ignorant people are. Little signs on stakes –the kind that usually advertise weight-loss cures or ‘we buy ugly houses’ — try to lecture to Obama that ‘socialism is not the answer’ with allusions to the healthcare rescue plan. Has Joe the Plumber being recruited to do some sort of poster-PR for the other side? Someone did not get the memo that the Palin-led socialism canard flopped.

The people lining the streets outside St. Timothy’s Catholic Church have more to hope for and worry about than socialism. They see the economy through a different lens.

Quotes for the week ending 7 February, 2009

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“If people have ideas about how better to use these tools, please let me know…”

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton at a town hall meeting with state employees on the need to use new technologies to communicate with people across the world.

“Dear Orlando Hilton: Your coffee is tasty, but $4.50 4 a bottle of water?”

Tweet from IABC’s Leadership Institute event in Florida, an event covered by many IABC tweeps.

“We have many measures in place to reduce the likelihood of your posts being seen as SPAM, but instead look much more natural and real.”

The latest attempt to automate twitter, and let marketers target people with ‘pre-defined messages’ to followers. If it smells like SPAM….

“Reckless”.

Britain’s Tory party, opposing the government’s use of Big Brother-type use of millions of closed circuit cameras and a DNA database for surveillance.

“I engaged in behaviour which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment.”

Olympic gold medalist, Michael Phelps, apologizing after a British newspaper published a picture of him smoking marijuana.

“It says it’s sunny in Arizona!”

Child in video for GE about the ‘smart grid’ that has a companion web site with some clever animation about alternative energy.

“From icy Davos to snowy London. No10 admin is gazing at a foot of the stuff outside his apartment window. Thank heavens for remote working!”

Tweet by Number 10, Downing Street, suggesting Gordon may have been telecommuting, too while London froze.

“Obama summoned a conga line of Anderson, Katie, Brian, Chris and Charlie…”

Syndicated columnist Maureen Dowd on President Obama’s use of the media to get past the Tom Daschle faux pas

“bad script, lame sets, and horrific acting.”

Blabbermouth‘s Jeff Goodman on the success of GoDaddy Super Bowl ads that use misogyny and a risqué script to drive viewers to the ‘store.’

Tracking the first 100 days – everyone wants to do it!

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The first 100 days is now a yardstick of performance, especially so for the new Obama administration. Of course the media is following it diligently.

Yesterday colleges turned up the heat, to communicate the complexity of what the world is up against with global warming and climate change, and what the president needs to do in his first 100 days.  ASU participated as well in the national teach-in.  (The webcast is here)

Butothers are using social media to record and comment on –even crowd-source– the first 100 days. Here are a few:

ObamaCTO: Tehcnolgy folks keeping tabs on Mr. Obama

WhiteHouse2 – an alternative ‘house’ run by citizens!

First100Days Blog – you’ll never gues who’s blogging the first 100 days! Anderson Cooper? guess again! The GOP? Nah! It’s the State Department.

Quotes for the week ending 31 January, 2009

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“I’ve got one question: WTF? Where’s the funding?”

Student Tommy Bruce, president of the student-body at the University of Arizona, at the protest this week against state legislators slashing education budgets

“Our model is not for a quick rebound,” he said. “Our model is things go down, and then they reset.”

Steve Ballmer of Microsoft, in The New York Times, about the layoffs at Microsoft

“pop culture and media that’s ripe for parody”

Ralph Podell of Barely Digital, a new tech comedy model that will feature the ‘Obama Girl’

“It kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate.”

Governor Rod Blagojevich, invoking that other scandal of secret taping. The Governor was wire-tapped by the FBI which used it as evidence to bring charges on him.

“He’s all about PR.”

Christine Radongo, Senate Minority Leader of Illinois, commenting on the impeached governor Rod Blagojevich.

“Digging into work. Must turn off Facebook. Too distracting. So why am I now on Twitter? Argh!”

Corrine Heyeck, Tweeting about (what else?) the distraction of social media