Airline-speak from Singapore Airlines

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

This blog covers the difference between sterile corporate-speak and the language of ordinary people, even in the line of work. I came across this example of Singapore Airlines speaking in, shall we say, code.

“All we ask of customers, wherever they are on our aircraft, is to observe standards that don’t cause offence to other customers and crew.”

What they were talking about was the policy regarding the use of double beds abroad the new aircraft. The A380 has 12 first-class suites that are not completely sound proofed. For an airline that lets flight attendants walk around in a sarong, all it had to say was something along the lines of “no sex please in our cabins.”

PodCamp Arizona – as good as any paid event

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

brent_2.jpgKick yourself if you didn’t attend Podcamp Ariona.

As Podamps go, it was an experiment in self organization -taken to an amazing level. The venue –at the University of Advancing Technology— couldn’t have been better picked with classrooms bristling with technology, rather than a sterile hotel ambiance.

The presenters were people many paid events would kill to have on their roster. There was free music, food, and best of all a sense of energy that firmly planted Arizona on the Podcast map. There have been 23 Podcamps across the country before this. One attendee commented that he had attended a few more Podcamps and this by far was the best organized. Kudos to Brent and Michelle Spore for pulling this off.

Many takeaways from this one for me.

1. First, that knowledge is not always to be found in formal education packaging. Nor need it be “monetized” the traditional way. This was an event that was managed by a wiki, if that tells you something about bottom-up organizational power.

3. Third, those who have the best stories have the worst collateral. I say this in a good way, since I’ve seen to many slick PPT presentations, too many brochures in my marketing life that scream marketing, not substance. I attended a session by Marc and Nicole Spagnuolo on “starting from scratch.” Their logo looks like it was designed by a high school student with a Sharpie in the back seat of a car. Really, from scratch! Nicole was happy to admit that they use free survey software, low-cost service providers, print black&white stickers rather than expensive business cards, and barely know how to write a press release. But they are hugely successful!

4. Fourth, podcasters are not afraid to make mistakes, to start over, to admit they got it wrong. Zero egos.

And that’s apart from the lessons of podcasting, and connecting to audiences via a blog, a microphone, a camera…

Taser “victim” accepts blame

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

An unexpected ending to the “Don’t Tase me bro” story that appeared to spin off in several directions.

The student who got more than his 15 minutes of fame thanks the incident featured on YouTube and the rapid spread of news/speculation about the incident, has apologized for precipitating the incident. On the Facebook group that formed around the event, no one has posted anything since early October. Case closed, I guess.

Quotes of the week ending 11/03/07

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

“If Fox demands control, presidential debates don’t need Fox. It is time that the presidential candidates from both parties stand with Senator McCain and defend his right to use this clip to advance his presidential campaign.”

Larry Lessig, commenting on Fox’s demanding that John McCain cease and desist using of a clip from a TV debate that carries the Fox logo.

“We would have pretty serious concerns about a government-run blacklist that affects the online advertising industry.”

Trevor Hughes, of the Network Advertising Initiative, commenting on the suggestion that the FTC to create a “do not track” list to prevent behavioral targeting.

“The choking, over heated, gaseous hot air suffocates. There definitely appears to be a growing backlash against these spineless PR’s from journalists who’ve simply had enough.”

Mark Borkowski, commenting on Chris Adderson’s move to publish the names of “lazy” PR flacks who spam him irrelevant pitches.

“He has a star quality … He can say ‘me and my colleagues actually invented the Internet and here’s how it works.’ “

Paul Twomey. Chief of ICANN, on the resignation this week of of Vint Cerf, who had joined the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers.

“There’s enough education that people should know better, and we all have media databases. It’s laziness versus strategic.”

Jeremy Pepper, adding to comments from the blogosphere on Chris Anderson’s controversial move –above– with practical tips on Social Media 101.

“No press releases, no media briefings, just quietly get the blog up. What we might, in traditional-speak, call a ’soft launch.’ “

Neville Hobson, on Dell’s launching a new investor relations blog called Dell Shares. The news was exclusively announced on FIR, the Hobson & Holtz podcast, embargoed until November 1st.

Flight attendants on Southwest are never “on message.” That’s a good thing.

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

No matter what I have said about Southwest Airlines, I have to hand it to their flight attendants for not indulging in corporate-speak. Nor communications guide in their back pocket. No tact, even. At least they don’t talk as if someone gave them a work off a template.

Carole Adams shares this exchange (and many others) in Nuts About Southwest:

Passenger: Do I have to sit in the middle seat? (Last available seat)
Adams: When you’re the last one to the dinner table for Sunday dinner, you don’t get the best piece of chicken.

Now, if marketing had to craft that exchange,it would have been something like:

“Company policy on free seating allows passengers to adopt boarding strategies that ensure they get the seating most compatible with their desired flying experience.”

And the legal department?

“The rights of a legitimate ticket holder on any of the 3,300 domestic and international flights a day, permits passenger or a nominated agent to request in advance, with no obligation or bias, a boarding pass that provides an aisle or window seat in accordance with FAA regulations and marketing policy. For further clarification, please see our marketing response – above.”

Adams wins, hands down.

Will PR and the media call a truce?

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

The dust won’t settle for awhile since WIRED Editor Chris Anderson announced last week he was “banning” lazy PR people who pitched him with irrelevant stories. First strike and they’re history.

The discussion has got interesting. Here’s one, where Brian Solis asks if PR and media could sign a peace accord of sorts. He says:

I promise to fix this problem among those with whom I work with and can reach. I will also work with others whose voices are trusted among PR practitioners and their peers within the communities in which they seek guidance.

All he asks is that Anderson remove the list of names from his blog so as not to give the offenders a public shaming.

Anderson, however, is unapologetic:

Many people wrote to apologize, promising to reform their ways, and asked to be taken off the list. I’ve written to all of them to thank them for their commitment to change, but I’m not going to undo history.

Solis then brings up another uncomfortable topic –unethical cut-and-paste reporters. But outing them is not necessary, he says.

Terrific post, Brian.

In People vs Victoria’s Secret, small group wins

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

This piece of news epitomizes everything we know about the shift taking place. Of people taking charge of their social environments –online and offline.

To summarize, in Gilbert, Arizona, a “small yet vocal group” told the mall management that it did not want to see barely-clad women in larger-than-life size posters facing outside on the mall.

Others have slammed this as a prudish attitude. “Victoria Secret Sells Underwear people! What are they going to advertise, hand bags?” commented one. But the fact is, the hoi polloi can –and will– make demands. You may recall Abercrombie & Fitch discontinued a catalog when accused of treading into soft porn territory, and had also backed down and pulled offensive T-shirts before that.

On the other side of the world, in Australia, a coalition of consumer organizations has launched a “dump soda” campaign. This includes asking that the Coca-Colas and Pepsis “Stop selling sweetened beverages” around schools, and a broader call to cease marketing to those under 16 in print, broadcast, via product placement, on mobile phones, at athletic event, via packaging etc.

Victoria’s Secret may not want to get into a ‘values’ face off. Parent company, Limited Brands, emphasizes social responsibility in terms of values such as: “doing what’s right,” “Being inclusive – in our thoughts and behaviors” and “Working for the greater good” –for the enterprise and the community.

Are communicators behind the curve?

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Shel Holtz had an interesting analysis on why professional communicators are lagging.

Communicators, as a profession, are woefully behind the curve when it comes to participatory communication, and I’ve come to the conclusion that there is one overarching reason for this: Communicators don’t like or understand channels over which they cannot exercise complete control.

Holtz’ long post (about the role of professional associations) makes a solid point that too many folks wearing a ‘communicator’ hat “are woefully behind the curve” with regard to new media channels, a.k.a. participatory media, a.k.a. social media.

I have no problem with people being behind the curve –who isn’t, considering how fast the curve is rising? — but it gets scary when people seem disinterested in where the curve is taking us and our organizations. I often hear the “we’re getting there slowly” response. Which is code for “We aren’t really sure if this will be relevant.” Not the same as diving in, and taking baby steps, which I often advocate.

To put things in perspective, Commmunicators aren’t the only ones behind the curve.

The trick is to not be so deliriously happy staying in the laggard position, and do nothing about it.

San Diego station leverages social media in crisis

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Image from KPBS Flickr siteSan Diego broadcaster KPBS, an NPR affiliate and service of the San Diego State University covered the fires in a way that most local stations would –with updates, lists of evacuation sites, safety tips etc.

But it has also embraced social media in a big way. Its stories have links to Delicious and Digg, a Flickr account inviting residents to upload images, and has a Google map embedded with icons to tell residents the status of the fire, and where to locate an evacuation center or animal shelter. For those inclined, there’s also a Twitter feed providing regular updates.

If you’ve ever been temporarily displaced, you’ll know that a phone line becomes a lifeline. Hence the value of Twitter, proving to be an incredible on-demand, up to the minute channel for situations such as this. On Saturday for instance, at 10.01 am, a “tweet” went out to announce that:

” The community of Deerhorn Valley has been reopened to residents only. Residents must enter from the west side of Hwy.”

The station also began using a free wiki from PBWiki that is a quick and easy way to assemble timely information, and allow the community to contribute or update. PBWiki responded by throwing in two free weeks of its Platinum service to KPBS.