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[reputationsblog-blog]

Time to Embrace the Possibilities of Crowd Funding

We see it happen constantly, a critically acclaimed television show, with a small but passionate fan base gets cancelled before its time.

When the short-lived cult hit Firefly was cancelled fans were instrumental in convincing studio heads to give it new life in the form of the motion picture Serenity. Unfortunately, the film grossed only $38.9 million worldwide, falling just shy of covering its $39 million budget.

It is understandable why studio heads would be hesitant to back projects based on similar fan outcries.

Nevertheless, another short-lived cult hit television series is about to be made into a movie. Only this time, it won’t be a studio, but instead the show’s small but passionate fan base that will be putting up the money.

Earlier today, Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas took to the crowd funding platform Kickstarter to ask fans for $2 million to make the show into a movie.

Within four hours he had raised $1 million.

He will surpass his goal by a long shot before the day is through.

A movie that was long thought dead is going to be made and it’s because the creators were able to tap into the power of social media and online crowd funding.

While this is probably the most prominent Kickstarter campaign yet, the service is not limited to helping fund movies. It has been used to successfully fund upstart businesses from breweries and hot sauce companies, to makers of smartphone accessories and video game consoles.

So, if you have a business idea that is in need of funding, consider the possibilities crowdsourcing has to offer.  You probably won’t raise $1 million in a few hours. But, by tapping into the power of social media, you might just find people who are interested in what you are trying to do and willing to put up money to see you succeed.

--Chris

[reputationsblog-blog]

The Modern Day Witch Hunt

Tom Flanagan has endured a flogging in the virtual public square for several days now because of comments questioning the harm of viewing child pornography, captured and posted on YouTube.

I am not a fan of Tom Flanagan, or the conservatives, or child porn for that matter. But I am troubled by the way any semblance of rational thought goes out the window when certain key words are mentioned: child pornography, child molester, pedophile.

And I am troubled by the way the bullies in the audience of the video ask rambling, nearly incoherent questions and the speaker—in this case Flanagan —is supposed to be able to answer every question in a real and engaging way, while every single word can be parsed and posted on YouTube if there is any chance of it embarrassing him or the conservative government, all while being heckled by hostile bullies.

This kind of bullying—and that is what it is—stifles real discussion. It stifles people from even asking some very legitimate questions: should we have mandatory sentences for people who do nothing but view pictures? Who decides which pictures? Where is the balance between deterring harmful behaviour (the production of child porn) and freedom of speech?

Often the people who raise these issues are not very likable folk—think Robin Sharpe—and it is far too easy to jump on the bandwagon of public revulsion. But we do so at great peril to our liberties and often great damage to sometimes thoughtful people. This stifles debate, and discourages good people from engaging in those debates.

There is a constant stream of characters baying to protect us from the great evil, whether that evil be crime, foreigners, other religions, child porn or ourselves. We should debate long and hard before surrendering one iota of our freedoms to protect us from those evils. 

-- Michael

[reputationsblog-blog]

Microsoft Monitors Twitter, Gets My Money

I am someone who has long considered himself an Apple user. I've never quite made it to true “fanboy” levels, but my phone is an iPhone, my mp3 player is an iPod and my laptop has long been a Mac.

So, when it came time to invest in a new laptop, it was a forgone conclusion that it would be a MacBook.

Then something unexpected happened.

Mike “Gabe” Krahulik, artist and co-creator of the wildly successful webcomic Penny Arcade tweeted that he had played with a Microsoft Surface Pro in store and thought, with its pressure sensitive pen, it might make a good portable Cintiq for him to draw the comic on the road. Someone at Microsoft saw that tweet and decided to send him one to try (despite his history of being… less than kind to their products).

Gabe went on to write a long post on his website praising the Surface Pro as not only an excellent tablet/laptop, but also a powerful digital art tool (an aspect that has been underrepresented in their marketing). He included videos of himself using the device and even produced that day’s comic with it.

By simply monitoring Twitter, Microsoft gained the opportunity to turn a cultural tastemaker into a champion for their product.

This served to do something that no amount of advertising was able to do: It got me excited enough about the Surface Pro to forsake my Mac and actually go out and buy one.

So, if your business isn't taking part in the social media conversation, what opportunities might you be missing?

--Chris

[reputationsblog-blog]

Pipeline Wars: Who speaks for shipping?

I wrote an article for BC Shipping News about pipeline companies bungling of the public discussion and the deafening silence of the shipping industry. You can check it out here:

Pipeline wars: Who speaks for shipping? By Michael Davis, Reputations

-- Michael

[reputationsblog-blog]

Instagram and the Culture of Free

Every year sees its share of PR debacles. As this one draws to an end, we were lucky enough to get at least one last doozy. No, not the Mayans blowing another doomsday prediction (does anyone know when the next one is supposed to be?). I’m speaking of course, of Instagram.  

In case you've missed out, Instagram is an online photo-sharing/social networking service. It lets users take pictures, apply cool filters, then share them with the world. Some took to the service as a way to share their photography and build a name for themselves. Most used it to take pictures of their breakfast. 

(I, of course, used it for REAL art. It's taken through the blinds. That's pretty deep and meaningful, right?)

It quickly became the most popular thing in the world. 

This video sums it up. 

Then, last week Instagram (which is now owned by Facebook) announced its new terms of use agreement that seemed to state their intent to sell user photos to advertisers. 

The internet collectively exploded as people suddenly became very protective of that picture they took of their scrambled eggs last week. 

Instagram has since apologized and reverted back to its original terms of use. 

But here’s the unpopular opinion. They will need to start making money soon. It will either be through advertising or by becoming a paid service. 

I love free things as much as the next guy. I mean, paying for stuff is the worst. Right?

When it comes to the future of a “free” service like Instagram though, I only see three possible outcomes:

1) It dies because it fails to make any money (turns out it costs money to run things)

2) It becomes a pay-to-use service (is it worth $5 per month to you?)

3) When I take a picture of my Starbucks coffee and tag it #ilovestarbucks, Instagram and Starbucks can tell all of my friends how much I just said I love that Starbucks

Alexis Madrigal at The Atlantic sums it up much better than I could ever hope to: If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold.

-- Chris

[reputationsblog-blog]

Tragedy Shapes New and Old Media

Newtown is a horrible tragedy. Nothing can convey the grief and outrage people feel.

The international media frenzy is both repulsive and predictable, supported by us, the general population, and our morbid curiosity.

As a communicator, part of me is fascinated watching the evolution of media practices and social media. Watching the pushback from the population and how they communicate their anger through social media. 

(image via Buzzfeed)

Through all of this, we slowly begin to establish or shift social norms and expectations. What is allowable in reporting on a tragedy? What crosses the line? These questions are being wrestled with now.

Reporting in a crisis is fraught with dangers: the pressure to report quickly, balanced against the danger of errors, or of pushing beyond all reasonable behaviour.

In Newtown, there was the reporter who said a suspect’s name on camera, causing thousands to search and view his Facebook page and his angry denials that he was not the shooter. He was not.

Today there is online disgust with the media frenzy around the children’s’ funerals and aggressive media tactics to get interviews and reactions, all captured, collated and played back through Buzzfeed.

What is somewhat new here is the public’s ability to lash back at the media. Through all of this back and forth, we are establishing the customs and boundaries of media old and new. 

This is small stuff against the scale of this tragedy, but it is how we all play a part in determining how the media, social media and the public will act in times of great personal loss.

-- Michael

[reputationsblog-blog]

Cool Campaigns: Dumb Ways to Die

From Metro Trains Melbourne comes one of the best online campaigns I've seen in a while, and one of the most well-planned. 

With a catchy song, great animated YouTube video, a fun and interactive website, and everyone’s favorite, animated gifs, Dumb Ways to Die effectively communicates its message and does so on every platform. 

Kudos to Metro Trains Melbourne – clever, well planned and well executed.

--Iris

[reputationsblog-blog]

Let Me Google That For You

This post comes courtesy of my co-worker Iris Dias’ favourite, somewhat snarky, response to questions. Is there someone in your life who takes to Facebook to ask questions like, “Does anyone know how long to bake a chicken breast?” Well, here’s the appropriate response. 

We live in an amazing time where practically all of human knowledge and experience can be accessed with a few quick clicks. 

It’s certainly fun to use this power to snark your friends and family when they do something snark-worthy. 

However, we shouldn't forget that this power can be applied to ourselves, particularly at work. Communications professionals are expected to be able to competently perform a number of different tasks. Occasionally a task will be put on our table that we have little-to-no experience with. One response to this less than ideal situation is to say, “I don’t know how to do that.” My preferred response is, “I don’t know how to do that, but give me some time and I’ll figure it out.”

Comprehensive tutorials exist for almost anything you could possibly be asked to do. With a simple search you can find out how to build a website, use Photoshop or even do a backflip. 

So when you find yourself at a loss for what to do, either at work or at home, don’t forget your old friend Google is always there to offer some advice.

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite search queries this time of year.

--Chris

[reputationsblog-blog]

Best PR "Pickup" of the Week

In the middle of a brutal pro hockey strike, a wonderful moment.

Vancouver Canucks star Ryan Kesler sends out a tweet that he and teammate Kevin Bieksa will be under the Cambie Bridge for a pickup game of street hockey. An hour later the small court under the bridge is packed with over 200 people ranging in age from toddlers to… well everyone.

(Image via The Province)

The media gets wind of it and I hear an interview on CBC radio. A 23 year old who has just come off the… pavement is stoked and talking about how great these guys are and how they just want to play hockey.

It can be difficult to garner public support when you’re deeply entrenched in a seemingly endless argument that is taking away something so many people love.

When Kesler and Bieksa executed on the social media/celebrity equivalent of calling up the other kids in the neighbourhood for a game of street hockey, we forgot for a moment they are a couple of millionaires arguing with a bunch of billionaires over money.

Instead, they became a couple of guys who just want to play the game. In the process, they gave a few hundred hockey starved fans in this city a day they’ll never forget. What hockey fan wouldn't want to someday tell their kids they played alongside, and maybe beat up, an NHL star?

It doesn't hurt that media outlets across the country picked up the story either.

In the battle for public support in the lockout, score another one for the players.

Brilliant.

--Michael

[reputationsblog-blog]

Budget Photo Editing Experience

Communications jobs these days require you to be something of a jack-of-all-trades. Take a look at any of the job postings out there and you’ll quickly see companies don’t just want someone who can write. They absolutely want someone who can write. But, they also want someone who is comfortable operating a camera, can edit a video, build a website and knows there way around photo editing software.

That last one, photo editing, is the one I hear people express the most concern about. “I don’t have the roughly $8 billion needed to purchase Photoshop” they say, “how am I to learn how to use it if I can’t afford it?” This is a valid concern. Adobe suite software has established itself as the standard and it does not come cheap.

First and foremost, if you are studying communications make every effort to take at least one course in graphic design. There is almost certainly a course somewhere at your institution that will offer you a rundown of some of Adobe’s programs and give you some hands on time with the software. 

If that’s not an option for you, then I recommend taking a look at Pixlr. Pixlr is an online photo editing program. It has powerful features, does not require anything to be downloaded or installed, and best of all, is absolutely free. It’s not quite on the level of Photoshop. But, it will allow you to learn the basics and let you put “experience with photo editing software” on you resume.

--Chris

[reputationsblog-blog]

Rihanna Plane Spirals

If you read any entertainment websites, magazines, or television shows, I'm sure you've heard of the recent publicity extravaganza held by Rihanna and her team. The pop star invited 150 journalists, fans and contest winners to join her for the launch her latest album, Unapologetic, dubbed the 777 Tour.

The concept: she and the group would fly to seven different countries in seven days on a Boeing 777, she would perform, the group would enjoy and the Internet would be abuzz. 

Catchy, right? Early indicators suggested the stunt would be a huge hit. Many of the invited guests were excited to catch an inside glimpse of her celebrity life and those not on the plane were green with envy as journos posted photos of Rihanna pouring drinks for passengers and reports of her handing out diamonds flooded the Internet. 

Things changed seemingly quickly. Though the number of tweets, blog posts, and general buzz about the stunt were still high, the sentiment had changed. No longer were participants excited, all of a sudden they were miserable. Gawker, in all its hyperbolic greatness, gave us headlines such as: Rihanna Plane Hits Paris on the Verge of Total Anarchy & ‘Rihanna Is Keeping Us From Sleeping or Eating or Going Outside or Using a Bathroom': an Anonymous Rihanna Plane Captive Speaks Out.

And Gawker wasn't alone in its negative coverage. The Independent, Rolling Stone, even Forbes critically examined the stunt.

At 30,000 ft there are few options for spin control. 

I don’t know what I would have done differently—you can’t control a celebrity—but I believe the publicity team should have asked some hard questions and prepared for the worst-case scenario. It was their responsibility to have a few ‘tricks up their sleeves’ in case of a mutiny. And it appears they did not. 

The lesson in all of this: it comes down to preparedness and planning. Are you prepared to manage and counter negative sentiment about your brand? Have you figured out how to deal with threats to your reputation? Have you planned for all possible scenarios? (Yes, even the ones you’re scared to admit are possible.) 

Despite what many people say, all publicity is not good publicity. 

UPDATE: Even though the album is called Unapologetic, Rihanna is apparently apologetic, saying sorry to journalists and crew. 

--Iris

[reputationsblog-blog]

The Host, The Minister, His Aide and The Government

CTV News’ Power Play: Last Word ran an interesting clip of Canadian Minister of State Maxime Bernier being coached—on camera—by his aide. 

In the clip the minister’s aide has his back to the camera. He asks Bernier a couple of practice questions and coaches him to deliver one answer that had been exposed as false six hours earlier.

The media commentator, Don Martin, says Bernier never seems to object to being loaded with false information or the mind control from the centre. He says it is a sad state of affairs when senior ministers are coached. Martin says this “unseemly and embarrassing practice” is now so common place they no longer feel it has to be done in private.

Media outrage about coaching is laughable when we remember their job is to try and trip-up ministers, get them to stumble, say something out of sync with the Prime Minister or get a fact wrong so they can roast all the players on national television.

There is nothing wrong with coaching. Large organizations—including government—need to get consistent messages across multiple spokespeople and communications touch points. 

Ministers are flying from pillar to post. They need aides to brief them on the relevant facts, the likely focus of the interview and practice potential lines of questioning.  The last thing the government or the minister wants is to be stumbling around on camera for an answer.

Where I do agree with Martin is when the coaching strays into lies and mistruths. That is reprehensible. This government’s apparently cavalier attitude to the truth should be concerning to all Canadians.

And the aide should be fired for incompetence. To do this prep in front of a live camera makes him—and worse, his minister and the government—look idiotic. 

--Michael

[reputationsblog-blog]

What's This Meme Thing The Kids Are Talking About?

As a twenty-something year old guy who is perceived to spend far too much time on the internet, this is a question I have fielded on numerous occasions. 

For the uninitiated:

An Internet meme may take the form of an image, hyperlink, video, picture, website, or hashtag. It may be just a word or phrase, including intentionally misspelling the word “more” as “moar” or “the” as “teh.” These small movements tend to spread from person to person via social networks, blogs, direct email, or news sources. They may relate to various existing Internet cultures or subcultures, often based on sites like 4chan, tumblr, and numerous others.

-Source: Wikipedia

If you’d like to take the leap into the world of memes, I suggest visiting two of the more popular meme-generating sites: Memebase and Quickmeme. Just be prepared to lose the next three-ish hours of your life looking at pictures of cats dressed as Pop Tarts and the like. 

To many people, memes seem like a waste of time, silly pictures that often don’t make any sense. They might be good for a laugh here and there but nothing more.

From a marketing/PR perspective though, memes have some very desirable phrases attached to them. Phrases like “highly shareable,” “user generated,” “interactive,” “viral” and “community building.”

Marketing companies have already begun trying to capitalize on their popularity. But, precisely because of their user generated nature, meme-based marketing is far from easy. 

You might get lucky and the internet will do the work for you:

Beer company Dos Equis has received an unimaginable amount of free publicity because internet users decided to turn the company’s “Most Interesting Man In The World” campaign into a meme. Every day more and more variations of the meme are created and shared featuring the company’s spokesman and logo. 

On the other hand, if you try to force it, your attempt might just fall flat:

Samsung recently tapped internet phenomenon Laina Walker (AKA Overly Attached Girlfriend) for this advertisement that has received, at best, mixed reactions. 

--Chris 

[reputationsblog-blog]

The Future of Telework is Friendly

As our company moves to a more virtual model, the more of my colleagues, peers and clients that I speak to about the new model of work, the more I realize how universally it is being adopted. Strictly from the perspective of productivity, I have known for years that a day working from my home office was equal to two days of productivity in the downtown office. 

We have kept telework as an occasional option for our employees for many years, but as we contemplate a more structured move into satellite/virtual offices, my concerns turn toward corporate culture and maintaining a sense of team.

A few findings and words of wisdom from our peers and partners currently in the virtual office space: 

The cloud is a godsend. The cost and maintenance of some of our physical technology and software has been an expense that was a necessary evil. By making every day activities such as time and billing easier through an easy cloud-based system we are freeing up more time for our employees and taking administrative frustration away.

We still need face time. I am pushing very hard to conduct my regular phone meetings and conference calls with video these days. The bulk – 90% of my interaction – with clients is on the phone or by email. By increasing face time with video, I feel more connected and so do they. This also works for business development – I had a great prospecting video conference this morning that would not have been engaging had I not know what the individual in the UK looked like. We have begun using video more between our entire staff to keep connected. 

Bunny slippers YEAH – bathrobes NOT OK – Our weekly meetings are being held through video conferencing technology. However, the dress for success rule still applies. When we meet to discuss client meetings and goals on Monday morning, the expectation is that you bring the professional package to the virtual boardroom table as it will reflect on your work attitude and how you interact with clients throughout the day.

We are also committed to our team culture, which means that we ensure regular meet ups for brainstorming and team building in our downtown training facility and business lounge.

Now, I have to prepare for a couple more video conferences – I am wearing business casual today – with the exception of my big fluffy moccasins.

--Linda

[reputationsblog-blog]

Cory Booker: Mayor of Twitter

A few weeks ago I wrote a post praising Translink’s use of Twitter to quickly and effectively communicate with its customers. Having now become the most trusted name in social media praising, the time has come for me to recognize another social media user deserving of said praise. 

Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker has quickly become the internet’s favourite politician. Let’s ignore for a moment the fact that he once pushed through his security detail to rush into a burning building and save his neighbour’s daughter (one can only assume there were no telephone booths within eyeshot for him to first make the change into tights and cape).  

Instead, let’s focus on his @CoryBooker Twitter account.

With his city devastated by Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Booker has been using Twitter to communicate with residents. In doing so, he has demonstrated one of Twitter’s greatest strengths as a communication tool: its ability to facilitate conversation. 

Mayor Booker has been responding directly to residents’ questions, helping connect them with aide, providing updates on the rebuilding efforts, all the while demonstrating the kind of strength and poise one would hope for in a leader during a time of crisis. He’s even been able to inject a healthy dose of humour and personality into some of his interactions. 

Mashable has put together a collection of some of Mayor Booker’s best tweets from the past week.

Politicians everywhere should be taking notes because Cory Booker is showing just how effective Twitter can be.

--Chris

[reputationsblog-blog]

Skip Twitter. Miss the News.

In a recent blog post, Charlie Meyerson argues that as Sandy descended on the US, if you were only following the news on television, you were missing the real meat of the story. 

I couldn’t agree more. 

This trend has been growing in recent years, starting with news breaking on Twitter first and now we are at a point where the news experience is more comprehensive on Twitter. From having conversations with journalists as the news is breaking to receiving first-hand accounts from people on the ground—with Twitter, the story is richer and more complete. 

How can you get the most robust news experience from Twitter?

• Follow a lot of people.

Meyerson mentions this in his lessons from Sandy, and I believe it’s important, especially in an age where lies and false news can spread like wildfire – the more people you follow, the more likely you will be able to debunk the rumours. 

Follow the hashtags

I’ve mentioned hashtags before, because I find them invaluable! They make following a conversation or topic incredibly easy and fast, regardless of who you follow.

• Follow news organizations

Yes, traditional news may be falling behind but reputable news organizations still get my vote as the most trusted sources. I’d trust CNN long before I’d trust some random dude with a smartphone.

--Iris

[reputationsblog-blog]

NYU Langone Medical Centre Prepared?

In the middle of Susperstorm Sandy, NYU Langone Medical Center lost power, then lost their backup generators. Doctors, nurses and staff reacted as best they could, evacuating 64 patients—including premature babies—down dark stairways and through a howling storm to other medical facilities.

CNN’s Piers Morgan interviewed Dr Rudy, who came off very well. “We are always prepared,” said Dr. Rudy. 

Unfortunately a hospital administrator also came along. It apparently never occurred to the hospital executive—or their communications people—that someone might ask why the hospital, knowing for days the storm was coming and that the power could go out, would have their generators fail.

I am not an engineer and I cannot speak to why the generators went down, but I can tell you that spokespeople should have been prepared to answer questions about it. The answers could have been as simple as we are looking into that, we have a review process that will kick in, but right now we are focused on the safety of our patients and the superb job our doctors and staff did.

To send these people on an international TV news show without basic prep took the shine off what could have been a brilliant moment for NYU Langone Medical Center.

--Michael