Public Thoughts on Privacy

It is ironic that in this era of revealing huge amounts of information about ourselves to the world via social media, we are at the same time concerned about the federal government snooping into our phone and internet usage.

Maybe we should be more concerned about guarding our privacy closer to home. A former co-worker told me a few years ago that a neighbor admitted to him that several neighbors had often eavesdropped on phone calls he made through his non-encrypted cordless phone. He moved. And got new cordless phones.

In the early days of cell phones, certain radio receivers could monitor unencrypted cell calls. My dad had one of those radios. I listened one night for an hour or so until I couldn’t stand anymore. From that moment, I became aware that any call I make could be heard by virtually anybody.

Most media people learn to avoid saying sensitive things when they are near a microphone. One never knows when a mike is live and who may be monitoring off-air conversations. Similarly, with video cameras everywhere, many of your daily routine activities can be subject to scrutiny. Behave.

Corporate monitoring of employee emails led to a former co-worker’s being fired for seeking a new job via his workplace email account. It’s been said many times but it bears repeating: If you don’t want your boss (or the company’s IT crew) to know about your personal life, don’t share it on corporate email.

A former employer had an online system that allowed employees to view paystub information and salary history simply by entering part of one’s Social Security number and part of one’s name. A couple of my co-workers had asked for and then passed along my SSN to outside contractors for IRS-1099 info. I trust that they were not so snoopy as to have logged in for my personal details, but I would never have known if they did. I hope this company has revised its system.

A serious concern for me is the privacy of medical records. As our entire medical system and the medical insurance industry prepare to hit the reset button next year, the risks of personal health histories being shared inappropriately could increase. As confusion still exists regarding the Affordable Care Act, and with the IRS getting in on the action, the health care industry and each of us should be vigilant in protecting privacy.

The good news is that, at least for now, our thoughts and dreams inside our heads are still private and protected (as long as we don’t share them on Twitter or Facebook). But I’m sure there are geeks in Silicon Valley and elsewhere working today on tech to read our minds. Crazy talk? Stay tuned.

Popular or Avant-Garde?

In a world ruled by Facebook and Twitter, should you devote a lot of attention to other social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Vine, Google +, LinkedIn, Tagged, etc., etc., etc.?

I say yes. Absolutely. Knowing how they work gives you an opportunity to share content in a different way and, in many cases, present it via links to… Facebook and Twitter!

For specific audiences and for specific needs, the “second tier” social networks can often beat Facebook and Twitter hands down. Your quest for place settings for a wedding reception can lead you to excellent results on Pinterest. Your search for your next job on LinkedIn connects you with people who are hiring (and people who know people who are hiring).

To me, the comparison between the more popular Facebook and Twitter and the others is like so many other situations in our lives where the easy choice is what’s most popular. But more enlightenment and satisfaction may come from the less popular choice.

I enjoyed Iron Man 3 (2013’s biggest movie), but my favorite movie so far this year is less-seen The Place Beyond the Pines. Pepperoni and mozzarella are all-time favorite pizza toppings, but the one made with pear, fig and gorgonzola can also be mighty tasty!

The key to successful utilization of the myriad of social networks is budgeting your time appropriately. You should fish where the fish are. While you grow your connections and share meaningful content on Instagram, Vine, etc., don’t forget that bigger things are likely still happening with Facebook and Twitter.

Another key is to be aware that everything is fluid and constantly evolving. What’s vital today may be passé next year. Myspace was big, then less relevant. (And it may come back, according to this news item.) Developers are always working on tweaks that may make their networks more important or… less so.

Stay curious. Check out the new. Hit Redbox for The Place Beyond the Pines (out on DVD 8/6/13). But as you dabble with the avant-garde, remember the value of the mainstream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The One Metric That Really Matters

You are hired to create a social media campaign for a company. You do great work. You grow the audience. Facebook fans and Twitter followers click on links in droves to get coupons. Your Instagram contest generates hundreds of entries. But, for reasons unrelated to your efforts, sales are down 18% for the first quarter of your campaign and down 22% for the next quarter. Cuts have to be made. Will they come via staff reductions, advertising budget cuts or a trim for the social campaign? Or all three? Sales is the one metric that really matters.

Your PR client stages an event. You line up TV interviews, radio interviews and newspaper and online items. Awareness is good. A nice crowd shows up. While your client is happy that media coverage helped produce a decent turnout, his most important question is, “How much food and drink did we sell?” Sales is the one metric that really matters.

During my radio career I did many Saturday appearances at car dealers. At most such events, we had good listener turnout. But, occasionally, the number of people who came to grab a free hotdog and say hello would be disappointing. On Monday, we might say to the account executive who had the dealer’s account, “I thought we’d have more people show up Saturday. I hope the client’s not upset.” And, quite often, the account exec would say something like, “Oh, no! They sold 32 cars! It was their best Saturday in a year!” Sales is the one metric that really matters.

If your job is to deliver a client’s story to a target audience, whether it be via social media, PR efforts or paid advertising, it’s in your best interest to help drive sales any way you can. Support your clever tweets, your genius PR campaign, your beautifully written radio spot with suggestions to friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors, church members, community organization members and personal social media contacts that they visit your client and buy something! Because sales is the one metric that really matters.

Some Thoughts on Media Relations

When I was thinking about doing PR work, I had coffee with a woman whose daughter had attended school with my daughter. This woman is a high-ranking member of a major local PR firm that does a lot of work in the field of internal communications.

I mentioned that I wanted to focus on getting media coverage for clients. After a lifetime in media, dealing with talented and not-so-talented PR types, I figured I should give it a try.

My high-ranking friend told me that most PR pros hate doing media relations. I asked why. She indicated that it’s frustrating work for some because of unreturned phone calls, unanswered emails, difficult media members and high rejection levels to pitches for coverage.

Turns out she was right, sort of. Have I had media members say no to pitches that were perfect for their media venues? Have I had people fail to return calls or respond to my emails? Have I found certain gatekeepers or media members to be inconsistent in their wants and needs? Yes, yes and yes. But it’s okay, because I do the same thing when I’m on the media side. I have empathy.

I’ve received many long-winded voicemail messages and verbose pitches for things I know are of little or no interest to audience members. Some are just totally wrong-headed, like the person who wanted me to interview a business owner because he had succeeded without doing any advertising! I replied, “Do you have any idea how we make our money here?”

I know media folk who spend a significant amount of time each day deleting hundreds of emails to get to the few that matter. That’s why I try to get to the point quickly in the emails I send.

Media need content. The content I have may fill a particular need. If what I have today is not exactly what’s needed, I’ll be back sometime soon. By the way, I’m happy to make those calls and send those emails (and do follow-ups).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living Life AFK

When you meet online acquaintances in person, you might say you’ve met them “IRL,” in real life. A documentary about the Pirate Bay (the group that facilitates online torrenting of copyrighted matter) introduced me to the term “AFK.”

AFK stands for “away from keyboard.” The explanation is that everything we do (including time spent on a computer or smartphone keyboard) is “in real life.” Therefore, they say, AFK is a better descriptive term.

This leads to the question: Are you spending a sufficient amount of time AFK?

When the majority of your workday finds you in front of a computer screen or on a smartphone, is it possible to spend even a moment AFK?

Can you have a conversation in your workspace without looking down at either of your keyboards? Can you stand in line for lunch without checking for Twitter and Facebook updates? Can you drive and ignore that text message alert that just sounded? Can you go to the restroom and be AFK?

How long has it been since you wrote down a fresh idea on paper with a pen or pencil, instead of typing it in a Notes app or speaking it to the Voice Memo on your phone? How long has it been since you walked your dog without your phone in your pocket? How long has it been since you spent an evening reading a (print edition) book or a magazine and stayed AFK? (Off the laptop or tablet?)

With summer here and trips to oceans and lakes on many agendas, you may want or need to find a place to stay that has Wi-Fi. But when you’re sitting on that beach chair at water’s edge, having a glass of wine, resting your toes in the sand, watching the sunset, don’t be checking your emails. When you’re down on the pier with your morning coffee, listening to the sounds of nature and distant fishing boats, don’t be scrolling through your Facebook feed. Be AFK.

I love our connected online world as much as anybody. But remember: The real world, the AFK world, has much to offer. As Ferris says, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.’

Your Content Sucks

You write. You rewrite. And, yet… what you’ve written just sits there on the page (or the computer screen). Are there ways to add a bit of spark? To make your assembled words more dynamic? To imbue your content with sizzle? Here are a few ideas that may help.

1. Write for yourself. This runs counter to my long held belief that you must know your audience and write for him and her. Writing to please your own sensibilities can be selfish, but you may find that elusive magic. Try it.
2. Look at your prior work. Was there something you wrote last year that got good response and/or made you happy (see #1)? Reread your best stuff and be inspired.
3. Toss in some words you don’t often use. Not multisyllabic obscurities that send folks running to Google for the meanings, but good, solid words that may not be a part of your vocabulary’s “A” rotation. Like “imbue” in my intro paragraph. A good word, but one I rarely use.
4. Vary your style. If you’re writing technical content, try softening the tone. If you’re writing a light-hearted blog, add in some serious material. Not enough to diminish your impact, just a slight amount to keep your reader alert and dialed in.
5. Read it aloud. To yourself or to a friend or colleague. You may discover clumsy sentence structure. You may discover better ways to say what your want to express.
6. Edit. Even if you have been charged with delivering exactly 60 seconds or 300 words of written matter, chop away at excess adjectives, adverbs, clauses, phrases and sentences. Pare it down to the bone and start to build up again.
7. Wait. If you’re not on deadline, finish it tomorrow. Or the day after.
8. Borrow. But don’t steal. Adapting an idea or format you’ve seen elsewhere may help provide a good framework for what you’re writing. I borrowed the idea for my headline from Roger Ebert, who wrote a book about bad movies titled Your Movie Sucks. Thanks, Roger. R.I.P.

An Appearance of Bias

Another St. Louis media figure bites the dust over a social media posting. In late 2011, a local radio host who didn’t understand how Twitter works, was suspended for obscene replies to listener tweets.

Now, in 2013, a veteran TV newsman has been fired for doing what he apparently believed was the right thing to do. According to stltoday.com, Larry Conners had been “encouraged to write ‘personal observations of news events’ and decided to write a Facebook post about his IRS problems.”

Because of recent stories of IRS actions against political conservatives, and because Conners had conducted a tough interview of the president, Conners commented on Facebook about his personal dealings with the IRS. KMOV and its owners deemed that posting improper and chose to terminate his employment.

The station’s general manager claimed that Conners’ Facebook comment creates an appearance of bias. This is the same station whose new 10:00 p.m. male co-anchor is the radio play-by-play voice of the St. Louis Rams, a team that has been engaged in recent confrontations with local taxpayer funded agencies over stadium issues.

I would not be the first person to point out that there could be an appearance of bias in any KMOV reporting on the Rams (on the field and off).

My suggestion for managers and owners of media outlets is to explain clearly to your employees where the line is in social media. If you want your reporters and on-air personnel to engage with readers, viewers and listeners, give detailed guidance.

My suggestion for employees in any job, anywhere, is to be careful what you post on Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites. Especially if you are an older, highly compensated employee in a high profile position.

In this instance, there is an appearance of bias by KMOV management against employees whose termination might positively affect the bottom line. I’m not saying that’s a true fact, but it’s my perception. And you know what media folks say about perception.