Nowadays it is not unusual to hear someone being fired for something they posted online, tweeted or said in the media. It seems there is a new Internet gaffe every day, and sometimes these faux pas are committed by industry insiders who ought to know better.
The latest head to roll for a media gaffe was Joe Williams, a writer for online publication Politico. Williams and Politico had a mutually agreed partying of ways after right-wing media targeted him for saying that “Mitt Romney was more comfortable around white people.”
To many people in the African American community this comment was accurate and harmless, but after right-wing site Breitbart.com whipped up a frenzy of outrage, Williams and Politico began to look bad. Continue reading →
Ah yes, the last full week of the month of July. That means two things… Summer is almost over and NFL training camps are opening. Of course some little “gathering” in London is going on, but no one is really paying attention, right?
In all seriousness, the 2012 London Olympic Games will be something of a social media games, too. How so? Well, you have read on, friends! Continue reading →
Offer incentives for someone to "Like" your brand on Facebook
It’s certainly no secret that Facebook is one of the most powerful marketing and social media tools of the modern digital era. Just about every major brand has a presence on Facebook and most do an outstanding job of actively listening and engaging as they build their communities and “likes” so their messages can resonate with an increasing pool of customers.
A lot of brands are obsessed with achieving a high ranking through Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm to govern what is displayed (and how high) on someone’s newsfeed and with good reason. Today’s consumer factors peer review, image, and transparency into their buying decisions more than ever before so remaining front and center within a person’s newsfeed is priority #1. This, most of us have already figured out. Continue reading →
Burning bridges. Is there ever a good or right time to do it? Niki Pocock has a post on that at her blog It’s All Wrong, which she spends asking that question. I have the feeling this is not a yes or no kind of topic, rather it will depend on who you are as a person. I’ll take a shot at answering it though.
In my experience, burning bridges in the professional world has never been an option. You have no idea what the future will hold, or what the person on the other side of that bridge you are burning (presumably an ex-employer or co-worker) will say about you. If there are negative feelings there already, burning a bridge simply adds to the bitterness, and gives your former employer another black mark (from their point of view) to discuss. Continue reading →
One of the problems of working in the media is that you really never turn off. Since TV is ubiquitous, us media types are always analyzing the press to see how we would have handled certain situations differently.
I often find myself saying about media disasters, “How the hell did that happen?” And I am finding myself saying this ever more often during an election year, when we are presented with daily media screw ups. Continue reading →
We like to think that we (sometimes) know it all. In this age of gurus, jedis, and ninjas, it is easy to have a sense of social entitlement. I’m sure you are thinking about a time you thought you were BMOC (Big Man on Campus). Maybe a blog post blew up; maybe you had a tweet shared by a celebrity.
On Friday, Cathryn Sloane had an article posted on NextGen Journal, titled, “Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Under 25.” Sloane, a recent graduate of the University of Iowa, writes. Continue reading →
The Dark Knight Rises comes out today, in case you hadn’t heard. I will include one link to a TDKR-related article, but that’s it. I promise. I assume most of you will spend the weekend in a line waiting to get into the movie, so here’s to you. Me? Well…I’ll probably do the same. Onto the links: Continue reading →
You gotta love free online tools, especially if they aren’t for mission critical items. I hesitate to use anything free for essential items, but these are pretty darn good and should definitely be tinkered with if you’ve got some elbow room: Continue reading →
Infographics are gaining popularity and are being used more frequently as a complement to thoughtful content and to increase SEO.
Since infographics usually present complex information or data visualization quickly and clearly, they are popular with PR professionals and a great resource for journalists.
As some journalists are still new to utilizing infographics, talkTECHCommunications (for which I consult) wanted to show how it really is as easy as 1, 2, 3… and so, of course, made an infographic: Continue reading →
The law of propinquity states that the greater physical (or psychological) proximity between people, the greater the chance that they will form friendships or romantic relationships. It was first theorized by psychologists Leon Festinger, Stanley Schachter, and Kurt Back in what came to be called the Westgate studies conducted at MIT (1950).
There are various types of propinquity including Industry/Occupational Propinquity, in which similar people working in the same field or job tend to be attracted to one another. Residential Propinquity, in which people living in the same area or within neighborhoods of each other tend to come together. And Acquaintance Propinquity, a form of proximity in existence when friends tends to have a special bond of interpersonal attraction.
