@BPGlobalPR vs. @BP_America: Not a Fair Fight

Since 10 a.m. this morning, almost 30,000 Twitter users have jumped on the @BPGlobalPR bandwagon, giving the comical feed almost nine times the users that the real BP Twitter account, @BP_America, has. Personally, I saw the fake Twitter for the first time this morning on The Daily What. I can only imagine the other arenas in which @BPGlobalPR's link has been spread.
The @BPGlobalPR account has been live since May 19, barely a week. Since that time, it has accrued over 46,000 followers and has been listed 1,200 times. These are impressive numbers for a humor feed. My surprise is that BP has let this go on for a week.
Yes, it's fairly apparent that the account is a fake. But the bio reads, "This page exists to get BP's message and mission statement out into the twitterverse!" The name of the page is "BP Public Relations." The logo and fonts associated with BP have been modified but are still recognizable. The damage that this account could help bestow upon BP's already critical situation is massive. Yet BP has taken no action. Why not?
Well, it seems that BP's PR team has something more important to worry about: the oil spill.
Rather than fighting the internet bully, they're focused on distributing information to the public. This fake account is one element of the crisis that the PR team is letting slide, and for good reason: the bogus BP's aim, to sell "BP Cares" t-shirts, benefits the gulf through clean-up funds; buzz has drawn more traffic to BP's own Twitter feed, adding almost 400 followers in just under an hour. This fake account may actually be helping BP's reputation in the long run.
This makes me wonder if other companies in crisis have handled fake Twitter accounts in a similar manner, or have they spent time and energy in putting the faker in his place? Does anyone know of any examples?

I believe in the Internet.

It came over me today as I sat in my new apartment just how lucky I am to have the technology that I have available to me.

If not for wireless internet access, even though my school wireless doesn't have the best connectivity, I couldn't effortlessly search for solutions to small quandries. Example: trying to figure out how to use my roommate's fossil of a toaster oven.
Thanks, Google.

If not for Twitter, I wouldn't be able to easily interact with other #PR professionals, other #NSAC teams, market for jobs and have an edge over competitors for opportunities. I hate to admit it, but our NSAC advisor was right - Twitter is a force to be reckoned with, and I'm grateful he insisted we learn how to use it.

If not for Blogs, I don't know how I would spend my spare time. True, getting lost in Urlesque is a massive waste of productivity, but on the other hand, blogs such as Tumblr allow me access to new music, art, photography and other interests, enriching my life that much more. Without food blogs, I wouldn't have half as many ideas for what to cook myself, since I now have access to a kitchen. If not for Gizmodo or Mashable, I wouldn't be able to educate myself on Social Media or find the countless other blogs with important things worth knowing.

Email? I can't even begin to say how much I love it. Instant messenger, Skype, all other communication tools... I'm at a loss. I compare how far we've come, from having internet tie up phone lines and crawl at a snail's pace to now being impatient for a page to load after only a few seconds. It's really incredible.

Be a Retweet Ninja!

Looking at my feed today alone, I noticed that I've been retweeting articles like a Twitter Ninja in the night.
I'm wondering... is this helpful, or obnoxious?

Here's the deal when it comes to Retweets.

1. You should share but with reason.
If you're only re-tweeting the link but not saying why you found it helpful, you're just putting another random string of characters out into the universe.

2. Add a hashtag if there isn't one!
If you find a great article for PR that doesn't already contain a #PR, add it! How many more people will see that article because of your addition?

3. Pair it up with something else.
Facebook's on everyone's lips today, but there are so many viewpoints that it's hard to get them all straight. If you find two good articles for different sides of the Facebook debacle, post them together! Bit.Ly should be your BFF for this.

By treating your Retweets to some personalization, you're adding credibility (proof you're not a bot) to a blogger you support, and you're making a name for yourself as someone who's thoughtful and contributes to a hashtag community. That makes everyone happy.

Happy birthday, Youtube!

Youtube's 5 years old today. Go watch a cute kitten video or the exploding Diet Coke to celebrate :)

Facebook: to delete or not to delete?

Because of the recent Facebook privacy controversy, I've been on the fence about deleting my Facebook account for the second time. If you want to delete yours as part of the National Quit Facebook day (May 31), the information is all here.

In my opinion, there are three questions every Facebook user needs to answer before they decide what action they take on May 31.

How much do I share on Facebook? In the day of location-based social media like FourSquare and Gowalla revealing every time you leave your house, how can something like Facebook pose any more of a threat? One of privacy intrusions that worried me was the "public" profile that was much more public than I wished it to be. I don't particularly want random people to see the bands I love and activities I take part in, but with the new liking feature, they can see it all. I don't see how this information can cause me any harm, though. If others had conflicts of interest with their work, school or religion that can make for controversy, I can see how that would be a problem.

What kind of photos are there of me on Facebook? This one is partly your responsibility and partly that of your friends. I have some embarrassing photos on my Facebook page - not because I'm doing something illegal, or something that is socially unacceptable; just really dumb faces or days I wasn't looking my best. Do I want potential employers to see that? Absolutely not. Ask your friends to remove photos you aren't proud of, especially if they could be potentially detrimental to your reputation, and follow through to make sure they don't get posted again.

Bottom line: do I really understand what's going on with these privacy issues? There are many conflicting stories regarding the Facebook privacy gaffs. Make sure you're getting your news from a source that's reliable and has evidence to back up the claims, and not just listening to a story that's been manipulated by the grapevine.

So how do these answers affect your decision? It should be a good representation of the information you put on your Facebook page in the first place. The bottom line of this issue comes to personal responsibility. Since many people aren't fully reading or understanding the Terms of Use whenever they check the box, you have to be responsible for yourself. Passwords and protection laws and privacy settings are all well and good, but it's still the internet. Be responsible for yourself and what you post. That's the safest way to ensure that privacy changes won't trip you up.

As for me, I'm keeping my Facebook.

"Social Media Toolbox" from the Daily Dog

Bulldog Reporter, one of my favorite PR news websites, published an article recently about "tried and true" tools for the PR professional.

There are some great resources on here for public relations communications. Momentarily, I wondered why FourSquare hadn't been included. After thinking about it, though, there are few situations in which FourSquare could be used in a PR manner.

Perhaps after checking in at a restaurant that got a bad review or had negative press, the user could get a message thanking them for their patronage and present a coupon; but this seems to be more of a promotion than public relations. I wonder how much of a future that FourSquare has with promotional value, especially with the ever-changing trends of social media.

Interview: @DoItInPublic AKA Joy Donnell of 720 PR

Professionals I Love: Interview with Joy Donnell

Twitter, being the great connector tool that it is, helped me find Ms. Joy Donnell of 720 PR one afternoon. Joy's tweets included some very interesting articles, as well as RTs of other resources I began to follow as well. Joy's digital citizenship, that is, her retweeting of helpful resources and pertinent information, contributes to the #pr community on Twitter. Since she's in a field I'm very interested in, I wanted to ask her more. She very graciously answered a few questions for me, which I thought I would share here...

Besides agency experience, what do you look for in a candidate?
Job continuity is always fantastic to see. I also love to read about publishing; such as articles that the candidate has had published, blog writing that has acquired a following, great association memberships and volunteerism. [Before an interview,] I like to review a portfolio with the resume and cover letter (as well as see it during the sit down interview).

How have you found are good ways to get contacts in the media?
Get as many contacts as possible by face to face interaction. So, going to journalist mixers like those held by MediaBistro, LA Press Club, and PR Newswire can be great ways to meet journos. Another great way to build contacts and end up with things to add to your portfolio is doing pro-bono PR for a nonprofit, especially if it's a celebrity-heavy event. It gives you something great to talk about, you build connections with talent managers and other publicists and you work closely with producers and journalists. After you obtain that connection, don't forget to send a nice thank-you, like cookies or chocolates.

What are your favorite parts about working in celebrity branding? The biggest drawbacks?
Every day is different and you're constantly challenged to think outside of the box. Branding is a broad term for almost anything commercial that extends the client's image, so you really get to stretch out and try new things. There are virtually no rules.
The biggest frustration can be when you approach a brand that the talent had previously expressed a desire to work with, only to find that the talent or management have changed their minds about working with that brand.

Does a good grasp of social media mean a lot to you as someone working in entertainment, or are there other skills you'd rather see in a candidate?
Social media is lovely, but it means nothing without the fundamentals. I mostly like to see that a candidate knows how to form a strategy then craft a story, pitch it, and land it in a way that all parties walk away happy.

For more insights, good articles and advice, follow Joy at her handle, @DoItInPublic or visit her website that includes articles, speaking engagements and more: http://www.doitinpublic.com/

Iron Man II Remembers Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein

I, like millions of people across the United States, was waiting with bated breath for the "Iron Man" sequel to come out this weekend. I saw it and it did not disappoint me, whatsoever. However, this is not a movie review blog, but a PR blog, and I found something that was very interesting and I wanted to talk critically about here.
Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM in Hollywood and in this movie, passed away in August.
When he appeared in the movie, I was curious to see how it would be handled in the credits.
A simple "in remembrance" plaque before the credits? A line at the very end?
Neither. The acknowledgement of AM's passing was sandwiched between technical kudos and the designer of Robert Downey Jr's suits.
The nature of whether or not it was disrespectful is definitely open to interpretation, but I found this placement to be in accordance with how AM's passing was referenced by the makers of the film: lightly mentioned but never exploited. Jon Favreau stated in August that "We tried to make it respectful, and for people who know him, they’ll get a kick out of it, and for people who don’t, it will sort of slide by without much notice..."
I would say they succeeded. In a Google search, there are very few articles dedicated to his appearance in the film. There is almost no critical mention of the usage of his likeness. I think Favreau and the creators accomplished their goal of respect, at least from the standpoint of a fan of AM's. There was nothing more than a small and collective "oh" from the packed house when he came on the screen, and it was barely noticeable.
I think it was important for the filmmakers to handle the situation this way. To cut him out would be an expensive but also an evasive maneuver, to someone whose bit had already been publicized beforehand. Instead, they created a subtle reverence that honored him and his talents rather than exploiting this as his "last appearance," as other films with late stars have been wont to do.
Publicity handled right, along with the exquisite product placement in this film.
Say what you will about the plot, but from a publicity standpoint? I give this film two thumbs way up.

Sorry for the delay!

It's been a very busy week with interviews, meetings, class and work. I'll be back to posting regularly next week...!

I wish I knew how to quit you: Saying "goodbye" to Facebook

Gizmodo recently published an editorial about the privacy issues many bloggers and tech-savvy individuals are bringing up over Facebook's terms of use. The article seems to suggest that in this day and age, Facebook is Big Brother and it's time to fall off the grid. While I agree and disagree with the article on certain points, it certainly raises the issue as to whether or not it's time to pull the plug on Facebook. For me, this would be the second time.

There's always been the issue of addiction.
Many teens can't log off Facebook without logging back on. Hell, it's not just the teens. People have been fired for being on Facebook during company time. People have lost their jobs, hurt relationships and damaged their reputations because of information they shared. While it's nice to keep in touch with friends from far off, Facebook seems to cause enough trouble to outweigh the benefits of keeping an active account.

From a consumer's point of view, I'd much rather interact with brands on Twitter where I know I'm dealing with someone who's reading my comments. It seems that being one of a million "fans" or "likers" of a brand on Facebook is almost like a sport - see who can get the most "likes." It loses touch with the real part of social media, which is building relationships. Twitter, through retweets and replies, does this. I personally have not had an encounter with Facebook in which I've communicated with a brand and gotten a response.

So the answer I pose to myself: will I keep my Facebook account open? Probably. I quit before for some time and fell out of touch with friends scattered across the company because they don't like email the way I do. But will I use Facebook to disperse my private information and feelings? Definitely not. No more liking, no more apps. DEFINITELY no Farm Ville, but I never started that in the first place.

One last thought - the media attention given to Facebook's privacy claims has raised a very good point that many social media users overlook: the Terms of Use. Do you read it all the way through? I know I never have. Maybe it's time to start...