Andrew Lark

No More Ninja Press Conferences

Journalists have never been ones for press conferences - that's why this whole "lets hold a press conference in Second Life" thing has been kind of baffling to observe. First, it's really hard to serve good food and alchohol in Second Life (the only real attraction of a press conference). Second, most journos can't abide PR people, let alone virtual versions of them. Third, what journalists really want is a combo of utility and speed - "give me the news now - in a really simple way (phone or paper will do) and let me get on with my day". Bottom line is that if the news is strong enough, it will move itself. No gimmicks needed.

Larry Dignan writes at ZDNet, "It's all a bit much. Yes, we all know Second Life is interesting. It must be since every PR/ad agency/news-outlet-that-wants-to-look-hip/wannabe-kewl-corporation is setting up shop in Second Life. Second Life has gone from zero to cliche in record time as people sit around admiring their avatars. The dirty little secret: It's a productivity drain." He goes on to lash out at Sun:

Memo to Sun: Stop trying to be so damn trendy. Taking Java open source is a big development, but then you muck it up with having a developer Q&A in Second Life. No parallel Webcast. No conference call dial-in. No alternate means to drop in. Ask yourself the following: Would any of your peers (grown-up IT companies) have held an earnings call only in Second Life? How about a merger? New development platform? Didn't think so.

Ross has the best response:

To further advance the state of the art, the next Socialtext press conference will be held in World of Warcraft.

• Time: December 1st, 5pm server time
• Location: Goldshire, Elwynn Forrest, Eitrigg Server
• Rules of Order:
• No ninjas.
• Questions will only be taken from journalists in PvP mode   
• We have developed means of determining if you are a Chinese Gold Farmer, so do not outsource your participation
• Safe passage will be provided to Horde characters, but your questions may be lost in translation
• Keep your armor on, do not /dance unless you are an orc, use of other emotes are encouraged
• If the spokesperson is not forthcoming, you may duel for information
• Those that survive the experience will gain 1 gold piece and a Socialtext tabard

Classic.

Dell participating in Second Life is one thing - pretty smart actually. But companies continuing to use Second life as a vehicle for self promotion and press conferences is something I'm not so sure about. At least Dell had a reason to be there.

Reuters To Distribute Blogs....

According to CNet...

Reuters Group has taken a stake in Web media-syndication site Pluck and has agreed to distribute blogs worldwide as part of a new media strategy.

Reuters, a news and information company, has invested $7 million in the Austin, Texas-based company in return for an undisclosed ownership stake, Pluck co-founder and Chief Executive Dave Panos said.

Pluck operates a blog syndication network called BlogBurst, which connects newspapers and other media sites to 2,800 selected blogs, helping traditional media supplement their journalism with blogs.

One of the interesting issues this might pose - at least over time - is what if I don't want my blog distributed or syndicated? What if it is being written for a relatively narrow audience of colleagues, clients, friends or family? While the simple answer might be joining one of the online blog communities and password protecting the site I might not want to bother with either the supplier or the administration. Rather, some might prefer to revel in absolute obscurity. How will they seek permission to repurpose and republish?

Those Bankers Sure Know How To Sing...

I guess this is one way to get the message out... Take a look...

A Manifestation of the Medium

Interesting idea Tim:

You may think I’m getting obsessed with Google News these days. I assure you I’m not but I did think it was quite revealing that when I searched on ‘Edelman Walmart blog’ I got twelve news responses. When I used the site to search for blogs with the same criteria I got 1,458 responses. That means for every news item there were over 120 blog mentions. Going back to my HP item the ratio was more like 1.5 blog mentions to each news item. I guess this shows how the blogging world works.

Neither of us have the time to validate this but I suspect that they vast majority of the blog posts are "echoes".

The echo in traditional media tends to be word of mouth and email chatter. The echo in the blogosphere tends to be text reposts - as in "Nice post on Tim's blog - I agree...".

So, while it would appear that there is more activity, that activity is a manifestation of the medium. The blogosphere in effect becomes a barometer of interest with one of your audiences - bloggers, and their constituents. What it isn't - necessarily - is a reflection of interest by your target audience.

See Katie on this as well...

Messages Of Mass Destruction

Kerry continues to miss the point of effective messaging.

As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop [sic].

I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.

It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don't want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops.

Translated this reads along the lines of:

1. I didn't say what I really said!
2. If you misinterpreted what I really didn't say, your problem I'm sorry,
3. Republicans continue to be worthless, uneducated slugs and what I meant to say is that if you don't get a good education you could end-up like them,
4. It's really a bugger when others report what you say.

How hard is it to say "I'm sorry". As in, "I'm sorry for harping on about this but it's such a great example of bad communications followed by bad messaging and irresponsible leadership".

I Was Misquoted...

Messages inevitably get miscommunicated. They get lost in translation by the media, analysts and pundits. That's life as a communicator.

Positioning lazy communications - that moment in which the brain disengages from the mouth and pretty much anything comes out - as a misquote isn't just rich, it's arrogant and ultimately undermines credibility.

Look no further than the John Kerry furore erupting this election week. Here is what Kerry actually said:

You know, education--if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.

Obviously words of mass destruction in an election week. Rather than just saying "What a really stupid thing to say. That isn't what I meant. How embarrassing. I apologize to the troops." - Kerry has this to say:

My statement [Monday]--and the White House knows this full well--was a botched joke about the president and the president's people, not about the troops. The White House's attempt to distort my true statement is a remarkable testament to their abject failure in making America safe.

(The closest he's come, according to Reuters: "Of course, I'm sorry about a botched joke.").

As the WSJ points out, ""The White House's attempt to distort my true statement" consists in taking what Kerry actually said at face value." So, what he really meant to do was, as WSJ goes on to say, is disparage the president's intelligence and studiousness, to suggest that somehow the liberation of Iraq is the product of Bush's lack of education. But this makes no sense. Bush has both bachelor's and master's degrees from Ivy League universities. How can that be if he is both stupid and lazy?".

What Kerry is trying to say is that is misquoted himself while demonstrating how much more intelligent he is that the President? The argument then is that he is more stupid than my stupidity?

Anyway, the reason I'm writing about all of this is that the story clearly demonstrates several rules from my Messaging Playbook:

1. When your wrong, stupid or just plain silly, admit it. Humility and honesty are the fastest paths to redemption.
2. Going on the messaging offense from a position of existing weakness = bad strategy. First reclaim ground by doing #1.
3. You are rarely ever misquoted. You do or will communicate poorly and stupidly at times. People will forgive you if you ask for forgiveness. Perpetuating the issue by explaining what you were trying to do is the equivalent of handing your competitors a Molotov Cocktail when armed with a water pistol.
4. The past (in this case Kerry's war record) is no antidote to an current messaging fire-fight. The only antidote is the future. Move on fast and do not extend the hype or news cycle.

Thoughts...?