Where Do You Stand?

As I was driving to work listening to KWMU I heard a statistic on American Public Radio’s  Marketplace Morning Report that surprised me:  According to a poll taken in April by the Conference Board, fewer than 40 percent of Americans planned a summer vacation this year – the lowest measurement of planned vacation in 30 years. Perhaps more startling to me was that the average American worker earns just 14 days for vacation in a year. I went online and found this CNN report listing the U.S. second to last (above Vietnam) for minimum paid vacation.  Reviewing the list was interesting.  For example, I know my Canadian in-laws that work for the government receive four – six weeks paid vacation per year – something not represented on this chart.

Fortunately for me, I’ve been at Standing for nearly 10 years and have earned four weeks of vacation.  But what about those who, for a variety of reasons, have to change jobs every three-or-so years?  Is two weeks of vacation adequate to maintain a high level of productivity, job satisfaction and still address the needs at home?  In today’s economy, are people willing and able to take vacations? What do you think?

An apologetic J. Crew e-mail to customers and newsletter subscribers hit inboxes this morning. The company has been having some internal issues that resulted in the mistreatment of online and catalog shoppers over the past few weeks. Sometimes it’s best for a company to own up to its own shortcomings. Rather than exacerbating a negative reputation, by acknowledging fault and sincerely expressing regret, a company can manage their reputation in hopes of earning back a client’s trust. J. Crew’s simple (yet sincere) note is moving them back in the right direction after some sort of breakdown.

Remember SHIFT’s social media release template? When it came out in May, 2006 it was all the buzz – the New Big Thing in PR.

But what happened when the template was released? Was it successful? Were PR practitioners using it? Most importantly, did journalists (and all members of the media, social and traditional) like it?

What we saw across the PR industry was this: firms scrambling to fit the template, to integrate the practice of using social media releases into their client work.

Not to be outdone, Edelman worked up their own version, calling it StoryCrafter. Again, nothing new here but it sidesteps the suggestion that the document has to LOOK a specific way (as SHIFT’s template does, with rounded corners and graphics to indicate links), or, necessitate the creation of a .pdf document – an obstacle that creates a whole new series of issues (design needs, attachments, no linkable URL, not uploadable to wire services, etc.)

You’re not going to see a lot of releases out there using these very specific “social media templates” – it’s not because there aren’t any early adopters out there – its because they haven’t been adopted.

Some reactions to SMRs: from IABC and Shel Holtz, from TechCrunch and from Tom Foremski.

The concept behind the social media release, the ideas that generated its creation have definitely made it. It’s de rigueur to link externally from releases to other sites, including blogs. It’s common and absolutely recommended that you include links to the online media kit, the Flickr site, or a YouTube video that corresponds with the release’s news. Link to the audio, share the photos and include (if you’re pitching to a savvy audience) social bookmarking tools such as Del.icio.us.

But don’t feel as if you need to create a document that looks just like SHIFT’s release. Chances are, your recipient won’t see it and if he/she does, they won’t have any idea what they’re looking at. What’s important is to create a release that is linkable and has its own, unique URL – you can do this by using the wire services for distribution, by posting the release on a client’s Web site or better yet, a blog or by creating a release in Google Docs.

Outside of the SHIFT mold, here are some examples of social media releases that work (and note that it’s only really big consumer groups doing this):

The Ford Focus
HP

The point I’m trying to make here is this: the components of a social media release are important – I think we all get that – and need to include some or, ideally all of these elements:

• Hyperlinks to relevant content or sites
• Technorati tags
• Social bookmarking options like Del.icio.us, so your news can be shared
• RSS feed from the wire service and/or, ideally, the client’s own Web site
• Links to additional resources (if they exist and are relevant) such as logos, media kits, audio, video and photos

Beyond that – it doesn’t need to should not be a .pdf or “match” the original SHIFT template – at all. It’s all about linkable content, and making sure the media (whether they’re traditional media or citizen journalists) knows what to do with it when they get it.

If you’re like me, you’re anxiously awaiting and counting down the days until the Olympic games begin. In preparation for 8/8/08, several members of the Standing team will be entering a little competition of our own. No, we won’t be traveling to Beijing, but rather Fenton, Mo. Nonetheless, our Standing team, a.k.a. the KickStands, will be suiting up and charging the kickball field (and crossing our fingers to not break any bones!) in hopes to bring home the gold.

As part of our commitment to the St. Louis community, we will be supporting one of our community partners, Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition (FACC), by participating in its Second Annual Kickball Tournament. All proceeds of the tourney will help raise money to find forever-loving homes for foster children in the St. Louis metropolitan community. If you’d like to donate to this worthy cause, send your donation to FACC, 111 N. 7th St., Suite 402, St. Louis, MO 63101.

If you’re looking for a good laugh and fun entertainment, stop by Fenton Park, 1215 Larkin Williams Road, anytime between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Wish us luck!

This spring, I was given the opportunity to serve as a judge for the Public Relations Society of America’s Silver Anvil Awards. We call these the “Oscars of our industry,” and I’m pleased to say that Standing Partnership has earned two Silver Anvils: one for our work with Ranken Technical College on an integrated communications program and the other for Mercy Health of Northwest Arkansas for crisis communications - and one Award of Excellence for the St. Louis Children’s Hospital/Healthy Kids at Play community relations program.

It was valuable to be “on the other side of the table.” This peek into the world and work of other agencies and organizations afforded me two insights - first, that the public relations industry is doing great work for large corporations and small companies, for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations across the country. The second, and more important to our clients, is that after spending eight hours pouring over 22 entries, I was reminded of the expertise, industry knowledge and high-quality counsel that Standing Partnership provides our clients every day.

A few months ago, we tallied the results of our annual client survey, and while having a shiny silver statuette to display in our trophy case is a wonderful accomplishment, the real reward is knowing that our clients trust Standing Partnership to protect and enhance one of their most valuable assets - their organizations’ reputations.

A rather benign conversation last week with a friend in
Argentina quickly turned into a heated discussion when she began explaining her newly chosen profession as a “BlueCaster.” Not familiar? Don’t feel bad, neither was I.

She explained BlueCasting as a proximity marketing technology that uses WiFi signals and Bluetooth enabled devices to transmit advertising messages. In a real-life setting this translates to billboards and adverts beaming messages to passing Bluetooth devices such as your mobile phone. This all means that advertising is about to get much harder to ignore. But that may not be a bad thing, in fact, it just may be what consumers want – the ability to accept advertising that is relevant to them on their terms.

My first reaction to learning about this technology was how intrusive BlueCasting sounds and it is, but my friend quickly calmed those fears by explaining the simple solution – just turn off your Bluetooth.

Time will tell if BlueCasting is relevant to consumers. If marketers can deliver exclusive or valuable content, I believe it will work. If not, it may become another annoyance in our hyper-connected lives. In the meantime, I fully intend to support my friend, albeit cautiously, in her new endeavor as a “BlueCaster.” However, this all may change on my next trip to visit her should my mobile be inundated with her handiwork.

My friend and fellow social mediaphile Jim Duncan and I had lunch recently. We were on the topic of Twitter, when Jim said, “How would you explain Twitter to John McCain?” As with anyone raised, employed and heck, darn near retired before the digital age, McCain and his generation are the toughest audience when explaining social media. Add to that the challenge of doing it in 140 characters or less and I believe all bets are off. Twitter themselves can do it, though — their homebase message is this:

“Social networking and microblogging service utilising instant messaging, SMS or a web interface.” That’s 84 characters, folks.

Of course that definition would never work with McCain. “Microwho-ing?” he might say.

Ironically, the same day Jim issued his challenge, I caught this YouTube clip of Katie Couric explaining YouTube to Larry King; same genre, same generation. I shared it with Jim via Twitter, natch.

Once again, Commoncraft comes to our rescue in yet another video in the Plain English series, designed to make sense of all these social media terms and tools we’re steadily adding to our vocabularies and our computers.

Meanwhile, I’m still struggling to explain Twitter in 140 characters or less. I might like this, though, “An online tool for sharing what you’re doing right now and finding out what others are doing and thinking, no matter where they are.” That’s 108. What would you say?

E-cards aren’t just for birthdays anymore. According to a July 10 article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a variety of electronic greeting cards, so the public can send friends and family friendly health reminders and wellness tips.  The cards cover everything from health tips for traveling abroad to colorectal screening reminders and pet care advice, so you’re sure to find one for everyone!  

Despite all the conveniences afforded by modern technology, it’s hard to work and communicate with co-workers and clients when you cannot use a telephone. I’ve found this out on numerous occasions when I’ve decided to work from home. That’s because I live in St. Charles County and must abide by an antiquated toll-call rule.

If I use my phone (636 area code) to call the office (314 area code), I must pay a long-distance charge. If I call a client, that’s another charge. If I check my voice mail, another one. But that’s just the simple version of what’s going on. It gets more complicated.

To understand just how absurd and confusing the 636 and 314 area code situation is for my home phone, think about this:

• I can use my home phone to call my mother-in-law, whose house is 45 minutes away in Eureka.
• I cannot, however, call my best friend, who lives 12 minutes away in Maryland Heights.
• I can call our dog’s groomer across the Missouri River in Chesterfield using my home phone.
• But I cannot call the office, which is just one ZIP code away from Chesterfield.

So I can call 636 numbers, but I cannot call 314 numbers. OK. I get that. But how come I can use a 314 number and call some 636 numbers? For example, I can use my work phone to call my house. And I can use my work phone to call Chesterfield numbers. I cannot, however, use my work phone to call the 636 number of my colleague Christi, who lives out in wine country. How absurd is that?

Further complicating matters, my cell phone is equipped with just 150 peak minutes - the plan is cheap, what can I say - so that’s not an option other than for calls under 2-3 minutes. (And friends and family, that’s why I often call you at 8:01 p.m. - I’m waiting for the free minutes to kick in.)

It’s easy to understand why there’s such a divide between St. Louis and St. Charles counties. The area codes act as a steel-built wall, keeping communication from flowing freely in between these two neighboring areas. How can a company expect to provide great client service to clients when you can’t even call them? St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County are considered part of the same region, so why not open up the telephone lines?

The absurdity of this area code situation is just too much for me. So the other day, when I was thinking about working from home but realized I had several calls to make, I just drove in and worked at the office. Why complicate matters that are already too complicated to understand.

Yesterday, one of my Standing colleagues called me into her office to explain trackbacks as one of her contacts was insisting it was THE tool for engaging in and monitoring online conversation (as if there is one tool that trumps all others – social media is an amalgamation).

I might be stating the obvious, but here’s where I state my claim that trackbacks (and other linkbacks) are not the be-all, end-all in blog networking and monitoring (in fact, when I try to explain them, they sound prehistoric – if anyone has a nice video they can share that helps explain linkbacks, I’d be grateful).

I will say that trackbacks and pingbacks have been a great tool in establishing a blogging community network, by creating an interconnected blogging network full of acknowledgement and camaraderie; however, in the time-saving and cost-cutting world that we live in, let the people who desire to know the conversation going on about them find it – through Technorati and other blog search engines that monitor simple keywords and hyperlinking  – rather than insisting that the trackback notify them of any conversation.

Monitoring the conversation is important for any business or brand (and it is an essential part of what we, as communications practitioners, practice each day). While trackbacks (and the other forms of linkbacks) allow blogger A to notify blogger B that blogger B’s content is being referenced, it should not be the only method for acknowledgement or monitoring.