"Eyewitness News" finally a reality.

The catch/marketing phrase "Eyewitness News" has been used for decades. According to Wikipedia, the earliest use in American television was in April 1959 by KYW-TV in Cleveland.

The whole point was their crews were on the scene of news, seeing it person giving "Eyewitness" accounts which we then watched at home. It was the stations however, who decided what we actually got to witness ourselves, and when we did.

Flash forward to September, 2013 in Colorado and flash flooding. The most compelling images arguably coming from actual eyewitnesses, folks like you and me on the ground with our smart phone cameras, instantly sharing pictures and video to the media or on Social Media.

 

Words not necessary

Time and time again I've seen local outlets thank citizen journalists for their content and encouraging then to send more. The earliest pictures were stunning to see. Sure, some of the shots were shaky but who cares. A wall of water coming down a canyon on city street is powerful stuff. Folks living there got the pictures while traditional news crews were either on the way to the scene, or simply couldn't get there because of the aforementioned walls of water.

 

Impactful

This is a compelling argument of the power of Social Media. Sure, there have been rare instances, at least up until now where folks have posted things on Facebook or Twitter that failed the standards of journalism as to accuracy and fact-checking. But in breaking news situations, even the most seasoned of journalists make mistakes. (Sadly at a growing rate but that's for another blog post)

But today's it's all about the image. A picture is worth a thousand words, video is worth a hundred thousand words. To their credit, Denver area news operations have enlisted us to help tell the story. Because sometimes we are part of the story.

That said, we ourselves become our own news outlets. We can publish accounts, videos and pictures on any number of Social Media outlets. With that, at least morally and ethically comes the responsibility to get the story right.

Nothing spreads faster than misinformation. As with international relations and "Eyewitness News," trust, but verify!

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Boston Coverage. Immediacy? Yes. Accuracy? Not so much.

I first saw, make that heard about the events in Boston in a pretty traditional way. Television. The set was tuned to Shep Smith on FOX News. He always includes the proviso in his open saying, "Unless breaking news changes everything."

Boy did his show rundown change. I heard sirens in the background, yelling from crowds of people. After a minute or so I walked over and saw what was happening. Two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Explosions. Death. Deja Vu all over again.

All the networks immediately went into "Wall to Wall" mode, i.e. non-stop coverage. So did Social Media. Facebook and Twitter blew up, with much of what was posted right from the scene by people who saw and felt it happen. Talk about "Eyewitness News."

As was the case with recent events like Newtown, the information being posted on Social Media was immediate but not always accurate. Likewise for traditional media.

It's in our nature to want to know what happened, how it happened and who did it immediately if not sooner. Both traditional and new media are great for the immediate part.

But the storylines changed on the fly. There were reports that another bomb went off at the JFK Library. Not true. There were reports of up to five other bombs found. Not true. There were and are reports of "Persons of interest." Maybe true. Then there is stuff we likely are being kept from knowing. Sometimes it's important in investigating crimes of this nature to keep certain information confidential to help catch the bad people.

Traditional media is good at spreading misinformation too. But at least they attribute the source and add they can't confirm the story. An example being the Wall Street Journal reporting 5 other bombs being found. More than one network repeated the story, attributing the source but adding the proviso "We can't confirm." One can argue, fairly, the merits of reporting something you can't confirm. The WSJ is very reputable. But a great rule of journalism is "Attribution before assertion." It should, but of course can't be enforced on Social Media. The whole "1st Amendment thing."

Social Media doesn't play by the same rules. Stuff is posted, re-posted and goes viral in moments. Attribution? Accuracy? So 20th century.

Then there's imagery. A picture or video clip that says it all. A great example is the now iconic shot of the first explosion going off, knocking down a 78 year old runner to the ground. We saw it over and over and over.

About as fast as the "experts" started appearing on traditional media giving often educated viewpoints, came the online pundits with snarky remarks and potshots. The left picking on the right, the right picking on the left and no useful purpose being served. Then of course, the conspiracy folks. They love Social Media.

On a positive note came the many heartfelt posts from all those in our Social Media Networks expressing their emotions and support for Boston. A trend I truly like are the images that are created almost instantly and shared. For the most part, a positive aspect of Social Media in a situation like Boston. And who would have believed the crowd at Yankee Stadium singing "Sweet Caroline?" A good thing.

 

Certainly a positive impact of the technology we carry in our pockets including the cameras in our cell phones is the very likely chance a picture someone took on their smart phone could help solve the case.

Ultimately, I remember this comment from President Reagan who in very analog times said, "Trust but verify." What he said then, fits well in today's digital times.

Immediacy doesn't always mean accuracy.

Brian Olson

Owner/Consultant

Conversation Starters Public Realtions

"We start the conversation about you"

When a Thousand Words is better than a Picture

OK, to be clear, I'm not blogging about the old picture being worth a thousand words thing. This is about not using the picture in the first place.

Driving home from the mountains Sunday night I heard about the terrible injury suffered by Louisville's Kevin Ware playing against Duke for a spot in the Final 4.  Listening to ESPN Radio the most used word to describe it was "Gruesome." Post-game interviews with the coach and fellow players were emotional to say the least.

I haven't and likely won't see video or pictures of the incident where he broke his leg. I was in Church when it happened, I'm not really a college basketball fan and as Texas wasn't playing, well I just wouldn't have watched in the first place.

But there's the news, highlights shows and of course, Social Media. It's just about impossible to not see stuff even if you're not interested in seeing it.  Reading about the accounts of the injury, it was indeed gruesome.

But to their credit, most media outlets used good judgement and other than the the folks who saw it happen live and couldn't have avoided seeing it happen, the rest of us have been spared. This wasn't about seeing the injury, but the story about it and in the days following.

I did see a picture of Keven being released from the hospital  Here's to a quick recovery for the young man. That's the kind of image I like to see!

Louisville is on their way to the Final 4 in Atlanta, and my guess is Kevin will be there to cheer on his teammates. And ...very likely back on the court next season. Let's hope so.

In this case, a thousand words was worth far more than the picture.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you!"

Fiscal Cliff: Cutting Through The Crap with Social Media

 This past Friday we were talking Social Media Strategies at a Meetup group we sponsor. Social Media has absolutely changed the way we communicate and listen, to interact and be empowered as consumers.

What's too often lost in all the Social Media Jargon (and there's far too much) is content. Telling a story, making it impactful. You know, meaningful on Main Street. Passing the "So what?" test.

We're being bombarded right now with terms like "Fiscal Cliff" and "Kick the can down the road" to the point of not giving a darn anymore. It's just so much noise. The same noise. Over and over and over.

The huge deficit hanging over our heads is going to most impact the so-called "Millennial Generation." These are the younger folks entering the work place, looking to live the good life like their parents did. The above mentioned "noise" isn't getting their attention.

So here's a perfect example of using Social Media to grab them by the shoulders, shake them hard and tell them to wake up before it's too late. I'm not surprised it features my old friend, veteran straight talker and now Gangnam dude, Senator Alan K. Simpson.

Watch:



Now that's the power of creativity, messaging for successful communication in today's digital world! It all starts with stepping away from the traditional and being anything but.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you!"

Text should enhance talk, not replace it.

I read several articles over the weekend about how today's Facebook and Twitter environment is changing the way we communicate. It seems hardly anyone writes or worse yet, talks anymore. Far easier to just make a post on your PDA or Computer.

It's all great stuff--a fun and ultra-fast way to share quips, stories, information, pictures and video. But it changes the way we communicate because the technology detaches us from each other. We're not machines--we're humans who should use machines to enhance interaction with each other, but not replace it.

Back in the early 90's my newsroom became one of the first to put away the typewriters and computerize our news gathering. It made us more efficient and able to do more in less time. But a strange thing happened as the news department started to use the e-mail functions to communicate with each other.

It's a high stress environment and very competitive. I started to notice small little arguments blossom into full blown e-conflicts. Things were written that normally no one would say face to face. It was something I quickly had to get a handle on. The next newsroom I led through the process also went through the same "adjustment."

Two decades later I'm working with a team on a major project set for this spring. The core team are all very e-savvy and we do most of our communications electronically as we plan and execute strategies. At a recent face to face meeting of the team however, we all agreed that all the e-mails flying back and forth tended to confuse rather than illuminate. We've made it policy to meet as a group in person along with routine e-mail communications. Meeting which are set-up electronically via Meetup.

You can have it both ways, and we should.

Social Media allows us to communicate and market like never before and I'm an enthusiastic ambassador for it. Ultimately though, let's not forget that it's hard to beat talking one-on-one to truly communicate. It's important we never stop looking each other in the eye once in a while and communicate what hopefully what won't be an old-fashioned way. Face to face.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Social Media-One is the loneliest number.

What's the status of social media at your company or non-profit? Who is tasked with the job? In too many cases social media is something handed off to a staffer with an already full plate.

Social media provides so many opportunities beyond the obvious. Have you thought about spreading the social media load? Why not create a social media team across your organization? From the boardroom to the stockroom. Up and down the food chain.

All have different views of the same subject. By making them part of your social media outreach you bring in fresh perspective and at the same time empower your team as "Brand Ambassadors."

Granted, you have to be selective, there has to be guidelines and focus, but do it right and all of a sudden you have a vibrant and active social media plan.

One is the loneliest number in social media. Make it a team effort.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters LLC
"We start the conversation about you"

Future Shock-Shock Absorbing

Some years back I had the privilege of meeting the late, great broadcaster Paul Harvey when he spoke at a broadcast journalism industry event. At the beginning of his speech he described the audience as being "Future Shock-Shock Absorbers" for their viewers and listeners. I've never forgotten that well-turned phrase by Mr. Harvey.

It's a term, I think, that equally applies to communications, especially in this rapidly evolving world of social media and why it's important your business have a sound, developed and regularly reviewed communication strategy/plan.

What got me thinking about all this was something I heard yesterday on a sports talk radio show. Eagles QB Michael Vick is the talk (good and bad) of the town for his performance against the Washington Redskins this past Monday. One of the talk show hosts quipped that the PR team for the NFL would have its hands full if the season ended with a Eagles-Steelers Super Bowl, which would of course be billed as a showdown between Ben Roethlisberger and Vick. Both would bring considerable baggage to the game which we don't need to get into here because it's well documented.

The NFL's public relations team is arguably as good as any in the business and they'd do their very best to stay on message and keep the media covering the Superbowl on message. They likely have anticipated such a match-up and are planning for it accordingly. Good luck.

The NFL has well developed policies within its organization, but also knows that they need to quickly adapt to the situation at hand.

Another case study would be the recent incident involving the Carnival Cruise Ship, Splendor. An engine room fire knocked out power, including electricity and passengers had to go without some of the normal luxuries they paid for. Steak and Lobster were replaced by sandwiches. But the original fire was contained, no one was hurt and everyone returned home safely, refunded in full and given another cruise for free. Carnival, to its credit, dealt with a bad situation and did a pretty good job of taking care of its customers and their safety.

But most of the media coverage centered on that passengers were supposedly were fed Spam ferried over, along with other supplies from the nearby aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan. Carnival's PR team did, I think, a darn good job of putting out fair and accurate information but the fixation by most covering the story was the Spam. The story quickly faded from the limelight, but Carnival and Spam went together like peas and carrots for a few days. So despite the best plans and intentions, ultimately the media will cover a story how it decides to. Which is their right. But both the story and the actual fire could have been far worse. Damage control was the rule of the day aboard the ship and in the media. Both fires put out successfully.

I could go on including the BP debacle but the point here is that a well planned and continually reviewed communications plan is important and social media is a great conduit of information when crisis occurs.

A metaphor would be the fire lines that are created in a forest fire. They slow or halt further spread of the fire. But the fire lines aren't created until after the fire starts. Your social media strategy creates a fire line before the fire starts. A future shock-shock absorber when you need it.

So while social media is all about outreach, marketing and brand building; it's also about being there to deal with unexpected situations which can happen to just about any company or organization.

These days, just one disgruntled customer can create a digital fire. As in "Touch my Junk." Having a good plan in place to deal with that kind of fire can prevent it from going viral. It's important to continually monitor what's being said about you on the 'Net. We suggest you set up "listening posts" for key members of your team to listen to what's being said and to quickly and proactively deal with it.

So if you haven't already, check your shock absorbers.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters LLC
"We start the conversation about you" (And help you deal with any unpleasant conversation)

Brand Ambassadorship

I've been listening to podcasts since the series of finale of LOST. Plus I've read more than a few articles. While the series wrapped up things generally, it didn't wrap up everything so it makes for interesting listening and reading. Two podcasts I listen to plan to continue on for months, maybe years.

Mentioned more than a few times is the upcoming release of the DVD package of the series. ABC and the producers of the hit show aren't paying a dime for any of this. Wow, imagine reaching huge audiences to market your product for free.

It reminds me of what I heard earlier this year in Atlanta at a Social Media Summit. The folks at Coca Cola (which hosted the event) talked about a Facebook fan page for Coke. It has almost 500 thousand members. But Coke didn't create it. Two fans did.

Customers and fans of your brand, can be your best "Brand Ambassadors." They post on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. They create fan pages.

IF...they like your product and customer service. It can just as easily work the opposite. Mistreat or mislead your customer base and they'll let you have it digitally, big-time.

Then there are cases where good companies get a bad rap on the Internet for no other reason that while the great thing about the Internet is everyone has access to it, the bad thing about the Internet is everyone has access to it.

As one psychologist said, "The Internet has provided a platform for the hateful." Usually, most of these types post anonymously, but believe it or not, some people believe them.

We specialize in helping you make the most out of your brand ambassadors, and how to deal with those who have nothing better to do than pick on you unfairly. There's a time and a place for everything on the Internet, especially when it comes to your brand's reputation.

Let us help you manage your brand in the ever-evolving world of Social Media.

Brian Olson
CEO and Founder
Conversation Starters LLC

So you think you own your brand? Think again.

Earlier this year I attended a Social Media Summit sponsored by Ragan Communications and the Public Relations Society of America. The event was hosted by Coca Cola in Atlanta.

One of the key elements I came away with is that businesses, organizations and the like no longer control their brand. Their customers, fans and detractors do. Social Media has empowered them to post anything they want, both good and bad about you. It's a tough concept for people to accept, especially CEO's!

Google just about any business name followed by "scam" or "complaints" and you'll get multiple hits. Some are fair, but sadly most are just the opposite. People can post anything they want, true or not about you and they're protected by the 1st Amendment.

But you can fight back. One tip, don't engage your detractors on the complaint sites where they post. You just add fresh content and it drives search ranking up. You have to engage on neutral ground and use other social media strategies.

It's what we help you do at Conversation Starters. You can win in the court of social media opinion. If....you know how.

Brian Olson
President and CEO
Conversation Starters LLC