Edward Snowden (Photo: VentureBeat) The NSA revelations from one strange cat named Edward Snowden and his enabler, the lawyer turned political activist turned commentator turned journalist Glenn Greenwald, put Silicon Valley’s biggest brands on the defensive. Reports by Mr. Greenwald writing about Verizon’s breach of its customers’ privacy (in the news hole of The Guardian) were […]
Google Goes On The Offensive Read More »
Is it just me, or are you also seeing a sudden rise in Apple-bashing these last few weeks? If my journalist and tech pundit-filled Twitterstream is any indication, the answer is yes. Consider: “Is Apple running out of juice?”Has Apple has lost its way? Bobbie Johnson and Mike Butcher debate whether the tech giant is
Reputation Capital Read More »
What a week…so many PR and media-related kerfuffles to ponder. Here’s a round-up: Frustrated Marathoners (Photo: AshleyKMayo via Gothamist) Q: Was it a good or bad PR move for Mayor Bloomberg to cancel the NYC Marathon? A: I think Mayor Mike’s instincts were correct. The comparison to 9/11 is apples to oranges. Too many peoples’
Election Eve Round-Up Read More »
In the nascent days of this blog, I penned a post on Donald Trump and the catalyst that thrust him onto the national stage. That small, but powerful gesture singlehandedly paved the way for a credible conversation about a Trump Presidential run. Do you remember what it was? I’ll remind you. After years of neglect
Bad Behavior’s Rewards Read More »
Three weeks ago today, I penned a post on how to recognize a crisis…before it mushrooms into a full blown corporate meltdown. The news hook for the post involved a seemingly isolated explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers, but had yet to assume the catastrophic environmental and
I can’t tell whether this is the best of times or the worst of times for the PR industry. As the country supposedly inches its way out of recession, the unemployment figures across the board remain bleak. Should we celebrate a slowing in the number of monthly jobless claims when so many of our colleagues
In following all those forward-thinking PR and media types on Twitter, I often lose sight of the profession’s various other dimensions. Information technology has created so many positive industry benefits to help us advance our clients’ communications objectives, we have a tendency to get lost in the digital sauce. Just consider: How Ford’s social media
I knew the moment the news broke that Facebook was in for a rough patch in the court of public opinion. For those of you in the Bahamas or on the slopes this week, on Monday news broke that Mark Zuckerberg and company decided to alter the terms-of-service (or TOS) on the dominant social networking
Saving Face (Book) Read More »
To engage or not to engage…that is the question. For as long as I can remember, good crisis managers stressed avoiding knee-jerk reactions to unpleasant characterizations in the media of your company or person. Crisis pros advised: “Why draw attention to something that will disappear with the next news cycle?” “You’ll only make matters worse.”
For years, I’ve believed that the higher one’s fame rises, the lower it can (and often does) fall, only to rise even higher. (Think Charlie Sheen, Britney, Kate Moss, Mel Gibson, and soon, Kiefer Sutherland). I once considered making application to one of journalism’s fellowship programs with a thesis that would attempt to scientifically measure
