The Streisand Effect

In the last two days I noticed a couple of tweets alluding to something called “The Streisand Effect.” I wondered if this could be that warm sensation I feel when listening to Ms. Streisand’s mellifluous renditions of “People” or “On a Clear Day?” No! NYU”s Jay Rosen tweeted this: Pugnacious political blog in Ohio goes…… Continue reading The Streisand Effect

Uber Vs. Some Hairy NYC Cabbies

If one were to name the top ten most successful startups in the last five years, everyone’s seemingly favorite on-demand car service Uber would invariably make the list. The taxi industry-disruptive service has more investors throwing more money at it than one can reasonably fathom. Its last round in June raised some $1.2 billion from…… Continue reading Uber Vs. Some Hairy NYC Cabbies

Lena Dunham and Charles Blow: Literary Tales & Sales

As someone who has dabbled in book PR over the years, I can’t help but notice how the art and dynamics of this specialized practice have evolved. Most significantly, I’m seeing how a newly published author, with a sizable social media following, can play a pivotal role in driving awareness, esteem and…ultimately sales. There are, however,…… Continue reading Lena Dunham and Charles Blow: Literary Tales & Sales

Sex+Tech=Boffo News

Who hasn’t heard about the hacker(s) who leaked private photos of some well-known female celebrities? It produced breathless Labor Day weekend coverage from virtually every influential news organization. I suppose nowadays the combo of sex+tech has the capacity to pre-empt such mundane news like Islamist barbarism and a rich Russian despot invading his sovereign neighbor. Nonetheless, the hack…… Continue reading Sex+Tech=Boffo News

Shocking Stories From The PR Trenches

The hits keep coming, but not the media hits clients crave. Rather, today has surfaced a trio of PR faux pas’s that will surely leave those who’ve toiled in the business for any length of time scratching their heads. The first offense involves a thin-skinned upstate New York hotel, built by the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers…… Continue reading Shocking Stories From The PR Trenches

Israel Ups Its Social Narrative On Gaza

In my last post, I talked about the recent Online News Association and Twitter-co-hosted meetup that explored the issue of verifying news and images that spread unchecked via social media. The topic, and the tools/techniques showcased, were put to the test the very next day with the downing of a Malaysian airline by Russian-backed separatists in…… Continue reading Israel Ups Its Social Narrative On Gaza

Creepy Tales From Comcast and Verizon Support

Earlier today, Buzzfeed’s Charlie Warzel tweeted a link to his story that exposed Verizon for giving preferential help to customers with large social followings. The revelation went public via an accidental tweet to the 78,000 followers of Verizon Support’s main Twitter account. Warzel tried to contact them to ask about the inadvertent tweet: “When reached…… Continue reading Creepy Tales From Comcast and Verizon Support

Look What Mark Cuban Started

I don’t know how many times I’ve shared this tale of how Mark Cuban, in the nascent days of citizen journalism (i.e., blogging, CGM), took to his blog to pointedly refute, line-by-line, a decidedly negative New York Times profile of him by Andrew Ross Sorkin. (The original interview was conducted via email, the full text…… Continue reading Look What Mark Cuban Started

Apple, Ford & Obama

Sometimes change is good, sometimes it’s not so good. One thing however is certain: change is inevitable. In my world, the inevitable doesn’t get much bigger than the recently announced departures of communications pros from three of the biggest “brands” on the planet: Ford Motor Company, Apple Inc. and The White House. What? You were…… Continue reading Apple, Ford & Obama

Trash Hamptons

On the surface, it seemed like a good idea: leverage the highfalutiness of the Hamptons brand to bolster the low brow Kardashian brand, and especially the latter’s TV reality show coming to E! this fall. Yet, unlike the MTV’s Beach House or Jersey Shore, these two brands are as about incongruous as they get. It’s…… Continue reading Trash Hamptons