Breaking News Backstab

Jonathan Zaleski, the director of The PR Collective, a nationwide consortium of boutique PR agencies (to which I belong) has started a new blog called SpinisIn. It's all about the "PR lifestyle."

I particularly enjoyed his entry entitled the Breaking News Backstab, about the times in which his big PR events were eradicated by breaking news stories, such as the Pope dying right before his big event at Dodger stadium. Give it a read and enjoy.

How corporations should deal with blogs

Recalling the story of how Sony blew it with bloggers when one such blogger discovered secretly installed Sony software on his PC (and then discovered that it was transmitting his music selections to Sony over the internet), this OpinionJournal column gives some pointers for how corporations should deal with bloggers.

Firing bad customers

We know about the cost of obtaining good customers, but what about the cost of keeping bad ones? Sometimes the best thing for business is (perish the thought!) firing customers that cost you more than they're worth. Awhile back I heard about how FedEx would send notices to costly customers that they were no longer going to be doing business with them, and (going one step further) pointed them to the nearest UPS store location. So they got rid of people who were drains on their business and dumped them on the competition. Brilliant!

Today I read in ComputerWorld where Sprint is firing customers.

The First Wiki Novel

From ComputingUnplugged:

Publisher launches Wiki novel
British publisher Penguin has launched a Web-based, collaborative novel that can be written, edited or read by anyone, anywhere thanks to "wiki" software, the technology behind Web encyclopedia Wikipedia. The novel, "A Million Penguins," went live on Thursday and its first lines are already being written, edited and rewritten by enthusiasts. Penguin, which embarked on the project with a group of creative writing and new media students, says it is using the novel as a test of whether a group of disparate and diverse people can create a "believable fictional voice."

What is a wiki? According to TechTarget.com:

A wiki (sometimes spelled "Wiki") is a server program that allows users to collaborate in forming the content of a Web site. With a wiki, any user can edit the site content, including other users' contributions, using a regular Web browser. Basically, a wiki Web site operates on a principle of collaborative trust.

The best known wiki is Wikipedia.org, an online encyclopedia in which anyone can contribute or edit content.

The idea of publishing a story with a wiki is certainly novel (sorry, couldn't resist). It will be interesting to watch how the story changes as the contributors create plot twists. Is that a story destined to go nowhere because a huge committee is involved in writing it?

Wikis hold great promise for practical business applications, from collaborating on projects to developing policy and procedure manuals to enabling users of a technology product have some control and input into the formation of a users guide.

The second rule of kayaking

As a kayaker, this ditty that I received from Merge Gupta-Sunderji caught my attention. It's also makes a great point about good communication:

The second rule of ocean kayaking

Just a couple of months ago, I went ocean kayaking for the very first time. Not only was the experience thrilling, but I got an unexpected lesson in the importance of communication.

As my husband and I climbed into our two-person kayak, the instructor gave us the simple instructions. "Just two rules," he said. "Get a rhythm going, and verbalize your intentions to your partner at all times." "Piece of cake," I thought as I climbed into the front seat. And I was right, until we stopped for a snorkeling break a couple of miles from shore. My spouse, with the best of intentions, turned around to grab my snorkeling pack from behind him. Except ... he didn’t tell me what he was planning to do! If you’ve ever kayaked, you know what happened next. One moment I was staring at the blue sky, and the next moment I was treading water and looking at the underside of orange polyethylene. When the kayak tipped, everything -- people, snorkeling gear, sunscreen and sunglasses -- was now in the ocean. I spluttered my way to the top. "You’re supposed to communicate your intentions," I reproached my husband. "I thought you knew," came his chagrined answer.

Do you sometimes assume that people can read your mind? That your employees know what results you expect of them, that your co-workers will meet your unstated deadlines, that your supervisor will magically understand why you had to leave early? Whether it’s your employees, your co-workers, or even your significant other, don’t get so caught up in the rhythm of what works well that you forget to communicate your plans and rationales. Instead, remember the second rule of ocean kayaking: verbalize your intentions.

Merge Gupta-Sunderji helps turn managers into leaders. Through engaging keynotes and workshops, she gives people specific and practical tools to achieve leadership and communication success. Contact her at www.mergespeaks.com or 403-605-4756. I saw her speak at a IABC conference. She's very engaging and informative...so much so that I actually signed up for an e-newsletter (something I typically avoid).

Game du Jour

Ah...the Internet. Filled with great information and tools to increase our productivity, right? No, it is the biggest productivity killer ever invented--but it's so darn wonderful we can't get enough of it.

One of the biggest time killers of the Internet is searching the world wide web for "bargains." You pit our desire for a good deal with our penchant for friendly competition, and you get massive successes like eBay. First there was auction sites, and then later came "one deal a day" sites such as Woot.com.

For most "one deal a day" sites, you are in a rush to get in on the deal before supplies run out. There's a new one that will really kill your time--and supplies are unlimited.

Game du Jour offers one heavily discounted casual PC game per day. It starts at midnight and the deal lasts for 24 hours and then a new game is available. If you are into "casual games" and not necessarily the action-packed assassination and warfare games, this is a great site for you.

So what does this have to do with our favorite topic? Essentially, Game du Jour is a marketing company that helps software companies get a rush of sales of their product and increase brand awareness. They introduce your game to people that might not otherwise know about it. Considering how enormous the game development sector is, this kind of publicity can help to really boost awareness of that product and get gamers interested in the rest of your line.

Study: 2 of 5 bosses don't keep word

The Office is a great show. I think it's just so funny because the boss is such a doofus...and yet many of us can relate to his character because of bosses we either have or have had.

Now there's a study that shows the impact of bosses truthfulness and its impact on those they supervise. "Nearly two of five bosses don't keep their word and more than a fourth bad mouth those they supervise to co-workers."

The result of bad managers are poor morale, bad communication, a rumor mill, a revolving door of incoming and outgoing personnel, etc.