Day: February 11, 2004

 Elizabeth Albrycht is doing some great work looking at Social Networking and its potential impact for small business.

 Bill Stoller gives his take on the four Seasons of PR. It’s MarketingSherpa so the usual ten day lifespan for the link applies.

 Jeremy Pepper reports on the news that Lizzie Grubman is to star in a reality show on the PR business.  Of course that raises the question of exactly which reality we’re talking about.  In case you don’t know Lizzie has a very colorful public profile. [Thanks to Jeremy!!]

 Phil points to a new weblog designed for editors around the planet to address professional issues.

 James Horton has a great post on how Public Relations concerns every facet of your organization not just your media face.

 John Cass links to an article on Crisis Management – Internet Style

 Robb Hecht points to a brief piece on online pressrooms.

 Trevor Cook has found an interesting story from USA Today on blogging.

 Kevin Dugan is out of action this week for medical reasons – we wish him a speedy recovery.

When a firm starts to get a little to wrapped up in their own importance, you should begin to worry about them.

Following the Mikerowesoft.com debacle, Microsoft (not to be confused with Mike Rowe) is at it again and they’re picking on another poor Canadian.

According to ZDNet, this time they’re after Mike Morris and his http://www.mikerosoft.ca/ web site.

You see I would have thought that the appalling security issues around Windows (which I use every day and have to add hundred to patches, bug fixes and anti-virus updates), the emergence of Linux and Billg’s recent promise to solve spam in two years (no laughing down the back) would have been plenty for them to focus on.  But no.  It seems not.

While many Microsoft employees are doing a good job putting a human face on the company, the ‘ole corporate legal team are funding the Canadian legal system with suits against teenagers – who are making little or no reference to Microsoft or its products on these websites.

If they were then I’d have some sympathy for Microsoft.  But they’re not.

Lighten up

You see, I am but a mere humble B2B PR practitioner.  I have grown up on years of promoting “speeds and feeds”, features, customer endosements and corporate interviews.  In summary, I am but a humble PR soul.

This reality is constantly reinforced by the continuing spiral of sense and sensibilities being showcased by my (and your) brethren in the world of entertainment.

You see cheap stunts have never been really my bag.  Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not adverse to some clever thinking for tactical gain, but the stunts we’re seeing now are so brain-numbingly predictable that I am losing the will to live.

We have pop stars marrying and getting it anulled hours later and now we have B-list pop singers ripping each other’s clothes off at the biggest TV event of the year. (I don’t want to get into a debate about whether it was a mistake or not).

So the more lewd we go, the more column inches we get for a week or so. Is that it? Whose next to drop their drawers on TV? When will the first celebrity murder happen live on TV? (We’ve had the subsequent chase already….)

When I read a story in AdAge with PR reps praising the stunt I really begin to wonder. I’d love to see the PR plan for her Superbowl appearance:

“Objective: Clearly position Janet Jackson as the foremost bare-breated performer in North America“

On that basis it was a success. And I know I’m extending the legs of this story by writing about it… that doesn’t make me feel any better.

I leave you with these thoughts…

78% of voters on AdAge.com believe the Janet Jackson stunt was brilliant PR.

From the Ad Age story:

For James LaForce, partner in New York PR agency LaForce & Stevens, the Jackson episode was “extremely successful. … We love stunts at our agency and she opened the door for more people to take risks,” he added. “It raises the bar for all of us.”

Said Andy Morris, principal at Andy Morris & Co., a New York PR firm that works closely with the music industry: “It is the ultimate stunt. I don’t see any downside for her. It fits perfectly with the new CD that’s about sex.”

I hope Michael Moore doesn’t go for a similar stunt that “fits perfectly” with his next book about the gun laws…..

And yes, I am a grumpy old man well before my time 🙂

Thanks to BL Ochman for the link