Without a Yard

Had the pleasure of attending a thought-provoking journalism seminar last night, which was organized by the lovely crews of Samara & Massey College.  The first in a series, the evening’s lecture featured Paul Steiger, former managing editor of the Wall Street Journal and current editor-in-chief, president & CEO of ProPublica.

What sets ProPublica apart from many up and coming online news outlets (or MSM using citizen journalists to round out their roster of writers), is its success rate partnering with mainstream media outlets (NYTimes, Washington Post, NPR, PBS, 60 minutes, etc) at the early stages of investigative journalism or at the final hand-off/distribution stage.  They are able to undertake ambitious research from their “independent, non-profit newsroom” thanks to a foundation grant, which sustains the basic operating costs, and are now looking to create a more sustainable financing model with various funders and small individual donations.

For example, last summer ProPublica investigated the high rates of re-hires among negligent nurses in the state of California, and paired up with the LATimes to expose the lax oversight in tracking potentially (& often fatal) staffing decisions.  Between the two outlets’ teams, they researched every Californian nurse disciplinary case from 2002-08 (over 2,000) and revealed that the average lag-time on action by the Board of Registered Nursing was over three years, & many cases were left forgotten.  One day after the story was published, Governor Schwarzenegger replaced almost every member of the Board, citing the newspaper & online organization’s coverage as bringing the issue to light.

Examples abound of long-form investigative journalism affecting change by exposing negligence, corruption and fraud - so the question isn’t exist/disappear…but one wonders if only addressing the shrinking budgets/staff of MSM, a larger issue is unaddressed - our shrinking attention span. (Insert obligatory ‘Google makes us stupid‘ link, &/or pop-stat used by many UX’ers that the average user’s attention span is now whittled down to 5 seconds)

Encouragingly enough for online news outlets, yesterday the Pew Internet & American Life Project released new online news usage data with internet news listed above print and radio in popularity, with 61% of Americans reading news online vs. 50% reading a local paper & 17% reading a national paper.  Of the online-ers 1/3 were reading on their mobile device.  But when we say ‘reading’ are people really reading?

One ProPublica fact that threw me was the proud statement that they’d launched an iPhone app and had a Blackberry version in the wings.  While I’m the first to strongly encourage clients to reach their audiences on as many platforms as possible, eschewing the ‘If you build it they will come’ attitude & instead respectfully joining communities that are interested in your offering, silver-bullet-izing the mobile platform for long-form journalism cannot jive without major mods.

In the same way we couldn’t create a hit radio programme walking into a studio & recording a ‘Simpsons’ script - reading a full-length long-form investigative piece on a 3”x2” screen is a tough slog for the online crew.  Are there any online outlets doing a good job of serializing content so that it’s broken up into manageable mobile-friendly chunks, while also grabbing the audience’s attention with cliff-hanger-style endings every couple days, or embedding multi-media content to supplement the copy?  Any way to use audio to create subscription-based podcast versions of the stories - if there was ever a sustainable online revenue model for journalism, it might be long-tail-able via iTunes - or at least worth a shot…

There’s a particularly startling epidemic happening in the online world, which I’m noticing mainly in Toronto of late.  It might just be the 2.0 version of the classic Canadian tall poppy syndrome, but this strain is turning out to be stronger & scarier than swine flu.  Victims are compelled (nay, forced?) to gush out unnecessary mea culpas, fall on their twittering swords & hide in abject terror of the virus reappearing.  It disguises itself as a ‘transparency’ inoculation or an ‘authenticity’ booster shot, but there is only one diagnosis for the unfortunate malady-stricken online risk-takers - they’ve been bitten by social media schadenfreude.

Now I’m the first to grab the popcorn when things get spicy on the political scene, and don’t get between me and my indierock drama…BUT when it comes to jumping down people’s throats in an online/professional context…I get a little…empathetic.  By the luck of astrologically-aligned-nerd-stars, my salty slangly casual language whilst pitching bloggers, writing content & generally floundering through life has not put in me in this position.  According to the law of averages, until I am drafted to the WNBA, I will soon play the role of the  ’social media practitioner’ or ‘community member’ receiving a thorough ego trouncing from the peanut gallery.  {In fact, if those web gremlins continue to highjack a lovely microsite/app-project we’re eager to seed/launch I might be in this position early next week :)}

We all make mistakes.  If we’re doing right by our clients, we aren’t just going through the same-old super-safe motions developing & executing campaigns.  Ask any stellar standup comedian.  Some jokes kill and some jokes bomb.  That’s life.

So on this turkey weekend eve, let’s be thankful that there are social media peeps still taking risks, let’s remember that when this happens with ad campaigns we think it’s unique & quirky & let’s consider the embarassment of riches we have in terms of attending awesome events.  Before you pile on to critique someone going out on a limb or trying something new or having an opinion…ask yourself if you really want to end up like these dudes:

*Massive full disclosure - A staffer at Social Media Group is my basketball bud & I have been known to enjoy cheap soft-serve ‘ice cream’ with Refresh Events‘ founder.

What do KISS, IKEA & Muslim women have in common? Unfortunately there’s no snappy punchline, it’s just an excuse to weave a nerd narrative through a bunch of interesting news stories.

I’m sure by now you’ve got your Oshawa B&B resos, relieved to hear the city’s glam-rocker residents’ KISS ARMY allegiance wasn’t in vain. The band ran a straightforward prove-how-much-you-love-us online contest, which was styled like a petition, requiring city residents to submit email addresses, & promised a concert for the winning city (regrettably it was a KISS concert).  After the band announced the winning city, they published a tour schedule that did not include Oshawa. Now, it doesn’t take Columbo to examine a tour schedule & discover a gap that is geographically & schedule-wise able to accommodate a ’secret’ show or ‘by popular demand’ second night in a venue (Hello Wilco, Welcome to Massey Hall x2!).  Nonetheless, the interwebs’ hyper hypos have an irrepressible impulse to stretch their harnesses.  The city was up in arms, thousands joined Facebook protest groups, locals became ‘representatives’ on news outlets, fansites heaved & a PR maelstrom ensued.  Can’t completely blame unnerved fans for their reaction, but it proves that an online ‘petition’ campaign banking on engaging region-specific communities must reach all stakeholders clearly, consistently & concurrently - online & in ‘public’/mainstream media messaging - or face the wrath of multiple red-dye-tongue-waggings.

From KISS to kisses, The Times’ Freakonomics blogger Steven Dubner references gay rights kissing protests in Salt Lake City (or ‘IRL’ - in real life) in a fantastic quorum post called ‘How Much Do Protests Really Matter?’.  It’s a great long piece that highlights some of the most effective protests throughout history - & puts the KISS KRAP, ridiculous IKEA font fiasco & the ultimate online overreaction of #AmazonFail (of which Shirkey’s blushing reflection is the best) - into perspective.  Kent State, this ain’t. Aside from totally dismissing the online flareups, what can be gleaned from recent issues that’ve made their way into the mainstream?

One positive example of addressing consumer concerns straight-on is the triage-style response from Tim Horton’s to their comp’ed coffee clusterfritter.  After being accused of supporting anti-gay groups, HQ calmly, widely, publicly stated otherwise, while explaining the franchisee relationship & corporate values in a balanced manner.  Though they’ll go down in Twitter history as being ‘too slow’, realistically a major multi-national addressing an online issue centered on a (not ideal ideologically…) backwoods charity BBQ in less than 48 hours (counting weekend days…sadly the downside of our email era is expectation to check 24/7) is approaching impressive.

Finally, last Sunday’s NYTimes magazine on women’s issues had a special ‘The Medium’ column on Feminist Hawks by Virginia Herrernan. It illustrates how ‘motherhood’ issues (for lack of a better word…) can be repackaged, re-purposed & emailed for protest campaigns under new auspices.  In this case an anti-Afghan outlook was wrapped in women’s rights.  Herrernan tracked a popular email petition propelled by pundits such as David Horowitz that sought signatures supporting persecuted Muslim women, but stated military aggression was the solution to women’s liberation.  “This material is expected to help seal Horowitz’s general case for the war on terror, though he has not yet changed the name of his cause to, say, the war on misogyny.”

It might be hard to assign a #fail to online protests writ large, but the summer months brought a new level of inane chatter that could be called out & calmed down as the temperature drops & leaves begin to fall.  Creating online communities, sharing fact-checked/substantiated information & organizing IRL events is one of the strengths of the internet.  Our creative communities’ ongoing successes in subverting negative legislative/funding changes & presenting a strong case for supporting the arts is my favourite example of combining social networks, multimedia & the power of assembly to affect legislative change & public discourse.  Maybe revisiting the history of protests & learning from past well-informed, organized, thoughtful participants, will remind us of this.  You’ve been assigned Whingeing History for first period, first semester - enjoy the final days of summer, kids

Been reviewing relatively recent Toronto plan-undoings that involve citizens rallying around a piece of property & pushing back - online, natch.  What drew me to the first was plain’ol’personal interest & proximity - the No Big Box in Leslieville campaign.  Take a boo at their webpage - it’s nothing special.  But it worked.

The second was brought to my attention by a clued-in-colleague with a nose for all things green’n'municipal - the Strachan bridge offered up by Metrolinx.   This advocacy group’s site is even less stunning - how the heck do you navigate this thing?  Who came up with that rambling acronym? (stands for “STOP METROLINX Super-Bridge on Strachan Ave”, FYI) Where do those hot models live?  But it worked.

Finally, a photo-journo extraordinaire reported Home Depot’s foiled plans, which made us realize that local hardware handymen can’t do it nor can they help.   Although Home Depot cited economic concerns were behind their retrenchment, there was little to no local lurv & my *super thorough* online investigation includes year+ of grumblings & mumblings…

So wha’happen?

As much as I’d love to blame the developers for not wielding flashy splashy sites to dazzle & inform residents, it’s easier than that.

There’s nothing high tech, high falutin’ or high octane about the anti-project sites & their successful offshoots - Facebook groups & online petitions.

It’s the basic call-to-arms simplicity that saved the day in the two most recent examples.

Check your options on the No Big Box site:

• Sign & Circulate a FAQ sheet or Petition (downloadable in PDF & Excel, respectively)
• Display a No Big Box in Leslieville Poster in the window of your home or business (downloadable in 2 sizes, B&W or colour, in PDF)
• Attend an OMB meeting (dates updated on homepage/only page & OMB’s website offered in case user can’t attend a ‘real life’ meeting)

Same with the Strachan’ites:

• Regular updates from municipal & provincial politicos
• Email blast cross-posted on homepage
• Drive to petition, Facebook Group, Photo Gallery of plans

Although it’s far less straightforward than the Leslieville gang, it acted as a vital hub for anyone searching for information about the bridge & immediately offered actionable tasks to affect change.

From feedback posted by the publicspaceratti after new non-bridgey-plans were announced, the community appears pretty happy with Metrolinx’s compromise.

So what can we learn from these two successful online grassroots campaigns & one scared-off developer?

You can quickly frame the discussion & perception of a project by mounting a simple online campaign HQ that offers basic information, easy-to-understand & actionable tasks, & multiple off-shoots (petitions, Twitter, Facebook groups, e-mail signups, links to authorities) for your supporters to review, repurpose & redistribute.

Developers, investors, corporations & local politicians can learn a great deal from the momentum built on these sites, the frequent maintenance, updates, engagement, as well as the clarity with which they describe a problem/plan & offer immediate levers to send feedback.

Establishing in-real-life consultations - as well as concurrent online fora - is only the first step - executing these events & maintaining the web properties has to be conducted transparently, while prioritizing frequent updates, accessibility & ease-of-use.

Easy.

Next week, Hill & Knowlton ’s paired up with the Empire Club for a special panel discussion on the relationship between Social Media & Corporate Trust.

One of the brilliant benefits of working at H&K is the ability to tap into the roster of creative colleagues in our offices worldwide, and to learn from our clients, many of whom operate in interesting industries, both in hyper-local or international contexts.

This event reflects the depth and breadth of experience among H&K’ers and our highly-regarded star staffers client-side.  Although we often emphasise our role as trusted advisors and communications experts, we couldn’t deliver results commensurate with our high standards without intelligent, innovative and inspiring clients.  In this case, we are honoured to host a timely panel on social media and corporate trust with an inspiring client on the world stage.

Recent online public relations and reputational meltdowns, from Motrin Moms on Twitter to Domino’s Pizza’s starring role on YouTube, social media is exerting its power at an increasing rate with unprecedented speed.  Speaking with Suzanne Fallender, Intel’s Manager of Corporate Responsibility (Global Programs & Performance), Peter Aceto, ING DIRECT Canada’s President & CEO, and Canadian Business‘ Senior Writer and Editorial Board Member Tom Watson, our Director of H&K’s National Corporate Communications Practice and social media enthusiast Boyd Neil will moderate a discussion about employees, stakeholders and investors’ trust and the impact of social media on their perceptions.

Suzanne’s professional experience in corporate responsibility portfolios spans over a decade and her insights into the wide swath of international challenges across environmental health & safety, HR, legal and stakeholder relations will certainly resonate with all attendees.  For more information on the work of Intel, scan the Intel Corporate Responsibility blog , one of many social media tools part of Intel’s larger strategy for improved internal and external communications

Peter’s role as the senior leader of ING DIRECT Canada has proved extremely successful, highlighted by improved customer feedback, streamlined business model and a strong team executing the company vision. His experience working on the ING DIRECT USA executive committee was beneficial to many organizations serving underprivileged children around the world, as he championed the ING DIRECT philanthropic activities.

Thomas’ recent nomination for two National Magazine Awards, of which one was a feature on the ABCP fiasco-themed Facebook group,  reflects his understanding of the social media space, and its impact on coporate reputation.  His writing, which has appeared in The Hamilton Spectator, the Financial Post and now Canadian Business, spans business, finance, politics and technology.  An avid blogger, Thomas’ business-themed Double Take blog features posts that may not appear in the print version of CB.

More information can be found on the Empire Club site here.

We hope to see you on May 7th at the Royal York to enjoy what will be a unique conversation about trust & social media among four industries’ finest communicators.