Iron Hand, Velvet Glove
My friend Katie Paine, who’s at Bulldog Reporter’s PR Measurement Summit 2009 in New York as I type this (and which I’m not attending), sent me an interesting note via Skype. Apparently the conference notebook contains the following reminder to “Please Use Social Media Courteously during the PR Measurement Summit”:
Social media create powerful opportunities for communicating among a network of colleagues — which can be used constructively but can also lead to awkward and unpleasant consequences when used ill-advisedly. During recent conferences in a variety of industries, for example, participants have provided real time commentaries of the events that have precipitated misunderstandings, embarrassment and even anger. For this reason we offer the following courtesy guidelines for participants in this conference:
1. Avoid participating in social media conversations during presentations. It’s simply impossible to concentrate fully on speakers analyses and advice while participating in online conversations or creating social media commentary.
2. Avoid over-simplifying a speaker’s comments or position in any social media commentary. Most speakers offer a complex and nuanced perspective which cannot fairly be distilled into 140 characters or even 1,400 characters.
3. Keep commentary on a professional level and avoid commentary on personal issues relating to participants.
Again – I’m not at the conference, and typing what Katie sent me as printed in the handbook, so if there are any typos, they’re Katie’s and mine.
Filed under Communication, Measurement, Public Relations, Shonali Burke, Social Media, Twitter | Tags: bulldog reporter, katie paine, Measurement, pr, skype, Social Media, Twitter | Comments (28)If a Picture Paints a Thousand Words…
… can a thousand words paint a picture?
Drum Roll: Darby Has a New Home
When I started blogging about Darby the German Shepherd a little under a month ago, I had no idea if my question, “Can Social Media Find Darby a Home?” would be answered, let alone in the affirmative.
(If you’re catching up on the Darby story, you can find the earlier posts at the bottom of this one. In a nutshell, though, Darby’s a beautiful GSD who used to belong to my husband’s late uncle, who lived in Portland, Ore., and died suddenly on vacation in late April. My mission in life since that time has been to find Darby a home.)
I am SO happy and relieved that finally, the answer, is a resounding “yes.” Last night, Darby went home with Ron and Shawnee Ostrom, a lovely couple who live just outside Portland with their two sons, Garrett and Blake. The Ostroms were one of many animal lovers who saw the story Portland’s KOIN-TV did on Darby last week. After several rounds of meeting her, talking with the folks at Townhouse Pet Care Center and myself, it was clear that not only did they love Darby – but that Darby loved them.
KOIN-TV did a follow-up story on the Darby “chronicles,” as I like to call them, last night. You can see just how happy Darby is.
You know how it is when you’ve been working on something really hard, and then it all falls into place and you can’t quite believe that it’s over? I feel a little like that right now. I just wish Tom (our late uncle) could have seen all this. I think he’d have been tickled pink. (Of course, if he were here, none of this would have happened, so it’s a moot point. But you know what I mean.)
Filed under Communication, Personal, Public Relations, Shonali Burke, Social Media, Twitter | Tags: chip griffin, darby, janet tobiassen, jennifer zingsheim, kevin o'brien, koin, media bullseye, megan drake, oregongsdr, petrelocation.com, rachel farris, susan ragan, tim gordon, tom farrell, townhouse pet care center, Twitter | Comments (21)
