2007 June archive at Gypsy Bandito

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Archive for June, 2007

Ethics in PR

Published June 29, 2007 in PR. 0 Comments

In a recent post, Strumpette takes a look at how the Taliban has enlisted a PR agency. The discussion, of course, inevitably gravitates towards ethics, and Ms. Chapel resorts to an interview that 5WPR CEO, Ronn Torossian gave earlier this year, in which he rationalized why his firm was taking on Girls Gone Wild CEO, Joe Francis, as a client:

- PR agencies take on controversial clients just like lawyers represent controversial public figures. We may not be under oath like an attorney, but we are believers in the First Amendment.

The difference, though, between PR agents and lawyers is that things like the Rule of Law and Habeas Corpus are integral parts to any Liberal Democracy, and PR isn’t. Mind you, if private firms/individuals didn’t have such a propensity to be douche bags in the first place, there really wouldn’t be much of a demand for something like PR, now would there?

I guess that’s why people think that PR is the devil’s handy work. Mind you, most people also buy products & services from equally nefarious companies with the pay checks that they get from yet another one, so I guess that it’s true what Dylan said:

it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

It’s really why growing up is all about the loss of innocence. Life happens, push comes to shove, and you end up working for one set of people that you hope your daughter will never marry so that you can pay bills to another set of similarly despicable ones. But hey, even pious assholes like the Taliban turn out to by hypocrites in the long run, so what’s the big deal?

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Loren Feldman is a Twit

Published June 27, 2007 in Vlog. 0 Comments

I only recently discovered Twitter and I’m already disappointed — not with the service, but a user…

How to Properly Be A Twit
from CT Moore

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Reputation Management a la SEO

Published June 27, 2007 in Search Engine Optimization and PR. 1 Comment

A little while back I got to blogging about how the advent of universal search is really going to simplify online reputation management. It now seems, though, that aside from simplifying online reputations management, it’ll actually force a lot of companies and people to pay attention to just how multi-faceted it is.

Basically, universal search is a coming feature of Google that will provide a search results page with a bit of everything: websites, video, images, blogs, etc… The reason that I think this might simplify online reputation management is that it, if universal search becomes the most popular choice amongst the average user, it’s going to seriously reduce the number of first page results there are to compete for. As I said before:

Think about it, if a blog gets you one step closer to owning the first page, then universal search is a good thing for managing your reputation. If I Google your company name, I’m probably going to get your site, your blog, your forum, and (if you follow Loren’s advice) your video.

In other words, instead of having to compete to dominate ten spots on each kind of search (image, video, blog, etc…), companies will only really have to compete on a couple for each. If most users gravitate toward universal search (and I think they will), just like the first page of results is all that really matters now, universal search will be all that will matter in the future. If you get the top two spots for image, video, and blog searches for your company name, then you’ll probably dominate an universal search for the same query.

If you can’t see the import of this, just consider a current image search for “Jet Blue.” As Michael Gray illustrates, it turns up some embarrassing history:

So I was doing an image search and came across something interesting. Looking for [Jet Blue] showed some interesting results. What caught my eye was the pictures of the failed landing gear incident. Not what I would consider an ideal image SERP. What does your an image SERP for your company, your product or your name yield? Remember what starts on facebook, doesn’t always stay on facebook, just ask Rummer Willis

If the PR people over at Jet Blue were more forward thinking, they might be planning for universal search. Were they doing that, they’d be effectively optimizing multiple media for search engine ranking. If they were doing that, each of the SERPs for each of the media would undoubtedly be more favorable. In other words, the advent of universal search may not only simplify online reputation management, but coax more people to actually take it to its logical conclusion and cover all their bases.

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Google Going Green

Published June 26, 2007 in Technology. 0 Comments

A little while back, I challenged Google on their motto In essence, I didn’t think that Don’t Be Evil was sifficient. Instead, I thought that maybe they should go with Be Good. Well, either the folks in Mountain View were listening, or they’re really not that bad after all, and they’re already one step ahead of me. Brian Free reports:

First Google takes over the Internet … and now they are planning their victorious push to take over Earth’s surface, dry surface. Google is creating cars that can get 70-100 miles per gallon. They are awarding $1 million in grants and $10 million in funding to whoever can present the almighty Google with a proper plan.

The plan is called RechargeIt is being run by google.org and its goal is to further research of “Healthy” cars (and to take over the world). As it is Google already has the largest solar campus in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world.

Hm, maybe thare are some substantive advantages to the monopolization of information after all. I mean, sure, competition definitely fuels innovation. The Cold War taught us that. But at the same time, it can restrict it — especially when progress is at odds with current market incumbents. Just think about it: there are so many conspiracy theories about the oil companies retarding the development of eco-friendly fuels, but Google is a powerhouse in and of itself, and couldn’t be bought out or off with as much ease.

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iPhone: New Media Mayhem

Published June 26, 2007 in Marketing. 0 Comments

An interteresting (and I think astute) observation of online marketing trends is Mitch Joel’s Viral in Viral Marketing theory:

Stage One will be if the original creation takes hold, but the true worth of value will be Stage Two: defined by how many new iterations are created out of the original and how far and wide those spin-offs spread.

Well, there’s plenty of hype about the iPhone — that’s no secret. But what happens when mainstream media starts parodying online viral hype? Is it an indication of the campaign’s success? Does it simply show how absurd online campaigns can become? Or does it demonstrate just how truly fearful that the mainstream media is of the new media — both on the hardware and software front?

I think that it’s probably just symptomatic of TV writers surfing the net for new ideas when they’re all tapped out.

Video via Yes But No But Yes.

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Type Casting…

Published June 26, 2007 in Marketing and Vlog. 0 Comments

Here’s a thought for all you marketing cats out there: ethnicity can be a powerful branding tool. If you think about it, there are countless examples: a Russian for Smirnoff products (not a Russian label), a medicine man for Lakota, and the list goes on. If you think about it, the difference between stereotyping and Type Casting is the context in which they place things.