Your PR Architect

This is not a tale about grade school kids, despite the headline. Camille* and I began a conversation at a professional dinner. We hadn't met previously, but I knew the not-for-profit agency she headed. She liked a few things I said about strengthening their external communications, took my business card, and promised to call. Image by Kaz, from Pixabay, via Wikimedia Commons Reaching out to Camille over the next few weeks yielded no response. Then, one night, about eight weeks later, she phoned to ask for ideas to better market her agency's new counseling service. I shared a few thoughts in writing -- it took about an hour -- and she indicated we should meet soon and move toward a working relationship. Nothing happened, even after multiple follow-ups from me. A few months later, around 8 pm on a Friday, Camille called in a panic. An ex-client of the agency was frustrated with its policies, and his unhappy friend posted disparaging remarks on the agency's Facebo

Had enough of the content tidal wave yet? The web offers more than "stream of consciousness." It's scream of consciousness -- a term I attribute to the  artist Carolyn Kassnoff around 2001 -- but it's more accurate than ever. Every thought, idea, wry observation, or snarky Kardashian slap finds its way into the torrent of social media. And no place is it more evident than Twitter. PR pro David Ericson recently blogged about many ways to use Twitter for public relations . It's a good read, describing how Twitter's alliance with Google helps the social media site reach casual web consumers who aren't (yet) Twitter members. So, if you're a PR pro who's working to get recognition for a client's services and products, there's value to including a well-planned Twitter strategy. Yogi Berra, C. 1956, via Wikimedia Commons But there's another way for PR people to leverage Twitter, although you need a registered Twitter account. I

You can go anywhere on the Internet to hear pundits expound on the travails of public figures: Cosby. Trump. Ariana Grande, the so-called singer named for a coffee cup size. I'm not biting. Not this week. Instead, let's  look at the technology universe, where last week, Microsoft announced 7,800 employees would lose their jobs.  Most of those jobs were associated with the mobile phone business Microsoft acquired from Nokia. Windows Mobile-powered handsets are not selling. Last year, they laid off 18,000 employees , also tied to the mobile phone business. That's two straight years of downsizings tied to phones.  By David1010 (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons Pretty soon, Microsoft's mobile unit will have all the credibility of Radio Shack. Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, explained the strategic shift in an email to employees: "We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Wi

I seldom venture into politics or commentary about candidates for political office. This is a brief exception. News editors, I'm talking to you. Do you realize that when Donald Trump says something incendiary about some non-U.S. nationality, he's baiting you? When you keep re-playing his offensive comments about Mexican citizens, you give him more exposure than, say, ANY CANDIDATE WHO'S ACTUALLY GOVERNED? Substitute image to be used in place of any photo of Donald Trump. P.T. Barnum wasn't available. When you report on corporations backing out of deals with Trump, that's only slightly newsworthy. Companies end business dealings all the time. When Kodak collapsed into bankruptcy, major deals with Target, Wal-mart, Disney, and the PGA Tour went away. The backlash over Trump's remarks made his torn-up contracts mildly more interesting, but not deserving of the air time and web content you're handing over to him. Donald Trump is a very expens