Posts Tagged ‘skype’

The Continued Role Of Social Media In War And Politics

Monday, December 3rd, 2012

The Continued Role Of Social Media In War And Politics

My mom repeated her social media blasphemy.

“Twitter is a waste of time,” said told me several times.

I don’t spend as much time anymore on Twitter. People started annoying me especially as the presidential election approached. But I continue to believe Twitter is a useful tool for businesses to share their knowledge and establish a place in their industry. This argument hasn’t persuaded mom to stop saying, “Twitter is a waste of time.” She focuses on the silly statements people post to Twitter.

But current events, both domestically and internationally, remind me of Twitter’s reach.

In Gaza Conflict, Fighting With Weapons and Postings on Twitter,” read The New York Times headline Nov. 22.

I read about Twitter again in The New York Times in an article about conflict in Egypt: “Mohamed ElBaradei, an opposition leader and former United Nations diplomat, sent a Twitter message that the draft constitution “undermines basic freedoms and violates universal values.”

Facebook followed:

The New York Times: “On Mr. Netanyahu’s Facebook page, Gila Glickerman, the mother of a combat soldier, thanked the prime minister for bringing her son home, while Shai Solomon wrote, ‘You’ve just lost a vote at the ballot box.’”

Next, a Times article about Syria: “The protest took place despite more than two days of Internet failures that slowed the spread of the call for action. Called the “Strike of Pride,” it was announced on Facebook and other social media sites beginning a week ago, as well as by activists who dropped leaflets and spray-painted the news on walls.”

I’m not sure Skype is social media in the true sense, but Syria coverage included Skype. Again, The New York Times: “For months, rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad have used Skype, a peer-to-peer Internet communication system, to organize and talk to outside news organizations and activists.”

Domestically, President Obama and The White House Tweeted so often about issues related to the fiscal cliff, the hashtag “#My2K” trended nationally. Five days later, The White House Tweeted, “Hey guys, this is barack. ready to answer your questions on fiscal cliff & #my2k. Let’s get started. – bo.” Moments after someone suggested to me the President was not Tweeting himself, we saw a picture of the President apparently Tweeting. I tried to take part in the conversation, too.

These examples are simply reminders that social media continues to play a significant role in communication at the highest levels of war and politics across the world. For every silly example of people posting on social media about what they ate for lunch, there is an example of Twitter’s true influence.

And if leaders of countries and those involved in combat continue to acknowledge the reach of social media, so can a small business down the street.

What do you think mom?

Media Relations: Three Sisters, Three Rabbis And CBS5

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

Three Sisters, Three RabbisWhen people pitched me stories, I sometimes needed to hear simply a few words to know I had a winner. So when I learned three sisters are all rabbis, I needed no further details. However, not everyone immediately sees the light. How often did I sit in editorial meetings, pitch ideas I considered small treasures and listened as producers and managers responded in silence, later assigning me to something less worthy? Several reporters passed on this story idea I like to call “Sister Act.” Several producers did not respond to my emails. Light feature stories struggle to find their place among controversy and breaking news. I get it. But persistence pays off. In this business, you must have a lot of chutzpah. A CBS5 executive producer believed in the story and sent a reporter to cover two of the sisters who live in the Phoenix area. The station will interview via Skype the third rabbi, who lives out of town. Here are some pictures I took of the interview. Click on them.

Media Training: Be Prepared To Be Interrupted When Most Vulnerable

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

Media Training:  Be Prepared To Be Interrupted When Most Vulnerable

During college I worked as an intern at the CBS station in Chicago. I once saw who I believe was a cleaning woman walk in front of anchor Bill Curtis while he delivered a live tease from the newsroom. Bill ad-libbed and worked the incident into his tease by joking viewers could see how everyone was working hard in the newsroom.

While I recently interviewed a former TV anchor via Skype, a man walked into his room and started emptying the trash. The former anchor worked in the man’s unexpected appearance into his explanation that people must know their audience before pitching stories to the media.

Once while I reported live on breaking news, a guy watching me in a nearby apartment ran down to the street, jumped between the camera and me, screamed at the top of his lungs and ran back home. I simply kept talking.

Another time, a homeowner apparently unhappy I was reporting in his neighborhood set off his car alarm during both my live intro and live tag. I pretended I didn’t hear the alarm.

Before playing on the road, some football teams pump loud noise toward the practice field to simulate a visiting crowd. Approach media training in a similar way. If you plan to give interviews in a loud environment where intrigued co-workers might awkwardly stare at you or make hand gestures to slip you up, don’t conduct media training in a faraway, quiet conference room. If you might talk to the media under a blaring sun causing a stream of sweat to drench your eyebrows, don’t enjoy media training in a 72-degree oasis. If you plan a visit to a bustling TV studio or a sidewalk where a crowd will be hollering at your comments or whistling at the reporter’s perfect body, recruit some office clowns as stand-ins and practice.

It’s easier to throw a perfect spiral when tens of thousands of fans aren’t yelling profanities at you. It’s also easier to deliver the perfect interview when you and the interviewer are standing on an isolated island of serenity. But interviews often offer something unexpected. Prepare in real world scenarios to ensure you don’t pop up as the next goof up on YouTube. If you really drop the ball, don’t worry. I will use you as an example during my next media training session.

Media Relations: Our Interview With The Guy Who Got On The Tonight Show

Monday, May 7th, 2012

Media Relations:  Our Interview With The Guy Who Got On The Tonight Show

Dr. Grey Stafford of the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium appeared on The Tonight Show. The Flip Side Communications interviewed him via Skype about beating the competition with your story pitch, what to include in your pitch, creating a connection with the media, how pitching a story is like the stock market, the most challenging part of a story pitch and tapping into a TV personality.

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Publicizing Business: The Sky Has Its Limits

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

satellite

Technology is wonderful. It allows PR pros to be completely connected. It allows the media to broadcast their reports from nearly every corner of the Earth. But depending on technology too much to sell your client can get your email deleted faster than a satellite signal.

Take the email someone with a New York area code sent a reporter here in Arizona. The top of the email reads “SATELLITE INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY.” In line six of the email: “SATELLITE INTERVIEWS” … this time in bold.

Satellite interviews allow your clients to get on TV in markets far, far away. The national cable news channels would have few talking heads without a satellite linking those experts to an anchor on set and the viewers in TV land. Local news morning shows often use satellite interviews to hear from celebrities in Hollywood promoting their latest on-screen projects.

But in most cases for local TV stations, satellite interviews are like reporting with your hands tied behind your back. Unless you’re talking live television, reporters often want people looking off to the side during an interview as if they are addressing a reporter sitting directly in front of them. During satellite interviews, people often look directly into the camera. To combat this, my husband, Keith, has sometimes asked the person via satellite to look off to the side at the invisible man or his or her PR pro who tagged along for the experience. This can work, but if the goal is for everyone involved to feel natural and be themselves, you failed at “Hello.”

Another glitch: Where’s the video? Good video makes good TV and one straight-on head shot of the person being interviewed, other than those buzz worthy soundbites, is not good TV. Where’s the video of that person doing something … anything? And journalists typically don’t want the company’s video stuffed in a media kit. Even modern technology has its visual limitations.

Don’t get me wrong. Satellite interviews play a role in local media. There are creative ways to make them better. But I don’t think their role is so significant that you should shout out “SATELLITE INTERVIEW” at the top of your pitch. That may signal to the media more trouble than it’s worth. Satellites are not great selling points. And for goodness’ sake, if you’re bent on beaming your client around, understand satellite is so 1990s. It’s now all about Skype baby!

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