Archive for February, 2009

Should Traditional Media Fear Its Social Sibling?

This is a bad time for mainstream newspapers. Bankruptcies, and just recently, the death of The Rocky Mountain News after 150 years. Blogger and online activist Danny Brown (right, and @dannybrown on Twitter) is someone whose opinion I follow and respect. I turned to Danny for his thoughts on where he thinks the media is [...]

O’Dwyer’s PR Reviews “Media Savvy Leader”

The highly respected Jack O’Dwyer’s PR Newsletter, online and print, has reviewed my new book, “The Media Savvy Leader: Visibility, Influence and Leadership in a Competitive World,” and I am loving every word of it:

Emmy Award-winning former CBS Network News correspondent David Henderson has written a timely book for CEOs and communications pros on how [...]

Greatest Challenge Facing Online Media

Professor Larry Parnell at George Washington University invited me as a guest lecturer this week before his graduate class on communications, and I was struck by this profound question from a student. She asked what I thought is the greatest challenge facing online media today.
Here’s my answer – when you look across blogs, social media, [...]

By Using Jargon, Benefits are Lost

A few days ago, I wrote that I believed President Obama, even an outstanding communicator, may have inadvertently used the often-times obscure language of Washington to describe the true intent of his program to get people back to work. Extending that theme, Brian Meshkin of Meshkin Ventures has some additional thoughts in this guest post:

“’Tis [...]

When Lawyers Mess With Yogurt

All I wanted to do was ask Stonyfield, the New Hampshire organic dairy products company, why its delicious organic blackberry yogurt had disappeared from the shelves of groceries in northern Virginia. My wife and I love that particular flavor for breakfast.

So, I visited Stonyfield’s Web site and clicked Contact Us and selected Product Questions/Ideas (#3). [...]

Time to Streamline Online Newsrooms

For many organizations, the online “newsroom” is generally the least visited section of the whole Web site. Don’t take my word for it. Check it out, and ask the IT people or webmaster how many visitors your online newsroom draws each week.

Online newsrooms were originally conceived to provide the media with news, background and contacts [...]

Romulans Gone; Cloaking Device Disabled

The Romulans have moved out, and the Google Maps cloaking device has been disabled over the U.S. Naval Observatory in northwest Washington, D.C. Anyone can now clearly see the mansion where the Vice President of the United States lives and surrounding buildings.
It was shortly after 9-11 2001 that then-Vice President Dick Cheney mysteriously ordered Google [...]

Just Say, “Creating Jobs for America”

Our government’s leaders in Washington, D.C., fail so miserably when it comes to finding words that will inspire unity of purpose and build bipartisan consensus across the country. Quite the contrary, the wealthy, well-paid, and expensively-tailored pols in the White House and on Capital Hill – regardless of political party – have a style of [...]

Social Media-Driven Fundraising

I’ve seen “12 for 12k” online numerous times, and must admit, I had no idea what it meant. So, I turned to Susan Murphy (@suzemuse on Twitter), who is deeply involved in the effort, to explain. 12 for 12k is so meaningful that I have asked Susan for a guest post:

Fundraising and the New Economic [...]

Rainn Wilson: Stop Religious Persecution in Iran

There is a dangerous life and death issue currently being played out in Iran as the country’s ruling regime continuously persecutes women, journalists, bloggers, and religious minorities. Television’s Rainn Wilson, who is a member of the Baha’i Faith (as am I) speaks out in this commentary for CNN.com:

(CNN) — Why is Rainn Wilson, “Dwight” on [...]

Strategic Planning Puts You in Charge

Funding among associations and not-for-profit organizations is always a challenge, especially so in today’s global economy.
Too often I have seen groups, however, relinquish their identity and reputation in order to attract and comply with the expectations of funding from a corporate sponsor.
Let me share an example: A few years ago, the National 4-H Council [...]

Iran Persecutes Citizens; PRs Influencers

While America’s new administration in the White House indicates it wants to establish U.S. relations with Iran after 30 years, Iran continues its practice of denying human rights to millions of its citizens … students, women, journalists, bloggers, and religious minorities.
For the largest religious minority in Iran – the Baha’is – the situation in Iran [...]