Blogging in China.....A Lot Like Marketing in the US

I just read an article in Newsweek about bloggers in China. It seems that since the Chinese government controls much of what comes out of mainstream media, the blogosphere has taken up where traditional media has been forced to leave off.

Many bloggers have been able to expose corruption and scandal that otherwise would have been forced to stay quiet. There is some authentic journalism going on.

But just like media in the US, there is also a range in the gamut of quality--some bloggers are finding the equivalent of the Enquirer to be more their style. Others are opting for the capitalistic approach--they are paid by the government to post positive comments about the government and issues it deems important.

This is the part that reminds me of marketing in the US.

Some companies pay bloggers to write positive things about their products. Others pay people to go on sites such as Amazon and write positive reviews in the comment sections. This is a nice way to make a little extra cash for a starving writer who is still trying to get their 1800 page memoir published. But it's really not any more ethical than the bloggers in China posting things for the government.

Most US citizens would find it objectionable for the government to pay people to promote propaganda. They would especially feel indignant and possibly elevated in comparison if that government were a communistic one such as China. And they are probably justified in those opinions.

But why do these same people accept it as just part of a capitalistic society that companies are going to do whatever necessary to promote their product? It's marketing, they say.

Yes, there is a big difference between marketing a widget and a government. But in the end it's all ideas being pushed, right? And for that matter, everyone and everything is pushing an idea or agenda at all times. So who do you believe? How do you decide who is honest and who is blogging for the government?

I guess the upside of the democratic version is that we have the option to hear everything, even if we know most of it is a bunch of crap.

A Little Optimism for the Week.....

I get a newsletter called Fishful Thinking from Goldfish Crackers. Most times, it just gets deleted, but this time it really struck me and I want to share it: (I can't link it since it's in my email)

"I have come to not like the suffix “er”. Happier, Smarter, Better, Neater, Thinner...no matter how much we have achieved, we can always throw on an “er” and the quest to take it to the next level continues. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not opposed to self-improvement, skill enhancement, or excellence. But the problem is, that all this “er-ing” can make us forget that we might already be happy enough, smart enough, good enough, neat enough, and thin enough. I think of this as the battle between improvement and contentment.

Contentment – appreciating who you are, what you have, and what is enough—is as important for children as it is for parents. Naming what we are content with and have enough of teaches our children that despite the “er” culture in which we live, it is important and healthy to relish things with which we are satisfied. We don't always need to strive for more. Focusing on what is enough teaches children to feel grateful for what they have received and to be proud of who they are. It reminds us to savor and celebrate what is good, right and satisfying. It reminds us that the quest for better and more is good, but that better and more shouldn't trump contentment." --Fishful Thinking Newsletter, February 24, 2009

I love the point of this little newsletter--our society breeds us to be discontented. It is a wonderful reminder to sit back and think about what we have that is good and enough.

I was just doing this the other day. I found myself starting down the mental road of, "why is this like this and this should be different and I need to tell this person that this is unacceptable..." It was not a productive path. Then I sat back and started to think of all the things that are "right" in my life--my husband, my daughter, my job, my new baby on the way. These are the things I should be focusing on.

From a PR standpoint, this seemingly insignificant newsletter has upped my social opinion of Goldfish crackers--not because from this one note I think they are going to save the world. But it shows me that they are interested in more than just selling more fishy crackers. (And, yes, I know that they are interested in selling more fishy crackers.) But I think this little campaign fits in with a trend some other companies are following--the Dove Real Beauty campaign and all the entities jumping on the 'green' bandwagon.

Yes, these are all cleverly disguised marketing techniques, but at least they have a good side effect--possibly getting us all to give a little more thought to why we buy things instead of just following the rest of the lemmings over a cliff.

The Mommy Factor

For those of you who are not watching Open Season and Garfield 24/7, you probably heard about the whole Caylee case a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time ago.

Well, that's what happens when you become a mom and surrender your right to the outside world of CNN for Boog and Elliot.

I just (honestly, just today, like five minutes ago) heard about this horrendous case, which started out as a missing person case. For those of you stuck in cartoon world like me, I'll recap (quickly before Dora comes back on!)

Caylee Anthony, an adorable two-year-old from Florida, was reported missing last summer. Her mother claimed to be looking for her and desperate to find her. Now, most likely due to the ridiculous number of mothers pleading for their kids and then being found to be the culprit, I doubt I would have believed her from the outset. (Sorry mom's who are in that desperate situation--I don't ever want to be in your shoes, but I won't believe a word you say until you are cleared as a suspect.)

Obviously, after a search and lots of information coming up from family and friends, it was discovered the story was not adding up. The mom was eventually charged with murder and more recently, the girls remains were found.

I have two reasons for writing about this--One-as a PR writer, please don't assume your audience already knows the background info. Yes, I too get annoyed when reading a news story where the last half is all recap that EVERYONE should already know. (Hello! Where've you been? Mars? No, I've been in the land of Tigger & Pooh.) But I see now why this is so important.

The reverse pyramid is a wonderful format for getting info out quick--the newest and most relevant first (for those in the know) and the back story at the bottom for people like me. That way everyone else can just quit reading.

The second reason for writing about this story is that if you look at the website I linked to at the top, they have an ENORMOUS amount of informaiton on this story. There are links to phone conversations, video clips, court documents. One could easily spend all day reading and catching up on this story. The paper's format for quick, easy-access clips and info make it easy to get sucked in and bogged down in the site for far longer than one may have planned.

Why is this so ingenious? The longer you are on their site, the more ads you see. The more ads you see, the more they can charge their advertisers. Very smart plan.

His Best Performance to Date...

Joaquin Phoenix appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman last night (2/11/09) and in my opinion, it was his best performance to date.

The video clip on YouTube had thousands of views already at 9 a.m. this morning. There are plenty of comments as to whether he was high on something or just putting on an act as part of a project he is doing with Casey Afflek. Whatever the case, his visit to the Late Show is clearly upping his 'presence' with the public, which certainly won't hurt both his current movie and anything to come in the near future.

If you haven't seen the clip, Joaquin appears on the Late Show wearing a Blue's Brothers-inspired suit, dark glasses, and a very scruffy beard. His answers and conversation with Dave seem quite impaired and disconnected, although a couple comments he makes, i.e. What do you have these guys gassed up on? (referring to the audience) and I've seen the guests on your show both seem to be double-sided comments that could be in fact addressing himeslf.

Those comments lead me to believe this is indeed just an act, maybe a little stunt, either to draw attention, get the public noticing, or just as part of the alleged project he is working on with Afflek. But the thing that really makes me believe it's an act is that at the very end of the interview, the part where normally the sound is cutting off, he turns his back to the audience, takes off the glasses, shakes Dave's hand, and can be heard to say, "Nice job." His body stance in that moment appears to be fully controlled and alert. I would think if he really was just a hopped up celebrity, he would not have taken off the glasses.

No matter if it was an act or just another Hollywood burnout, everyone is talking about and even bad publicity is still publicity.

A pretty ingenious PR stunt and a pretty great act, if you ask me.

Holy cow--it's a herd of kids!

I'm dumbfounded. Each time I read something new about the octuplets born in California, it becomes more and more surreal.

The first report was miraculous. Eight babies, all healthy, and the eight a surprise to the doctors! A team of 43 doctors and nurses to deliver them--WOW! Amazing! Modern medicine is so great!

What? She used fertility treatments? Well, I guess that doesn't surprise me. How else would someone get a litter of kids in one shot. Well, she must have really wanted a baby.

WHAT? She has SIX kids already? Are you kidding me? (Actually the word that immediately came to mind was not kidding....) Why would anyone who has six kids need fertility treatments to have more? Why would they want more?

NO WAY! She is not married, used fertility treatments with ALL of her pregnancies, and lives with her parents. Whoever said truth is stranger than fiction was understating things.

What kind of doctor would even provide these treatments to her? How is she paying for it? I thought I read that each invitro treatment can cost from $10,000 to $15,000. I haven't seen how many of her previous six were multiples, but even two treatments is $20,000 to $30,000. That's a chunk of change for someone with a technical degree, no partner, and living with her parents.

Now I read she filed bankruptcy last year for $981,371. So perhaps these treatments are not even being paid for. And yet she manages to get another one.

I have dealt with and am still working to pay down what I consider a large chunk of debt. I agonize over every shopping trip and wonder if I should have spent that money or paid down more debt. This lady not only is not concerned about raising 14 kids on her own, she's not worried about paying for them, she's not worried about the fact that she hasn't been able to pay for the ones she has--she's not worried!

Maybe I'm just not getting the logic, but I really, really don't get it.

The Inner Workings of the Capitol

This week my job has brought me to the State Capitol where I was able to observe the hearing on the bill for state employee compensation.

Having never ever been to the capitol during legislative session, and having never observed any part of the process, it was interesting to see how business is conducted here for each bill.

This particular bill asks for a 5% pay increase for each year for the next two years as well as funding for equity and market increases for state employees.

There was no one opposed to the bill.

I was able to see how public relations plays a big part in this process since all who spoke in favor of the bill represented various agencies and were in effect just giving a public plug for the bill and their agency. The news crew was there, so it not only gave them public exposure for the bill, but for the work they are doing for their agencies. So they were not only publicizing their agencies, but also their own job, i.e. See? Look! I'm doing my job for you!

I can see why this type of promotion is very important for both the agency and the future of the bill. Even if there was no opposition to the bill, if no one came to speak in support, the committee could very well think that this must not be very important to the agencies it was affecting and perhaps next time around they just won't worry about working so hard in their behalf.

Politics in general is one big public relations event after another. There are times I think it's so much a big spectacle with not much action coming from all the fluff. But I can see why it's necessary.

The public needs to feel they have a say and a part in the process. To facilitate that, they need to know what's going on. This means the need for lots and lots of communication and press releases. And since the politicians want them to support their ideas, they need to do a lot of PR to convince them it's a good idea.

So technically the politicians are really making all the big plans and to be successful, they just have to be really good at getting the proper PR spin out to help their public think it was their idea first!

As it happens, my purpose in being here at the capitol is a public relations event in itself. I am displaying and representing the Medical Transcription program along with our colleagues from the horticulture program for the Career and Technical Education (CTE) exhibit this week. And of course, the whole point of being here, sitting answering questions, and schmoozing with the legislators and other visitors is to promote our programs, raise awareness of our school, and demonstrate that the money that the legislators provide CTE, and by extension us, is going to good use.

Hopefully they agree.

Everyone's Dream Job

By now most everyone has heard about Tourism Queensland's promotion for The Best Job in the World.

But for those of you who maybe have not, I will elaborate!

As a tourism promotion for the Barrier Reef Islands, Tourism Queensland decided to launch this promotion to hire an "island caretaker." The job description includes feeding the fish, checking the mail, and cleaning the pool. Applicants are asked to submit a 60-second video clip describing why they are the best choice. Eleven finalists will be flown to the islands for an interview in May, with the final choice to commence work July 1.

The compensation package includes airfare to and from the islands and $150,000 AU (about $100,000 US).

Now of course the final choice will have to do more than clean the pool. They are required to try new things and showcase all of the opportunities and adventures that abound on the islands and then take pictures and video and blog about their experiences.

This is a very economical PR campaign for several reasons: the media attention (free) that this job has generated has already given them the estimated equivalent of $10 million in publicity on a $1.1 million campaign. (MSN news article) The opportunity itself is an opportunity of a lifetime for whomever is chosen and offers them what to an individual would be a phenomenal salary. Yet for the PR campaign, $100,000 is spent on a single magazine ad campaign. No doubt this campaign is being blogged about all over the Internet and will be followed by both the applicants and their friends to see who is chosen creating even more long-term publicity.

When looking at this model, I wonder how I could implement something similar in my own promotion of the events I manage. I have seen people trying to sell businesses do a similar model by offering a paid-to-enter contest. For example, someone trying to sell their B&B might do the traditional route and list with a Realtor and possibly get their asking price. Or they could take a chance, list it as an essay contest with a $100 entry fee, and hope the business is appealing enough to get a lot of entries and perhaps make more. (watch The Spitfire Grill as a fictional example)

I did try something similar on a much smaller level when I first started The Turtle Mountain Birding Festival seven years ago. I did a promotion with some radio stations around the state to give away one weekend package to a couple. Unfortunately, we did not get enough paying participants to actually hold the event that year, so my PR efforts were for naught. But at least I was on the right track!