In case any of you are still undecided, or want to make sure of your knowledge regarding the upcoming election, I want to share this website with you.
ontheissues.org
The main focus of this website is the actual issues and the candidates actual voting record. No fluff, just facts. Furthermore, there are links attatched which help explain each issue, and a guide to understanding where you stand. I suggest you take the presidential match quiz as well. You may be suprised who you agree with!
The more you know.....
Monday, October 27, 2008
who owns your name??
United Airlines employees have launched a website calling for the dismissal of Glenn Tilton, the company's CEO.
www.glenntilton.com
This professionally designed website features articles, facts and information as to why this group of employees consider Mr. Tilton to be an "incapable leader". The information is pretty convincing. Imagine being CEO Tilton and learning about an entire website dedicated to your demise!
In this age of identity theft, and with many interpretations of slander and lible laws, it is amazing to me that this is legal. It's one thing to have the website, but to use someone's name as the web address seems to cross a line. What that line is, I do not know. It just feels wrong. What are your thoughts on the matter?
I also find it interesting to consider who is responsible for the website. The website gives the impression that a large group of employees are in agreement on the matter. However, it is possible that just a few, even one angry former employee, could be responsible for the site.
Discuss.
www.glenntilton.com
This professionally designed website features articles, facts and information as to why this group of employees consider Mr. Tilton to be an "incapable leader". The information is pretty convincing. Imagine being CEO Tilton and learning about an entire website dedicated to your demise!
In this age of identity theft, and with many interpretations of slander and lible laws, it is amazing to me that this is legal. It's one thing to have the website, but to use someone's name as the web address seems to cross a line. What that line is, I do not know. It just feels wrong. What are your thoughts on the matter?
I also find it interesting to consider who is responsible for the website. The website gives the impression that a large group of employees are in agreement on the matter. However, it is possible that just a few, even one angry former employee, could be responsible for the site.
Discuss.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
email...the last frontier??
Like many of you, I receive emails from friends and coworkers trying to inform me of some new danger (like bat feces in my eyeliner) or telling me how much I mean to them using dancing cartoon hearts and tigers. No matter the content, the last lines always urge me to forward the email to everyone in my contact list. Usually these are all harmless and on the rare occasion I do forward them it is in order to get a good laugh.
We have discussed in class how through careful monitoring, via Twitter and other online networking sites, buisnesses are trying to stay on top of the rumor mill. Through internet search engines they are able to find links to articles, message boards and blogs to monitor their company's reputation. But what about email?
Recently I received the following: (please note that this is being used as an example and does NOT reflect my personal opinions on any related issues)
Begin Email
Jim Neugent is a coach in Childress , Texas .
Jim writes:
My name is Jim Neugent. I wrote to ABC (on-line) concerning a program called 'THE PRACTICE.' In last nights episode, one of the lawyer's mothers decided she is gay and wanted her son to go to court and help her get a marriage license so she could marry her 'partner.' I sent the following letter to ABC yesterday and really did not expect a reply, but I did get one.
My original message was:
ABC is obsessed with the subject of homosexuality. I will no longer watch any of your attempts to convince the world that homosexuality is OK. ' THE PRACTICE' can be a fairly good show, but last nig ht's program was so typical of your agenda. You picked the 'dufus' of the office to be the one who was against the idea of his mother being gay, and made him look like a whiner because he had convictions. This type of mentality calls people like me a 'gay basher.'
Read the first chapter of Romans (that's in the Bible) and see what the apostle Paul had to say about it.... He, God and Jesus were all 'gay bashers'. What if she'd fallen in love with her cocker spaniel? Is that an alternative life style? (By the way, the Bible speaks against that, too.)
--Jim Neugent
Here is ABC's reply from the ABC on-line webmaster:
How about getting your nose out of the Bible (which is ONLY a book of stories compiled by MANY different writers hundreds of years ago) and read the declaration of independence (what our nation is built on), where it says 'All Men are Created equal,' and try treating them that way for a change!
Or better yet, try thinking for yourself and stop using an archaic book of stories as your lame crutch for your existence. You are in the minority in this country, and your boycott will not affect us at ABC or our freedom of statement.
Jim Neugent's second response ! to ABC:
Thanks for your reply. From your harsh reply, evidently I hit a nerve. I will share it with all with whom I come in contact. Hopefully, the Arkansas Democrat Newspaper will include it in one of their columns and I will be praying for you.
Jim Neugent
Note: Wouldn't Satan just love it if people stopped using the Bible for a crutch?
Please resend this to everyone in your mailbox.
Jim Neugent
I wonder if the person from ABC considered how many people would read this e-mail!
This is one we should definitely pass on.
End email
When this email came to me, my address was one of over one hundred it was sent to. The email has gained so much attention that it is featured on various websites set up to prove or debunk online rumors, such as snopes.com. A quick search will find more links to articles and blogs than you can count. What started as viral email message has turned into a full blown web rumor. Was there anyway for ABC to know about this before it became an online sensation? SHould large companies just accept the fact that in this new interconnected world, there will always be rumors? You can monitor the internet all day long, but what is brewing in the underground world of email may not be known until it's too late.
We have discussed in class how through careful monitoring, via Twitter and other online networking sites, buisnesses are trying to stay on top of the rumor mill. Through internet search engines they are able to find links to articles, message boards and blogs to monitor their company's reputation. But what about email?
Recently I received the following: (please note that this is being used as an example and does NOT reflect my personal opinions on any related issues)
Begin Email
Jim Neugent is a coach in Childress , Texas .
Jim writes:
My name is Jim Neugent. I wrote to ABC (on-line) concerning a program called 'THE PRACTICE.' In last nights episode, one of the lawyer's mothers decided she is gay and wanted her son to go to court and help her get a marriage license so she could marry her 'partner.' I sent the following letter to ABC yesterday and really did not expect a reply, but I did get one.
My original message was:
ABC is obsessed with the subject of homosexuality. I will no longer watch any of your attempts to convince the world that homosexuality is OK. ' THE PRACTICE' can be a fairly good show, but last nig ht's program was so typical of your agenda. You picked the 'dufus' of the office to be the one who was against the idea of his mother being gay, and made him look like a whiner because he had convictions. This type of mentality calls people like me a 'gay basher.'
Read the first chapter of Romans (that's in the Bible) and see what the apostle Paul had to say about it.... He, God and Jesus were all 'gay bashers'. What if she'd fallen in love with her cocker spaniel? Is that an alternative life style? (By the way, the Bible speaks against that, too.)
--Jim Neugent
Here is ABC's reply from the ABC on-line webmaster:
How about getting your nose out of the Bible (which is ONLY a book of stories compiled by MANY different writers hundreds of years ago) and read the declaration of independence (what our nation is built on), where it says 'All Men are Created equal,' and try treating them that way for a change!
Or better yet, try thinking for yourself and stop using an archaic book of stories as your lame crutch for your existence. You are in the minority in this country, and your boycott will not affect us at ABC or our freedom of statement.
Jim Neugent's second response ! to ABC:
Thanks for your reply. From your harsh reply, evidently I hit a nerve. I will share it with all with whom I come in contact. Hopefully, the Arkansas Democrat Newspaper will include it in one of their columns and I will be praying for you.
Jim Neugent
Note: Wouldn't Satan just love it if people stopped using the Bible for a crutch?
Please resend this to everyone in your mailbox.
Jim Neugent
I wonder if the person from ABC considered how many people would read this e-mail!
This is one we should definitely pass on.
End email
When this email came to me, my address was one of over one hundred it was sent to. The email has gained so much attention that it is featured on various websites set up to prove or debunk online rumors, such as snopes.com. A quick search will find more links to articles and blogs than you can count. What started as viral email message has turned into a full blown web rumor. Was there anyway for ABC to know about this before it became an online sensation? SHould large companies just accept the fact that in this new interconnected world, there will always be rumors? You can monitor the internet all day long, but what is brewing in the underground world of email may not be known until it's too late.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
DO NOT TRUST DELTA WITH YOUR LUGGAGE!
This blog is actually intended to be a test. I am curious to see if this shows up in a search and if so, how long it takes. But while we wait, let me tell you the very real stories which inspired the use of Delta for this test of the online grapevine.
In August my husband and I flew to California for my high school reunion. After an exhausting trip with many delays we finally arrived at our destination only to discover that our luggage had not made the trip with us. "No problem", says the attendant, "just fill out this form and we guarantee it will be delivered to your home in five days". At this point I had to step away from the discussion. We were 3,000 miles from "home" and what was worse, THE dress that I had shopped for weeks to find, and THOSE shoes that I paid dearly, oh and my best jeans were all in a bag that was God knows where. Plus I had no time to re-shop before the many scheduled events we had planned. Just as I thought I would really freak out, the attendant announced that our bags were in Salt Lake City and would be at the airport by early morning. At that point they would deliver our luggage to our hotel, at no charge, by the following evening. And to be fair, that is exactly what happened. Okay Delta, mistakes happen. We forgive you.
My grandmother in-law recently took a trip with her friend for a two week European cruise. Upon arrival to the ship they find that their luggage did not make it with them. "No worries", says the attendant, "we will deliver your luggage to the ship as soon as it comes in". So the ladies board the ship and buy essentials and hope their luggage will be at their next destination. So sets the theme for the entire trip.
Here I should mention that both women have impeccable taste and brought their best clothes and shoes for this amazing trip. I should also tell you that due to the promise that "the luggage is at the next port" they only bought a few small things hoping all along to get the clothes they had planned for and packed a month in advance.
Their luggage never made it to them. In fact, here we are a month later and still no luggage. The last anyone heard one set is in Amsterdam and the other is in Africa somewhere.
Second Google search of the text "Delta Luggage" at 2:45 pm. No blog on the first page, but a second search of the term "Do not trust Delta with your luggage" yeilded other blogs of the same theme! Double LOL.
10/4 search of all major search engines and no blog from me. However, this seems to be an issue for Delta. Click here to read about Delta blunders in just the past year!/a>
In August my husband and I flew to California for my high school reunion. After an exhausting trip with many delays we finally arrived at our destination only to discover that our luggage had not made the trip with us. "No problem", says the attendant, "just fill out this form and we guarantee it will be delivered to your home in five days". At this point I had to step away from the discussion. We were 3,000 miles from "home" and what was worse, THE dress that I had shopped for weeks to find, and THOSE shoes that I paid dearly, oh and my best jeans were all in a bag that was God knows where. Plus I had no time to re-shop before the many scheduled events we had planned. Just as I thought I would really freak out, the attendant announced that our bags were in Salt Lake City and would be at the airport by early morning. At that point they would deliver our luggage to our hotel, at no charge, by the following evening. And to be fair, that is exactly what happened. Okay Delta, mistakes happen. We forgive you.
My grandmother in-law recently took a trip with her friend for a two week European cruise. Upon arrival to the ship they find that their luggage did not make it with them. "No worries", says the attendant, "we will deliver your luggage to the ship as soon as it comes in". So the ladies board the ship and buy essentials and hope their luggage will be at their next destination. So sets the theme for the entire trip.
Here I should mention that both women have impeccable taste and brought their best clothes and shoes for this amazing trip. I should also tell you that due to the promise that "the luggage is at the next port" they only bought a few small things hoping all along to get the clothes they had planned for and packed a month in advance.
Their luggage never made it to them. In fact, here we are a month later and still no luggage. The last anyone heard one set is in Amsterdam and the other is in Africa somewhere.
###
First Google search of the text "Delta Luggage" at 9:30 am September 30 yeilds nothing but the ways in which Delta is trying to fix various luggage problems. LOLSecond Google search of the text "Delta Luggage" at 2:45 pm. No blog on the first page, but a second search of the term "Do not trust Delta with your luggage" yeilded other blogs of the same theme! Double LOL.
10/4 search of all major search engines and no blog from me. However, this seems to be an issue for Delta. Click here to read about Delta blunders in just the past year!/a>
Monday, September 22, 2008
The power of the online interview
In today's world, with the power of search engines, one has access to literally thousands of publications. Articles which may have once existed only in obscure magazines are now available to anyone, anywhere at the click of a mouse. As students of Internet Public Relations, we must understand and appreciate the power of this connectivity and advise our clients to always be aware that what is said is what is shared and can have long lasting effects be it positive or negative.
Case in point:
My passion is in community development. A quick search of the terms "rebuilding after natural disaster" led me to an article in an online publication called Live Science. The article was titled "Ike Underscores the Foolishness of Building on Barrier Islands".
Full Article Here
A particular quote by Bob Morton, a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey's Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla. caught my attention. Not only is it a bold statement, but it is utterly false as we do not build or live on barrier islands in Mississippi.
"Every year there's reporting on the foolishness of building on barrier islands, but people are going to do it anyway," Morton told LiveScience. "We don't learn from the past. If you look at the barrier islands on the Mississippi coast in particular, after both Hurricane Camille in 1969, and Katrina, what did they do? They rebuilt. It's a perfect example of a coastal area that did get hit as bad as it can get, and they just go back and rebuild."
A new trend in online article publications is the feature which allows guests to register with the website and allows them to post comments on a particular article. This article went online September 12, 2008 and within a couple days already had twenty comments. A few comments addressed the false statement made by Bob Morton.
On September 16 I sent an email to Mr. Morton expressing my concern in regards to the statement in the article. Later that day he returned my email with this response:
From: rmorton
> Subject: Re: mississippi barrier islands
> Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:57:38 -0500
> To: Andrea Rogers
After a lengthy interview covering many topics and geographic areas,
reporters sometimes confuse different topics that were discussed as
they attempt to prepare quotes for an article. Having recently published a report summarizing the land loss and storm impacts on the MS-AL barrier islands and currently generating up-to-date maps of the MS barrier islands for the NPS, I am well aware of their ownership and development status. Reporters are on deadline and interviewees dont get to proof the text of an article before it goes out. I have received multiple emails about the quote originally put out by Live Science and apparently picked up by other news services.
End Email
So in less than one week this article was written, published online, and Dr. Morton had received "multiple emails" notifying him of his mistake. This is a prime example of how quickly things move on the web. It is also a valuable lesson in the art of a published interview. I would urge any future client to proof the text of any article in which they are quoted. What are your thoughts?
Case in point:
My passion is in community development. A quick search of the terms "rebuilding after natural disaster" led me to an article in an online publication called Live Science. The article was titled "Ike Underscores the Foolishness of Building on Barrier Islands".
Full Article Here
A particular quote by Bob Morton, a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey's Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla. caught my attention. Not only is it a bold statement, but it is utterly false as we do not build or live on barrier islands in Mississippi.
"Every year there's reporting on the foolishness of building on barrier islands, but people are going to do it anyway," Morton told LiveScience. "We don't learn from the past. If you look at the barrier islands on the Mississippi coast in particular, after both Hurricane Camille in 1969, and Katrina, what did they do? They rebuilt. It's a perfect example of a coastal area that did get hit as bad as it can get, and they just go back and rebuild."
A new trend in online article publications is the feature which allows guests to register with the website and allows them to post comments on a particular article. This article went online September 12, 2008 and within a couple days already had twenty comments. A few comments addressed the false statement made by Bob Morton.
On September 16 I sent an email to Mr. Morton expressing my concern in regards to the statement in the article. Later that day he returned my email with this response:
From: rmorton
> Subject: Re: mississippi barrier islands
> Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:57:38 -0500
> To: Andrea Rogers
After a lengthy interview covering many topics and geographic areas,
reporters sometimes confuse different topics that were discussed as
they attempt to prepare quotes for an article. Having recently published a report summarizing the land loss and storm impacts on the MS-AL barrier islands and currently generating up-to-date maps of the MS barrier islands for the NPS, I am well aware of their ownership and development status. Reporters are on deadline and interviewees dont get to proof the text of an article before it goes out. I have received multiple emails about the quote originally put out by Live Science and apparently picked up by other news services.
End Email
So in less than one week this article was written, published online, and Dr. Morton had received "multiple emails" notifying him of his mistake. This is a prime example of how quickly things move on the web. It is also a valuable lesson in the art of a published interview. I would urge any future client to proof the text of any article in which they are quoted. What are your thoughts?
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