Karen’s Public Relations Blog

It seems wherever you go - you hear about what people are using Twitter for.  From reporting the most groundbreaking news story to sharing information to friends - there is definitely a wide range.

However, what about when you play computer or video games?  Yep, even those! :)  When I think that I have seen it all with social media and Twitter - I read that now you can tweet while you play World of WarCraft - it is called TweetCraft (I just love the logo!!). The Twitter application allows gamers to tweet as they play the game and upload screen shot pictures from the game for their followers.  Interesting!

I have played Warcaft a few times, and I was amazed that not only do people playing the game create a new online persona and name, but they can also participate in business transactions and network with other people in the same line of business.  Amazing!   I wonder what will be next - TweetLink perhaps or Tweet Mario Kart? :)  It will be interesting to see how the technology of games and the advancement of social media integrate together.  I do believe that this would be an interesting line of research to pursue in social media and communications. :)  Here is a video from YouTube on how it all works.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

Your reputation is everything  - and with the power of the Internet - it has become a very popular topic of conversation, especially when it is connected to social media.  I am amazed with how much information and news articles there are now presently about how to manage a person’s online reputation.

A recent Forbes article offered several key suggestions that professionals and others can effectively manage how they are presented on various social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to name a few - and what they can do to protect their name.  Compared to the past where people had a personal life and a professional life - what social media has done is integrate the two together to make the complete individual reputation.

What both of these articles point out that I agree with is that it first starts with the person and what ethical choices they are making.  If they are following the rules and recognizing that their actions and behaviors have consequences.  I am always amazed that people feel like they are entitled or feel that they have the right to do whatever they want online - and not pay the price for their actions.  People need to look more towards how their behavior is going to be perceived as being in the future, and be conscious about what associations and attributes that others will assign to their reputation.  This is an interesting area of study for both PR professionals and researchers - it will be interesting to see how this all develops.

Hope you all are having a great day.

Best Wishes,

Karen

Even in this current economic times, even brands that have strong reputations are facing challenges and other issues that is impacting how they are perceived.  A case in point is Toyota - which was the world’s most reputable company in 2008.  According to a recent AdAge article, Toyota is facing several marketing and PR issues due to online criticism from its customers on how they have to replace the headlights on their Prius Hybrid models - which could possibly result in more than a $1000 bill.  Ouch!

What has happened in this case is that Toyota customers have taken their frustration and concerns about this issue to various discussion boards.  Plus, it appears that the customer relations at Toyota is one of the key issues that these customers are raising - and some have said that they will not buy another Toyota because of this one issue.

Large corporations such as Toyota cannot afford to have these types of issues come up because of the dramatic impact that it has on their customer relations and their overall brand reputation.  People are not going to buy a product from a corporation that does not have good relations with one of their key publics in this current economic climate.  Toyota should look at how other brands have successfully used social media (ex. Ford) to address issues and concerns, and tailor these strategies for their own corporation.  In other words - Toyota needs to really look at what it is doing with social media and immediately address these concerns raised by their customers regarding the headlamps for their Prius model.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

In an age where people are making first impressions about others just on what is presented online about them, it is very important to be informed of your online reputation.  Numerous services are out there that people can use to do this, however, there are other strategies and tactics that people can do.

Create your own domain name for your personal web site.  There are many benefits to doing this to help manage your online reputation.  First, it gives you the control on what is posted on this site - otherwise, if you do not register your domain name, someone else can buy it and put whatever they want on it.  Plus, it allows people to be able to search for you online.  I have had my web site now for about 14 years - it has transformed over the years from first originally starting out as a Val Kilmer fan site (what can I say?  I was in Jr. High and he was my favorite actor at the time ) to using it to promote myself in track and field to get a college scholarship (full rides at SMU, Florida, and USC), to now focusing on my research & presentation opportunities and being basically my an interactive and visual CV.

Have a blog.  Whether it is a personal blog or a professional one, or even both - it has almost become an expectation that business professionals (especially those working in Public Relations) knows how to write a blog, and also understand how to strategically use one for their clients and in their PR campaigns / research.  I have had my blog now for about three years - and it has been a wonderful outlet for me to write about issues that I am interested in and things happening in my life.  Plus, it is a great networking opportunity.  I have had several job offers  and network connections based on my blog.

Implement different types of social media that reflect your personal brand.  Some professionals only just have a web site, or just a blog - or they are only on Facebook.  To be successful in managing your reputation, you have to have a presence on all of these different types of social media.  I am not saying that you have to be on ALL of these sites, but the major ones are definitely important.  In my opinion, I would say having a web site, blog, a Facebook account, and being on Twitter are a good start - but you have to look at the business environment that you are currently in.  There may be other sites that are specifically related to your industry, so it is important to be aware that you may have to branch out and be on these sites as well to reach your target audiences and managing your online reputation proactively.

Knowing how to “present” yourself:  Since people are making judgements about you immediately, it is important to make sure that the informaton that they see (ex. blog posts, pictures, etc.) are the ones that best represent who you are.  Making sure that you have an appropriate profile picture that is happy, positive, and shows your personality is key.  This profile picture can be used for your web site header, business card, and on these social media sites (ex. Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

I hope that this helps! :)  Have a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

It appears in a recent study that was published in the journal News Media Society that the researchers found that bloggers would write about their personal thoughts, but they valued being honest with their audience members and telling the truth, having accountability, and reducing harm and attribution. According to the Science Daily article, here were the characteristics that the researchers defined among these three key constructs:

“Truth telling involves honesty, fairness and completeness in reporting. Accountability involves being answerable to the public, bearing the consequences of one’s actions and revealing conflicts of interest, and minimizing harm underlies issues involving privacy, confidentiality, reputational harm, consideration of others’ feelings, and respecting diversity and underprivileged groups. Attribution covers issues such as avoiding plagiarism, honouring intellectual property rights and giving sources proper credit.”

However, one of the interesting points that this study made is that this blogger ethical code of conduct depends on the audience that they are writing to.  The article states that in this study, researchers found that when bloggers’s audinences are ” more likely to consist of people you know, minimizing harm may be a higher priority than telling the truth.”

Wow - so, what does this mean exactly?  As a blogger, I do believe that we need to have a code of ethics that we live by both online AND offline.  People seem to think that things are different online than they are in real life - but they are not.  We need to have a balanced approach to how we present ourselves in all aspects - by having this, you will have a more stable and positive reputation among not only your blog audience, but those that known you in real life as well.  It is all about managing your personal reputation effectively.

So in other words - have the same ethical standard that you practice in real life and apply it to your online activities.  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.  Interesting study and I am sure more will follow in this research line - such as looking at code of conduct and ethical situations on social networking sites such as Facebook and what people write about on Twitter - or even what pictures / videos they post on YouTube and TwitPic about people.  So, there are numerous possibilities here.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen