Social Media: Keeping Friends Close (but enemies closer)

 

#راهنما



That's #awkward in Farsi (or at least it's supposed to be), and that's what might be trending this week in Iran, where earlier this week, Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif tweeted his announcement of the country's nuclear deal with the United States that will end decades-long economic sanctions against Iran. Good news except that the Iranian government blocks its citizens from using any type of social media.

If that's not awkward enough, then maybe a Facebook friend request from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's current Supreme Leader and Shia Cleric, might have you questioning your next post (revolution or cute cat photo? revolution? cute cat?). Yep, everybody who's anybody in Iran is racking up his Klout score.

NPR discussed two of the world's most unexpected online presences earlier this week, when it explored "Iranians React To Nuclear Deal On Social Media." When asked if Iran would soon be freely allowing its citizens access to the web, Babak Rahimi, associate professor of communication, culture and religious studies at the University of California, San Diego, said the hardliners in Iran will not allow it, continuing to fear that social media would support the type of unrest that facilitated the tumultuous Arab Spring and changed the political face of the region.

HOWEVER, those same hardliners, according to Rahimi, will be using social media to debate opponents and communicate their messages to supporters. 

Interestingly, a Huffington Post blog, citing that social media caused a change in Tunisia and Egypt so quickly that opposition parties had no opportunity to develop leadership to fill the void, recommended that Arab countries consider "digital brainstorms," similar to the discussion hosted by IBM for 300,000 of its closest confidants, to provide input on their new governments.

Amazing that social media can generate such fear and respect, where oppressive governments forbid their citizens access yet use its power to spread their message. Iran also may have learned a lesson from the Arab Spring and recognized a need to be part of the message instead of its clueless victim.

To take a page from Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, or "The Godfather," if you prefer: "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer."

 

 

Follow me on Twitter: @FWgib



"Eye Witness to History" -- "It just happens"

I stayed home from school that day, convincing my mother that I was sick. My only memory of the day is walking across the street with my mother to Mrs. Dugas' house; and when we walked in her front door (nobody knocked; you just walked in), she told my mother, "Sha, they shot him."

Baby Boomers have been faulted by those younger, those who collectively and exasperatedly have said, "We don't care where you were when Kennedy was shot." I was 8 years old and happy to be out of school, so when I'm asked, I don't have an expanded story of tragedy and shock that many of my peers can share from November 22, 1963.

Earlier this week, my wife, younger daughter and I drove to the University of North Texas to see the video "Eye Witness to History," produced by the Dallas Morning News and journalist Hugh Aynesworth, and to hear Aynesworth's follow-up commentary.

During the Q&A session, I told Aynesworth and the Dallas Morning News moderator that it was a wrestling match to get my 16-year-old daughter to attend the program, and then asked, "Why should she care?"

The moderator patiently explained to my daughter that Kennedy shaped the lives of Baby Boomers: his call to action ... "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" ... and the unprecedented ugliness that Pandora'ed out of his death. 

Baby Boomers can be obsessed with the Kennedy assassination. We're all somewhere between awestruck admirers and cloak-and-dagger conspiracy theorists, grieving for the man who opened the door to civil rights and made us a proud nation of moon-walkers, but still asking, "Who shot Kennedy?"

To today's teenager, Kennedy may just be a page in a textbook. But as my professor, Samra Bufkins, explained to my daughter, we never thought something like that could happen. Then Ms. Bufkins and I began walking my daughter through the events of our childhood, just a few that shocked us into a "new reality:" Charles Whitman, the UT sniper in 1966; and the 1968 murders of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.

And then we turned to my daughter, nodded to her phone as if it was a 21st-century Walter Cronkite announcing Kennedy's death and together asked, "Does it bother you to hear about ...?" And I'm not even sure what we asked, but she knew we were talking about the 24/7, readily accessible news -- broadcast media and social media -- about school shootings and violence among kids and almost daily killings of civilians in always shifting war zones.

And she said, "It happens." Her eyes get moist, and she repeats, "It just happens."

Follow me on Twitter: @FWgib

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Hugh Aynesworth's career was dramatically altered, when he took the day off from his beat as a science and aerospace reporter to see President Kennedy's cavalcade pass through downtown Dallas; and he has spent the last 50 years becoming one of the most recognized researchers into the Kennedy assassination.

He is considered one of the more informed experts on the Kennedy assassination. He not only witnessed the shooting of the President in Dealy Plaza, but he was on-site when Dallas police arrested suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and then when nightclub owner Jack Ruby gunned down Oswald in the basement garage of the Dallas police department.

The video is fascinating, and I'd encourage you to spend 60 minutes watching it. Aynesworth interviewed many of the key characters from the Kennedy assassination story, including officers who arrested Oswald, the Irving homeowner who befriended Oswald and his wife, Oswald's co-worker who drove him to work at the Texas Schoolbook Depository, the physician who worshipped Kennedy but had to watch him die at Parkland Hospital, and the Secret Service agent who scrambled to protect Mrs. Kennedy as she struggled to retrieve her husband's blown-away skull pieces from the trunk of the Presidential limousine.

 

I got your diva right here: Four tips for dealing with stress

 

My boss called me a diva this afternoon. If I'm going to be a diva, today, I'd like to be this diva (and I'm not ever sure who she is). In reality, I felt a lot like the guy from "Network," who loses it and goes on a "I'm mad as hell" rant.



 

 

 Okay, I felt a little like Joe Pesci or Robin Williams in one of those Snickers commercials, too.

Anyway, she called me a diva. Normally, I like to think that I define calm when it comes to managing stress and deadlines. But today, I was a mad as hell. The situation doesn't matter much except that I thought one co-worker was being grossly (and obliviously) disrepectful to another, to the point where I found myself across my boss' desk and letting loose with uncharacteristic, some-made-up profanity in describing the offender.

So, if I'm going to be a diva today, I want to be well-armed with a cold-blooded, decision-made face and really cool red gloves.

I say all this because I am impressed with the public relations professionals who maintain calm in the most stressful situations, including (unlike me) when others in their charge are unfairly treated. It's no wonder that The Huffington Post named "public relations" as #7 on its list of the 10 Most Stressful Jobs of 2012.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), in the October 21, 2011 edition of The Public Relations Strategist, discussed the more stressful issues affecting public relations professionals.They ranged from "the internal need to act thoughtfully and strategically and the external pressures of the media’s never-ending news cycle" to the client's reluctance to share information and, as you might guess, the absence of a well-prepared crisis communications plan.

PRSA offers stress management tips in four categories: preparation, teamwork, perspective and practice. As the article explains its tips, it features commentary from public relations professionals. Here are my favorites:

Preparation
"Writing from Afghanistan, Air Force Technical Sergeant Michael Andriacco serves as regional support command, north public affairs officer. 'The best way for me to manage crisis-related stress is to have confidence in the groundwork I’ve laid with my superiors as well as the media and public,' he said.'Without the foundation, my stress would be much higher.'”

Teamwork
"Monica Carazo, communications officer for the Los Angeles Unified School District, offered, 'My crises usually deal with life-and-death situations of students. To lessen the stress, each department member has assigned duties. One PIO talks to the parents. Another takes calls from the field. A third PIO writes media statements'.”

Perspective (my #1 favorite)
"As a former public affairs officer for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, Phil Frame was responsible for communications during plane crashes and an Amtrak derailment. 'Keep your perspective,' he said. 'I knew there was nothing I could do to bring the victims back to life. My role was to help prevent the next disaster from occurring.' Touching on the importance of planning, Frame, now president of Outcome Assurance Corp in Detroit, added, 'Use your brain, your crisis plan and your instincts to make decisions, not emotions.'”

Practice
"Medical experts caution that extreme stress can lead to an inability to think clearly, headaches and irritability, sometimes resulting in serious health issues. Exercise, get enough rest and remember to eat. Consider taking a break when the crisis is over ... Barbara Kerr, APR, executive director of communications and marketing for Clark College in Vancouver, concluded, 'Remember that this too shall pass. If time allows, then I do crossword puzzles or Sudoku to think about something else . . . while eating dark chocolate.'”

As for me, I'm going shopping for a pair of red gloves and practicing that special "your time is up" stare. Not really the one at the top of the page, but this one (click on photo for theme music):



 

 

Follow me on Twitter -- @FWgib



Like a drought? Listen to the "bull-biosolids"

 

"I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies." If you ask me a "how to" or "what about" question, I feel pretty confident stealing that line from Butterfly McQueen's character, Prissy, in Gone with the Wind. I was the guy in high school who could study for the test and do well, but if you asked me to explain how this week's physics concept applies to what we discussed earlier in the year or how a particular theory applies to a given situation, well, you might as be asking me to help deliver your next child.

I'm a generalist (I prefer that term to "shallow"). I know a little bit (a dangerous little bit) about a lot of stuff, so I've found it safer to remain relatively apolitical. I lean to the left, but if you asked to explain big government vs. trickle-down economics, I'm a goner.

So, normally, "I don't know nothin' 'bout" whatever you might ask, but I do know water supply in Texas. I work at an engineering firm that almost dominates the Texas market in water resources planning and design for water supply projects. Since the Texas Legislature approved SB 1, which authorized the State Water Plan, our firm has been directly involved in the development of nine of the state's 16 regional water supply plan, which collectively becomes the State Water Plan (update every three years). Just as importantly, our engineers have been helping clients in securing hundreds of millions of dollars in Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loans during the course of the loan program.

Unfortunately, being apolitical has made me a little naive; however, I do pay enough attention to be concerned over the chasm of unbending, no-compromise opinion that I believe is pushing us toward a socio-ethnic civil war. One of my bigger concerns is that far-right platforms over the last few years have thrived on fear and misunderstanding and as a result, have pushed America back into a '60s level of intolerance, frustration and hatred.

Earlier this week, Texas voters approved the use of $2 billion from the State's "Rainy Day Fund" to fund projects called for in the State Water Plan. Known simply as "Prop. 6," the Constitutional amendment provided funding for State Revolving Fund Loans for the next 50 years. Given the matching fund required by public entities like cities, water districts and river authorities, the $2 billion will be leveraged into about $56 billion in construction projects (from a selfish perspective, this program will result in an estimate $100 million in engineering fees each year).

To support the vote for Proposition 6, I posted its logo as my Facebook profile picture and encouraged my Facebook friends to vote. Several "Likes," then one of my far-right friends posted a comment: "No-o-o-o-o-o!"

He then posted a comment and link to my wall, where he talked about the $27 billion the State will be forced to pay (the loan programs may require matching funds by the water provider agencies that use them) and other misinformations, plus a link to a grossly misleading  Texas Observer article: Prop 6: Slush Fund or Solution to Texas’ Water Woes? 

I was shocked. Normally, I blow off right-wing "biosolids" (since I'm in the water business, I'll use the technical term for ... poo) because I am naively apolitical, but knowing something about the State Water Plan and Proposition 6, I couldn't believe how far off base my friend ... my often-outspoken, politically active friend ... a smart guy, was in his comments ... as in out-and-out, no-prisoners-taken wrong.

What's the issue? Where do we as citizens draw the line with allowing media and political spinmasters to simply lie to confuse issues, reinforce prejudices and widen the gap splitting our country? Just as importantly, are we as public relations professionals willing to say "no" to clients whose practices are not "mutually beneficial" (I guess to extremist readers and media they are) and that threaten our professional ethics?

Just in case there's any question about how I really feel:



Follow me on Twitter @FWgib


And just in case you want a quick synopsis of Gone with the Wind (or something like it):