Here are some updates and final thoughts about some items from the recent past.
Blogger harassment series update
There was much discussion on the last series of posts about fired soccer coach Terri Patraw and her harassment of Reno blogger Ryan Jerz. First there were a number of comments in response to the final post, the most telling of which seems to imply that Ryan’s misstep of posting one of Terri’s emails on his blog somehow overshadowed her legal bullying of Ryan – which led to a substantial amount of his writing being removed from his writing, or else he would have faced an out-of-state lawsuit – and her repeated anonymous attacks on his blog and other online avenues.
I left the last comment as is, because I think it says more than a response, beyond this one, would have.
What surprised me the most about the reactions to the series is people’s fundamental struggle with what free speech rights really mean for the individual. Those who responded seemed to have difficulty with the idea that if you firmly believe in free speech, it also means you must also believe in the right to speech you disagree with. In addition, just because we may not be avid free-speech advocates, that doesn’t imply that these issues should not be important to us, regardless of political or social persuasion. I naively forgot how much we take for granted our First Amendment rights or how little we think about what they actually mean for us.
Nevertheless, Dullard Mush got it. I recommend his write-up about the series, as he examines his own response to Jerz’ situation. Similarly, “LB” on Jerz’s blog wrote a response that I think was really directed toward me, but for some reason was posted on his blog. LB also I think understands the fundamental point I was trying to make. I respond to LB there as I am taken to task for what is perceived as assumptions about the entire ordeal. I am amazed by how much people interpret or read into things that were never there in the first place. At least it appears LB understands the point I was trying to make.
Finally, Ryan’s response gives more background to the story that I had information about; he also gives public credit to a number of folks who were helpful to his cause that I erroneously did not mention.
At the end of the day, I’m actually grateful for the outcome. Despite the silence to Jerz’s case initially, the result we’re seeing now – increased dialogue among Reno bloggers – is encouraging.
[Edit: as I was writing this, this post by Ron Andersen at Local So-And-So was published. It weighs in on the situation.]
[Edit: Here's another Reno blog by Ann Onn, who also writes about this topic.]
How to fail at social media
This tr.im'ed link, posted to two different Twitter accounts, received more than 350 clicks.
After this post, I received a snide remark on Twitter that read: “I would title the article how to fail at social media” and a number of later comments about the lameness of having two Twitter accounts. The person making these statements admitted to me about having “38″ Twitter accounts, however, so I’m confused as to why it’s bothersome that I have two for my personal profiles.
Meanwhile, my two-Twitter-profile experiment continues to affirm results initially projected: the @bobconrad account is up to 1,800+ followers and clickthroughs on any given day continue to pale in comparison to my private account, albeit with the ratio of importance leveling out – depending on the link, time of day and so on, one or the other account may have a better ratio of clickthroughs..
Also since that post, a number of other folks I know have also set up separate Twitter profiles for personal and professional uses. While it’s probably not the hippest of things to do, it can be effective in terms of time management and information consumption, and, if used strategically, different Twitter profiles for different reasons can better serve communications objectives.
The easiest $100 I’ve ever made
In early April, I saw a snarky comment about journalism and/or public relations posted on Twitter by a journalism undergraduate student. I publicly bet the person — clearly a reporter-in-training with the typical anti-PR attitude – that within 15 years she would be doing some form of PR, marketing or advertising. I also linked to a recent post about journalists and public relations practitioners, in which the data about the nature of the professions was telling – journalism is being downsized left and right while PR is growing astonishingly. She agreed to the bet.
I was delighted to see her post, only a month and a half later, about how her boss at work had asked her to write a press release and she begrudgingly agreed. I sent her my mailing address to where she could send the money.
After some thought, I realized that it was perhaps unfair of me to capitalize on this person’s naïve views. I too was an anti-PR print journalism undergrad and had my own initial misgivings about ending up in the profession. At the same time, I posted a critical point since learned about PR versus journalism: you can be far more effectual in PR than you could’ve been as a reporter anyway. Why? Reporters report the decisions; PR can help shape them in the first place.
I offered for her to take my PR class at Truckee Meadows Community College in the fall. If she completes it, I will give her the $100 back. At first she agreed then she changed her mind to say that she would think about it.
Although the offer still stands, assuming I get the money, I’ll be donating it to the PR students at the University.
Coming next…
Starting Wednesday I have a new series of posts. This time it will be about the mistaken assumptions regarding CEO salaries and news media misinformation about such compensation. It will run through Friday.
Additional comments powered by BackType