09/13

Dutra had words for what Dow did,  "Unethical, amoral, and totally inappropriate. I was shocked. It was Machiavellian. It was 'ends justifies the means' politics."

I have words for Dutra like "What were you thinking?"  Dow said it another way, "We were surprised that John Dutra hadn't purchased that domain."  Surprised? He must have chortled when he discovered the lapse. You shouldn't make mistakes like that in political campaigning.  It's not as bad as the Mayor of Washington, D.C. who got thrown off the ballot because of falsified signatures, but it's close. 

Dow has not been sitting idly by with Dutra's name.  If you visit the web site,  JohnDutra.com, you will see a strong critique of Dutra over job issues.   "John Dutra says NO!  Dan Dow says YES!"

Dutra says he was "naive" and  did not think anyone would steal his name.   Yes, that was incredibly naive for someone who claims he was named the American Electronics Association Legislator of the Year and once chaired the state's Committee on Information Technology.

Dow may yet have to give up the site because local newspapers and others are criticizing him for what he has done, but on the other hand, he's made his point.  In the leading Internet state of the nation, there is an Assemblyman who still doesn't understand how important the Web is. 

Don't make the same mistake with your organization's name.
 

09/12

Whenever one launches new equipment, there is a shakedown period while people learn to use it.  The public relations mistake was that Florida made too much of spending $32 million to change out its old equipment and replace it with new.

After a debacle like the presidential election, one must understand that all eyes are on you and you can't have slipups without generating national news.  More than a few goofs occurred in Florida during the Tuesday primary.  Poll workers did not show up, the wrong ballots were handed out and some machines failed to work correctly.   Janet Reno, the former attorney general of the U.S. who is running for governor, is considering challenging results that show her losing the election.   

The irony of the news is that problems occurred in Miami-Dade and Broward counties where Reno has most of her support.  And, the problem belongs to the Democrats, not the Republicans because the elections are controlled by county supervisors and not the state.  The governor actually looked good in the whole affair because he understood quickly what was happening and he ordered polls to stay open later so people could get in. 

Never promise more than you can deliver, and remember you can never deliver what you think can when working with new processes.
 

09/11

• ABB
• BellSouth
• Credit Suisse Financial Services
• Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Australia
• Lonely Planet Publications
• Mira Networks AB
• Northwestern Mutual
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
• Washington Mutual
• The World Bank Group

Only one of this group ran a specialized intranet and the rest were reaching large numbers of employees.  Wal-Mart serves 900,000 users and ABB 160,000.  This is communication on a grand scale and exceeds the circulation of most U.S. newspapers.  Even so, there were at least two tiny applications with Lonely Planet Publications reaching about 450 and Mira Networks AB just 12 employees. 

It is symptomatic of how corporate communications failed to grasp and run with intranets that Nielsen found the intranet department reporting all over the corporation and only a few to corporate communications.  Those of us who remember the beginning of intranets also remember the stark warnings to PR practitioners to get into them quickly or they would lose out.  Most lost out.  That's a pity, but PR practitioners did it to themselves by being standoffish about technology. 

The report should be required reading.
 

09/10

A total of  77% of executives surveyed said the Web is the best way to stay current on new products and new companies.   In other words, the business-to-business switch from print to the Internet that we have talked about since 1996 has happened.   And it makes sense that it did.  With broadband and a good search engine, it takes little time to look up information. 

Of course, this has huge implications for public relations practitioners.  Press releases should go on the Web first -- or at the same time they go to the media.  Web sites are critical for marketing and not just good things to have.  Usability is an issue that can no longer be ignored in favor of smart graphics that overpower content.

According to the news report:

The research was conducted online and surveyed nearly 1,000 business decision-makers and found that 60% of those polled said the Web is the best way for advertisers to reach them. Nearly 50% of participants said the Web has influenced them to make a purchase or obtain a service for their business, and 50% of the respondents who increased their Web usage in the last year said they decreased TV viewing.

The surprise is how much Web users have reduced their consumption of other media.   47% of those polled read newspapers less; 45% read fewer magazines; and 18% listened to radio less.  If this study were a standalone result, one might argue, but earlier this year,  Forbes.com and the Online Publishers Association produced similar findings. 

Why has the Internet gained so much power?  It reaches business executives at work at their computers where a simple click of a mouse takes them online to check information.  Another click takes them back to the task at hand.  It is something we do many times during the day and never think about.

Start thinking about it.
 

09/09

Some things should be left alone.