This topic initially stumped me. Specifically, what exactly is a “practice?” I finally settled on this definition: The act of repeatedly engaging in an activity for the purpose of improving or mastering it. So what are the five things that today’s communication practitioners should be doing again and again with an aim to master? 1) Know …more
After addressing the topic of ghost blogging, 4 Perspectives on 4 Communication Issues enters week two. This week’s question: How should communication professionals evolve to stay relevant? It’s been almost a year since Steve Farnsworth hosted my guest post, “A Mass Comms Curriculum Alone Short-Sheets Tomrrow’s PR Pro,” which tackled the question from the perspective of an …more
Virtually every blog strives for reader interaction. Beyond posted comments, I’m hoping Ishmael’s Corner can evolve into a platform for anyone who has a “story” on this form of communications called storytelling. Toward this end, today brings our third guest post – the first one came from Michael Margolis and the second from Julia Sinykin …more
The BP oil rig explosion just hit the two-month milestone. At last count, I was one of 10,332 writers (my horseshoe-far number) who weighed in with a perspective or two on BP’s crisis communications. Make that 10,333, with the BBC highlighting BP boss Tony Hayward’s gaffes. A byproduct of BP’s PR nightmare involves the resurrection of the Exxon Valdez …more
The communications controlled by a company during a crisis – not the media coverage – provide the best indicator of competency (or lack thereof). If you can’t get the communications under your control right, you have zero chance of winning over others to carry your story forward. That’s why I characterized Toyota’s crisis communications as amateur hour. The company’s first open …more
Literally thousands of PR blogs dot – some might say clog – the social media landscape. When I started Ishmael’s Corner in 2008, I concluded the last thing the world needed was another digital pulpit spewing about embargoes, e-mail blasts to reporters, and the like. Instead, this blog has strived to address storytelling in business …more
Tiger takes center stage tomorrow to publicly share his mea culpa. Every pundit and his brother has weighed in with a view. The local NBC affiliate was in our office today to interview our crisis guru John Radewagen. So I’ll keep my view brief. The statement on Tiger’s Web site doesn’t lead me to believe …more
I shared half of my list of favorite posts from a cruise through the past yesterday. Here’s the remaining five. 6) Iron Reporter: Wall Street Journal Versus NY Times On A Russian Train I came up with the Iron Reporter concept for scrutinizing how two different reporters cover the same topic. In this case, my …more
I cruised back through my 2009 posts, flagging my personal favorites. Here’s half the list: 1) AIG Jumps Into Fray with Its Side of the Story This was my first time getting in touch with my inner smart-ass self: The power of empathy championed by Oprah and her ilk is not lost on Mr. Liddy. His …more
