I’ve been preaching for what seems like forever that there is only one solution to a PR problem. The solution isn’t better PR, the solution is to fix the problem itself.

And while I’m not willing to let BP off the hook, the actions taken yesterday by the company are a perfect example of this dynamic at work. For weeks following the spill, BP choose to address their PR problem with even worse PR.

The whole history of this disaster was a perfect example of a company getting caught up in the perception game. Yes, perception in the minds of many does equal reality. But when you are perceived (rightly or wrongly) as money-grubbing corporate whores with no concern for the lives you are ruining – playing that game can only make things worse for you.

Yesterday, however, the Board choose to step up to the plate and take concrete actions to address the impact of the spill on Gulf Coast communities.

This doesn’t let them off of the hook. But it’s a start and maybe, hopefully, some other companies will take note.

Update: Smart take from Geoff Livingston:

By acquiescing, BP demonstrated in a very real way that when held to the flame, the company is willing to go to any length to set things right.

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You can read the whole thing here at TechDirt.

Read the rest of this post at The Backyard Stargazer.

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Northeast Astronomy Forum from David Parmet on Vimeo.

NEAF – the Northeast Astronomy Forum – is the astronomy industry’s version of CES with a little bit of SXSW thrown in for good measure. Held annually at Rockland County Community College, it brings out all the big manufacturers, the publications and the vendors as well as hoards of eager hobbyists with money to burn on the latest gear.

Astronomy – the hobby – isn’t cheap. A basic set-up, telescope, eyepieces and related gear, can run over a thousand bucks. Higher end telescopes used by hobbyists can run into the thousands. So yes, the industry did suffer somewhat from the Great Recession but this year things seem to be bouncing back. I spoke with a range of folks – journalists and manufacturers – and all seem to feel that the worst is behind them.

On the other hand, many folks expressed their concerns that the hobby remains dominated by older white men. More than a few people mentioned the need to get more children and families involved.

This year the organizers made the effort to include more activities for children and I did notice a lot more families walking up and down the show floor than I have in the past.

One very cool note – a certain software manufacturer showed me a very cool iPad application for controlling telescopes. They are still working out the bugs but the possibilities of touch and go control of telescopes (as opposed to using a laptop in the field) boggles the mind. So stay tuned, it’s coming soon to a star party near you.

Cross-posted to The Backyard Stargazer

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Image via Wikipedia

So now  you’ve taken my advice and you are a full throttle modern media machine. You’re taking your news directly to the people without those old fashioned gate keepers.

Is this the Brave New World we’ve all dreamed of? Well maybe not so fast. PRNewser quotes a Kent State professor, referring to the recent tragic events in West Virginia:

Would we have learned about the 100+ safety violations at Upper Big Branch this year alone? Would we know about Massey’s environmental record in strip mining? Would the CEO’s arrogance toward the media have been highlighted? Probably not. But thanks to an independent news media, we’re getting a more balanced story.

You see folks, we still need a strong and independent media. They do serve a purpose after all. They keep us honest.

In the age of social media, are companies becoming content creators? Of course. Does it make sense for them to be creating compelling and valuable content? It depends, but in most cases, yes.

However, as Sledzik notes, when the news comes straight from the company, we’re likely not getting the full story.

Link

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Image via Wikipedia

Tom Foremski brings up a point that I’ve made over and over again: every company needs to become a media company:

Every company must become a media company so that it can claim the high ground in its space. Because if it loses that position to a competitor, it is very difficult to dislodge them. Once a company establishes its media leadership in a particular space it has won an important battle.

Link

I would go so far as to say that the PR agency (and PR person) of the future will be a media creation agency. No longer will we just show up to client events with a clipboard and stack of releases. We will (and some of us already are) be taking pictures, shooting video, tweeting and then heading back to the office to produce a video for sharing with all of our clients’ constituents.

Compare this to the Social Media News Release efforts. Instead of providing just the text, we’re providing the context to the story through photos and video to accompany the news release. And as Tom puts it, we’re using every social media channel available to us to tell a story.

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ToyCamera.jpg, originally uploaded by david parmet.

I’m a photography snob. There, I’ve said it. I only gave up my black and white darkroom a few years ago. I’m finally convinced that digital might just be as good as silver and I’m just now starting to learn the joys of having a camera in my iPhone.

At the recommendation of fellow iPhotographer Dutch Doscher, I’ve been playing with Old Camera – a neat iPhone app that offers a wide range of black and white fixes to boring old camera phone pictures.

I’ve got to admit, I really like this but I’m still waiting for an iPhone app that can duplicate the look of Verichrome Pan.

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If you are looking for updates on my wacky hi-jinx in Austin, forget it. My flight was cancelled due to the awful weather we’re having here in New York and I’m home. So SXSW will have to wait until next year.

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Anyone who’s been paying attention to this space knows that among my other obsessions, local government / politics and how technology has an impact have been an ongoing theme here. In addition to being a candidate myself, I’m Webmaster of the Pound Ridge Democratic Committee, and I put together social media strategies for another Town Board race. I’ve also worked on Take19 – a group blog which helped elect our very own John Hall to Congress in 2006.

On Sunday, at SXSW, I’ll be joining Advomatic‘s Julie Blitzer in a conversation about Web2.0, technology and local campaigns. We are calling the session “Not Just for Obama” because we both believe from our own experiences that the aggressive use of cutting edge social media tools has a place in the most local of political races and movements.

I’m going to talk about how campaigns have changed from the good old days of smoke filled party clubhouses to today’s iPhone empowered field teams. I’m also going to highlight a few great examples from my own experience here in New York State – movements and organizations using the Web to create change in their own backyards. Julie will talk about the technologies themselves and how they are being used.

I hope you can join us on Sunday in Austin. It promises to be an interesting and educational conversation.

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From the chatter on Twitter it’s obvious that SXSW is here again. This year I’ll be dropping in on Saturday night and staying through Monday evening. I did the ‘staying all the way through’ thing two years ago and I’m still recovering.

On Sunday I’ll be participating in a session on how the Internet and Web2.0 is impacting local political races and issues. My partner in this endeavor is Julie Blitzer from Advomatic. I’ll have more to say about our presentation in a post soon, so stay tuned.

In general, SXSW can be a giant messy mass of bloggers and this year it looks like it’s going to be bigger than ever. I’m planning to try and see as many old friends as I can and you’ll be able to follow my adventures on Foursquare or Twitter.

I’m also planning on doing as many video interviews as I can, so if you have something interesting to say (or if you are in PR and your client has something interesting to say), please let me know and I’ll try and connect with you in Austin.

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