PR Buzz – Everybody’s Watching!

This is an exciting time to work in PR! While traditional media may be having their well-documented troubles (no need to go over them here), the advent of social media has opened up an entire new realm for us to play in!

We Facebook friend reporters, follow celebrities on Twitter and try to be our own little Steven Spielbergs on YouTube.

The famous Spiderman line is “With great power comes great responsibility;” for PR pros, the similar line should be “All eyes are on us, we’d better be careful!”

We have self-identified ourselves as information nodes, the hub of activity, the go-to place for news/hot parties/restaurant openings/etc.  When we scream “PAY ATTEN TION TO ME, WORLD!!!!!” we must be prepared for THE WORLD to pay attention to us.

Anything you post on any site, be it personal or work, has unlimited amount of eyeballs on it at any given time.  As social networking gets older and younger, with people over 50 and under 18 populating the cyberworld–along with our peers, friends, coworkers and clients–at increasing rates, we must be sensitive to those audiences.

Here are 3 tips to keep yourself protected:

1) Don’t put EVERYTHING out there. You have political, religious, policy views.  Be careful about what you put out there, so as to not offend or turn off your audience.  Michael Jordan knew this when he famously told Sam Smith that “Republicans buy sneakers, too.“  Later in life, he supported Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign, but millions of dollars in the bank can make it easier to speak your mind in a public forum.  I’m not saying NOT express your views, just use discretion.

2) Pretend (if you need to!) that every member of your family is reading. I have several familymembers on Facebook that all have access to my profile.  That helps keep me grounded on what I should or should not post.  My basic rule is that I shouldn’t post anything I don’t want my Dad to see, since he will see it!  This rule applies to clients, coworkers, friends and anyone else who can see your posts and photos.  Watch your language, clothing and affiliations.  Jokes can be funny…or ruin you.  Just ask Don Imus.

3) Don’t be a saint, but don’t be a total sinner.  When clients come to us to help project their image and message, WE are part of their team.  If we Tweet about the houseparty we didn’t make it home from or the time we drank a 12 pack in 30 minutes or post a Facebook photo of us looking…green (these are not personal examples, necessarily!) and our clients, coworkers and bosses can see them, what does that do for our image?  We don’t need to be Puritanical robots, but we don’t need to broadcast all of our off-hour exploits to those we work for while on the clock.

Social media is a terrific tool for us in our personal and professional lives.  Just remember that everything you put up builds (or destroys) your personal “brand.”  Everybody’s watching us…we asked for it…and we need to respect it, too.

Song of the Day – “Just Close Your Eyes”

Before Christian left WWE several years ago for a run with TNA, he had perhaps the sweetest theme song in quite some time, “Just Close Your Eyes” by a small indie band called Waterproof Blonde. Haunting, catchy, just a great, great song.

However, as previously mentioned, Christian left WWE for about 3 years.

When he returned, the song was the same, but the artist was different. Story of the Year got their hands on the song and simply made it better!

Can You Feel It?

I can feel it in the air tonight…can you?

While it is easy to overlook a 7-2 Baltimore Orioles win over the Detroit Tigers as a late-May hot streak continuing, it was so much more than that.

There was an electricity in Camden Yards tonight that was easy to feel even watching on MASN.

Matt Wieters arrived in town tonight.

But it was more.

Look at the lineup:

Brian Roberts – Homegrown All-Star

Adam Jones – Best trade value in team history (the anti-Glenn Davis)

Nick Markakis – Homegrown All-Star-To-Be

Luke Scott – Superb trade acquisition (5 homeruns in 3 games!)

Nolan Reimold – Resident Man-Crush

Brad Bergesen – Homegrown starting pitcher

Add Mr. Wieters to the mix and you get the catalyst – the complete cultural change in the Orioles’ clubhouse.

The times, they are a changin’ in Charm City.  And hopefully the wins will continue to follow.

Great Moment in Wrestling History – Macho Man Reunites with Miss Elizabeth

Growing up as a child of the 1980s, all kids had to take sides: your favorite wrestler was either @RealMachoMan or @RealHulkHogan.

Well, when Macho Man turned on Hulk Hogan leading up to Wrestlemania V (THE MEGA POWERS COLLIDE!!!), he lost almost all of his fans.  He was now a hated villain, even dropping his gorgeous valet, Miss Elizabeth, in favor of “Sensational” Sherri Martel.

Over the following years, the Macho Man feuded memorably with Hogan, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and other fan favorites.  He even became the MACHO KING, with Sherri becoming his Queen.  

Enter The Warrior.  The neon-clad super hero had ripped through the WWF, defeating the annoying Elvis-wannabe Honky Tonk Man in record-time to capture the Intercontinental Championship.  

He unified the Federation’s top belts by actually pinning Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania VI at the Skydome in Toronto – a very special accomplishment.

Flash-forward to the Royal Rumble and the Macho King used his royal scepter as a weapon, shattering it over the head of the Ultimate Warrior, allowing Sgt. Slaughter to pin the fan favorite and steal the WWF Championship.

The sin was so egregious that a match between the King and the Warrior was signed for Wrestlemania VII.  And it wasn’t just ANY match…but the “first-ever” Retirement Match!  The loser would be forced to give up their career!  And both of them were right on the top, so this stipulation was quite meaningful.

Let’s join this match in it’s closing moments.  See what happens to the Macho King and see what woman loves him at his absolute worst – no friends, no career.

Deep Thoughts…by Mike Schaffer

Button Fly jeans are very stylish.

Button Fly jeans are not that helpful when you have to pee.

Sports Buzz – The “Man-Crush”

OK, ladies.  I’m going to let you in on a secret.  One of the deepest, darkest secrets men have: The Man-Crush (sports edition).

Use This To Determine the Depth of the Man-Crush. Nolan Reimold is a YELLOW on my scale right now. (Image from somewhere on the Internet)

 

 

We pretend to be as macho as can be while watching sports…it’s true.  Sure, we have favorite players and we high-five each other and drink beer and burp/fart/emit other bodily gases with glee.  

But what we don’t tell you is the soft spot in our hearts that can only be occupied by one player at a time – The Man-Crush.

Man-Crushes differ greatly from favorite players.  A favorite player is a superstar like a Peyton Manning or a Cal Ripken or a Michael Jordan.  Favorite players

Jermaine Lewis - Favorite Player, NOT a Man-Crush (photo from Baltimore Sun)

 can also be the last man on the bench.  Many Detroit Pistons fans called young big man Darko Milicic the “Human Victory Cigar” because he only played when the team had blown away their competition.  Other favorite players can be specialists well-established in their position.  For years, my favorite football player was Jermaine Lewis, the kick-returner for the Baltimore Ravens during their first major run to the Super Bowl.  I knew something special was going to happen when he touched the ball, plus he seemed like a terrific person off the field.

 

 

 

Players that fall under the Athlete Man-Crush territory have certain characteristics:

1) They MUST be a

        a) Rookie or

        b) Journeyman making an impact (See: Manto, Jeff)

2) You MUST know that it cannot last.  A Man-Crush can not carry over to another season.  One and done.  

3) You may only have ONE Man-Crush per sport per season. (As previously stated, Orioles rookie outfielder Nolan Reimold is my 2009 Baseball Man-Crush)

4) You do not judge them on their looks, but if they are good-looking, it only increases the depth of the crush. (not that there’s anything wrong with that)

5) A Man-Crush can eventually grow to become a Favorite Player, but not vice-versa.

It is perfectly normal for men to have Man-Crushes.  Ever see 300?  Every dude in Sparta had a major Man-Crush on King Leonidas!

And with that, I have educated you on the intricacies of the Heterosexual Sports Man-Crush!  (Other types of Man-Crushes have different rules, which we may or may not discuss moving forward.)

It’s Doggie Day! (Meet Balki)

Daddy, I'm taking your side of the bed tonight...that cool?

Today is that special day that comes around every so often — Doggie Day at BWF Communications!

Staff members bring their pups to galavant around the office while we try to get work done.

In honor of that, let me introduce you to Balki.

Marisa and I adopted Balki Bartokomous Levy Schaffer when he was just seven weeks old!  He is a shelter dog (the best kind!) and we aren’t entirely sure of his breed.  I like to say that he is Purebred Kickass.  Seriously, though, he’s got some white German shephard and some sort of collie and maybe some other great grandparents of various breeds, as well.

He is a playful, inquisitive, cuddly dog who is very protective of his mommy and daddy (that’s us!).  He has recently discovered his voicebox, and uses it regularly to scare away would-be-threats to our house.  He sounds like a shofar when a firetruck whizzes by..and he saves his loudest roars from 3am!  Such a treat!

Balki is now nearly 9 months old and the funniest little guy there ever was!

Want pics?  Here ya go!

You...lookin...at me?

I HATE baths!

I don't think I like snow...

Puppy Kindergarten Superstar!

Balki has a Dog-Crush on Nolan Reimold, too!

Song of the Day – Kings of Leon “Use Somebody”

I first came across the Kings of Leon in 2003 or 2004 when we played several of their songs on WICB-FM in Ithaca (congrats on the college radio station of the year award!)

Since then, they have fine-tuned their act.  Marisa (my fiance) took me to see them at the famed 9:30 Club last year and they completely tore the house down.  Great, great set.

Here is their current hit, “Use Somebody” performed live on “Later” on the BBC.

PR Buzz: Social Media – Bringing Us Closer Together?

I’m sure you are a lot like me in that you have “connected” with a vast array of people using social media.  They tend to fall into the following categories:

- Blast-from-the-past friends you haven’t seen since high school or earlier

- Co-workers

- Clients/business associates

- Family

- People you would like to know or know better for a variety of reasons

What do these groups have in common?  You are actively trying to know more about them.  This is the minutia–what’s their favorite movie, what sports teams do they follow, what bar did they do embarrassing things at last weekend.  We can learn from each other…see what we share and what we don’t.

At the end of the day, we aren’t sharing our core values as much as we are sharing our day-to-day lives.  We allow people to see us in our “natural” habitat, filtered only by us ourselves.  We are a brand and we are solely responsible for it’s content, design and delivery.  It’s actually pretty cool when you take a step back.

And while all we may be discussing are the ordinary events in our day, or simply having the conversations we would have if we were sitting next to each other, there is a zest to it that makes it fun.  Just on Twitter today, I:

- Debated the greatness of three different Star Trek captains with @phillyberg, @dcbadger and @bradbaumn (Picard wins, IMO)

- Gave a restaurant recommendation to @deanjonesjr (Have you tried Red Springs Cafe in Baltimore, yet?)

- Shared a fun walk down wrestling memory lane with @g_cast (did you know that @RealMachoMan is on Twitter now?  OH YEAH!!)

- Read terrific PR blog entries from @davefleet and @PRNicoleV (check out the links on the right sidebar)

I know these folks in several ways, either meeting during college, mutual friends, reading their blogs, or through #FollowFriday.  Some do live here in DC, but others are all over the country.  But using social media has brought us that much closer together, enriching the day with information and a laugh.

Over the next few weeks and months, we’ll examine if we are ACTUALLY closer together now because of social media, but days like today definitely don’t hurt.

And that’s The Buzz.

Morning Buzz – Reimold’s Walk-Off

I know I wrote about my beloved Baltimore Orioles yesterday, but I am definitely still buzzing about rookie outfielder Nolan Reimold’s game-winning walk-off 3-run homer in the 11th inning.

Check it out:

Read more about the improbable comeback capped by the young outfielder from the two most entertaining baseball writers I know, Peter Schmuck and Roch Kubatko.

Take a look at Melvin Mora’s reaction from third base.  Make sure you see the veterans jumping up and down surrounding homeplate.  Ever heard of backup infielder Robert Andino?  He went 4-5 with a key RBI.  Outfielder Luke Scott took Roy Halladay deep in his first at-bat off the DL.  Nick Markakis announced his new charitable foundation (in addition to his $75,000 annual donation to the team charity).  Oh yeah, and some rookie is set to catch on Friday.

You know what’s starting to happen?

Yes…Orioles Magic!!!