The Critics are Really a Fine Bunch

If your newspaper and/or favorite entertainment online news portal all of a sudden starts to have gobs of information about the upcoming TV season, there’s a reason why.  Over 200 television critics, reporters and journalists are transcending upon the Beverly Hilton for a couple of weeks to hear the latest news about broadcast and cable television from the horses mouth-the networks themselves.  Yep, not every network participates, but most do…and if they are a part of the program, then they will be touting their new casts or story angles in front of the TV’s media in mass.

I love it when the TCA is in town. It just energizes me watching these scribes undercover unknown facts about never-before seen shows. They can make any celebrity or producer or studio head squirm in their seats when answers are not forthcoming during the interview process.

The TCA comes together twice a year…for the summer and winter — and last January’s tour was action-packed with the Jay Leno/Conan situation and Simon stepping down from “American Idol.”

What will this Summer’s Tour bring?  I’m sure there will be plenty talk about what NBC’s plans are…how they are going to fill the 10PM hour. I bet there will be talk about online streaming and maybe 3-D TV viewing. The iPad may also enter into the conversation too.

We’ll know shortly as a good bunch of them start reporting today as they visit the sets of some well-known shows like “Desperate Housewives” and “Parenthood.”

May the Tour begin…and it’s none to soon.

This TV junkie is excited that the Tour is in town.

Off to the Beverly Hilton tonight to start welcoming the troops.

Best,
Cindy

Drinks are never a good idea when being interviewed. The only one who gets interesting quotes is the reporter. Credit: Michael Yarish

Did you happen to watch the premiere of AMC’s “Mad Men” this week? If you did, you might have noticed that the premiere episode was titled “Public Relations.” And with that, executive producer Matt Weiner wrote an excellent episode that showed off the true power of Public Relations in the work environment.  His writing prompted me to write this post to remind all business owners that when writing business plans – do not forget to add in public relations as a viable means to market yourself. Also, this post should remind established businesses to look at when their last interview was conducted. If it has been over two months…it’s time to dust off that area and start the hunt again.

PR is still a necessary ingredient for every established company and extremely helpful for start-ups.  I know I harp a ton about social media…but, basically, I morph social media into PR nowadays.  A business plan needs to include PR&SM. Both are equally important.

As “Mad Men” depicted, the new agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce took advantage of public relations to help get the word out about its company free through the media.  They chose wisely…they went after Ad Age, the perfect vehicle to promote the new shop. A Perfect PR hit – it was a bulls-eye.

However, Don Draper blew the opportunity and did not realize that by his reluctance to answering questions, that the reporter filled in the blanks with information that was inaccurate and void of anything of interest to gain leads.  It was a missed opportunity and the perfect example for everyone interviewed for the need to be on their game.

A friend who is experienced in marketing was helping a client who was presented with a great PR opportunity. The client was being interviewed for a cover story in a local business magazine and so, my friend asked me advice.  The advice I gave him is what I give to all.  What message do you want to convey? Basically, when you are being interviewed, you can drive the interview and give the reporter the information that you want said about your company.  If you don’t have a plan, then the reporter has full rein.  It’s a missed opportunity.  You can drive the interviews and you should see them as golden opportunities for free advertising. Think about the entire message and what would you want the headline to say. And when interviewed, present that information in your comments.

We all make mistakes at first and don’t worry if you do for there are second chances.  Don Draper seized upon his failure and hit another bulls-eye. He was able to secure another interview with the Wall St. Journal, and with that second chance, he drove the article and used the medium to convey his shop’s attitude and culture.  He hit a home run after not even getting on base at his first chance at bat.

PR is powerful and never should be overlooked. Thank you for reminding us of that fact “Mad Men.”

What did you think of the episode?  And PR a part of your business model?

Cindy

Sometimes Sorry Doesn't Clear Your Name (credit: imey0106)

This article reminded me of the importance of being prepared for when the time comes when your client (or executive) or even you may say something that the press may construe as being offensive.  And then in a matter of moments you are on the defensive.  These are the days that that you dread as a PR pro.

Every day we can find examples where people have publicly put their proverbial foot in their mouth.  Look at these diddies from this week alone.

First case in point – former USC Mike Garrett - When he learned about the sanctions imposed on that institution by the NCAA for recruiting violations  he told a gathering the following according to the Los Angeles Times.  “As I read the decision by the NCAA, I read between the lines and there was nothing but a lot of envy. They wish they all were Trojans.” Later he added, “Today I got a purpose for really wanting to dominate for another 10 years.”

These comments did not help secure his longevity as you can imagine and last Monday he replaced by Pat Haden.

Foot in mouth syndrome 2 – The premature firing of Federal employee Shirley Sherrod of the USDA.  For those of you following this case, some of her comments at a past speaking engagement were taken out of context and presented on the web. These comments were not positive and reflected upon her poorly.  As a result, the Agriculture department did not check the facts and thus, hastily fired her, when she actually was innocent in the incident. Whoopsy!  What was the result?  The Obama administration had to issue a public apology which in turn caused them much embarrassment. By observing The President over the last two years, I’m sure he was not happy about this incident and how it tarnished his efforts.  You can read more about the story here.

Celebrity Character killers – As a publicist there’s only so much we can do. Anyone who advises a client who has blatantly said or done something that cannot be excused by entering rehab or civic duty — is something that they have to live with.  I am a firm believer in truth and not in cover up.  And I have no problem in advising clients to be remorseful if that is how they feel if they acted poorly. And telling them that they are accountable for their actions.

Actions by celebrities are easily captured now through such outlets as TMZ, Perez Hilton, US, People, etc. These outlets are the prowl of the latest celebrity dish and it’s not that hard to find at times. All they need to do is watch a star’s twitter account these days.  So when a talent twitters something that sullies their reputation-there’s  not much a publicist can do.  What defense do we have?  Do we think this line works — excusing them for their actions because they were inebriated when they wrote it and it wasn’t their intention? The first time this excuse may work, but after that, their credibility get shot.

We all must be accountable for our actions.  Tiger Woods is experiencing this and is careful about his reputation now. He knows he is being watched by the public.  Kobe Bryant had to overcome a situation a few years ago and has kept out of the headlines with scandal.  Laying low does help people forget past issues.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words (credit: Getty images)

But, for those like Mel Gibson and Lindsay Lohan it is a different story.  For Mel, if those tapes are proven to be his voice, he needs to go get some help and then enter back into the limelight when he has changed his ways. And for Lindsay and the fact that she painted that profanity on her fingernail. She did that. No one else can take the blame. How can you defend that action as a publicist other than to say…that it was a cry for help?

With anyone now having the ability to broadcast and share their words through social media, we must be mindful of our words.  We all are held responsible for our actions and accusations. We all must filter our thoughts, actions and deeds online for you are accountable.  And at the end of the day, there’s only so much you can clean up. Yes, people can forgive others, but they also never forget.

Just today the facts came out about Facebook. Over 500 million humans have accounts across the globe. That breaks down to one-out-of-seven people who are using it.  And that fact makes me shudder. It scares me to think about how many of those users are unaware of the power behind words and the damage that can result by misinformation.  If you don’t think it can happen to you, just look at Ms. Sherrod.  Her comments were edited unbeknownst to her.  The same thing could happen to any of us. We need to be smart online.

In summary, be mindful of all that you say, do, write and text.

But, if you do find yourself in a spot of trouble…I’m just an email away.

Cindy

Kin - a failure or ahead of its time?

So by now, I think we have all heard that Microsoft’s latest device, Kin, which was billed as the first phone built for social networking has been taken off the market after only two months in consumers hands.

As a result, I thought it would be good timing to discuss how to handle PR when products shut down.

Ahhh, the Kin. I was a bit confused by the need for such a device when it was announced, how about you?  I mean smart phones are exactly that now, smart and can handle social networking…so why would I need a special phone just for that?  Its selling points didn’t grab me.  Like Apple products that come onto the market, they are trailblazers and become mainstays in our life.  Can you imagine not having an iPod, iTouch or iPad in your life now?  But, a Kin. It wasn’t a necessity, but a gimmick that Microsoft thought would be the “in” thing for young consumers.

I mean it looked cool and I understand what it did. It shot great photos with its camera and you could easily share videos and text for social sites.  But, with so many other devices capable of the doing the same thing…I guess in two short months consumers didn’t feel the need for it in their lives.

I have recently experienced this myself as I start my own social media agency.  I am finding that if my potential client is not open to social media or an advocate of it – then it’s best for the both of us not to do business together-that is not until that client understands the power of new media.  Therefore, the Kin is a product that probably was ahead of its time and the market was too small to understand its need.

I mean I recently attended a meeting where Sprint’s 4G network was discussed through the use of the HTC EVO android phone.  That phone can do the same things and a few more than the new iPhone 4 can do and it sure can handle everything that the Kin does.  So as Microsoft found out – there really wasn’t a need for Kin.

And as a PR pro, I applaud Microsoft for having the guts and um balls to pull the plug on the device and face defeat. I know corporately it was a hard decision to make for not only did Microsoft face personal embarrassment, but so did Verizon who was the sole carrier.  Verizon supported this concept and thus went down with them.

But, I want to remind you – that there is no such thing as failure.  Look at Thomas Edison, a premier inventor.  He did over 10,000 tweaks to the incandescent light bulb before he perfected it and showed it off.  To him, this is how he views failure.

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. T. Edison.

So that’s my PR advice to you. When a product, a TV show or employee is not performing, don’t be afraid to advise your CEO that he/she can pull the plug.  The company will be better off in the long run for it and embarrassment of its demise will be remembered for less than a week. Some other news story will take its place and you will be able to get on with your work as usual.

Look at Toyota…they are weathering the storm and are getting back to work. Cut bait and move on.

Homer Always Shoots Straight From the Hip

If you don’t – then your job as the head of the PR dept. will get quite messy. You will spend a good chuck of your time every day putting out fires from leaks that will arise as news of your product’s ineffectiveness starts to hit the media or is shared through social media.

People have a hard time keeping secrets. And when dealing with television shows, you can never hide the ratings.  Consumers can see how last night’s episode performed or didn’t perform.

Be on top of your game and like Thomas Edison – keep perfecting your product. I’m sure elements of the Kin will remain in the next device that Microsoft launches for it did produce some novel touches.

Soldier on for it takes more courage to admit defeat than to live a lie.

Good job Microsoft.  You did the right thing and deserve respect for trying.  There’s no black eye in this situation.

A Holiday For Your Smartphone

So I hope you and your smartphone, computer, net book, iPad or kin are celebrating today for its SOCIAL MEDIA DAY.  Yep, today you can be as geeky as you want – it’s allowed and demanded. So embrace your communities, friends, followers and twitter away to your heart’s desire. I love this.

How am I celebrating this day?  I’m having a hi-tech talk lunch with one of my geeky Mac friends today and from there going over to my town’s celebration – all things social media.  And if you’ve don’t have anything on your dance card yet, don’t fret…just check out what meetups are happening near you today by clicking here….Mashable Meetups.

Go have fun! And tweet about it. Here’s how Mashable’s Founder and CEO Pete Cashmore, the inventor of this day, recommends participation.

How To Participate in Social Media Day

• Meetup Everywhere Mashable: Sign up to attend an event on the Meetup Everywhere Mashable.
• Watch the live streams worldwide: We’ll be updating throughout the day.
• Tweet: Use the #smday hashtag on Twitter. With so many participating, we should be a trending topic on Twitter on June 30. Also, we’ll soon be announcing a prize for those that tweet or post to Facebook.
• Add the Social Media Day Twitter theme from TweetyGotBack to your account in support of the day.
• Follow @mashSMday: Follow @mashSMday on Twitter for updates and developments on the celebration.
• Comment via Facebook: Go to Smday.com and leave a comment either promoting your meetup or tell us what you’re doing for your event.
• Upload to Flickr: Upload photos to Flickr and tag them with #smday.

Fake but fun twitter accounts - A PR Nightmare

In the past about the only fun a publicist could have in her messaging would be writing a creative lead paragraph in a press release.  Yes, all press releases are creative…but sometimes you get to work on a product or content that lends itself to a more informal tone in your missives.  For instance, if I was publicizing “The Last Comic Standing,” I’d probably start the release with a joke from one of the comedians.  But, I’m seeing a whole new arena now open up for us PR folks thanks to twitter with fake PR accounts.

Case in point – the @BPGLOBALPR twitter account-I first found out about it through an article in Wall St. Journal. It’s a great read and I highly recommend it — But, if you can’t take a look at it here’s the opening paragraph  for you –”A Twitter user with an account dubbed BPGlobalPR is posting satirical entries about the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico — and already has more than twice as many followers as BP America’s actual account.”

Oh, the real BP PR team is not happy about this counterfeit account. However, at the same time, BP acknowledges that people are using this vehicle to express their views about this catastrophe and they are not shutting it down. The other surprising antidote about this fake PR account is that several people thought it was the real deal!  This is an interesting idea for citizen protests and something PR pros need to think about and figure out how they would handle it if it happened to a client.

To give you an idea about what they’re writing — here’s some example tweets from BPGLOBALPR :

1. We respect your outrage, we just don’t believe it’s sustainable. #exxonvaldez #bpcares 9:52 PM Jun 13th
2. Investing a lot of time & money into cleaning up our image, but the beaches are next on the to-do list for sure. #bpcares 8:19 PM Jun 13th v
3. On behalf of England, I declare war on the United States. Now, does anyone need fuel for their tanks and jets? ^Tony
4. Opening more wells in the Gulf! We’re drilling for ALL the oil down there to ensure this never happens again. #4yoursafety
5. Millions of people live in the gulf. If each one donated just a few thousand dollars, we’d have enough $ to fix this mess. #bpcares 2:11 PM Jun 11th
6. We are not killing animals in the gulf, we are creating fossils in the gulf. Have a little perspective. #bpcares

These fake accounts are all over the web.

In the film industry, there’s @FakeParamount. Some recent entries include:

1. Congrats 2 Weinsteins on acquiring Michelle Yeoh film Reign Of Assassins. It’ll look good on the shelf with the other films U never release. 4:19 PM Jun 11th
2. Wanted: Brilliant foreign directors to direct bland & boring action movies. Just like John Woo, you too can direct movies like Paycheck! 12:15 PM Jun 11th
3. You weren’t suppose to know that selling toys comes before the script. Doh! (via @arlenecharris) you mean this one? http://ow.ly/1XmtR 12:05 PM Jun 11th v
4. Ever wonder what would happen if the Titanic was a Transformer? Wonder no longer! James Cameron & Michael Bay unite for TitanicFormers 3-D! 10:38 AM Jun 11th

Or my personal favorite…@facebookPR. Take a look.

1. Moving all of our servers to Sweden next week so we can really go rogue with our privacy policy 7:06 AM Jun 14th v
2. Working hard on our new Bing-like backgrounds 6:56 AM Jun 14th
3. Instead of location, age, relationship status, we’ll be showing advertisers your pics so they can tailor ads to you further 4:20 AM Jun 13th
4. Great morning. Just found a way to give more of your personal info to advertisers. 4:19 AM Jun 13th
5. Typical girl on Facebook: Hey, friend me so I can see if that girl I didn’t like in High School got fat. 7:57 AM Jun 12th
6. Typical guy on Facebook: Hey, friend me so I can see pics of your hot friends. 7:56 AM Jun 12th

And individuals are getting there’s as well….poor Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo!…there’s a fake account for her too….I guess it’s the ultimate form of online flattery right? That’s one way to spin it….Anyway, @fakecarolbaratz….you’ll see activity like this:

1. RT @ivan_d Yahoo is serious about social: cafeteria sandwiches named Status, Update, Connect http://twitpic.com/1wta2x All in a yrs work 12:25 PM Jun 14th
2. Announcing 2 company wide bans effective immidiately: Google as default homepage setting and combovers. 11:52 AM Jun 11th
3. About the $0.00 check @LeanBlog We’ve recently started letting users know exactly how much we value them. You got your answer, now scram. 9:17 AM Jun 11th
4. The hype for that new Apple thingamajig is deflating faster than my futon. 1:18 PM Jun 8th
5. <3′s Bourbon Watermelon Fridays! 4:25 PM Jun 4th
6. I consider much of what Google does to be on par with plastic cutlery. Cheap, poor usability and disposable.

There’s a lot of people who have extra time on their hands don’t you think?  But, here’s my PR tip for you…go ahead and register a fake twitter account for your company and top CEO-but never use it.  That way, you’ll own the account names and others can’t use FAKEcompanyname for your business.  That won’t stop them, it will just make it a bit harder for them to gain some followers using a name that isn’t as recognizable.

I’m off to read some more fake news….

The real not fake

Cindy

A Worm in Your Computer is Like the BP Oil Spill

For a couple days last month, I knew what BP Oil must be experiencing when I had an oil link of my own to contend with that kept gushing. My spill wasn’t oil, but it was a virus inside my computer that kept spreading and spreading and spreading.  For a few hours there, I was wondering if I was ever going to be able to cap the thing.  But, thankfully I did – but it wasn’t easy.  I hope and pray you never get your email accounts hijacked. It’s no fun.  And this post today is intended to be of some help in case it does happen to you.  Also, I will offer preventive tips to ensure that you won’t have the same awful experience that I had on Memorial Day.

WHAT HAPPENED

One night when I logged into my Facebook book account an unusual page was displayed.  The page was alerting me to the fact that someone or something had access to my Facebook account from Nigeria and Facebook wanted to verify that I was indeed the owner.  I did verify that I was the owner, but it didn’t matter.  The damage had already been done.

The hacking scheme was due to my Facebook account being hacked and from that, the hackers in Nigeria or wherever got a hold of my email address attached to Facebook from there figured out my password.

PREVENTION TIP #1 –

Do not have the same password on more than one account.

I made the mistake of using one password for all my email accounts and a few others.  So every account that had that same password was affected by the hacking.  The hacker then got control of my email addresses on gmail, Verizon/Yahoo and Go Daddy and subsequently froze me out of each. Thank goodness I changed my online banking password just a week prior otherwise, the hacker would have had access to that.

Hacking is not Just a Crime; it's Evil.

The evil person/company sent the following email to all my contacts, whether they were HR Recruiters, past bosses, old boyfriends, pastors, family, clothing stores or people I’m interviewing with. Everyone got this message and it was embarrassing and of course, the worst part the message was grammatically incorrect.  I would never do that or play on the kindness/emotions of others.
Subject: “Sad New’s”
Hello,
This message may be coming to you as a surprise but I need your help.Few days back I made an unannounced vacation trip to London,UK .Everything was going fine until last night when I got mugged on my way back to the hotel.They Stole all my cash,credit cards and cellphone but thank God I still have my life and passport.Another shocking is that the hotel manager has been unhelpful to me for reasons I don’t know. I’m writing you from a local library cybercafe..I reported to the police and after writing down some statements that’s the last I had from them

I contacted the consulate and all I keep hearing is they will get back to me. I need your help ..I need you to help me out with a loan to settle my bills here so I can get back home tomorrow. I’ll refund the money as soon as I get back. All I need is $2400..Let me know if you can get me the money then I tell you how to get it to me.

Thanks

Cindy
So as this criminal was blasting out that email message, I was powerless. I was unable to get into my email accounts and stop the thing.  And since the hacker changed my email settings to forward all messages to his email account, I wasn’t able to see the email messages I was receiving.  Despite being frozen out of my computer, my phone was working and as such, I started to get numerous calls from frantic people seeing if I was okay.  Several many people sent notes, texts and calls to check on me to see if I needed money.   It was uplifting to hear from so many, but, at the same time, it did make me mad that this person caused my family and friends to worry about me needlessly, especially on a holiday.

WHEN YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT IS FROZEN

Since I couldn’t access any of my email accounts, I had to contact each provider separately to get them to change passwords and un-freeze my accounts.  And this was tricky. When dealing with Facebook and gmail, you do not receive phone support.  All correspondence with them is done online and despite that policy, I have to say that it was handled quickly.

STEPS TO SAFETY

Step 1 – Make an entirely new email account to serve as a placeholder.  You need a new account because when you contact the email providers they want to send you information to an email address to inform you how to change your password.  Without a working email, you can’t get these confirmation notices.

Step 2 – Call your providers.

If you have a Yahoo account that is affected..you can call their helpline at 408-349-1572. To report an abusive Yahoo situation, send an email to abuse@yahoo.com.

If you have a Verizon email address, the phone number to contact them is 800-567-6789.

If you have a Go Daddy webmail account, call Go Daddy’s customer service at 480-505-8877.

For gmail, you need to fill out its account recovery form. In a matter of minutes, my regular gmail account was unlocked by filling out this form.

Step 3 – Check your email settings.

In a matter of four hours, I was able to access all my email accounts.  But…I still wasn’t receiving messages on gmail.  And here’s where it gets tricky.  Be sure to check your settings on all accounts. On my gmail setting, I uncovered  that the hacker was forwarding all my messages (incoming and outgoing) to a random Yahoo account.  How evil was that!

I reported that Yahoo address to Yahoo, but other than that…I don’t think anything has happened to shut down this Nigerian company.

Step 4 – Set new Passwords on all email and social media accounts.

As a result of the hacking, every single account I have and it’s quite a lot has its own unique password attached to it. Yes, it’s a pain, but its the best way I can think of to safe guard access to multiple accounts if this ever happens to me again.

Step 5- Log off applications when not in use and don’t leave accounts open overnight.

I now no longer leave my computer running all night long while logged into accounts. I open and close applications each time I use them.  I don’t want another person to be able to access my accounts again, while I am not present at the time and working in them. I used to keep my accounts open for long periods of time and thus, believe that how this aggregator got access to my Facebook page.

I also do not have Skype open up without me opening it and I’m careful about any pay pal exchanges as well.

Practice safety all the time….that’s my best tip for you.  I do not want you to experience what I went through.  And if it does, be sure to put messages on your Facebook page, blogs, email blasts and phone message that you have been hacked. That will save you much time and effort.

I hope this helped you somewhat…

With a whole new set of passwords,

Cindy

This Man Gets Life's Priorities

I’m lovin’ what I’m hearing from Steve Jobs,  Apple Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer.   Speaking yesterday at Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital technology conference he was asked whether the iPad would be the holy grail for content creators.  Here’s how he replied.

“I don’t want to see us descend into a nation of bloggers…I think we need editorial oversight now more than ever.  Anything we can do to help newspapers find new ways of expression that will help them get paid, I am all for.” Source: Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2010

As am I, Mr. Jobs. Bravo. Succinctly put.  And I hope he and his team of innovative executives are working on a plan to move newspapers forward and out of the grasp of extinction.  Someone has to figure this out as well as that darn oil spill. It just baffles me that although man created that oil well, they can’t stop it from gushing.

Anyway I divert…but, I too grieve the loss of journalists, reporters, reviewers, editors, humorists, columnists and photographers from our society. The need for them is great. For if we take away their power of uncovering corruptness, greed, injustice…then who will? The local news? Local news is barely hanging on and assignment editors there will tell you the best source of story leads come from the local paper!

This just frustrates me so…but I’m glad to know that Steve Jobs understands the importance of editorial oversight too.  He’s someone that people listen to – he’s an influencer.  Me, I’m just a blogger with a soft spot for journalists.

KEEP THOSE PRESSES RUNNING.

Cindy

A Search About Stereotypes

Social media is the wild frontier, however, being involved in it doesn’t mean that the rules of libel and slander do not apply.  They do and my biggest fear lies with Mr. Joe Public for he is not a trained journalist. As such he is unaware that he can be sued for things he says about others on his Facebook page. This point leads me to today’s PR Tip – Be careful what you post about others.

Here’s today’s takeaway - Libel is injury to reputation. So that funny post or comment about how so and so is fat, ugly, looks like a dork or is affiliated with some type of political party can get you in trouble if not today then tomorrow.

What led me to write this post is that I’m seeing more labels and stereotypical messaging than ever before which leads me to think it is becoming a trend.  In fact, I fell prey to it.  Last week, a Facebook friend was stating his opinion about Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan on his wall.  I made a positive comment about her and then I was received a comment from someone I didn’t know at all who labeled me as a feminist liberal who’s probably never been married.  I did not like how this person labeled me – he didn’t know me, but already he came up with these assumptions.  Yes, I am single, but I am not bitter and I am not a feminist.  I believe in equal pay for equal work and I would love to be married someday.  Labeling is just too easy and most forget that they can get in trouble for it.

Besides calling people “names,” stereotyping someone without presenting facts can also get you in trouble.  Well, to go one step further…any assumptions can get you into trouble.  I remember being involved in an Ad campaign once where images of homely, odd ball, overweight and old people were photographed (all in jest of course) to represent the viewers not watching the network.  I tell you the day after these Ads appeared they came down from public outrage.  So be very careful what general comments you make about someone.

Another recent example of this is the photo (and I’m not going to show it) of Jesse James wearing a Nazi hat.  Allegedly, he was at a party and someone took that photo, again all in jest.  But, this so-called friend posted it somewhere and now it lives on the Internet forever and Mr. James has to defend that he is not a racist probably forever.

In summary, watch your words, especially in the heat of battle.  Be sure to take a couple of breaths before you post a comment after one that you find so imbecilic.  Make sure your comments do not injury anyone’s reputation, especially your own. For you never know if one day you might run for a government office and all those slanderous things you said in jest may appear front and center again and not in good way.

Always Looking Out for Your Reputation,

Cindy

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