Debbie Weil. Alliconnect, astroturfing and the ethics of PR people... observations

The Debbie Weil - alliconnect - astroturfing flare-up grew a little too personal for my taste, so I am mostly happy to see the thing fade away.

And it never should have flared up at all.... Debbie Weil just didn't know any better.

See, what surprised me from the start was Weil's defense of her invitation to astroturf:

"There's nothing underhanded about the email I sent, as I posted the same request publicly on my blog. And I didn't send it to a list of "prominent PR bloggers." Just a list of folks I know. It's not that big a deal. Bloggers - corporate and otherwise - use the backchannel of email all the time to communicate with one another."

What kind of explanation is that? How she sent the invitation is, of course, irrelevant.

But in reading the posts of those who criticized her effort and those of her (few) defenders, I suddenly realized what was up. Debbie Weil doesn't know astroturfing is wrong -- she doesn't work in PR or corporate communication, and doesn't realize astroturfing is a huge breach of ethics. And, pretty much down the line, her defenders are outside the communication profession and her critics are in it.

Now, I know the general public ranks PR professionals fairly low, somewhere around lawyers and CEOs, but 99.9% of the PR professionals I've met take their ethics codes (PRSA's, for example, or IABC's) very seriously. Astroturfing is something we just don't do (and some are working actively against it), and we damned sure aren't shy about calling people on it when we catch them at it. But that works only if the other person should know better.

Debbie Weil just doesn't. Well, that's alright then! Isn't it?

Update: she should have gone to buyblogcomments.com.

Technorati : alli, astroturfing, debbie weil. alliconnect, pr ethics

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 04:35pm in Advertising & PR, Communication, Ethics, PRSA, Pharmaceutical Industry, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (6)

PRSA lames out?

Jack O'Dwyer, who's been an enormous thorn in the sides of IABC and PRSA leadership for years (and for good reason, 99% of the time) laments PRSA's ham-handed excuses:

"PRSA Assembly delegates on a Nov. 4 teleconference, after complaining about lack of news about Hurricane Wilma's impact on the 2005 conference in Miami Beach, were given the preposterous explanation that PRSA does not know how to operate its own website."

Via Robert French, of the MarComBlog and Infopinions, who discusses why he's dropping his PRSA membership. 

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 09:27pm in Communication, Is Tedious in the House?, PRSA | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (1) | TrackBack (0)

Lesson for Communicators: Grassroots Tsunami Team Remobilizes For Katrina

What can ordinary people do in the face of catastrophe?

Jeremy Pepper and Richard Edelman believe natural disasters are events that leave bloggers and wiki-builders powerless.  Warren Bickford believes there's little that IABC can do. (Addendum: Jeff Jarvis is hard at work with a coterie to solve the next disaster -- Jeff, why don't you and your group help solve this one first: Keep reading for how you can volunteer.)

Nothing could be further from the truth: bloggers can make a difference. While I agree with Pepper that few bloggers seem to be doing more than complaining about government efforts,  I'd like to point out a huge exception.

I've written earlier about the incredible South East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog/wiki effort that went into action hours after the tsunami. Grassroots- organized using blogs, wikis, IM, and Skype. And effective at a time with most governments and relief organizations were in shock.

The same team has swung into action with the Katrina Help blog and wiki. The team, spanning three continents, including professional communicators, has used the blog, the wike, IM, and Skype to set up:

• A comprehensive blog, operating since August 29th.
• A wiki, updated seemingly hourly, with job offers, transportation offers, housing offers, updated emergency management information, info about conditions on the ground. Comunicators: PR-blogger Constantin Basturea is one of the moderators.
• A PeopleFinder effort to help locate missing persons and reunite them with families. They need volunteers, including communicators!
• A ShelterFinder effort: ditto above, you can volunteer.
• A KatrinaHelpLine, staffed 24/7 by volunteers. This is Skype-based, with a New Orleans area Skype-in number (+1 504 208 1564).

So what can IABC and its members, PRSA and its members, any communicator -- or any one of us, for that matter, do to help this effort?

• Well, we can donate your time. Plenty of information about that on the Wiki.
• We can also donate money or services to keep the effort going. It's a volunteer effort, and they are using free software (Blogger, Skype, etc) but there are some hosting costs. You can read more about their needs here. Microcontributions or contributions-in-kind appear welcome.

The lesson here for communicators? Bloggers and micro-media users -- real communicators -- can make a difference. It's a question of rapid organization and will. We don't have the tools is no longer an excuse for us.

Via Conversations with Dina and other sources.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 11:32am in Blogging for the Sheer Hell of It, Citizen Journalism, Communication, Current Affairs, IABC, Katrina, PRSA, Social Tools, South, Tsunami | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (5) | TrackBack (2)

PRblogs.org: Free Blogs for Practitioners, Educators, and Students

Robert French, who teaches PR at Auburn University in Alabama, USA,  has enough ideas for two people. His latest is PRblogs.org, a free ..  I love that word  .. free .. blog hosting setup for PR students, educators and practitioners.

How inspired is that?

After we spoke earlier today, Robert sent me some background on the idea.

"It is a free blog hosting service aimed at PR practitioners, educators and students.  Free blogs.  Non-profit.  Ad free.  Very niche. 

"This project now allows anyone to sign up with ease.  Just fill in three simple boxes and click one button. Automatic blog.  It uses WordPress Multiuser 1.6 (version 1.6-ALPHA-2).  That is, by the way, the same thing recently launched at WordPress.com

"I am very grateful to James Farmer of Melbourne, Australia. James, through BlogSavvy.net, is our partner in this  project.  James is an innovative advocate for CMS in education.  Please visit his site and blog at:  http://blogsavvy.net  and http://edublogs.org"

I love the idea, and I hope it blossoms and booms (note to IABC/ PRSA/ AAF members: take notes; your new hires are going to know all about social media, and they are going to eat old  media, cold media.. and old agencies for  lunch. It'll take awhile -- You haven't hit the iceberg, yet.)

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 07:03pm in Advertising, Blogging, Communication, Education, IABC, Marketing, Online Media, PRSA, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (1) | TrackBack (1)

PRSA Shuts Out Non-Members on Message Board

What is it with associations and their skewed ideas about "member benefits"?

PRSA recently shut down (for non-members) its active PRConline mailing list, choosing to move the forum to a members-only area.

That's their right, of course. I'm surprised, though, that they didn't choose, instead, to use the forum as an enticement for potential members. They just about had me hooked, but now I'm backing off.

A tip of the hat to Ian for explaining why I can no longer log on.

Ian runs the YoungPRPros forum at Yahoo. I've always assumed that I am too old to join, but a re-reading of the FAQ indicates that "senior professionals who seek a dynamic connection to tactical trends in public relations" are also welcome. I'll be joining to check it out.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 07:58am in PRSA, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (0) | TrackBack (0)