Last week I started following @BPGlobalPR, the spoof of British Petroleum public relations on Twitter. Reading these tweets offered a brief reprieve from reality on what has turning into a rather depressing news month (oil spills, Middle East violence, and economic instability in Europe). I was saddened and frustrated by the fact that oil had been spilling into the Gulf of Mexico for over a month and the repeated failures by BP to end this horrible environmental disaster. While the traditional media was doing their due diligence and covering the story with updated reports and live webcams, there was not as much online discussion or outcry as I felt the situation deserved. There seemed to be a void. Then I started reading @BPGlobalPR. The satire and outright frankness of the tweets offered the shimmer of a smile on an otherwise dismal situation without downplaying the travesty of what was going on.
When I began following @BPGlobalPR the account had just over 50,000 followers. Today their follower list is 123,000 and still growing. It is a testament to how fast information, news, and trends can spread virally. This is also an example of how, with the internet and a little creativity, anyone can affect public perception of a brand or entity.
And now, a phenomenon has begun. Following the Israeli attacks on the flotilla on May 31st, 2010, two new spoof Twitter accounts appeared – @IsraelGlobalPR and @HamasGlobalPR. Then soon after @UNGlobalPR, @GSGlobalPR (Goldman Sachs), and @ShellGlobalPR started tweeting. Now, @IranGlobalPR, @FIFAGlobalPR, @USAGlobalPR, and others have joined the fray.
@BPGlobalPR posted their first tweet on May 19th, 2010. In just over two weeks, not only has their influence in the Twittersphere exploded, but the phenomenon they started has also taken off. It will be interesting to see if it is a trend that gets incorporated into the social media culture or if it only remains in vogue briefly before disappearing into the bytes of the past.
But regardless of the longevity of this trend, it has proven one thing – public relations is no longer about one-way communications and controlling the message. In today’s interconnected world public relations also includes facilitating conversations and participating in the social web.
Showing posts with label social change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social change. Show all posts
June 4, 2010
March 27, 2010
March 25, 2010
The Power of the Communal Voice
Throughout the ages and around the world people have come together to express a united view on an issue. From the signatories of the Declaration of Independence to the many individuals who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States of America has seem individuals join together and rise up as a group to to give power to their voices. Together people can overcome injustice and change the course of history.
Today – with the advancements in technology – the power of combine voice is even more potent. The internet allows people to more efficiently connect, share ideas, and organize. Ideas that begin in one country can travel across borders and to other continents via social media. I can post a tweet here in Washington DC. An individual down the street or in New York or Vienna can read it and or pass my idea on to others.
The internet has helped people communicate when open conversations and transmissions are dangerous or distance is great. Since the June 2009 elections in Iran the opposition has used Twitter and social media to coordinate their resistance. For issues important to individuals all over the globe, the internet and social media are powerful tools for collaboration and to show solidarity. Social media tools can be incorporated directly into websites – such as the Obama campaign did with My.BarackObama.com during the 2008 United States Presidential election. Or groups of individuals can relay on existing social networks to spread their message or share ideas. To show support or raise awareness about issues individuals often change their profile pictures of post information on Twitter or Facebook. One social media company focuses solely on serving this demand – Twibbon. What this company does is creates graphical overlays representing a wide variety of causes that individuals can post on their Twitter and Facebook profile pictures to raise awareness. There are currently almost 40,000 cause Twibbons. I decided to see how it works and posted an Earth Hour Twibbon on my profile picture.
So, this brings me to Earth Hour...
Earth Hour began three years ago as an effort to raise awareness of global warming. Since then, Earth Hour takes place every March and for one hour people all over the world turn off their lights to make a statement that we must find solutions to climate change. Last year, almost a billion people turned participated in 4,100 different cities in 87 countries on seven continents.
This year Earth Hour is on Saturday March 27th from 8:30-9:30pm local time. Promoted and organized through the social web, the movement will begin in New Zealand and travel around the globe. On Saturday evening people all over the globe will act as one by simply turning off their lights. Together this action will send a loud message to world leaders that the citizens of this planet are concerned about global warming and are demanding progress. This is a wonderful example of individuals around globe using the social media to come together and make a powerful statement. Please join us!
For more information please visit EarthHour.org or MyEarthHour.org.
Today – with the advancements in technology – the power of combine voice is even more potent. The internet allows people to more efficiently connect, share ideas, and organize. Ideas that begin in one country can travel across borders and to other continents via social media. I can post a tweet here in Washington DC. An individual down the street or in New York or Vienna can read it and or pass my idea on to others.
The internet has helped people communicate when open conversations and transmissions are dangerous or distance is great. Since the June 2009 elections in Iran the opposition has used Twitter and social media to coordinate their resistance. For issues important to individuals all over the globe, the internet and social media are powerful tools for collaboration and to show solidarity. Social media tools can be incorporated directly into websites – such as the Obama campaign did with My.BarackObama.com during the 2008 United States Presidential election. Or groups of individuals can relay on existing social networks to spread their message or share ideas. To show support or raise awareness about issues individuals often change their profile pictures of post information on Twitter or Facebook. One social media company focuses solely on serving this demand – Twibbon. What this company does is creates graphical overlays representing a wide variety of causes that individuals can post on their Twitter and Facebook profile pictures to raise awareness. There are currently almost 40,000 cause Twibbons. I decided to see how it works and posted an Earth Hour Twibbon on my profile picture.
So, this brings me to Earth Hour...
Earth Hour began three years ago as an effort to raise awareness of global warming. Since then, Earth Hour takes place every March and for one hour people all over the world turn off their lights to make a statement that we must find solutions to climate change. Last year, almost a billion people turned participated in 4,100 different cities in 87 countries on seven continents.
This year Earth Hour is on Saturday March 27th from 8:30-9:30pm local time. Promoted and organized through the social web, the movement will begin in New Zealand and travel around the globe. On Saturday evening people all over the globe will act as one by simply turning off their lights. Together this action will send a loud message to world leaders that the citizens of this planet are concerned about global warming and are demanding progress. This is a wonderful example of individuals around globe using the social media to come together and make a powerful statement. Please join us!
For more information please visit EarthHour.org or MyEarthHour.org.
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