If it Bleeds it Leads…

By Tanaya Cook
Are we living in a world today where controversy and negativity are the main topics that get the spotlight? President Barack Obama sure thinks so. In a recent interview with political correspondent George Stephanopoulos, President Obama openly shared his disappointment about media coverage of late. “The easiest way to get 15 minutes on the news or your 15 minutes of fame is to be rude. ... That's something that I think needs to change."

But popular tabloid bloggers such as Perez Hilton have made a full time job out of posting negative pictures and rude comments about celebrities, and every day people flock to read his latest rants. Have we really become a society where important global issues are ignored? Has newsworthiness been replaced by surface level gossip? I guess the age adorned saying still holds truth: “If it Bleeds, it Leads.” I’m off to go check out Perez Hilton☺
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Stand up for (insert cause here)

By Robin Bulanti
I’ve always been drawn to volunteer work. I dreamed of joining the Peace Corps but the closest I came was a year spent volunteering as an ESL teacher in China. Today I’m proud to be part of our agency’s efforts to give back, from volunteer hours to a number of charities we support. Volunteering expands the heart, mind and community. And heck, a little outside perspective is always a good thing.

Recently my colleague Tami and I volunteered as media clinicians at the Spin Academy, an annual retreat run by San Francisco’s Spin Project with activists selected for 60 coveted spots. Our assignment was to help train these non-profits in more effective media and communications.

I met some impressive individuals struggling with some pretty familiar challenges: competing for shrinking media attention, doing more with less resources—needing more hands or more hours in the day, sound familiar?—and somehow adding social media to the mix.

I feel strongly that non-profits must engage social networks now, and was surprised how many hadn’t yet jumped in for the cause. In my mind it’s a group that can actually “profit,” not just in mindshare but the real financial sense of the word, from social channels and online community building. Social media can be a way to mobilize people quickly, and a dirt-cheap soapbox.

We’re currently doing our own pro bono work for The Gorilla Foundation, and Koko the Gorilla, famous for her own communication skills. It’s been interesting to watch how this work breathes new life into our team, while all of our clients benefit from the perspective we gain championing a cause.
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Beat L.A.

By Scott Lechner
Here at Kulesa Faul it’s all about teamwork. From building PR plans to changing out the water bottle at the water cooler, I’m part of a company where (like in baseball) everyone comes together to get the job done.

We work together and we also play together. Several weeks back my colleagues and I went to a Giants game—and not just any old game—but a Giants-Dodgers game that had playoff implications. Our home team won on a walk-off homer in the 11th inning, no less. Aside from the win, the best part was bonding with my teammates outside the office, cheering in unison (and paying no mind to the complaining Dodger fans behind us who said we were blocking their view). The cherry on top though was seeing the Kulesa Faul name in High Definition on the Giants scoreboard. I think we all came back to work the next day feeling like a stronger group.

Our company has a pretty unique culture and our clients view us as a "well oiled machine." I believe our team-building trips have helped to strengthen our relationships and have led to a more productive team-oriented group. After all, it's one thing to collaborate on PR projects, and another to trade mustard stains with a colleague at the ol' ballpark. While both are important, the mustard definitely brings more laughs, and probably a few more memories. Go Giants!
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Am I Guilty of Being an Annoying Facebooker?

By Kelly Indrieri
I came across a CNN.com article by Brandon Griggs this week and couldn't resist opening the link and readying myself to judge all of the "annoying Facebookers" out there. Thank God I am not one of them. After all, I never self-promote. Okay, maybe just once or twice, but who hasn’t? While I try not to reveal the mundane details of my life, surely people would be fascinated to know that my brother is coming to visit this weekend, or that I cant sleep. And I never lurk on the pages of people I don’t regularly communicate with. I’m not a peeping Tom, after all! I am bigger than that (unless of course its my ex-boyfriend, but everyone does that, don’t they?).

Okay, maybe I am an annoying Facebooker…but only to a small degree. I am not a chronic inviter, I don't collect friends and I have never been accused of being a crank. At the end of the day, we have all been guilty of one Facebook offense or another, but one person’s annoying status update is another person’s insight into a friend. One person’s lurking is another person’s chance to say, “I’m over you” or “See what you’re missing.” Might not all be great things, but the one thing we ARE all guilty of is the addictive power of Facebook. In fact, I bet its open on your computer right now...if so, feel free to shoot me a friend request at facebook.com/kellyindrieri. I’m thinking about starting a new collection.
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Questioning the Future of Journalism

By Julie Tangen
I did a double take when I saw the San Francisco Chronicle (or what’s left of it) on the newsstand today. Sadly, San Francisco's last paid-circulation daily paper has dwindled down to just a few pages of content. It’s not just our city, though. Across the U.S. we’ve seen circulation numbers plunging, ad revenue dropping, staffs being slashed, papers folding and many others declaring bankruptcy. Why? I believe it’s partly due to the fact that we—as consumers of news—have just become too darn impatient. Today, Facebook, Twitter and blogs give us our news as it happens (for free) and the bottom line is that we no longer need to buy a newspaper to find out what’s happening in our world.

While it’s much easier to follow a favorite blogger or Twitterer, I can’t help but wonder if and how this hurts traditional reporting. A journalist (ideally) has a professional responsibility to verify information, check sources, print facts, portray the story from different viewpoints, and have a pretense of being objective. To this end, what a journalist writes has gone through some sort of peer or editorial review process. If publications continue to cut staff and resources, this level of responsibility will surely change. But will this change be for better or for worse? Do you think this new age of ‘digital journalism’ will provide new and better ways of telling a story or are we trading quality of reporting for instant access?

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Viral Video Strikes a Chord

By Danielle Salvato
Although many may want it, you can’t force something to become popular. When an issue or campaign goes viral, it is organic, naturally making its way around the world, gaining popularity through word of mouth, the click of a button, blogs, Tweets and re-Tweets and Facebook.

A perfect example of how one viral video made its way to millions of people started with a man and his guitar.

To sum it up quickly, Sons of Maxwell, a Canadian country band, flew on United Airlines in the spring of 2008, traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour. Dave Carroll, the lead singer of the band, witnessed his guitar being thrown around and mishandled by United baggage handlers in the Chicago O’Hare airport. The guitar was severely damaged in the hands of United. After several attempts, Carroll received no compensation from the airline, not one dime. In response, Carroll created a YouTube video on July 6, 2009, titled “United Breaks Guitars.” Carroll has his own blog that details the whole story.

“United Breaks Guitars” has struck a chord with people. Within 10 days of the video’s release, it had received 3,234,157 views. The news has also appeared on national news broadcasts, morning shows and newspapers, including NBC’s Today Show, CNN, NPR and the San Francisco Chronicle. It has also hit Mashable, in addition to top IT trade publications, such as Computerworld, making its way around to various audiences and industries. And not to mention the world of Twitter is eating this up.

The video has also gained the attention of United and representatives have reached out to Carroll, although the results of those conversations have not been released publicly. The key takeaway is that through one United traveler’s creativity, wit and compelling social media content, the world backed him up virally and United has finally listened and will likely continue to feel the effects from this social media backlash for some time.
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The Blogger’s Watchmen

By Dave Struzzi
If you’ve got a blog, the FTC may soon be your biggest fan. That’s because if passed, recently proposed guidelines by the Federal Trade Commission would give the agency unprecedented power to patrol what you write in it.

Of course, these new powers aren’t meant to patrol your daily blog about your newest kitten. Rather, they’re intended to curtail the abuse of “payola” bloggers—those that accept cash and gifts in exchange for writing positively about a company, without disclosing it.

As print media finds itself battling decreasing circulation numbers and online outlets being outpaced by the 24/7 nature of blogs, these blogs have become the go-to destination for millions of people searching for honest advice on their favorite products. But should these blogs be forced to disclose all the freebies they receive? And if so, will people still accept a blog’s advice knowing this?

I believe the changing landscape of online journalism has led to a more mature blog, one that wields more power than ever before. And those that lack full disclosure could potentially alienate their legions of followers. A blog that admits to receiving a product freebie wouldn’t see an effect on readership, but I believe it would receive an increase in reader loyalty. It would also eliminate the many “This blog is in the pocket of Company X” comments that are so rampant.

Blogs have transformed greatly over the past few years. They’ve gone from being younger distant relative to print journalism, to its likely successor. In this way, I believe it must inherit the quality of full disclosure and upfront honesty that enabled print journalism to stay so dominant in the first place.
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