The Sternberg Effect
Business
Community Management and Tumblr
Last week, I wrote at Digiday how the symbiotic relationship between Tumblr and big-brand media properties has contributed to the growth of the site. Here’s a second part to that story – how the community manager’s role has also contributed to the growth of Tumblr, and why their approach is significantly different than other social networks. Continue reading
Missing the Forest for the Trees
Earlier this week, I wrote an article about the often misguided approach from technology startups and their quest for media placements for Digiday, an online publication for the digital audience – those who work in digital media, advertising or marketing. Based on my experience representing many tech companies, and getting anecdotal evidence from tech reporters … Continue reading
Occupy Wall Street
Upon exiting the 2/3 at Wall Street, I was expecting to be swept up in a crowd of people marching down that corporate alleyway, playing music and chanting, “We shall overcome.” Or, at the very least, see some of New York’s Finest pepper-spraying protesters while men in $5,000 suits stood back and watched. Instead, I saw the typical throng of tourists gawking at the Fed, taking pictures of the George Washington Statue and lining up to pose with the New York Stock Exchange in the background. I also saw steel barricades, which obviously meant protest.
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Why I Will Never Fly KLM Again
Imagine this scenario: you are a doctor – a heart surgeon – who is away on a much needed vacation overseas. You booked your flight months in advance, followed all the rules, and after 2 weeks away, as you get ready to board your flight home, you are told, “Sorry, sir, but the flight is overbooked and there are no seats available for you. Not even in business class or first class.” Now imagine you are supposed to fly home on a Monday so that you can perform open heart surgery on Tuesday on a 6 year old child who, if she doesn’t have this surgery, will die. Instead, you are stuck in a foreign country, with no way of getting home.
I am not a doctor. Obviously. But the subtext of this scenario, getting bumped from a flight, happened to me recently. And according to the concierge at the Courtyard Marriott in Amsterdam, this happens at least 15 times a day.
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On Being Stood Up and Generational Differences
I had two meetings scheduled today; one with a mid-to-late 30s guy and another with an early-to-mid 20s guy. Both are in the media space, each working for hugely influential companies.
The older guy sent me an email this morning saying something came up – let’s postpone. We communicated and rescheduled. These things happen. The second guy never came to the restaurant we were supposed to meet at. Yep, I was stood up.
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Beware the IRS Phishing Scam
Fifteen years ago, I was almost a multi-millionaire. I received an email from a Nigerian prince whose parents died in a tragic plane crash and he needed to move money around, so he naturally contacted me, a complete and utter stranger, asking if he could wire me $7 million into my bank account, of which I’d get to keep half. I’d have to fill out some forms which included my social security number, bank routing number, etc., and then I’d have a cool $3.5 million to my name. Not bad for an 18 year old college freshman.
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Exporting American culture
America’s imperialism – how we export our culture – tries to win the hearts and minds of others. Interesting how the Iranian regime responds (from the NYT):
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Who Controls the Message?
http://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://www.joshsternberg.com/blog/2010/5/18/who-controls-the-message.html The first several weeks after signing a new client are always my favorite. Why? Because this is where we lay the foundation of most, if not all, of our efforts moving forward. We come up with the processes as well as the goals to have a successful relationship. Most importantly, this is the time … Continue reading
Mixing Theory With Business
One of my favorite theories to go over when I was teaching was called the Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT). Basically, the theory tries to explain and predict how relationships develop between strangers. The idea is rooted in the logic that the more (and often, how) we communicate upon initial interaction, the more we reduce our uncertainty of this person and thus determine if we will continue to develop the relationship.
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Leave it To The Professionals
This post initially ran on the PR Breakfast Club’s site.
Recently, fellow PRBCer Keith Trivitt raised an interesting question about PR folks’ background. Essentially, he said, you don’t need to be trained in communications or PR to be successful in our field:
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