The Sternberg Effect
Communications
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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This post originally ran on Mediaite. I wanted to add it here because this blog has gotten lonely and wanted some company. But please feel free to read this and other posts of mine over at Mediaite.
For 50+ years, if someone were to mention The Big Three Networks, one would automatically know the conversation was about ABC, NBC and CBS. Over the past several years, a new Big Three Networks has emerged, only now it’s the social networks of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (and while the folks at MySpace believe they’re in this cadre, who really uses MySpace anymore except for the next promising local band?).
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Communications Renaissance: Thoughts From Guest Lecturing
Last night, I had the pleasure of guest lecturing at NYU for a class about PR 2.0. About 2 minutes into the class, I felt right at home. Maybe it was because the class was intimate – only 8 students; maybe it was because the professor, Matt Knell making me feel at ease. Or maybe because I’ve been there before, in front of a class of people wanting to learn.
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Smell Like A Man
One of the most talked about advertising campaigns right now is the Old Spice Man, starring the sculpted former NFLer Isaiah Mustafa . But it’s not your grandfather’s Old Spice campaign, as there’s a highly interactive – and addictive – online push (a combination of viral video, Twitter feed and Facebook page) to support the non-sequitur TV spots.
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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
Off the Record vs. On Background vs. Privacy
Earlier today, New York Times reporter Nick Bilton posted this tweet:
Off record chat w/ Facebook employee. Me: How does Zuck feel about privacy? Response: [laughter] He doesn’t believe in it.
This tweet reminds me of a poster I once saw in college showing, from one perspective, a beauty queen and from another, an old-maid. Why? Well, this tweet shows how reporters can be cavalier with their sources (the “off the record” vs “on background” debate), and the content by the source that Facebook, by the Zuckerberg proxy, doesn’t believe in privacy.
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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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