Jailhouse Tips for Surviving Online

Being online is not unlike the prison underworld. It can be brutal, savage, and unforgiving, and requires street smarts to survive.

Sitting in your cell alone, or not being involved in the online space, is no longer an option. If you don’t participate personally, someone else will on your behalf. In the long-term you can expect identity theft (or simply mistaken identity), smear campaigns, and social ostracization.

Michael Allison, a recent PR grad in Canada, said,

Think of social media’s value in a way where you can’t not make time for it.

Even if you don’t go online your competitors will. With some disastrous consequences.

So let’s get started.

Get Affiliated

The lone sheep is in danger of the wolf.
- Chinese Proverb

Just like in jail, the person who doesn’t affiliate themselves with a powerful or influential group online is likely to get picked on. Unlike jail however, affiliations should not be racially based.

Professional groups and associations in your area of interest are always the best place to start. You have the added bonus of informal mentoring and networking from your peers. More importantly, they can help show you the ropes.

If you operate a blog, join a group aggregate. This has the added bonus of increasing your readership. Link to others in your collective, and you will see the link love flow. Your feed can potentially be reproduced on countless sites, expanding your influential exponentially.

Get Social

Online influence and presence is largely a matter of how well you are known, and how well you know others. Use social media sites to interact and familiarize yourself with persons and groups of interest.

Facebook is one of the more popular sites, and is increasing in usage even beyond the younger demographic that it started with. Businesses are clearly making their presence known on Facebook. But other sites offer more sophisticated and professional profiles, with LinkedIn topping the charts in popularity. Ziki is one of my new favourites because it imports your blog and podcast posts for you.

All the social media can get overwhelming at times. Use an RSS reader for your blogs. I use FriendFeed to keep track of tech-savvy contacts, because it groups updates from blogs, social media sites, and other sources.

Own Yourself

If you don’t claim your name online, someone else will claim it for you. Invest in purchasing your name url if you can afford it, i.e. www.omarha-redeye.com. You can create a personal site there, or simply redirect it anywhere you like. In a worst case scenario, a competitor may purchase your name simply to discredit you.

Posing as a competitor online is far too common a tactic. Use ClaimID to let people know which links are really yours, and which ones are posing as you or is someone with a similar name.

There are free strategies available to help you own your own name. Explore and see which work best for you.

Hired guns are available. Reputation Defender will try to protect you and remove slanderous content. But few malicious posters will willingly comply with these requests.

When to Call the Guards

Security online is worse than the most decrepit and neglected prison. The guards rarely come when you call, and usually aren’t very interested in what is going on.

Legislation regarding online behaviour is usually rather antiquated. Politicians typically don’t know enough about technology, and don’t care enough to pass enough laws to regulate it.

Clear instances of threats of violence and intimidation should be reported to the authorities. Litigation is an option for clear cases of slander or libel.

And Finally, Relax

But the best protection is being surrounded with affiliates. There really is power in numbers when it comes to working online.

The one difference between prison and the Internet is that you can actually have clean fun on the Internet. Try not to worry too much about the bad guys once you cover all the bases, and go and enjoy yourself.

August 11, 2008 | Filed Under Omar Ha-Redeye | 6 Comments 

When Not to Say Sorry

When you make a mistake, you apologize.

We learn this as children, and often re-learn this as professional communicators. Apologies are especially important during times of crisis or disasters to allay public fears and retain customer and shareholder confidence.

Timothy Coombs has suggested that social media can be used to monitor impending crises. But social media can also be effective for clients to build a relationship with the public during a crisis. Blogs can be particularly effective in conveying rapid updates and at the same time providing a forum for feedback and questions.

Other tools can include RSS for stakeholders that need constant updates, podcasts, and even videos.

On Feb. 14, 2007, a Jet Blue plane was stranded on an airstrip for nine hours due to a snow storm. Nine other planes were delayed the same day, and for four days following normal service still had not resumed.

In addition to offering compensation for similar events in the future, Jet Blue CEO David Neeleman issued a public apology that was listed on YouTube. He outlined strategies the company planned to avoid repeat incidents, and asked the public for their business and support.

The Jet Blue incident is frequently lauded as an effective way for a corporation to personally reach out and deal with the public during a crisis through social media. Apologies can be especially effective in maintaining positive relationships with the public, and even mitigate damages.

Many communicators suggest that an apology is the first step in any crisis. Eric M. Wagner points out that it is important for apologies to be sincere, and come before a company gets “caught.”

But there are times why sorry simply isn’t appropriate. In many jurisdictions an apology amounts to an admission of guilt, opening up doors to legal liability.

This issue was recently discussed in Canada, where various jurisdictions have different rules regarding apologies.

Richard Levick, President of Levick Strategic Communications has said,

When it comes to managing crises, attorneys should be on the bus, not driving the bus.

While this may be true, it is still important to check with legal counsel about the laws in your area before jumping on the bandwagon and issuing apologies using social media.

And preferably this advice should arrive before the crisis does.

June 30, 2008 | Filed Under Omar Ha-Redeye | 4 Comments