Brad Marley's Blog

Revenge of the Weekly Grab Bag of Links - 10.31.09

You probably think I have a ton of links saved up since I haven't posted a weekly grab bag of links since early September, right?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your thinking would be incorrect.

Truth is, work and baby preparation have gotten in the way of reading.

But with a week of little-to-no sleep on the horizon, I should have more time than I need to stay current on my blog reader.

For now, these will have to do.

• You don't mess with Montana's Communications students (Deadspin) - When Montana's football coach told his players to stop talking to reporters from the student newspaper, the student newspaper relatiated by covering the team's opponents. The coach has since allowed players to talk to the paper. Communications students 1, jocks 0.

• 5 Social Media Disasters (Penn Olson) - The headline says it all, really. Learn how Honda and Taco Bell handled social media the wrong way.

• An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All (Wired Magazine) - This is an article every parent-to-be should read. The topic of vaccinating your kids is polarizing, to be sure, but when the facts are laid out in a straightforward fashion, it's easier to make a decision.

• The Robots Are Coming! Oh, They're Here (Media Decoder Blog - NYTimes.com) - A group of students at Northwestern University have created a bot that writes game recaps that "captures the overall dynamics of the game" using stats from the game. It's called Stats Monkey, and I'm wondering if they set out with the intention to eliminate more jobs.

• Inside the NHL's social media innovations, growing pains (Puck Daddy) - This article explains how the NHL is actively trying to engage its fans (and fans-to-be) on social networking sites.

As always, you can see all of my links on my Delicious page.

The public will judge you now.

The general public isn't stupid.

They take notice when somebody does, or says, something that flies in the face of their previous actions.

That's one of the first things I learned in Public Relations 101 if, you know, I actually took a course called Public Relations 101.

When we prep executives to respond to criticism on camera, we send them in knowing full well that an awkward glance, or a nose that must be constantly scratched, can sound alarm bells, so we tell them to mind their mannerisms.

As a rule, we try not to feed them fibs.  This enables them to come off as being knowleadgeable and trustworthy to the viewing audience.

Sadly, this is more than I can say for the mother of Nevaeh Buchanan.

If you don't follow the news out of Metro Detroit, or you don't watch Nancy Grace (and, really, who would blame you?), 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan's body was found on Thursday (pending a DNA match).  She had been missing since May 24.

After appearing on camera and taking heat that she wasn't showing the proper amount of grief and, thus, must be involved in her daughter's disappearance, Nevaeh's mother has announced that she will no longer conduct on-camera interviews because (and I'm paraphrasing here) "nobody can possibly understand what I'm going through right now."

Well, no shit.

99.9 percent of us will never have to experience what I can only assume is the worst thing a parent can experience.  But if she is intent on removing the perceived blame, she needs to get back in front of the camera.

Think about it this way: Imagine if there were accusations made against Ford Motor Company that there was a run of the Ford Focus that exploded every time the brakes were engaged.

Ridiculous and unfounded, right?

Well, imagine if Bill Ford, Jr. said he would not address these claims because the majority of the general public does not understand how a car is designed?

Maybe not so ridiculous and unfounded now, eh?  No matter if the claims were false, removing himself from the public eye would only serve to fuel the fire.

Let me be clear in saying that I don't think the mother is guilty.  But her sudden avoidance of the camera in close relation to her daughter's body being found (pending DNA match) should (and does) raise a lot of eyebrows, and there are alarm bells ringing in the public relations part of my brain.

It's the equivalent of the dreaded "no comment," which, it just so happens, is covered in Public Relations 102 if, you know, that class actually existed.