A Dirty Little Secret
P.T. Barnum was famous for putting on a show that 1) people wanted to see and 2) kept people talking. He presented ordinary things in extraordinary ways, and his presentation made him a household name in the mid-1800s. Interestingly enough, he was also a Republican legislator and highly sought after speaker – a fact that makes this editorial even more relevant.
When he established “P.T Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome,” which later became known simply as the “Barnum and Bailey Circus,” PT Barnum reached the height of his career as he paraded his troupe across the world.
Because of his inventive promotional style, he was known as the “Shakespeare of Advertising” and his public persona’s love of fame was once quoted as saying, “I don't care what they say about me, just make sure they spell my name right.”
Still, no matter how much he promoted his business or the character he publicly portrayed, he was a man much greater than the sum of his parts. He was an author and a philanthropist who hated slavery and racism, believed in suffrage, and helped establish the hospital in Bridgeport, CT where he lived. As a member of the state House, speaking to the Connecticut legislature over the ratification of the 13th Amendment, he said, “A human soul, ‘that God has created and Christ died for,’ is not to be trifled with. It may tenant the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab or a Hottentot – it is still an immortal spirit.”
While a politician in 2013 would refrain from using terms like “Chinaman” and “Hottentot,” taken in the context of Barnum’s time, those were not derogatory terms, and his sentiment was simply that a life is a life, and we shouldn’t discount that.
More and more frequently I hear people blast talking heads like Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, S.E. Cupp, and others like them.
Those on the left scream about the ones on the right and vice versa. “How DARE he/she say INSERT INFLAMATORY STATEMENT HERE! Can you believe what that right wing fascist/lefty communist said on INSERT TELEVISION/RADIO PROGRAM HERE?”
Yes. Yes I can, because it’s all about understanding perspective.
Perspective is important. Keeping “pundits” in perspective is important, and here’s the dirty little secret.
Cupp, Limbaugh, Maddow, Olbermann, and the others don’t get on network airwaves and rant as volunteers.
They’re paid and paid well, but there’s a catch. They have to produce.
They have to build an audience because it’s that audience that helps determine advertising rates. The greater the number of viewers, listeners, or readers, the more an outlet can charge for advertising. If Cupp, Limbaugh, Maddow, or Olbermann aren’t producing an audience, that means people aren’t watching, listening, or reading that particular media outlet. If people aren’t watching, listening, or reading, ad rates and ad sales drop. That hurts a media outlet’s profitability.
You see, talking heads have bosses that include radio and television and newspaper and magazine executives, and those radio and television and newspaper and magazine executives have bosses that make up corporate boards charged with increasing profits, and those corporate boards have bosses made of stockholders who expect return on their investments. In other words, entertainment is a business, and talking is part of the job.
Don’t get me wrong. The talking heads on both the left and right believe a lot of what they say, but like Barnum, each is greater than the sum of his or her parts. In their private lives, these entertainers are parents, spouses, philanthropists, community volunteers, hobbyists, and just regular people.
When it comes to their work personas, though, it’s their job to get you to listen, watch, or read. It’s their job to get you passionate, engaged, or even mad. It’s their job to say things that get you to talk about them and to get your friends to listen, watch, or read so that they get passionate, engaged, or even mad. Then they’ll tell their friends, and, well, you get the picture.
The talking heads are like P.T. Barnum. They’re sideshow promoters. They’re circus ringmasters charged with getting viewers, listeners, and readers to buy a ticket and watch, listen to, and read about their daily or weekly circus. The only difference is that instead of sword swallowers, fire eaters, and a traveling menagerie of characters, today’s barkers parade opinions designed and phrased to raise your blood pressure.
So when you see CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, and other outlets in any form of media, and you see, hear, or read something that really gets to you, take it in the spirit in which it was intended – a means to increase radio and TV ratings, spur a greater readership, and generate more web traffic.
Oh, and if there are any radio, television, or magazine execs reading this and looking for new carnival barkers, to you I simply say, “Step right up! This way to the greatest show on earth!” Call me.
This op-ed may be reprinted/reposted in whole or in part upon written notification to and permission from taft@taftmatney.com.
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Don't Say Everything
The great thing about social media is that you can say whatever you’re thinking and broadcast that message to the masses. Unfortunately, the bad thing about social media is that you can say whatever you’re thinking and broadcast that message to the masses.
Remember that party you went to where that thing happened that was SO funny? How about when somebody said something you didn’t like but you thought of a witty retort that would put that person in his or her place?
Yeah. Don’t post those.
Eventually, we’ll have to start remembering that “once it’s on the Internet, it’s there forever.”
As THE ONION pointed out last fall, “A troubling report finds that by 2040 every presidential candidate will be unelectable to political office due to their embarrassing Facebook posts.”
Sure. THE ONION isn’t exactly the definitive source for news, but the parody site brings home a good point. People will pay attention to what you post – whether it’s a tweet, a status update, a comment, a video, or a picture.
It’s one thing to chalk bad up judgment to immaturity or youthful indiscretion, but more and more we’re seeing these lapses in common sense posted publicly by adults.
There’s always going to be the argument that what a person does in his or her personal time shouldn’t reflect on his or her professional life, but living under that assumption isn’t living in the real world.
That assumption was the norm before everything you thought, did, or said was posted by you or someone else for everyone to see. Believing that your personal life shouldn’t and won’t impact your professional life is unrealistic.
Why? Social media provides anyone and everyone with the tools to create what is essentially a media outlet no different from a newspaper, magazine, or a radio/television station, and what you post or allow to be posted is broadcast to audiences everywhere.
No matter what your job title may be, at some level you represent your employer. If you’re a grocery clerk at Bi-Lo and post about how you disagree with the company’s move out of South Carolina to Jacksonville, that could easily be picked up by a reporter writing a story on the corporate shakeup. If you’re a political staff member and engage in a Twitter battle with a staffer from an opposing side, the perception becomes that you’re speaking on behalf of the politico you serve. If you’re a consultant who spreads rumors about a competitor, your client can become the issue as media members ask, “And why do you associate with Consultant X when he/she continues making these inflammatory statements?”
You are a public face for your employer. Your actions and words impact them as much, if not sometimes more, than they impact you.
And if you’re in job hunt mode and those types of social media posts surface during the vetting process, go ahead and kiss that potential job goodbye.
Use your head, and run your thoughts through a filter before you hit “Post.”
Ask yourself a few questions.
- “Will I regret this later?”
- “How will my employer/client/potential employer/client feel about this post/picture/comment/video?”
- “How will this reflect on me to friends and family?”
- “Is this really wise for me to post?”
Even if you think through your posts, you’re going to make mistakes from time to time. Humor is not universal (I’ve learned this.), sarcasm doesn’t always translate well to electronic writing (I’ve learned this.), and most people who follow you on Twitter or are your “friends” on Facebook, don’t truly know you or your personality and can easily take your comments outside of the spirit in which they were intended or how they sounded in your head as you wrote them. Be prepared to handle those situations when they arise.
Social media is not an evil tool. Just like anything else, it’s all about the way it’s used. You can be funny. You can be snarky (I am a lot.). You can be informative. You can be engaging. You can be positive. You can be a promotional outlet who uses social media to get ahead.
Just remember, though, once it’s out there, it’s out there forever. There’s no pulling it back, so make sure you’ve thought your social media activity through to its end, how it can be used against you, and how you can use it for you.
This op-ed may be reprinted/reposted in whole or in part upon written notification to and permission from taft@taftmatney.com.
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Getting Things Done. There's a Right Way and a Wrong Way.
American politics has changed – not just at the national level, but the state and local levels, too.
No matter what your party affiliation may be, no matter what your political ideology is, no matter what your top issues are, if you’ve paid any attention to the news, you’ve seen these changes.
I’m not talking about longing for “the old days” or “a simpler time” or talking about the way things were “back in my day.” That’s nostalgia, not reality.
Things have changed, and not for the better.
Issues are more divisive. Passions are more intense. Personalities are more divergent.
Allowing those to be the prevailing attitudes is not the way to get things done. Political bomb-throwers (speaking mataphorically) who deal only in absolutes are hurting their causes by refusing to bend. This doesn’t mean they should compromise their beliefs, but using a “my way or the highway” attitude in trying to persuade a House member, a senator, a county council member, or a city council representative why a position is the correct one just won’t work.
You can’t tell decision-makers that if they don’t agree with 100% of your positions 100% of the time, you and your supporters will do X.
If you do, you’ve effectively blocked all potential for discussion. You’ll be able to finish presenting your position, the person will probably smile, nod, thank you for your opinion, and walk away, but at the same time, that person is not going to truly listen to you or give your issue any additional consideration because you’ve come to him or her with demands, threats, and a complete unwillingness to listen and have a calm, rational discussion.
The same thing goes with creating an effective audience for your message. Demands, threats, and 100% compliance with your positions will turn people off.
Public relations, governmental affairs, public policy, product marketing all begin with a conversation, and to have a conversation, it can’t be single-sided.
If you have an issue you want heard by a specific audience – whether governmental, business, or consumer – first, consult a professional with expertise in that area. Let him or her know your goals and ask for advice on how to strategically work toward achieving them.
Second, listen. He or she will tell you that you’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and that’s true. Courtesy and respect go a long way in helping forge relationships, and while a specific relationship may not yield exactly what you want at a specific time, it will help down the road when you have another issue or goal that person can agree with.
Third, don’t make an issue personal. You can agree to disagree, but that’s an issue about policy or business. Questioning someone’s integrity, heritage, upbringing, commitment, family, or religion will not win friends and supporters. Understand that if you have someone who is showing you respect and courtesy, he or she expects the same in return, and that reciprocation will help develop relationships that will serve you, your campaign, your business, or your organization better in the long run than would making a long list of enemies.
There are people who will read this and call me soft or wishy-washy, and those are people who will never understand this message. They will also be unsuccessful in achieving their long-term goals.
There are others who understand that what I’m saying is a reality that I’ve watched and learned firsthand because for a dozen years or so, I’ve been one of those professionals I advised you to consult.
Much of my professional life is navigating government’s unnavigable waters for clients and successfully crafting messaging and branding and building marketing and public affairs campaigns for politicians, organizations, businesses, and consumers. I know from experience why these things matter.
Don’t make it personal, don’t take it personally, build relationships, and approach your goals strategically – and do it all with courtesy and respect. You’ll be much more successful in the long run.
This op-ed may be reprinted/reposted in whole or in part upon written notification to and permission from taft@taftmatney.com.
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Don't Be Ashamed to Google Yourself. It's Perfectly Natural.
"Googling yourself." I know. It's almost become hack double entendre, but there's something to it.
It used to be that if a reporter wanted to know something about you, he or she had to ask you and people who know you things about you. In other words, he or she had to put in the legwork to research you.
Today, it’s much easier for media members -- or anyone else -- to get the scoop on you.
Yesterday, after I finished testifying before a South Carolina House subcommittee on a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) bill, I returned to my seat – which just happened to be next to a reporter. For the record, I wasn’t being nosy, and I wasn’t spying, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw MY name on her laptop screen. I saw MY WIFE’s name on her laptop screen.
This reporter Googled me during my remarks. She was checking me out.
I didn't have anything to hide, but while part of me was flattered she thought enough to research who I am and what I’m about, there was another part of me that was frankly a little creeped out at the thought of her researching me with such ease. No. The irony that this was happening during a hearing on FOIA legislation wasn’t lost.
Anyway, what she did wasn’t wrong. She’s a reporter. Her job is to report facts for her stories, and by virtue of my testimony during this hearing, I was becoming a part of her story. She wouldn’t have been doing her job if she hadn’t tried to get some information about me.
More than anything, this was a reminder that information about you, almost any information, is no more than a few mouse clicks away.
What will people uncover about you if they do something as simple as a web search? Is the information correct? Does it paint you in a positive or negative light? Have people published things about you that are designed solely to hurt your reputation?
Reputation management is becoming more and more important as anyone with a laptop and an Internet connection can post anything about you for the masses to see. If someone has an ax to grind with you, it’s incredibly easy for him or her to tarnish your name by placing negative information about you in the webosphere.
Is readily available information about you that important, even if it's not true? Of course it is. After all, "if it's on the Internet, it's gotta be true." Right?
Think about it. That Internet information could impact a college admissions director reviewing your application. It could impact that new job you're trying to get. It could impact a voter's opinion of your candidacy. It could impact how people view issues you're promoting or opposing. It could impact your company's stock.
I tell my son, “There are two things you own that no one can take away. One is your word, so always make sure to keep your promises so that people will trust you. The other is your name. Guard it, and defend it. Make it something to be proud of, not ashamed of.”
Controlling your name and reputation takes effort. You have to keep a close eye on what people say about you and work to keep your reputation clean. You can do it yourself, or you can hire someone who offers reputation management services to keep watch for you and spring in to action when something negative (whether the information is true or false) hits the Internet.
We offer reputation management services, and so do a lot of other firms, but if you have the time, you can do it yourself (I probably shouldn’t have said that.). Whether you’re a student, a suburban parent, a politician, a corporate executive, or anything in between, it’s imperative that you keep track of the information floating out there about you. It’s important how you handle that information – either promoting it or pushing it down several pages on search results (Remember, once it’s on the Internet, it’s there forever. Just ask the folks who wrote the Facebook Terms of Service policy.).
I’ll tell you the same thing I tell my son. You have your word, and you have your name. Put in the effort to make sure they stay valuable. Oh, and if you’re a reporter, it’s fine if you Google me. Please just keep your laptop screen where I can’t see it so I don’t get unnecessarily paranoid.
This op-ed may be reprinted/reposted in whole or in part upon written notification to and permission from taft@taftmatney.com.
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