Online Reputation Mangaement Memorandum

To: Taylor K. Adams
From: Emily Flinders
Date: December 5, 2009
RE: Online Reputation

When I conducted a search for your name, I first discovered that Taylor Adams is a very common name. I found that you are a PR intern for USU extension marketing department, and you wrote an article for the Statesman entitled, “Discover the Ag advantage. ” Click here for the link.

After a lot of searching I also found your blog. Click here for link.
Your blog consists of school related work from JCOM 2300 and Online Journalism. I was unable to determine where you attend school, or what exactly you are studying from your work. I looked you up on Facebook, and you have a Facebook account and are in the Utah State network. Your page is blocked so only those you approve as friends can view your page. According to your network, you are graduating from Utah State in 2011. You currently have 154 friends.

After searching the USU website, I found that you were part of a trick-or-treat for charity that was held in October. You were listed as the contact. You also write for a publication called “The True Aggie” which is a newsletter for the College of Agriculture. You wrote an article entitled, “Kjelgren named PSC Department Head.” This is the information I found from conducting various searches for you on the web.

2300: Tiger's PR Fiasco....Continued

As I have watched the Tiger Woods drama unfold, I am convinced that there were better ways to handle the situation. When I clicked on the Yahoo! Sports tab, then clicked Golf, the first seven articles were about some facet of the Tiger story. I wonder how much of this drama could have been avoided if he would have issued a statement at the beginning. There have been many stories published by PR and image consultants telling Tiger to tell his story and be done with it. One said, "Men and women have been forgiven by their public for misbehavior or misstepping, and even philandering.” I have seen this made true multiple times when celebrities or athletes have committed crimes or acts that the majority of society deems morally and ethically wrong. In a few months, no one remembers.

Another PR professional suggested that Tiger not withdraw from the tournament, but rather use it as an opportunity to channel all the media attention. This reminded me of our crisis communication discussion. In my mind, playing in the tournament could help Tiger put an extremely negative situation behind him quicker. Issuing a statement would also help everyone stop speculating and gossiping faster. I don’t blame people for wanting to keep their personal lives private. Unfortunately, celebrities and high profile people don’t have that luxury. Therefore, I think they should listen to their PR and image consultants, and realize that people won’t stop talking until they get the story they want. In the meantime, I will be interested to see what other stories surface, and how Woods handles the growing mess surrounding him.

2300: Yes We Can! (With 30,000 More Troops)

As I opened my internet browser, the Yahoo! Home page had a picture with Obama and the heading, “Obama orders Afghanistan troop boost.” The caption underneath stated, “U.S. forces will expand by 30,000, but troop withdrawal will begin in 18 months. Our security is at stake.” The 30,000 troops triples the force that existed when he took office. A new survey by the Gallup organization showed only 35 percent of Americans approve of Obama's handling of the war; 55 percent disapprove. Obama had arguably one the greatest campaigns for the oval office. His approval ratings and support were phenomenal. Yet now that he is in office, people are realizing that “Change” is not an instant act, and everything will not be fixed in a few months by one man. His approval ratings are dropping and he is receiving more and more criticism.

How do you fix this from a PR stand point? At what point does PR become ineffective when there are not real results? What’s more, there is not much Obama or any president could do in these situations. It’s nearly impossible to control foreign countries and their policies. People are extremely impatient. When Obama promised change, they wanted to see the fruits within a few months of his presidency. Now that it’s not working out like some people hoped, they have quickly changed their loyalties. Government PR is difficult because so much is uncertain and left up to people’s opinions. I don’t envy the people that try to keep the line of communication clear between Washington D.C. and the general public. It seems to be a nearly impossible task.