Online Public Relations Thoughts

A Google mobile phone, still a prototype, showed up on eBay for sale.  There are months yet before the formal introduction of the product.  Google managers must be enraged that a still-developing product has been outed in the marketplace. On the other hand, leaking can build interest and speculation, priming consumers for a big reveal.  So, which is it?  Only Google's managers know.  The manner of this potential sale lends credence to the idea that the leak was intended.  Certainly, Google knows who is in possession of its prototypes and can trace back to the culprit who was offering it for sale.  If not, the company has serious security work to do.  The media thrive on leaks and this was no exception.  So, whether intended or not, it worked.  

The National Rifle Association is opening its annual convention in Houston just days after the murder of 19 children and two teachers in Texas.  It has done it before.  The NRA brushes off criticism of its activities by saying gun-related shootings have nothing to do with it.  And, it absolves weapons as instruments of destruction, especially semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15.  One might think the NRA would show respect for the victims of the mass killing, but it isn't and it won't.  The association's leaders and followers are locked into their beliefs and cannot hear arguments that challenge them.  They are beyond persuasion.  The only control on their activities will come through laws curbing gun purchases by potential miscreants, legislation they have successfully opposed for decades.   

The Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate interrupted a press conference focused on the shooting of 19 children and two teachers to call for gun control. He was shouted down and escorted out by the police.  There are appropriate times for politics but this wasn't one.  The mayor of the small Texas town was deeply offended and had a right to be.  There is no telling what this will do to his candidacy for the highest office in Texas, but it couldn't have helped.  What was he thinking?  He might be deeply concerned about the lack of gun laws in the state but that should have been reserved for a time away from grieving parents.  It was poor PR and a bad showing.  

After every mass shooting, there is a cry for gun control legislation.  President Biden is saying "we have to act" in response to the murder of 19 children and two adults in a Texas elementary school yesterday.  But, nothing happens.  The gun lobby has such an influence in the US capitol that senators and congressmen are powerless to move forward.  What PR and communications plan is needed to persuade those who aren't listening and break the logjam?  Whatever it might be, so far it hasn't been enough.  We live in a country where weapons are considered a sacred right to own by large numbers of citizens.  Any move to restrict the ownership of guns is viewed as heinous.  The true believers aren't and won't listen to reason.  So, Biden can be angry but so what?  Nothing will happen.  

President Biden often wanders off-script and gets himself into trouble.  The latest departure from the official line was his comment about the US coming to the aid of Taiwan should it be attacked by China.  The Chinese were angered but as one US analyst says, it is the President's prerogative to make that call and it isn't far removed from stated policy.  So was it a gaffe?  Hard to say.  It depends how the President's domestic opponents decide to respond.  We'll know soon enough.  Biden can be a communicator's nightmare.  

Elon Musk of Tesla, SpaceX and maybe, Twitter, says he can no longer vote Democrat and will now cast his ballot as a Republican.  That's curious because his car company is supported by liberals worried about the climate, and Republicans have trapped themselves in the lie that the last presidential election was stolen.  Predictably, Musk is being mocked online.  One must ask why he disclosed his political choice.  He could have remained silent, and it would have been an easier PR challenge to negotiate.  Musk is an unusual CEO in that he says what is on his mind without control, and he gets himself in hot water constantly.  As a founder-entrepreneur he can get away with that most of the time but regulators are watching him closely, especially the SEC.  He needs a PR executive who can stand up to him and tell him when to keep silent. 

This story on the first woman to command an aircraft carrier is smart Navy PR.  It highlights opportunities for women that had been denied for most of the Navy's history while acknowledging the Navy still has a way to go to reach parity.  The story also points out that the female captain is not a run-of-the-mill individual.  She is a standout in all she has done.  (Look for an admiral rank in her future.)  Of course, she is a graduate of the Naval Academy and of the service schools for officer advancement.  The Navy seems to be saying any woman who applies herself can rise.  That is a good message in itself.  

The governor of New York is calling on social media companies to do more in controlling hate speech.  This comes after a racist white youth killed 10 African-American people in a Buffalo, NY supermarket.   it is convenient to blame social media because the filth spewed online is seriously disturbing.  But, did it cause the Buffalo incident?  It is hard to know.  Investigators are still peeling back the life of the murderer, but that doesn't stop politicians from jumping to conclusions.  Social media companies are in the cross-hairs of regulation.  They had better act before they are forced by the government to take control of their platforms.  But, even if they curate content, that won't solve the problem.  The vile speech will move from service to service then to its own platforms.  It is whack-a-mole.  Technology has yet to come to grip with hate speech.

Cryptocurrency holders have believed in the value of their coins and invested heavily.  They are taking a beating in the market.   Far from being stable, the coins have proven to be a risky asset. That doesn't stop loyal adherents who are nursing losses.  They will continue to buy and expect the market to return to a more normal state.  Maybe it will: Maybe it won't.  There is no way of knowing.  The future of cryptocurrency is murky because it depends on the power of believers to keep prices stable.  There is no government backing of the currency nor hard assets to sustain value.  Cryptocurrency is secular religion.

The US Navy wants to scrap new ships that don't work, some with less than three years in service.  The ships were designed to handle multiple roles but turned out to handle none of them well.  It is a PR headache for the service, which must admit it built them wrong and has lemons on its hands.  It is also an indictment of the procurement system.  There are too many hands in the design and building of vessels and manufacturers are happy to oblige the demands.  After all, it's only money and there is plenty of that in the Federal trough.  Or, so they would think.  The Navy's excuse for retiring the ships is that it would save hundreds of millions a year, but that ignores the billions it cost to build them.  Any way one looks at it, it's a black eye.  

I'll be away until next Wednesday and won't be writing.  

 Boeing's Starliner crew capsule is set for another test in outer space. The transporter has been a headache for Boeing for the last 10 years with stuck valves, software glitches and communications.  It is a PR nightmare but NASA is sticking with it and the company because it needs a second way to get to the international space station now that the Russians have pulled out.  NASA is using SpaceX's crew capsule now and it is working well with less angst than Boeing's product.  SpaceX has demonstrated that a rocket company with less bureaucracy can successfully compete in the marketplace. It is a warning to traditional aerospace corporations that their days of cost-plus contracts are over.  Private enterprise can do it less expensively and more quickly.  Boeing had better get it right this time.  

Republicans who plotted with Trump to overturn the election before Jan. 6 now allege they don't remember what they said even though the committee investigating the insurrection has emails and texts of their statements.  It is terrible and fallacious communications but they are going to get away with it.  They live in safe districts and there is a core of Republicans who believe with them that Trump's election was stolen.  Politics can sustain a big lie if the politician is persuasive enough.  Truth isn't needed to hold onto power.  Witness what is happening in Ukraine. One might think it can't happen here but as long as citizens tolerate lies, it will continue.  There are systemic falsehoods that last for generations such as questioning the humanity of African-Americans.  Eventually under the pressure of the public, they must be exposed and rooted out.  No one knows how long the lie about Trump's lost election will last, but it is enduring so far.