So, is this sharp article in The New Yorker still good? Decidedly. Is bad press still good for company profiling? Decidedly, NOT.

Besides celebrity gossip and juicy tabloid crap (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6835364.ece), which is the exception to this rule, bad media coverage works badly for companies, regardless of the exposure. Negative press travels 20X faster than good news, and as such, has the ability to damage carefully developed reputations 20X faster.

There are those who would say that it is simply the exposure and recognition, regardless of the quality, that can ultimately be measured. (This opinion seems to prevail from those that are still licking wounds from an editorial spanking.) Certainly crisis management comes into play to mitigate those disasters, but in the end, bad press is bad. It can swiftly destroy the solid media foundation you aspire to achieve.

I mention this as a caution to publicists who embark upon a campaign without considering negative press as a possibility, and as such, fail to plan.

By all means, think about the great press you anticipate getting, but also consider any chinks in your story’s armor (such as failure to prove, or potential for insult). Doing so may protect you from a windfall of negative press. Which is, however you look at it, bad. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/04/att-has-a-human-working-for-it-and-his-name-is-seth/

Ask most people what they consider their favorite holiday, and my guess is they’ll tell you it isn’t the Fourth of July, New Years, or even Christmas: it’s Thanksgiving. A tradition so simple, yet so indulgent, we look forward to it all year. It’s a day to give thanks—thanks for family, friends, and that stuffing-induced food coma.

In my family, Thanksgiving is taken quite seriously, and my mother starts menu planning as soon as it’s Pumpkin Spice Latte season at Starbucks.

Thanksgiving Day prep soon becomes an all-consuming hobby for the whole family, often without consent. The entire month of November is dedicated to planning, food shopping, guest list confirmations, and the like. Then comes the big day, and you can forget about having any plans of your own. Want to meet up with friends? Sorry, consider the potato peeler your friend. Going for a run? Only if it’s in the direction of the grocery store. This day is spent coordinating oven times, brining turkeys, welcoming family, and delegating duties like an army drill sergeant. Stacy, apple pie. John, you’re on cranberry duty. Kim, whip those potatoes until they form peaks stiffer than the Rocky Mountains.

I’ll admit it can get a little heated in the kitchen, especially as family starts to multiply. But it’s Thanksgiving, and this is what we have to go through in order to enjoy a delicious meal…right?

Maybe not.

On a recent trip to David Burk Townhouse, we received a card that said “Please join us for Thanksgiving Day Dinner!”. At first, this just looked like their way of promoting their Fall season menu, but then I saw the date: November 24^th, 2011. Thanksgiving Day. Was this real? Do people really go out to eat on the one day meant to be all about home cooking?

The mere idea sounded outlandish and criminal at the time, but then I thought about it.

If someone else is doing all the work, this means we would have more time to relax and enjoy the day. No last minute trips to the grocery store, no polishing silverware, and no dishwashing. We would be free.

Countless restaurants in New York and other cities are providing this labor-free option. But not only are these restaurants offering to cook for you, they are introducing new twists to old classics. Sick of turkey? You can have wild boar or lobster steak. One restaurant is even offering a Southwestern Thanksgiving Dinner. From the wine to the pumpkin pie, these restaurants have your family covered.

This trend doesn’t stop at restaurants. Yacht companies are vying for your business by hosting private Thanksgiving cruises along the river. Hotels are promoting “Thanksgiving weekend” packages fit with horseback riding, canoeing, mountaineering, shopping, and of course, alternative dining.

But while the idea of trading mallets and knives for cloth napkins and a wait staff is understandably appealing, isn’t there a little magic lost?

Part of the joy associated with this holiday is the anticipation and buildup. That time spent over compiling recipes, trying new things, and laboring over a meal is what makes everything worth it. Family might get a little intense, but gathering around the kitchen has and always will be one of America’s favorite activities.

Call me old-fashioned, but I’m sticking to the home-cooked Thanksgiving this year. Even if that means I’ll be knee deep in dirty dishes. But whether you’re dining in or out this holiday, be sure to enjoy the time you have with the family you love…because Target opens at midnight.

The following is an excerpt from Marco Larsen’s critically acclaimed book “DON’T: The Essential Guide to Publicity in New York City”. In this post he gives an introduction to the do’s and don’ts of cocktail etiquette.

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According to the Encyclopedia of New York City, the island’s original, Native American inhabitants affectionately referred to it as manahachtanienk, meaning “general state of inebriation”. Whether they meant themselves or their new, Dutch neighbors over on what we now call Broadway is…hazy in retrospect.

No surprise then that Wall Street was named for a rampart that the more virtuous 17^th century citizens of New Amsterdam erected partly to stem the tide of soused English colonists and other stray flotsam attracted by the abundance of pubs in the area. True to its beginnings, New York City to this day boasts more watering holes per block than any other city in the world.

In true form, business, and any other activity, in New York, often involves imbibing. A world-class city filled with world-class drinkers, it’s an intoxicating metropolis in many ways. On the vanguard of everything, commerce to cocktails, in the de facto cultural center of America even its signature cocktail is loaded—with history.

The Manhattan is named after the Manhattan Club, a bastion of upper crust Democrats, and mixed for Samuel J. Tilden, elected Governor of New York in 1874. A presidential hopeful, Tilden was later embroiled in the 19^th Century’s greatest election scandal when he won the popular vote against Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, but was denied the White House based on crafty ballot counting in Florida (sound familiar?).

Fifty years later, when Prohibition reformers straightjacketed America for over a decade, New York responded by debuting 100,000 speakeasies. As the city’s patron saint, Frank Sinatra once put it, “I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.”

Which is more or less, how New Yorkers feel. Moreover, publicity is a profession intricately entwined with fashion, media, and entertainment, and excepting the financial industry, exceeded only by those three fields, in a race to the nearest bar for business meetings and professional events.

The list is long — the messy drunk, the maudlin drunk, the bitter drunk, the overly gregarious drunk, the sleazy drunk, the blabbermouth drunk—and you don’t want on it. If you’ve had any problems in the past managing alcohol’s effects, deal with that before starting in business here.

In New York, more so than other cities, it can be difficult to distinguish between a night on the town cutting loose with friends and one forging bonds with professional associates. For those in marketing and public relations, the distinction is worth nothing. Moreover, in a city where functioning alcoholics and social critics routinely overlap, how and what you drink will classify you. Use this to your advantage. Or at least avoid neglecting it to your detriment.

– By Marco Larsen

Stay tuned for more advice on socializing and cocktails in my next post “DON’T Order Vile Hooch”.

Thanksgiving is coming and I can almost hear the collective groan. For some, that groan may be the result of dislike for in-laws or even turkey (heaven forbid). Most likely, however, the reason why the mention of the holiday has your stomach in knots is because you will have to travel before you’re able to completely give yourself over to the food, drink and (sometimes pleasurable) company. In recent years, the flying experience has gone from tolerable to unbearable. Never mind the endless amounts of fees that have been tacked onto everything imaginable, due to route and seat cuts, planes have been fuller with more delays and layovers. In the news last week it was announced that although there will be a drop in airline passengers this Thanksgiving, flights will be as full as ever. I am now groaning with you.

ABC’s new show ‘PanAm’ has really brought into focus what the flight experience today is missing. The vision of commercial flight in the decades before it became mainstream is one of elegance and sophistication. Though air travel today is much more convenient and affordable, many now see it as a chore. It’s a dreaded experience; a necessary means to an end-the romance has left us. Granted the designated travel day for Thanksgiving is the busiest of the year but it does give pause to wonder how far we’ve come from the days when flying was an experience that really made true the statement, “it’s not the destination but the journey that counts.”

Let me paint you a picture:

Imagine yourself walking onto the plane dressed to perfection. The flight attendant greets you by name. She’s dressed impeccably in a uniform complete with hat, heels and white gloves. She leads you to your seat, which has plenty of legroom by the way, marked by a name card. Mid-flight, your steak sandwich arrives on a china plate with silverware utensils-no plastic to be found. As you wipe the crumps from your lips with your linen napkin, you hear the tinkling of piano keys as the live music begins. You walk into the lounge, order yourself a cocktail and sit back down to take in the music and the atmosphere until you land. Jealous yet? Ready to break down into tears at the thought of the reality, yet?

I understand full well that commercial airlines don’t have the means anymore to provide most of those services. Flying back then was equal to what our ultimate first class/private jet experience is today. What the industry has compromised in service, it has made up for in convenience, flexibility, and affordability-all relatively of course.  So what is it that we are so upset about? PanAm has reminded us of what it is that we are so desperately looking for-that personal touch. It shouldn’t be just those who belong to first class or elite flier programs. Those who pay for it should get their extras and loyalty should be rewarded but is it so hard to ask to be treated like a fellow human being?

Last year’s Thanksgiving travel was marked by the new TSA body scanners and  the controversial pat-down alternative. I wasn’t one of those people up-in-arms about it but some of the stories I read about how people were treated by TSA blew my mind. It wasn’t the scanning process rather, it was the insensitivity to the loss of dignity people went through trying to cooperate. Is a word of understanding too difficult?

It’s the automated messaging systems you get that never actually help when you call about a problem with your fight. It’s the endless add-on of fees and the revoking of in-flight meals, snacks and blankets without any recognition of how ridiculous this has become.

What it really boils down to is yes, we would all love to be greeted by name and served chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven 30,000 feet in the air. Times have changed and that just isn’t going to happen. What we really want is the industry to recognize and honor our humanity. These are tough times and the airlines are going to do what they have to to survive. But have the decency to acknowledge your customers as more than just a seat number. Have we really come so far from the white-gloved service of the 50s and 60s? Taking a step back, it really seems like we have.

Is it just me, or has Halloween gotten a little out of hand?

Every television show has a special; every product has a horror-themed ad, and every celebrity is hosting or attending a spooky soiree (see Heidi Klum above).

Don’t get me wrong—I love watching Al Roker prance around as Superman just as much as the next person. But what makes us so obsessed with Halloween? It doesn’t have the food of Thanksgiving, or the presents of Christmas.

I guess it has to be the costumes. Crazy, gory, over-the-top costumes that no one in their right mind would wear on any other day of the year. And that’s exactly what makes Halloween so much fun to celebrate year after year. But lately, Halloween has had a little transformation of its own, from .

First there’s the advertising. Halloween is essentially an advertiser’s excuse to start talking about Christmas—the Holy Grail of holidays—in October. It kicks off the holiday season, and as such, everyone participates, regardless of how irrelevant it is for their brand. For example, Best Buy insists that this Halloween, what we really need is a new computer because how else are we going to create all of the horror films that so many of us have been working on lately? Though this commercial is obviously only relevant to some, the main goal is to get people thinking about Best Buy in preparation for holiday shopping.

Secondly, today’s costumes are becoming excessive, in both clever unfortunate ways. The evolution of costumes from pumpkins, princesses, and puppies to sexy pumpkins, sexy princesses, and sexy puppies is an acceptable reality for adults. But now, that line between children’s and adult’s costumes has blurred. Kids’ skirts are just as short, just as tight, and just as inappropriate. If at all possible, I’d like to avoid seeing a sexy Dora the Explorer this year.

But, there’s another selection of costumes this Halloween that I actually applaud. They stem from our constantly evolving technology and prove imagination and creativity aren’t quite dead. One clever man used 2 FaceTiming iPads to make it appear as though he had a hole in his stomach. This is creative and absolutely brilliant. But for us geeks who don’t happen to have two iPads lying around, the most popular costumes this year are characters from Angry Birds, the most in demand iPhone gaming app. These costumes prove that media, more than ever, is playing a role in Halloween and it’s going to continue to be this way.

All in all, Halloween will always be a time to celebrate, and I suppose wearing a ridiculous ensemble is just part of the process. So here’s to wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and Snooki-free Halloween. Tomorrow you’ll be inundated with recipes for Thanksgiving, all while trying to get Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” out of your head.

by Marco

A call that achieves tangible results (read: press) for you represents a favor from your media contact. Your contacts realize this fact no matter how graciously they may feign overlook it. A call followed up only by he next pitch resembles a Saturday night date followed up only with another Thursday afternoon query. The timing is somehow suspect.

Wham, bam, thank you, Ma’am is never a shrewd approach to a (long term) relationship.

Saying thank you with another call might be awkward. Email says, “Your gracious assistance is this important to me: CLICK- CLICK.” It places you comfortably among the legion of hacks styling themselves as publicists. Place yourself among gracious professionals, instead.

Have you ever received a proper thank you note? Written on quality stationary with a postmark and everything? It made you feel special, did it not? People genuinely enjoy being noted for their efforts.

In business, there are myriad reasons to send a thank you note: a good turn professionally, in response to a referral, after a job interview, or when you have been treated to lunch by a contact or similarly entertained by your boss. Less and less common in our manic age of email, texting, BlackBerries, and mobile phones, it’s classically courteous and a near – effortless way to define yourself as considerate and well mannered.

Above all, never type a thank you note: It is not “more business-like”, its just “less charming.” The recipient will assume you lack either legible penmanship or simple elan. Use company letterhead and a matching envelope; they’ll suppose you lack taste and proper stationary.

Invest in quality 5 x 7 correspondence cards or fold-over notes in a style that balances classicism with modern simplicity. Tasteful personal touches – your name, initials, an elegant border – are never out of pace. Sidestep anything florid, homespun, metallic, overly personalized, or with the words ‘thank-you’ printed on it.

Your message should be simple, succinct and forward-looking; punctuation is important. Don’t begin with ‘thank-you’, but rather, what you most appreciate about the person having taking the time to work with you and how you look forward to future endeavors. Then thank them and close, on a new line, with “Best”, “Best regards” or “Sincerely”. Sign your name in a confident hand and, if necessary, toss in your business card. Always use the honorific when addressing an envelope – Mr. John Smith, not John Smith and post within 5 days of the event.

A gracious gesture of appreciation, your thoughtfulness will set you apart, accrue good will and aid in your success. In writing thank-you notes to others for your efforts, you are recognized for your own. It’s win-win.
And since we seem to be on the subject of writing…

DON’T UZ F***ING (; SMILEYS!!! ;D

This also applies to more than one exclamation point at a time (better yet, more than one per message). It also applies to candy-colored stationary, inks or e=mail characters. Do I hav 2 mensh1 IM tXt?

IMHO, U R a 2L 4 ER UZN it.

If your goal is to portray yourself as a randomly directed, attention-deficient, post-adolescent, any of these methods are superb. Multiple exclamation points and impressionistic punctuation are especially effective in giving your correspondence the look and feel of a sorority bulletin board. It’s the emoticon school of writing and it’s not advantageous to you nor appropriate to an adult environment.

If you wish to interest anyone in well, anything, you’ll need to grow up. Utilize your spell check program or (idea!) just learn to spell. Start communicating in human language rather than international hospitality symbols.

Important and timely information demands the precision, nuance and grace afforded by proper language.

In New York City, this generally means media standard English. English is the example of for his book, but what I’m saying applies to them all. Media standard, in case you IM’d through English 101, means that you write primarily in sentences with a complete subject and verb (yes, they’re on Wikipedia). It means capital letters are used for well-defined, grammatical purposes, while punctuation and spelling also follow common rules.

When even your routine e-mail correspondence exploits the power of conventional spelling, syntax and contextual logic, you send a message within each message: What you have to say is important enough to merit consideration. You also acknowledge your readers as sophisticated, intelligent and serious, able to appreciate well-conceived concepts and dialogue. Write like you mean to be taken seriously, and you will be.

Even on the Internet.

My father was born and raised in Boston. He gave us two choices as to who our sports teams could be: the Red Sox and all other local affiliations or…ballet. I’ll provide some rare insight into my childhood: I quit ballet when I was five and have been a Boston fan ever since.

Our individual team affiliations automatically brand and market us as a certain type of personality recognized by other fans from across the country and around the world. It is widely acknowledged that Boston fans are ignorant and self-centered, and in their expert opinions, the only ones that matter. Philadelphia fans are abusive. New York fans are arrogant. Chicago fans are sad, LA fans don’t care and all Dallas fans want to do is hunt. But despite our differences in allegiance, there is one thing that can be agreed upon: we are all obnoxious.

The interesting fact here is that outside of sports, those fan reputations could not be farther from the truth. I have friends who love teams from each of those cities and not one is arrogant, ignorant, self-centered or abusive. I do have one from Dallas that does like to hunt, though. The amazing thing about competition is that it has the ability to bring out both the worst in us as well as the best.

Sport brings the world together, a form of communication that operates on a much higher level than we may be aware. The language of competition unites us to our cities and communities, to other fans and our players on the field (or court, what have you). It is one of the languages that everyone speaks and that everyone understands. Even the most bitter of rivals share a sense of camaraderie. The athletes hold our hearts and souls in a home run, a buzzer beater, or a goal in the 88th minute. One win has the ability to lift us from despair but one loss can put us right back there (i.e. the Sox loss to the Orioles completing their historic choke-fest this September). They give us some common ground, something to believe in. It may sound dramatic but one thing is for certain, it is never just a game.

When the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, the franchise’s catch phrase for the year was, ‘believe.’ The fan base became known as Red Sox Nation (I have NO idea how we got the reputation for being self-centered). They swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games to break an 86-year championship drought. All the ridicule and all the heartbreak disappeared when Edgar Renteria grounded to Keith Foulke for the final out of the series. I remember looking at my father sitting in his chair with a look on his face that can be described as nothing less than euphoric. I’m pretty sure that same look was not present at my birth. A team inspired a city to come together and ‘believe’ that an 86-year long curse could and would be broken. We’ve been unbearable to live with ever since.

This past summer, when the women of Japan won the World Cup, there is no denying that they played on with an energy bigger than themselves. They held on their back a nation that had been ravaged by natural disasters; the thousands of homeless whose lives were in shambles. The iconic underdog win served as a singular message to the world that Japan is strong and cannot be kept down-not by the favored US team; not by the wrath of Mother Nature herself.

There is probably no better example of unity through competition than the Olympic Games. Held once every four years it is the collection of the greatest athletes on the planet in one place, at one time. What’s even more fascinating is that the nations come together, putting aside differences out of respect for the competition. It is a powerful scene when, at the end of the Opening Ceremonies, the countries are announced one by one and march out in their colors and with their flags all together. The countries that are in the most desperate need of victory always find success and no matter our nationalities, we support them all. Not everyone can go home with a gold medal but everyone somehow wins and we all get the privilege of participating in victory.

Fans around the world don’t speak the same language-literally or figuratively but we all understand. Ignorant, arrogant, abusive or sad we all share the passion. We may have different affiliations, but we all come together for the love of the game and when you stop to think about all the people who live in this world, all of our individual personalities, our innumerable differences; that one commonality is pretty powerful.

It was the week of Jobs, or lack thereof.

Reports that the real jobless rate in the U.S. crested 20% coincided with a Jobless rate at Apple of 100%. Sony, the studio behind the hyper-topical “The Social Network” and “This is It,” quickly snapped up the film rights to “Steve Jobs,” the authorized biography of the man whom Jim Cramer called the “Ford, Walton, Edison, Carnegie, Rockefeller” of our age.

Meantime the ranks of the jobless continued to occupy Wall Street, albeit somewhat more anemically, in an attitude of relative non-violence (save for crashing down a Panera bathroom sink, perhaps in protest against The Man and his hygienic ways). In our era of compressed time and rapid news cycles, Jobs’ passing already seems like ancient history, whereas the incoherent protests just seem tiresome. If Apple can bounce back after losing Jobs, let’s hope the economy can as well.

Constant complaints like, “It’s the end of an era!”, “How can they do this?”, and “Where will I go to escape the chatter?” have turned this technological development into a ridiculous event of catastrophic proportions. People even claim the subway was the only escape in New York from the blaring rings and constant electronic chimes (did something happen to Central Park?).

As a person who works in PR and likes to be available and connected throughout the day, these comments made me question how something so apparently positive could warrant so many unnecessarily negative responses. In a world accustomed to social media and constant connection, these complaints seemed unfitting and without merit. Communication keeps us linked, whether it be in an office, walking along the street, or waiting on a platform for a train. In today’s world, companies survive and thrive because their employees are always accessible. This is New York, and our connectivity has become an intrinsic part of our lifestyle. And for those fearful of Chatty Kathies, you can breathe a sigh of relief. We’re in the age of texting and emails– short and to the point. Few people will risk having their conversations cut short by the sounds of the incoming train.

Similarly, our time is valuable and timing is of the utmost importance in the world of social media. So if people can use their time being productive instead of feeling anxious about a late train, everyone is better off. You’ll have plenty of time to people watch and relax when the doors close and you zoom away, since service is limited to the platforms, not the tunnels.

With all of the positives, I still wonder why this service is experiencing such a harsh welcome. This new connectivity could decrease commuter stress, save innocent victims from violent crimes, and finally bring New York up to speed with cities like Boston and San Francisco who already have this technology.

Or, if you’re a doomsayer, it could plunge our world into a sinister chaos devoid of human interaction, tranquility, and meaning.

But you’ll have to let me know. I’m actually one of the lucky few who gets to walk to work, so I sort of avoid this whole subway issue.

So give me a call the next time you’re waiting for the A train. Or maybe just text me, because I’m not going to be able to hear a word you’re saying over those train screeches.

–Kedzie

Republican Presidential Debate: “A Republican U.S. presidential debate is set to hit the Twitterverse on July 20.” For the first time ever, candidates will be able to debate over Twitter, not just tweet their stance but argue and defend it as well. The new debate platform created by consulting company 140 Dev, LLC will display tweets by the moderator, debaters and members of the public in separate streams allowing for the public to participate like never before. The creators of the technology are hoping that this will lead to Twitter town halls and even a Twitter talk show in the future.

The 2012 Olympic games: Just last week the Olympic Committee gave the go ahead for athletes to tweet from London next summer. There are, of course, stipulations to help preserve the integrity of the games. For example, tweeters have been told to avoid swearing or using other vulgar language and should report from their point of views, not those of journalists or reporters. Unlike at the Beijing games, photos can now be uploaded onto social media platforms. We will no longer have to wait for the live interviews with our favorite athletes but will be able to be with them in the lockers rooms, rejoice in their victories and mourn with them in their losses, experience the nervous jitters and the excitement, and be able to congratulate them personally when they win gold.

The Pope: The Vatican has had a Twitter account for some time but Tuesday, June 28th marked the first tweet by the Pope himself (see the video). On that date, the Vatican announced a new site, which will be providing news and updates of the Church, the Vatican and the Pope as well as opinion surrounding them, in one place for the first time ever. The site is also being used to promote better communication, not just with the outside world, but internally as well. In honor of the new site, Pope Benedict XVI sent his first tweet using an iPad announcing News. va: “Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.”

– Erin