With the public nowadays looking to the Web for the vast majority of their news and information, having a poor online reputation is a major no-no. In an article written for our latest Crisis Manager newsletter, Rose Jensen offers up some advice for online crisis management. Whether you’re an individual …
New Crisis Manager Newsletter!
After a long delay due to extensive work travel, we’ve finally got a new issue of our Crisis Manager newsletter up on the BCM website. In return for your patience, this edition features three enlightening guest articles representing different aspects of crisis management, all drawn from the real-life experiences of …
The Other Side
Almost every public relations professional has, or will, manage a client’s communications in a crisis situation. We all know the drills. But, how many of us have been on the other side, crisis management for the plaintiff’s side; working for the organization that wanted the publicity to continue. In a …
Extreme Measures
Those in the medical field face some of the most extreme crisis management situations one could imagine, including this one, described in an article from ProPublica.org: With scant public input, state and federal officials are pushing ahead with plans that — during a severe flu outbreak — would deny use …
Crisis Management is a 24/7 Business
Crisis management is a 24/7 business. The fact is, Lady Luck can turn fickle at any time, and she pays no mind to time zones or busy schedules. A bad decision or freak accident can quickly derail your organization and plunge it into crisis. A quote from a recent press …
Using Twitter
It’s no coincidence that Twitter is in the news daily. The success of the platform is obvious, and the question is no longer how to convince clients that they should use the service, but, as an article from Affinitive’s Social Media Playground says, how to use it to meet your …
Tools for Twitter
Though I’ve mentioned tools for Twitter many times before, the technology custom-crafted for the service changes almost daily. A recent Wall Street Journal Online article detailing the latest in “must-have” software explains the need for these utilities: Twitter’s popularity as a customer-service and public-relations tool for businesses is growing. But …
Out of Control
When acclaimed UK eatery, “Fat Duck,” once named the #1 eatery in the world, was stricken by a series of shellfish-related food poisonings earlier this year, it raised major questions over their safety procedures. With a total of 529 diners sickened and the owners unsure of the cause of their …
Falling From Grace
Though celebrities with tarnished reputations are no rarity here in the U.S., the heights from which they can fall are often astounding. According to a CNN.com article, actress-singer LeAnn Rimes, once considered to be as squeaky-clean as they come, has been accused of embarking on an extremely public affair with …
Reputation Repair
Michael Bryant, former Ontario attorney-general, is just one of the long list of public figures recently finding themselves in need of professional crisis management in order to repair their reputations. You’ll find some comments from me in an article from the Globe Investor which details his first exposure to the …
The Big Crash
If the entire Internet went down today, would you be able to survive? While most would be quick to say “yes,” I believe few have truly thought about the impact this would have. In the event of a crash, everything but the very simplest tasks would be impossible – no …
Get Your Facts Straight
Many people will tell you it doesn’t pay to argue with the press, but you certainly won’t hear that from anyone in the field of crisis management. In part one of his three-part guest article for our Crisis Manager newsletter, crisis communications expert Rene A. Henry examines how the rise …
New Edition of Crisis Manager
All of us enjoy the ease of access and convenience that the Internet has brought to business, as well simple daily tasks such as making purchases by credit card, but what would you do if the Internet really crashed? In the latest issue of Crisis Manager, I discuss this very …
A Bad Idea
Microsoft recently unveiled a brand-new ad for their business productivity software. While the U.S. version was fine, someone at the software behemoth’s Polish subsidiary decided to make a change that spawned a storm of negative criticism throughout the Web and on Twitter. Here’s a description of the switch that angered …
More about Whole Food’s John Mackey on the Hot Seat
Whole Foods Market’s CEO John Mackey is well known for landing his company in the hot seat. The outspoken Mackey first caught the public’s attention after being outed for using a pseudonym to both promote Whole Foods and blast their competition on the Yahoo! Finance bulletin boards, an incident which …