Hillary Clinton Apologizes About Email

Hillary Clinton's long-awaited apology came yesterday, and it's a hot news story today. In an ABC TV interview with David Muir, Clinton said,

"What I had done was allowed, it was above board. But in retrospect, as I look back at it now, even though it was allowed, I should have used two accounts. One for personal, one for work-related emails. That was a mistake. I'm sorry about that. I take responsibility."

This is most direct apology yet. In an MSNBC interview last week, she said,

"At the end of the day I am sorry that this has been confusing to people."

Clinton is also acknowledging that she could have handled the situation better:

"I do think I could have and should have done a better job answering questions earlier. I really didn't perhaps appreciate the need to do that."

Her decision comes after an investigation found two emails to contain classified information. The Clinton campaign said no emails were marked classified at the time, and they dispute what is considered classified. 

Of course, she is also trying to rebuild her image. In a recent questionnaire, respondents most commonly associated the word "liar" with Clinton ("dishonest" was second).

Discussion Starters:

• Should Clinton have apologized earlier? Would it have made a difference in her campaign?
• What's your prediction for Clinton's campaign at this point?

Update on Subway's Jared

Last month, Jared Fogle, who was featured in Subway's advertisements for more than 15 years, was under investigation for child pornography. At the time, the company reported that they "agreed to suspend their relationship." Now, Fogle intends to plead guilty to charges of paying for sex with minors and distributing child pornography. He is expected to serve 5 to 12 years in prison. 

On its Twitter feed, Subway tried to announce the final cord-cut with a simple tweet but, 20 hours later, issued a second tweet, presumably after pressure to say more. Tweets asked, "Where are the disclosures?" and are calling for a boycott. 

 

Discussion Starters: 

• Was Subway's first tweet enough? Should the company have said more and, if so, what?
• Or, perhaps the company shouldn't have said anything at all. They had already "suspended" the relationship. What could have been the consequences of that decision? 
• Did the second tweet add value? People want to hear more, but what else is there to say? 
• Would you boycott Subway after hearing the news?

Email Still Prevails

New evidence shows the continued prevalence of email in the workplace. Its demise has been predicted over time, particularly with the increase of social media. But three examples this week tell us otherwise: 

• Eighty-one percent of respondents in a Social Journalism Study by Cision prefer email for story pitches. Thirty percent preferred the phone, and 24% preferred social media. (Respondents could choose multiple methods.) 
• A video, "Email in Real Life," is making the Internet rounds. "A Conference Call in Real Life" was popular a couple of months ago, and this video follows the same corporate humor. 

• Complaints about email persist. A TechCrunch article, "It's All Your Fault Email Is Broken," denies help from programs and instead blames us, the user. The author cites a GFI Software study, which found that 55% of people check email after 11 p.m., 59% check email on vacation, and 76% respond to emails within an hour. A New York Times article tells us to "Stop Checking Email So Often." 

Discussion Starters: 

• The GFI study asked people whether email is a blessing or a curse. Ninety-percent said it was a blessing. What do you think? How would you answer the other questions? 
• How long will email persist in organizations? With so many other tools available, why has it been the default communication for so long?

Users Get Duped by Hotel Booking Sites

Last week, I wrote about the false report that Bloomberg is acquiring Twitter. This week's news is about people believing they book a hotel online, but the reservation is through a fake site. 

According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), 2.5 million bookings-$220 million-are going to rogue sites. Users who book through these sites may find that they don't have a reservation when they get to a hotel, they may be charged large fees, or they may get misinformation about rates or cancellation policies. 

The Better Business Bureau suggests that people double check URLs, don't believe logos (which are easily copied), and avoid deals that are "too good to be true."

An LA Times article reminds us to look for secure signs on a website when entering personal information such as a name for a reservation or a credit card number: "You'll know you are connected by https if you see a lock in the URL bar of your Web browser."

Image source from the AH&LA. 

Discussion Starters: 

• What other advice would you have for people to assess whether a website is valid? Use the principles in Chapter 9 and your own ideas. 
• Do you think a hotel has any responsibility for these rogue sites? Why or why not?

Fresh Hashtag Fails

It's been a while since someone has ventured into a Twitter hashtag and it backfired. This week, Fifty Shades of Grey author EL James and presidential hopeful Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal fell victim to snarky tweets.

From her hashtag #AskELJames, James caught nasty questions about her writing style:

• "Do you get paid per adjective?"
• "Have you ever held a dictionary?"
• "Did you ever consider using a thesaurus, or did that sound too much like hard work?"

Governor Jindal tried the #AskBobby but got similar poor results. People questioned his record and his success as a governor.

Discussion Starters:

• Research a few successful hashtags. What is the difference between these and those that fail?
• If you were running for office, would you try this approach? If so, how?

Deceptive Native Advertising and Other Issues

After binge-listening to Serial, I'm hooked on StartUp, the show about a new podcast company, Gimlet Media. Episode 9 of Season 1 is an excellent example of crisis communication and some problems associated with advertising. 

A podcast includes an ad of a nine-year-old boy describing how he uses a website. The boy and his mother weren't clear that the interview would be for an ad; instead, the proud mom thought her son would be interviewed for a "This American Life" radio show. In the episode, StartUp founder Alex Blumberg describes the mistake, which wasn't intentional but got a lot of social media attention.

The story reminded me of a study recently published by Reuters Institute. According to the research, "More than a third of British and American readers of online news say they have felt 'disappointed or deceived' after reading an article that turned out to be paid for by an advertiser." This is the dilemma of native advertising, which the Reuters study describes as follows: 

"Brand messages look more like regular content – sitting in the same templates and using the same formats that might be used for a standard piece of journalism or a user-generated post on social media."

Although this isn't quite the same as the StartUp controversy, both methods of advertising need to be handled well. In the StartUp episode, Blumberg describes how careful the company is to let people know an advertisement is coming, so it's not mistaken for program content. Blumberg also explains the value of native advertising but is careful not to endorse products just because they're paid to do so. 

Discussion Starters: 

• What's your reaction to native advertising? Have you been duped? How did you feel?
• What mistakes did the Gimlet team make in Episode 9?
• What are the mother's responsibilities in the situation? What, if anything, could she have done differently?

Age Distribution of Social Network Users

A new Business Insider report shows the age distribution of social network users. Unfortunately, only those 18 and older are included in this graphic. 

Social networks around images continue to increase in popularity. Instagram now outpaces Facebook as teens' "most important" social network: 32% compared to 14%. Forty-two percent of women online use Pinterest. 

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest continue to attract older demographics. According to comScore quoted by Business Insider, "Less than two-fifths of Facebook's adult user base in the US is aged 18 to 34." 

Image source. 

Discussion Starters: 

• Why are so few users aged 18 to 24 on Twitter? And yet the site seems to be more popular with pre-teens. Why? 
• What, if anything, surprises you about the data?
• How should businesses respond to this information?

Twitter Has More Work to Do

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo's promise to "take full responsibility" for hate and bullying on the site doesn't seem to be working. President Obama's @POTUS Twitter account received terrible threats and insults within just a few minutes of his first post. 

In February, Costolo posted an internal message to employees, which included the following: 

"We're going to start kicking these people off right and left, and making sure that when they issue their ridiculous attacks, nobody hears them."

Unfortunately, the company fell far short this week. The President's new Twitter account, which garnered 2.3 million followers in four days, received 500 "f-bombs" on the first day, according to The Washington Post. The Post also warned that tweets to @POTUS are archived forever. Maybe someday, users will regret posting despicable images of the President with a noose around his neck, for example.  

Discussion Starters: 

• Why do you think the President chose to start a Twitter account now, six years into office? 
• Was this the right decision? Consider the benefits of having an account, the obvious downsides of the backlash, and perhaps less obvious issues. 
• Some hateful tweets are promoted on Twitter. Should the company do more? Like what? 

Fiorina Announces Run but Forgets .org

Here's a riddle: what costs $35 on Register.com (or $7 if you don't mind GoDaddy's advertising approach) but can blow a campaign launch? CarlyFiorina.org. The Republican presidential candidate and former CEO of Hewlett Packet didn't register the .org domain. Instead, someone took over the URL and posted about her layoffs at the company. 

Text at the bottom reads: 

That's 30,000 people she laid off. People with families. And what does she say she would have done differently?

"I would have done them all faster."
-Carly Fiorina

It's too early in the campaign for a mistake like this. 

Discussion Starters: 

• Who do you think is responsible for this? Should Fiorina make a statement about the mistake?
• How do you assess Fiorina's prospects at this point? On balance, will her history at HP help her or hurt her? 

Email Marketing for Millennials

A Marketing Land article provides good justification for marketing to Millennials via email. Going against earlier advice to put dollars in social media, a  NextWeb article quotes a marketing director:

"If you look at Facebook and Twitter today, they are very different than they were years back. In addition, you have even more new platforms that have come about like Instagram, Pinterest and SnapChat. In the midst of all this change and new innovation, one thing remains constant. You need an email address to create an account on all of them. As these tools change, improve or go by the wayside, but email remains."

Sure, Millennials use social media, but they use it to be social. When interacting with businesses, they prefer email.

NextWeb offers these suggestions for getting Millennials to open and act on your marketing emails:

• Content is key: Information has to be relevant and "relatable."
• Test for the best: Although most emails are sent on Tuesdays and Thursdays and are opened after 12:00, test to see when your market responds.
• Check that list twice: Make sure you have updated addresses, and offer emails as "opt-in."
• Make it mobile: Millennials want information on their phone and main points up front.
• Click and share: Social share buttons should be tagged to specific content in the email.
• Special is better: Millennials respond to special discounts and to the word "exclusive."

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• What's your own experience with email? Are you always connected as these articles suggest?
• How do you assess the advice for email marketers? With which points do you agree and disagree?

Marco Rubio Is Cool but at a Cost

Marco Rubio is differentiating himself with technology and music, but he's not entirely successful. The U.S. Republican from Florida may have a edge in the presidential campaign because he's just 43 years old, considerably younger than Hillary Clinton. 

PR Daily tells us how Rubio is showing his tech-savvy side on social media: 

The Florida senator's youth-focused approach isn't limited to rhetoric, either. Social media is a huge part of his campaign. For instance, staffers live-tweeted his Monday speech. Tweets and Facebook posts counted down the hours to the announcement. One tweet played on young viewers' love of the HBO series "Game of Thrones."

He's also joined Snapchat and created an emoji design in a tweet. 

He's also using contemporary music, such as "Something New," by the Swedish group Axwell ^ Ingrosso, but the band isn't happy about the association: 

"Axwell ^ Ingrosso didn't give their permission for this song to be used and don't want to be affiliated with a particular party during the upcoming presidential race."

Discussion Starters: 

• Someone tweeted: "@marcorubio STOP." Do you agree or do you find this campaign approach effective? 
• What, if anything, should Hillary Clinton do in response?

Lord & Taylor Pays to Promote Clothes

An AdWeek article described how Lord & Taylor department store paid people to promote its clothes on Instagram. The campaign advertised a new Design Lab Collection and featured 50 women wearing one particular dress.

Lord & Taylor CMO Michael Crotty told AdWeek the purpose of the campaign:

"The program was designed to introduce Design Lab to this customer where she is engaging and consuming content every day. The goal was to make her stop in her feed and ask why all her favorite bloggers are wearing this dress and what is Design Lab? Using Instagram as that vehicle is a logical choice, especially when it comes to fashion."

This photo received more than 13,000 likes-a big number, even for a cute dress, which sold out quickly.

The strategy worked, but critics questioned whether the company "crossed the line" of ethics. According to Federal Trade Commission guidelines, companies and those who promote their products must make compensation arrangements explicit. Just as bloggers need to identify when they're paid, people posting pictures of themselves on Instagram need to reveal their relationship with the company.

An article in Marketing Land tells us more:

"That's a clear violation of U.S. Federal Trade Commission guidelines for digital advertising, says Ted Murphy, founder and CEO of IZEA, a company that acts as middleman between brands and social media influencers. The FTC rules state that when people are paid to post they must disclose that fact in a 'clear and conspicuous' way.

"'There's really no excuse for not disclosing that there's a material relationship there,' Murphy told Marketing Land. 'These FTC guidelines have been out there since 2009.'"

Following Marketing Land's article, some Instagram posts were modified to include "#ad," which could serve as disclosure of the paid relationship. Also, Marketing Land received this statement from Lord & Taylor:

"We are proud of this campaign and our partnerships but want to reiterate that our influencers were compensated by Lord & Taylor, as is customary in these types of programs. We are always looking for ways to improve our process and communications with our customers. We look forward to continuing to build great marketing campaigns."

Discussion Starters:

• What do you see as the purpose of the FTC guidelines? Do you think the guidelines apply in this case?
• How well did Lord & Taylor handle the criticism?

More Hijacked Hashtags

Sure, social media is all about engaging your audience, but companies might stop trying to do so with Twitter hashtags. Two more companies' campaigns fell prey to hijacking: SeaWorld (again) and Mall of America.

In yet another attempt to improve its image, SeaWorld started #AskSeaWorld. Maybe the company should have known better: the promotional tweet, "Love #dolphins?" turned into an opportunity for people to bash SeaWorld's treatment of orca whales. 

#AskSeaWorld also created a chance for people and organizations, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, to criticize the company. Slate called the campaign "a terrible idea":

"Let's be honest: This is all a very bad idea. The 'haters gonna hate strategy' is never particularly effective when you're a brand under fire, and while puppies might help, weird GIFs don't do much for the cause. So maybe SeaWorld's social and PR folks just really have no idea what they're doing. Even so, you'd think they'd have learned from the corporate failures before them. Twitter Q&As are a terrible idea. A well-meaning hashtag gives critics an easy way to assemble and voice their complaints in a public forum. Why companies still try them is a great mystery. Maybe they'll all finally learn from SeaWorld and give this one horrible PR trick up for good." 

Also this week, Mall of America in Minnesota started #It'sMyMall for people to post "moments and memories" about their experiences. But the group Black Lives Matter overtook the hashtag to recount a protest on December 20 when police charged people with trespassing.  

Discussion Starters: 

• Do you agree with Slate's summary of social and PR staff at SeaWorld? 
• When, if ever, should companies use a Twitter hashtag? What are the risks to consider? 

Fraternity's Facebook Posts Cause Suspension

Penn State fraternity Kappa Delta Rho has been suspended and may face criminal charges because of Facebook photos. The images, posted to two "secret" pages, showed women who are nude, unconscious, or in other compromised states. Other photos revealed drug sales and hazing.

A cease-and-desist letter from the university's Interfraternity Council explains the decision:

"This action is being taken in response to the chapter hosting two private Facebook pages where highly inappropriate photographs were posted of activities, events, and comments that are in direct violation of the standards and values of a recognized student organization and/or fraternity at Penn State University. The State College Police have shared copies of photographs and communication that were posted on these Facebook pages with the Office of Student Conduct, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, and the Interfraternity Council."

A statement from the university similarly condemns the action and explains the investigation.  

A New York Times article portrays student sentiment: "Students on this campus of about 47,000 were dismayed but unsurprised by the episode."

The incident brings new questions about how the University handles sex crimes. In 2011, football coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested for abusing boys while school officials, including famed coach Joe Paterno, kept silent.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• Consider Facebook's "Community Standards," updated just this week. Which are violated by the fraternity? 
• Assess the University's and Interfraternity Council's statements. Consider the main points, tone, organization, and so on. 
• Do you find the Sandusky situation relevant? Why or why not?

Facebook's Community Standards

Facebook provided more detailed "Community Standards," which include the social network's approach to government requests. Requests for data and to restrict content were up to 35,051 in 2014.

The new guidelines specify what's acceptable and unacceptable in four categories:

• Keeping you safe (e.g., self-injury, bullying and harassment)
• Encouraging respectful behavior (e.g., nudity, hate speech)
• Keeping your account and personal information secure (e.g., authentic identity, fraud and spam)
• Protecting your intellectual property.

The Community Standards are particularly relevant this week, as a Penn State fraternity was suspended for having photos of nude women and other offensive images on "secret" Facebook pages.

Discussion Starters:

• What is the purpose of the Community Standards? Identify three or four specific communication objectives. Consider all of Facebook's many constituencies. 
• Which of the Standards do you find most and least clear? 
• Assess the video above. What's your view of the content and graphics?

Hillary Clinton Discusses Personal Email Situation

At a news conference, Hillary Clinton describes how she used her personal email account while she was Secretary of State, a position she left two years ago. Clinton says she used one account (one device) for all emails for "convenience."

Her view is that work-related emails were sent to .gov accounts, so they are saved. For others, she says she followed the federal guidelines that "for any government employee, it is that employee's responsibility to determine what's personal and what's work related."

Full news conference.

Clinton says she regrets not using two separate devices but is glad that her personal email will become public. She sounds confident that no wrongdoing will be uncovered. According to The New York Times, about 30,500 personal emails have been given to the State Department in December, but another 32,000 have been deleted.

The Times article also questioned her explanation of wanting to carry just one device:

"Mrs. Clinton's explanation that it was more convenient to carry only one device seemed at odds with her remark last month, at a technology conference in Silicon Valley, that she uses multiple devices, including two kinds of iPads, an iPhone and a BlackBerry. She said then: 'I don't throw anything away. I'm like two steps short of a hoarder.'"

Discussion Starters:

• How do you think this controversy might affect Clinton's pending candidacy for president?
• What's your view of The Times' criticism of her carrying just one device, although she says she doesn't throw old devices away. Is this the same thing?

Twitter Adds Safety Features

Shortly after Dick Costolo promised to address cyberbullying on Twitter, the company has implemented new safety features to protect users.

A new process allows users to report "abusive or harmful" tweets with a few easy clicks. In addition to this new reporting tool, Twitter announced the following accomplishments so far:

• "...we now review five times as many user reports as we did previously, and we have tripled the size of the support team focused on handling abuse reports."
• "...we've been able to significantly reduce the average response time to a fraction of what it was, and we see this number continuing to drop."

Discussion Starters:

• Assess Twitter's announcement of the new safety features. What do you find most and least convincing?
• How well will the new features address harassment and other bullying behavior on Twitter?

How to Make Your Tweets More Persuasive

Researchers at Cornell University have discovered language that makes tweets more likely to be retweeted. A computer analyzed messages, searching for keywords and combinations of words.

In their article, published in the June 2014 Proceedings of the Association for Computer Linguistics, the authors pose a basic communication question: "How does one make a message 'successful'?" The authors generated this list of recommendations for people wanting more bang for their tweets:

• Ask people to share. Words like "please," "pls," "plz" and, of course, "retweet" were common in successful messages.
• Be informative (often measured by length).
• Use the language of the community, and be consistent with the language you usually use yourself, with which your followers are familiar. The researchers are also testing on Reddit, where users form distinct communities.
• Imitate the style of newspaper headlines. (In their tests, the researchers used the New York Times as a model.)
• Use words that appear often in other retweeted messages.
• Use words that express positive or negative sentiment.
• Refer to other people, not just yourself. Use third person pronouns.
• Use generalizations. Statements that can be applied to a variety of situations are the most often repeated.
• Make it easy to read. The researchers applied a formula used to measure the grade level of a text.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• Does any of this advice surprise you?
• Do you find some recommendations more helpful than others?
• What difficulty could you see in implementing these ideas in tweets?

Twitter CEO Admits Failures in Addressing Cyberbullying

In two internal discussion posts, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo addressed criticism that the company isn't doing enough to stop cyberbulling.

An employee raised the issue by citing Lindy West, a victim of harassment on Twitter:

"I'm aware that Twitter is well within its rights to let its platform be used as a vehicle for sexist and racist harassment. But, as a private company – just like a comedian mulling over a rape joke, or a troll looking for a target for his anger – it could choose not to. As a collective of human beings, it could choose to be better."

In both posts, Costolo's message is clear: "I take full responsibility."

Discussion Starters:

• What do you see as Twitter's responsibility, and what are the limits?
• What could the company do to prevent or address cyberbullying?

Discussion Starters:

Facebook Time, Multitasking, and Students' Performance

A study published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology correlates time spent on Facebook and multitasking with poorer academic performance. An Iowa State researcher studied 1649 active student users, and found that seniors spent less time on Facebook and less time multitasking than freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.

Time spent on the site was negatively predictive of freshmen's GPA, and multitasking was negatively predictive of GPA for all ranks but seniors. 

Discussion Starters:

• What, if anything, about these findings surprise you?
• The respondents attended Iowa State University. Do you think the results would differ at other universities?
• What cautions would you raise about the findings?