Remain Relevant in Changing Times

Oprah Humbled by Online Community

Oprah Humbled by Online Community

It's not often one gets to see Oprah Winfrey backpedal, but she sure started doing it today and she has the online community to thank for her precarious situation.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know by now that Oprah's book choice, "A Million Little Pieces" has created quite a controversy. The author, James Frey, was "outed" by the Smoking Gun web site (www.smokinggun.com)when it questioned Frey's truthfulness, particularly about time he said he spent in prison. Within moments of publishing the investigative report, bloggers went crazy offering their own opinion on whether Oprah should withdraw her support for Frey. After all, she was a major contributor to the book's meteoric rise on the bestseller lists.

Frey appeared on Larry King and admitted he played loose with the truth in the book. Amazingly, Oprah called in to offer her continued support, suggesting that the overriding story - that Frey overcame a serious drug addiction to become a role model - was more important that the details of story. She said his inspirational story was what was "relevant," rather than the specifics behind the story.

Well, today she finally fell on her sword, telling Frey on her show that she felt "duped" by him and now found it hard to talk with him. Oh really? So what happened to the whole relevance thing, O?

I think I know. As soon as Oprah realized that her support of Frey was drawing massive criticism and making her look bad for appearing to support a liar, she suddenly saw the light and tried to turn the tide. She figured by bringing him back on the show, along with some journalists to comment on the situation, she could "set the record straight" that she does, in fact, highly respect the truth.

I, for one, ain't buying the Big O's mea culpa. She either got some bad PR advice or chose to ignore good advice from the get-go, probably believing she knew best (she is, after all, an expert on just about everything). Interestingly - and not surprisingly - this whole controversy has created a windfall for Frey. Sure, he's a little humiliated (btw, he said the old deamons that drove his addiction caused him to lie too) but his book continues to sell like hotcakes.

What's the lesson we can learn from this?

1) NO ONE, not even the O herself, is immune from criticism in an online world. Bloggers and web site publishers can make your life very difficult (or wonderful, depending on their opinions);

2) Controversy lives a much longer life now, thanks to the online writers and readers. You can't afford to ignore them. Moreover, you certainly can't afford to irritate them;

3) Relevant companies stay relevant by planning for controversies. Strategic crisis plans are an essential part of a company or celebrity's reputation management. They are no longer a "nice to have." They're a MUST HAVE;

4) The online world will continue to have enormous influence in how people think. Embrace bloggers and online publishers. They're just as real as the talking head you see every night on the evening news, but potentially way more powerful.

We know Oprah will eventually overcome this debacle and move onto something else. She's lucky that way because her celebrity status allows her a platform to constantly defend herself until the story gets old or a new one comes along to replace it. Unless you're as famous as Oprah (and if you were, you probably wouldn't have time to read this blog), start thinking about how you can use her experience to your advantage.

Is it Time to Try

Is it Time to Try a New Approach to an Old Problem?

Last night while having dinner with a friend who works for a major technology company, she shared with me her concerns about how hard it is to get the hundreds of people in her organization to tune into twice-monthly teleconferences. The information being provided could help them do their jobs more effectively, so why couldn't they find an hour every couple of weeks to learn something that would help them sell more?

I suggested she offer the educational sessions as a podcast in addition to the teleconferences. We live in an on-demand world where people have become used to getting what they need on their own schedule. It's a lot easier to accommodate people's work styles than it is to insist they accommodate your delivery method. Podcasts are a great solution, especially for remote workers, a sales force that's often on the road, and people who have long commutes.

I live in Atlanta where traffic is so bad, it takes a while just to get out of my subdivision, never mind drive a substantial distance. I often use my car as a "university on wheels." Since I am usually alone while crawling along I-75 wondering why we have HOV lanes, I have plenty of time to learn something new. I am not very likely to pick up a cell phone and call into a teleconference or even a recording of the previous day's teleconference; however, I'm very likely to download onto my iPod something I want to learn more about and plug it into my car stereo. I'd rather use the hour at my desk for something I can't do while driving (like, take a nap!).

My friend saw my point, but expressed the concern that a podcast could reduce the number of people who call in, thereby reducing the number who ask questions and actively participate in the discussion. Here's my take on that: people who are interested in participating in a live discussion aren't likely to be the same people who want to download a podcast. Besides, one doesn't have to be a part of the discussion to gain value from it. Listening to what others ask is a valuable part of the learning process.

Consider your own business. Are you so stuck on doing things the way you've always done them that you're reluctant to try something new? Do you too easily dismiss new technology because it doesn't appeal to you personally?

Relevance requires us to be dynamic, to look for ways to be fresh and appealing in the moment. Don't discard tried-and-true tactics, but always look for ways to integrate new communication vehicles to deliver your messages. It isn't likely you'll ever find the magic bullet that solves all your communications challenges. That's why you need to have an entire arsenal at the ready.

How I Know What Really

How I Know What Really Happened at CES (hint: The NYT didn't mention it)

I confess I've always wanted to attend the Consumer Electronics Show, which just wrapped up in Las Vegas. As soon as it opens, I begin following the news to see what kind of cool tech gadgets will captivate attendees and grab the attention of the media. CES is a type of barometer for relevance. It's where companies roll out "the next big thing" and predict the future for technology, which usually means the future of our lifestyles.

Like most people, I read and heard about what the keynoters had to say and I perked up when I learned about some of the new products coming out of major companies. But frankly, it wasn't the evening news or even in the daily papers that I found out what I really wanted to know. The lanyard-wearing geeks actually at the show gave the real scoop.

CES offered bloggers an amazing amount of fodder. I loved reading the reactions of attendees and seeing through their eyes what the future looked like. It's far more interesting to me to hear what a bytehead with worn sneakers thinks about CES than to see a polished evening news report that has been edited to death.

That's the beauty of blogs... they're immediate, real, uncensored and equalizing. I read accounts of CES from CEOs whose companies exhibited, to journalists, to spouses of attendees. It's buzz marketing at its best. I checked out companies I probably would have never heard of unless I had read about them on a blog. THAT's the power of this medium.

Terry Brock, a syndicated columnist for the American Business Journals, and a good personal friend of mine (www.terrybrock.com) wrote daily reports about his experience at CES and even included little movies he produced right on the spot where he walked into the booths of lesser known companies and interviewed the exhibitors about what they had to offer. He was, in essence, an "imbedded journalist" reporting from the front lines. I was grateful to have his perspective on what's "hot." HIs reports, combined with those of other attendees helped me get a real sense of what really went on.

If your company is attending a trade show, whether it's an industry-specific event or a more general show like CES, consider how you might create buzz about your offerings by blogging right from the show. You might be surprised how many other bloggers and blog readers are in the hotel rooms surrounding you! Better yet, what a great way to reach people all over the world who can't attend the shows and who don't have access to the trade journals that cover them.

Relevance is often driven by speed and I think blogs offer us a way to quickly show our relevance in a fun, casual way that just can't be as effectively accomplished through press releases and video news releases.

Movie theaters struggle to remain

Movie theaters struggle to remain relevant: why it may not work

Over the holidays, I engaged in one of my all-time favorite activities: going to the movies. At one point, I realized I had seen 8 movies in 10 days in 5 different theaters. I feel about movies like my daddy feels about fishing: there's no such thing as a bad day when it's spent doing that particular activity.

One thing that really jumped out at me during all this concentrated movie-going experience was how theaters are struggling to remain relevant. You probably already know that theater attendance is down significantly. It would be easy to assume it's because Hollywood isn't producing much that's worth plopping down eight bucks or more to see. But that's only part of the reason theaters are in trouble. The fact is, people just don't see as much reason to go to the theater as they once did. After all, movies are released on DVD very quickly after release to theaters; the price of going to a movie is continuing to skyrocket; and people are starting to lose patience with the rude behavior of fellow movie goers who insist on leaving their cell phones turned on or fail to refrain from talking during the flick.

Problem is, it hasn't been so long ago that theathers spent millions upgrading to more comfortable stadium style seating and state-of-the-art sound systems. Now they're stuck with a huge mortgage, so to speak, and nobody wanting to live at home. Some of the promotional gimmicks I saw during my tour of theaters recently included:

> Special showings of old rock concerts ("See it on the big screen with other fans!")
> Discounted group rates for private viewings (churches buy out films like Narnia)
> Theater rental for business meetings (comfortable, great audio/video capability)
> Frequent movie goer cards (the 10th one is on us!)
> Videoconferencing capabilities (see your fellow employees 20 feet tall!)
> Showing old movies that have been colorized or refurbished in some way

Most of these seem like good ideas, but so far, nothing has caught fire with the viewing public yet. (The closest is discounted rates for single groups, but it's not like there are many movies that can command that kind of loyalty.)

Interestingly, the two things theater owners don't seem to be doing are reducing prices for tickets and concessions, and getting rid of those irritating commercials that delay the movie for as much as 17 minutes. Yet, every article I've read about the drop in movie attendance cites these two factors as the top reasons people have reduced the number of times they attend movies. (This reminds me of the old story about the guy who wanted to make $100 selling apples, but instead of pricing 200 apples at 50 cents decided to sell two apples at $50 each. He never sold an apple.)

As I see it, theater owners are focusing too much on how to recoup the cost of their renovations and not concentrating enough on what the customer really wants. They're solving a low tech problem with a high tech solution. In other words, they seem to look at the format of the theater and the technology available and dream up other ways to use them.

Truly relevant organizations are those that are willing to take customer feedback and do something constructive with it, rather than try to convince the customer what their feedback should be.

I once heard an executive explain that the reason his company was going to produce a particular product, despite no apparent demand for it, was because "Customers don't really know what they want. It's our job to lead them in the right direction."

I haven't checked, but a part of me can't help but wonder if he left that software company to manage a theater company.