Bill Sledzik Over the Edge

Kent State business students Brittany Neal and Austin Briggs are generating a ton of buzz for their new business venture. The story was heavily promoted on Cleveland Fox8 last night, and it's on the Beacon Journal business page this morning. (Sorry, I can't find the Fox8 link. Their website is as convoluted as their news product.)

The assignment in their Entrepreneur Experience class: Identify a market need, write a business plan, then launch the business. “Please Don’t Leave 23” was the result. (Also on: Facebook and Twitter.)

Neal and Briggs saw a “need” to keep Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James in a Cavs uniform once his contract expires at the end of this season. But more importantly, they know thousands of others agree with them and might get behind the campaign. You can read the campaign details in the ABJ story. No point rehashing them here.

LeBron is more than “the franchise” for an NBA team. He’s “the franchise” for Northeast Ohio. Amidst an economy shaken by layoffs, bankruptcies and foreclosures, No. 23 is one of the few positive things anyone can cheer about during this Great Recession. After all, LBJ is the best basketball player in the world. If you think I’m overstating the case, consider the biblical overtones in the “Witness” campaign. Lots of folks see this guy as a messiah of sorts, and the marketers have built on that.

The campaign by Briggs and Neal deserves a lot of props. Their families, the business college and all of Kent State should be proud.
But — and this is no reflection on the students’ work: What does the tone of this campaign and its groundswell of support say about the collective psychie of Northeast Ohions? 

Please LeBron, please, please please don’t leave us!!! We can’t live without you!!!

The campaign reflects public sentiment, so in that sense, it’s great marketing. But it says something about our region’s self esteem that's downright sad. I didn't see LA feeling this way when the Raiders left, and that was an entire team!

Still, if you have a few bucks to spare, go to the site and buy a t-shirt. These kids showed real enterprise, and we need more like them.

It’s “fantasy week” on Facebook. Have you heard?

  To play along, just switch your regular profile picture with one that depicts the fantasy character you’d most like to be. Fantasy Week follows “Retro Week,” aka “Throwback Week,” aka “Way Back Week,” depending upon whose message came your way on the massive social network.

I initially decided not to play ‘Fantasy Week,’ as I couldn’t think of a character I’d trade places with — except for maybe Sam Driver of the “Judge Parker” comic strip. His wife, Abbey Spencer, is smart, rich, beautiful -- and a redhead. Wow! But you know and I know that no one but me reads Judge Parker, so no one would get it?

   Then the sad news came. Pernell Roberts, the actor who played my all-time fantasy TV character, died over the weekend. He was 81. From 1959-65, Roberts was the handsome, intelligent and suave Adam Cartwritght, on “Bonanza,” a popular TV western from the 1960s. So for a week at least, I'll be "Adam" on Facebook.

Adam was the eldest of three brothers who lived with their rich, land baron father, Ben, on a fabulous ranch in Nevada in the 1860s. The mythical Ponderosa, on the north shore of Lake Tahoe, was a fantasy in itself, as vast as it was beautiful. I so wanted to go there.

  Ben Cartwright was among the most powerful men in the territory, but also universally loved and respected. He was a widower, which meant all 4 men of the Ponderosa would have many romantic adventures over the series’ 14-year run. Funny, but each one of those romances ended within the episode, some tragically, others amicably. But you never saw a Cartwright man be anything but chivalrous. Ben raised 'em right.

   Adam was the smart one. He earned a degree in architecture from a college “back East” and was the son Ben turned to for advice and counsel. Hoss, the middle brother played by Dan Blocker, was a lovable oaf who could kick your ass with one hand tied behind his back, but only if you really, really pissed him off. Little Joe (Michael Landon) was the young, hot-tempered, but incredibly handsome kid brother. He carried a pearl-handled 6-shooter, and he knew how to use it — always justly, of course.  

  Roberts’ Adam character left Bonanza after its 6th season, and the show was never the same. The family lost its intellectual center, and Ben took over the duties of rational thinker and mature adult. It never quite worked without Adam.

   I grew up with the Cartwrights, who hit the airwaves when I was 6 and stayed there until I was 19. They lived a fantasy life. They worked hard on the ranch. But they also travelled, they hunted deer, they fished for trout. And they raised a good bit of hell when they went to town to party.  Through it all, they were a close family, loyal to each other almost to a fault. And by the end of each episode, the good guys always won the day — complete with a morality lesson.

That’s how fantasies are supposed to work, you know.

So today I bid farewell to Pernell Roberts. I still watch you in the reruns, buddy.  And when I come back in the next life, it will be on the Ponderosa.  

I probably shouldn’t say this, but...

Back in the early 80s, I worked with a guy who insisted that he liked the smell of his own farts.

Weird, huh? But just yesterday, I saw an parallel in my own life. I realized that I like the sound, the texture, and just about everything else about my own writing. That is to say, I think I’m good at this — at least in the context of social media, where expectations are so low.

I’d like to think my posts and tweets are a lot more palatable than intestinal gas, even though some of my ideas elicit similar reactions. Yet even when the ideas smell bad, I’d like to think they’re well written.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t escape the fundamental criticism that social media are narcissistic to the core. That they’re all about us, and that the so-called conversation is nothing more than a façade that lets us advertise ourselves to the world. Hey, look at me! I’m cool! But I’m pathetic at the same time.

Even my son, who’s established a pretty fair online profile for himself in the past 3 years, seems to agree. It guess we’re both seeing the same flaws in the 2.0 “conversation,” he with healthy skepticism, I with growing cynicism.

I’m not sure where the new interactive media will lead us, and I so want to be optimistic. I know that some people and companies are using 2.0 to change the world, but I also know that most are just hangin’ around looking for a chance to make a buck or to inflate an ego.

Like I said, I probably shouldn’t say any of this. So why do I? Because I can.

And that, my friends, is the weakest argument you’ll find in defense of social media.

P.S. I've decided not to tweet this post. I'd be kinda like farting in chuch.

Just catching up on this 12/09 story about the disgruntled college kid who opened fire on his math professor near Washington, D.C. Kinda scary, especially given that I’m the guy in the Kent State PR program who teaches the “knockout” class and dishes out 80% of the stress. Yikes!

Kooks with guns can show up just about anywhere, and I’m not getting all paranoid about it. But this passage from the NYT story does scare me:

“The frustrating part was that no one really knew what we were supposed to do,” said Michelle Wittkoff, 43, who was sitting in a sociology class on the third floor of the building when the shooting began on the floor above. She said she didn’t hear the shots but was soon alerted by another student who entered her classroom. “Do we wait here? Do we stay? Do we run out of the building?” Ms. Wittkoff said. “We had no idea.”

Given all the crazy s#@* that’s happened in the past decade, from 9/11 to Virginia Tech, how can folks on the scene “not know what to do”? OK, if Wittkoff is a student, I can understand her not understanding emergency procedures. But how is it that faculty and staff are not trained to react and react quickly in these instances?

Following the Virginia Tech shootings, most campuses (including mine) implemented emergency text-message warning systems -- an important step. But it won’t help those in the immediate vicinity of the shooter, will it? What should they do?

I know that “emergency nut-job training” hasn’t happened here at Kent State. Right now, my best advice to folks faced with a maniac shooter: Duck! And that’s not good enough.

Would love to hear from my fellow academics, but I'm not sure anyone actually reads Posterous blogs.

It’s the last week of the semester, which means I’m soon to be buried in final projects and papers from each of my classes. Grading is an ugly, ugly task. It’s time consuming and seems to never end. And while I have pretty solid rubrics for all my projects, let’s be honest, a lot of grading is subjective in my field. You just do the best you can to be fair.

I hate grading. Just hate it. It’s the worst of times in what I like to call the best job in the world. But I deal with it. And when it’s all done, I have to face the holiday shopping chore, also among my least favorite tasks of the year. Bah, humbug, yourself!

But there’s good news. It’s also the second week of deer camp at our little spot in Western Pa. That means the faithful in our group will gather on Thursday evening for one last weekend afield. When it’s all over — if past is indicator — we’ll have filled the freezer with venison for yet another year, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission will salute us for doing our part in the deer management plan for 2009.

OK, it may not be as important as educating tomorrow’s PR professionals. But it’s nice to know that what we do makes the ecosystem a better place.

But do me one favor, OK? When I get back on Monday, don’t ask: “Did you catch anything?” I tried to catch one once, but those deer are really fast.

For the first time in 23 years, I’m not spending the Monday after Thanksgiving in a tree stand.  

Since 1987, I’ve travelled to Western Pa. to celebrate opening of the deer season. My tree stand is there, but it’ll have to wait until the weekend.

I opted out of Opening Day because of restrictions put in place by the Pa. Game Commission this year. For the first 5 days of the season in Region 2-D, hunters may take only antlered deer and only those with at least 4 points on one side of the rack. I’ve only SEEN two deer to match that description in the past 15 years, so I figure my chances will improve come the weekend — when I can use my antlerless deer tags.

Truth is, I don’t much care about trophy hunting, as trophy deer tend to be big and gnarly. That means their meat is tougher and sometimes gamey. Who needs it?

Also, shooting the buck doesn’t do much to curb the abundant deer population. That requires the killing of doe. Sorry, but I won’t use the word “harvest.” Let’s call it what it is.

By by this time this season is over, I suspect we’ll have 2-3 deer in the freezer and we always do. And our wholesome red meat supply will be secured for yet another year. This is what I do when the rest of the world is Christmas shopping!

One of my Facebook friendz asked me this question, and since only my friendz can see my response, I’ve decided to post it here as well.

Question: ARE PRESS RELEASES DEAD? Planning a blog post: would love your opinion :-) Would be AWESOME to include a quote from you!

Answer: I first read about the death of the news release in 1979, the same year I last attended a Grateful Dead concert. The prognosticators were wrong then, and they're wrong now.

The press release, done correctly and professionally, is a perfectly serviceable tool. I would also point out that the SEC especially likes releases as a compliance tool. Unfortunately, a news release in the hands of an amateur is ineffective and sometimes offensive. Of course, the same is true of blogs, website, and even tweets. As folks untrained in the effective use of news releases have invaded the ranks of PR, we've seen an explosion of bad practice and bad writing.

I lay the blame for shoddy media relations practices squarely on the marketers, who have yet to fully understand the nuances of public relations. They are starting to come around now -- so much so that they want to own "PR."

The social-media evangelists who predict the death of the press release generally don't understand how to use them them effectively. I would add that many of them don't write well, either. Just check their blogs.

The press release has changed its form over time, and that evolution will continue. But to paraphrase Mr. Clemens, reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.

I’ll be coming to you from San Diego tomorrow — maybe. I’ve learned that the PRSA national conference at the Marriott can’t offer wifi in the Marriott Hotel & Marina. Too costly, they tell me. And since I’m one of those folks who considers the Blackberry to be the devil’s work...well, I’m gonna be a tad disconnected for much of the conference.

As a blogger covering the event, I’ll have access to the Internet in the media center. And that’s good enough for me. Hell, it’s not like I’m reporting a breaking story, eh? If something important happens, I’ll find a way to write about it.

BTW, there is wifi for hotel guests (it works in the rooms and the lobby). But the Marriott wants $246 for a room, and that’s the convention rate! The nearby Hilton Bayfront gave me a room of $109 — but I don’t get an ocean view. That was $20 more, and I'm too cheap to go for it!

Am I the only one who finds it weird that the garage where I get my oil changed has free wifi, but a major conference hotel can’t do it without charging you a small fortune? Hey, what do I know?

Read two blog posts today that call into question the judgment of Edelman PR. Seems the folks at the world’s largest independent firm are tapping the social-media savvy of younger employees and trying a little reverse mentoring. Smart move, I’d say. And the folks at the Chicago Trib who wrote about it seem to agree. A very positive story resulted.

But in social media, we all get our two cents worth, and these two posts clearly show. You’ll find my thoughts in a comments section of “The Lost Jacket.” Edelman deserves better.

The Lost Jacket Blog
ValleyWag 

For the past decade, the white-tailed deer has been the target of most wildlife management programs in the East and Midwest. And debate has been heated as sharpshooters kill thousands of critters that most folks perceive as no threat to their lives.

Is that about to change? By now, you’ve heard this disturbing story of Canadian musician Taylor Mitchell, killed by two coyotes while hiking in a park in Nova Scotia. Link: http://news.aol.com/article/coyotes-kill-musician-taylor-mitchell-in/741093  OK. It’s Nova Scotia, which means it’s a tad more wild than Akron, Ohio, or Peoria, Illinois. But I gotta tell you, the coyotes are everywhere — and it’s only a matter of time before this type of incident hits closer to home.

I’m not an expert on coyotes, but I know they are pack animals that attack and kill for food. But seldom have humans been the target of these attacks. But as coyotes have moved back into residential areas, you hear reports of cats and dogs gone missing (and I’ presuming eaten).  So far — at least in my region — small children and larger domestic animals have been spared. But for how long?

It’s an interesting dilemma for those of us who treasure the balance of nature. I love tracking emerging issues, especially those involving God’s creatures. As I’ve been known to say, I love God’s creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes. Sadly, varmint control only becomes a critical issue when something really tragic happens. Like it did here.