Mutually Inclusive PR

CBC's Blog Became Its Dark Site

Inside the CBC suddenly became one of the only sources of information Monday about why the cbc.ca site was unavailable for many hours.

The problem was caused by a server malfunction.  It took several hours to get a back-up server online.
So, for a few hours, the company's blog was there to inform people that the main site was offline due to technical problems.

Get out your business continuity plans, everyone, and test them.

In a post earlier this year, Tom Murphy wrote that a dark site is the best approach in the event of a crisis.  The company website is one of the first places people go when a company is in trouble. He warned against rushing to include blogs in the crisis communications mix.

Case in point - I'm sure the CBC PR folks would have preferred a bland statement on the blog that vaguely referred to technical difficulties on the cbc.ca server.  Instead, the blog posting went into detail about the cause of the problem, which led some blog visitors to suggest there's not enough redundancy built into the news service's IT infrastructure.

Well, the blog was created to talk openly about what goes on at CBC, without management oversight.  It served the added purpose of alerting some people why they couldn't get their fix of online news that day. 

Job well done, I'd say, no matter what the PR folks might say.

Tags:  pr, socialmedia, crisis, darksite, communications,businesscontinuity

You Can Tell a Blog Has an Audience When...

Antonia Zerbisias doesn't post to her popular blog about media, politics and culture for two months.

She drops in on Halloween, posts 17 words, and gets 157 comments. Those are dedicated readers.

With some blogs, half the fun is in the comments section. (Or in this case, all of the relentless personal attacks and mind-numbing semantic debates are in the comments section.)

Tags:  media, torontostar, blogs, canada, debate,bitchfest

We Met 24 Years Ago...

Kelley turned 21 the day we first went out.  I showed up at The Ubyssey production night to take her out for a hamburger at 2 a.m.  Her ex-boyfriend tagged along.  It was her birthday, and (after we dumped Glen) I kissed her on the back doorstep of the house where she was staying on a foamie in the basement.  We moved in together four weeks later.

Evenings out for food have been a touchstone for us ever since.

Tonight we went to Zest, where we had Mahi Mahi with some Monkey Bay chardonnay.  I hung on her words and her energy, just like 25 24 years ago*.

Happy birthday, Kelley Jo.  Happy anniversary.

Photo copyright Ian Smith, Vancouver.

* (I checked Kelley's math, and it was 24 years.  Big party next year, everyone!)

Gainer Scandal Escalates - Allegations about Mascot's True Species

Gainer the Gopher was riding high on a swell of public support.  But now allegations have surfaced that he has been hiding his true species.

Globe and Mail columnist Allan Maki wrote an exposé that reveals Gainer may be a Richardson's ground squirrel, or some other species.

"The irony here is that while the Stampeders are worried about a six-foot, short-tailed Gainer invading their stadium and making Saskatchewan fans cheer louder, they don't know if he's really a gopher, and neither does anyone else. It could be a ground squirrel, a hamster in disguise, or worse, an elected member of Saskatchewan's legislative assembly."

See:
Gainergate Goes Goofy. Gosh. Go Gainer, Go Green Riders! - Saskboy
Is Gainer Really a Gopher? - Allan Maki
Watch the Game with Gainer - Rod Pedersen
Au Revoir, Gopher - Sports Illustrated

Previous posts:
Revenge of the Gopher
Roughriders' 13th Player Barred from Game

Revenge of the Gopher

Alberta has a well-publicized anti-rat campaign.  Now the premier has joined in on the gopher eradication efforts of the Calgary Stampeders.

No wonder Calgary is worried about the Roughriders mascot, Gainer the Gopher. This video from James Whittingham envisages Gainer's revenge at McMahon Stadium. (Whittingham's was the first blog I ever visited.)  Update:  James re-did the video with more of a horror movie feel to it.

Previous post: Roughriders' 13th Player Banned from Game

PR Briefs - News Items November 3, 2006

Battle for Net Neutrality Comes to Canada - CBC - The telco money grab moves north.
Abundance, and Five Years of Blogging - Ross Mayfield   
The Playmaker's Standard | The Strategy of Influence - Tool to help communicators map out the tricks being used against you, and the strategies you can use in return. Based on the book (which, surprisingly, is for sale.) Link via Andy Lark.
SlideShare - A site for finding and sharing PowerPoint presentations. Sort of a YouTube for PowerPoints. Link via Andy Lark.
Episode II: Revenge of the Portal - Steve Rubel - A personalized start page made up mostly of content from RSS feeds allows people to customize their start page experience. Now, companies are adding this as a way of keeping visitors happy.
Sometimes, the simplest communications are the most powerful - John Wagner - A personal message, delivered simply and with sincerity, can be more effective than a bunch of scripted, planned activities.
BarCampSaskatoon - Notes from the unconference Oct. 28 in Saskatoon.
Wal-Mart says PR firm quit following flap over TV ad - MarketWatch
Does the Internet Suck? Evans vs. Maich - Mark Evans debates Maclean's cover story writer Steve Maich.

Roughriders' 13th Player Barred from Game

Now it's personal.  The Saskatchewan Roughriders are used to being taunted by opposing players and coaches. This time, the Calgary Stampeders are trying to neuter the 'Riders' mascot.

Gainer the Gopher has been told not to show up at McMahon Stadium for this weekend's CFL playoff game.  The Stampeders are worried that he'll take away their home field advantage by getting too many 'Riders fans in Calgary riled up.

The Roughriders' main marketing theme this year has been 'The 13th Player'.  In TV ads, the colour commentator points to an overzealous fan in the stands, who made a difference for the team.

Of course, Gainer is also called the 13th Roughrider, helping fans pump up the players and rattle the opposition quarterback when he's trying to call a play on the field.

The challenge this weekend for the thousands of 'Rider fans in Calgary, will be to rattle the Stampeders, with or without a mascot.  Anyone who's checked the number of expatriate Saskatchewanians in Alberta knows they've got the numbers to do it.  And now they have the motivation.

It seems that at least once a year a CFL team tries to snub Saskatchewan, making the fans that much more devoted to their underdogs. This year, it was Calgary's turn to make a shabby move (as if enticing away so many of our skilled workers over the years wasn't insulting enough), and the fans are once again solidly behind their Green and White.

Thanks to Jordon Cooper for the photo of Gainer.

See also:

Gainer Scandal Escalates - Allegations about Mascot's Species

Revenge of the Gopher

Tags:  football, mascot, cfl, publicity, saskatchewan,marketing