It's National Punctuation Day! Can you feel the excitement in the air? Then again, as writers, every day is national punctuation day...
Last week we talked about DiGiorno's careless Twitter mistake. This week in faux pas news was Urban Outfitters, who sold a "vintage Kent State sweatshirt" dyed with what appeared to be patterns of blood splatters and bullet holes. (I doubt anybody a reminder why this displayed incredibly poor taste, but just in case, the reason millions took offense was the 1970 Kent State massacre.) Of course, Urban Outfitters said the resemblance to blood and bullet holes was due to the unique dyeing process and natural wear of the fabric, but backlash was swift and severe nonetheless. Pictures of the garment and angry comments poured across social media and the story made headlines just about everywhere.
You know the saying "there's no such thing as bad publicity"?
It's a lie.
In the world of new media, publicity isn't about how many people are talking about you, it's about how people feel about you. And people aren't feeling warm fuzzies about Urban Outfitters right now.
Oh, DiGiorno. What a week you've had.
In the wake of the Ray Rice video and ensuing controversy, the Twitterverse showed some true vulnerability and profound emotion with a trending topic #WhyIStayed. Domestic violence survivors used the hashtag to tweet incredibly honest and visceral stories about their experiences. The hashtag has been used more than 92,000 times, according to The Huffington Post.
And then there was DiGiorno.
DiGiorno's reputation on Twitter has always been fairly good. They usually have their fingers on the pulse of Twitter trends and frequently play off hashtags and memes with great speed and clever wit. However, they made a massive mistake at the height of the #WhyIStayed trend. Not bothering to read any of the tweets actually associated with the hashtag, they simply tweeted, "#WhyIStayed You had pizza."
For years, the tried and true adage has been "content is king". That hasn't changed much - content still rules the 'net, whether it's user-generated like CNN iReport, click-baited goofiness on Viral Nova, time-wasting inanity on Buzzfeed, professional advice on Inc., breaking news on MSNBC.com,...
Whether you're a public relations specialist whose primary contact with blogs comes from relationships with bloggers themselves - not unlike media relationships - or whether you're a diehard blog reader returning to your favorites every day for your dose of posts, blogs are a phenomenon...
Tongue-in-cheek headline aside, Bluewater recently tackled the topic of click baiting, a plague upon social media unleashed by sites like Upworthy, Buzzfeed, Viral Nova and many others. Click baiting is the practice of using emotionally charged headlines to pique readers' curiosity and make it virtually...