Ono the OstrichCRISIS MANAGER
The Internet Newsletter about Crisis Management
 Editor: Erik Bernstein
 Publisher: Jonathan Bernstein

"For Those Who Are Crisis Managers,
Whether They Want to be or Not"

ISSN:1528-3836
© 2012 Jonathan Bernstein

 

Volume XIII, Number 2

January 25, 2012   


JUST A THOUGHT 

 

It is difficult to listen when your head is closely inspecting your internal organs.

 

                           Jonathan Bernstein   

                                


FROM THE EDITOR  

  

 

Happy Birthday to Us! Happy Birthday to Us! Yes, yes, I know that just last issue we celebrated the 18th birthday of Bernstein Crisis Management, but you can't fault me for mentioning that exactly one week from today Crisis Manager will be 11 years young!

Social media continues to be the name of the game, and any predictions that things are slowing down certainly haven't come to fruition yet. Personally, I've had more inquiries from small businesses in the past month than I did in the last quarter of 2011 regarding social media manager services.

Social media is the new Yellow Pages, but without the limits of a 2x2" box. What will you do with it?
 
As per our new format, below you'll find a summary of the best of our recent blog posts.  

And as always, if you like what you see, please share it with others by using the "Forward Email" link at the bottom of the ezine and tell them to subscribe!  IMPORTANT NOTE: If you just "Forward" using your own email program's "Forward" function and your recipient thinks they're being spammed, they can click on the Opt Out link and opt YOU off the list. So use the "Forward Email" link, please. 

  


BCM

 

Thank you, and read on!

 

          - Erik

 

  

BLOGS!
By Erik Bernstein

The crisis management discussion is flowing on our NEW Bernstein Crisis Management blog, and of course our Crisis Management blog over at Carter McNamara's Free Management Library!

Whether you're interested in getting on board with social media, shoring up your business against crises, or just the latest in the world of business and PR, we're your source.

You've been hammered with the fact over and over -- you NEED to have a crisis management plan. It's a new year, and there's no more time to delay. It's time to Get Prepped for Crisis Management.
Erik Bernstein
Erik Bernstein

Understanding the emotions behind crisis situations is key to figuring out the perfect response. Take a bite of A Different Kind of Pie and get a leg up on the situation.

Think you've got social media figured out? Think again. This arena continues to expand, and some new sites are practically a proverbial Wild West. This post looks at how one company's foray into uncharted territory led to them successfully Managing a Crisis in the Social Media Wilderness.

What do you think customers are thinking about your organization when Technical Support Needs Technical Support? Take a look at this "ya gotta laugh" real life situation encountered by BCM president Jonathan Bernstein.

Speaking of humor, Johnson & Johnson took a risk with a hilarious apology video in response to supply issues with much-beloved tampon line, going against conventional wisdom and answering the question, Can Apologies Be Funny?

We've all sent an email to the wrong person, but hopefully not to 8.6 million wrong people. NY Times Pays for Errant Email tells the story of one expensive misclick, and the embarrassing and halfassed coverup that followed.

It's decided, you're not going to stand by and watch the social media bandwagon pass you by any longer. In order to get the most out of it, there's just one more thing to do before you get started - Define Your Goals for Social Media.

Crisis management can be overwhelming, and your gut reaction is often to pour 100% of your resources into the situation. Problem is, if you don't keep up with Business as Usual, you might not have anything to come back to when the crisis is resolved.

Erik Bernstein is a freelance writer, editor of Crisis Manager, and Social Media Manager for Bernstein Crisis Management
APROPOS OF NOTHING

A Birthday Present for Readers

 

In honor of Crisis Manager's 11th birthday, readers can get 30% off the PDF version of "Keeping the Wolves at Bay - Media Training"through the end of this month by using the coupon code "birthday" (without the quotes) in the check-out process.

 

Crisis Management Database - from Jonathan Bernstein

 

If you are a crisis management professional or work in a related field -- e.g., media training, business continuity -- write to me for information on how to be part of my new Crisis Management Database.

 

File-Sharing...as a Religion?

 

We've all heard the statement "It's practically a religion with him/her" to describe someone's enthusiasm for a hobby or other activity.  Apparently, in Sweden, it CAN be a religion.  The Swedish government has formally recognized the Church of Kopism as a religious organization, one which espouses file-sharing as a religious practice.  According to a statement from the Church, it "regards information as holy, and copying as a sacrament. It also holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V (the keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste) as sacred symbols."

 

Your publisher is considering a move to Sweden in order to establish the Church of Puns, where "we revere the irreverent."


BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENTS
(aka blatant self-promotion) 

 

 

Manager's Guide to Crisis Management

 

MgrsGuideCover

Whether you're a seasoned manager, aspiring up-and-comer, or student of crisis management, Jonathan Bernstein's new book, "Manager's Guide to Crisis Management," (McGraw-Hill, 2011) will put you in control of any situation. Recently featured in a Forbes article, Amazon.com's initial stock ran out quickly, but more copies are on the way!   

 

 

 

Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training 

 

Book Cover JPG

What has 80+ pages of hard-hitting, enter-

taining and easy-to-read guidance on how to deal with both traditional and online media during times of crisis?  The answer is 

Keeping the Wolves at Bay - Media Training. 

The, four-color, perfect-bound, 8x10 manual is currently available both in hardcopy ($25) and PDF form ($10). Volume discounts are available; write to Jonathan Bernstein for that information.

 

Here's a couple of teaser reviews for you:

 

Jonathan Bernstein's Keeping the Wolves at Bay is an eminently practical guidance for anyone - business leader, celebrity, politician - who must willingly or unwillingly face the glare of media attention. It appears
at a moment in time when the social media and other digital communications have upped the ante exponentially.
Bernstein's practicum on media relations takes on renewed urgency as news, gossip, and opinion now drive
public perception virally and at the speed of light.

 
Richard Levick, Esq.
President & CEO
Levick Strategic Communications, LLC

 
Even if you think you'll never, ever be interviewed by the media, buy this book and read it cover to cover. It isn't a substitute for media training. But it will give you the tools and confidence to go head to head -- and possibly even defang -- rabid reporters, blood-thirsty bloggers and social networking buffoons who are out to besmirch your good name.

Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound 

 

Want To Blog And Tweet About

Your Organization But Don't Have Time? 


Missing out on all the promotional and SEO advantages of doing so? Hire someone to be your voice...like Erik Bernstein, editor of Crisis Manager.

 

More info:erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

 


GUEST AUTHORS

Guest authors are very welcome to submit material for "Crisis Manager." There is no fee paid, but most guest authors have reported receiving business inquiries as a result of appearing in this publication. Case histories, experience-based lessons, commentary on current news events and editorial opinion are all eligible for consideration. Submission is not a guarantee of acceptance.

 


ABOUT THE PUBLISHER AND EDITOR


JB NewErik Bernstein

Jonathan Bernstein is both publisher of Crisis Manager and president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., a national crisis management public relations agency providing 24/7 access to crisis response professionals. The agency engages in the full spectrum of crisis management services: crisis prevention, response, planning & training. He has been in the public relations field since 1982, following five-year stints in both military intelligence and investigative reporting.

Write to Jonathan at: jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Erik Bernstein is editor of Crisis Manager and is also Social Media Manager for Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.

Write to Erik at: erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

 


LEGAL DISCLAIMER

All information contained herein is obtained by Jonathan Bernstein from sources believed by Jonathan Bernstein to be accurate and reliable.

Because of the possibility of human and mechanical error as well as other factors, neither Jonathan Bernstein nor Bernstein Crisis Management is responsible for any errors or omissions. All information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Bernstein Crisis Management and Jonathan Bernstein make no representations and disclaim all express, implied, and statutory warranties of any kind to the user and/or any third party including, without limitation, warranties as to accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose.


Unless due to willful tortuous misconduct or gross negligence, Jonathan Bernstein and Bernstein Crisis Management shall have no liability in tort, contract, or otherwise (and as permitted by law, product liability), to the user and/or any third party.


Under no circumstance shall Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever, even if Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein has been advised of the possibility of such damages.


A service of this newsletter is to provide news summaries and/or snippets to readers. In such instances articles and/or snippets will be reprinted as they are received from the originating party or as they are displayed on the originating website or in the original article. As we do not write the news, we merely point readers to it, under no circumstance shall Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever due to the distribution of said news articles or snippets that lead readers to a full article on a news service's website, even if Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Authors of the original news story and their publications shall be exclusively held liable. Any corrections to news stories are not mandatory and shall be printed at the discretion of the list moderator after evaluation on a case-by-case basis.


In This Issue
Just A Thought
Blogs!
Apropos of Nothing
Quick Links
Contact

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