I am two years late to Ryan Holiday's publication"Trust Me, I am working". Never much of a PR person, I learned quickly from his nonfictional accounts of being a"media manipulator" that advertising can be everything once you've assembled a fantastic product. Since I must return the publication by 12/20 to the San Diego Public Library, I figured this is a great time to write my notes down as a blog article.
Quotes in"Trust Me, I'm working"
Orson Scott Card
"Social networking is not a set of resources to allow individuals to communicate with people. It's a pair of embedding mechanisms to allow technology to use people to communicate with each other, in an orgy of self-organizing... The Matrix had it wrong. You're not the batter power in a global, human-enslaving AI, you're somewhat more precious. You are part of the switching circuitry"
"it is a prime example of the feminist blogosphere's tendency to tap in the industry force of what I have begun to think of as"outrage world" -- the regularly occurring firestorms stirred up on mainstream, for-profit, woman-targeted blogs such as Jezebel as well, to a lesser degree, Slate's own XX Factor and Salon's Broadsheet. They are triggered by writers that are compelling readers to feel what the authors assert is righteously indignant rage but which is really just petty jealousy, cleverly promoted as feminism. These firestorms are great for page-view-pimping bloggy business."
"Companies should anticipate a full-scale, organized attack from critics. One which will simultaneously overrun blog remarks, Facebook fan pages, along with an onslaught of blogs, leading to mainstream media allure. Begin by developing a social networking disasters plan and growing inner fire drills to expect what would happen."
"Our jak zagadać do dziewczyny z którą dawno nie gadałem selves are the home in which we live; they're our news, our personalities, our adventure, our types of art, our really experience."
Practice Advice from the Novel
Control your Wikipedia page (use any media mention from sites or conventional media)
Examine the top stories and you will notice a pattern: the top stories all polarize poeple. If you create it threaten people's 3 Bs -- behavior, belief, or possessions -- you receive a massive virus-like dispersion
Write stuff bloggers could post immediately with no work. Feed them their very own lies"help them trick their subscribers"
Silence on blogs is the worst.
Faking escapes with email editor (from various sources) can work if you have the right connections
Media historian W.J. Cfambell once identified the distinguishing markers of yellow journalism as follows:
Prominent headlines that screamed excitement about utlimately unimportant news
Lavish use of pictures (often of little significance )
Color comics plus a big, thick Sunday nutritional supplement
Ostentatious aid of the underdog causes
Utilization of anonymous sources
Prominent coverage of high society and events
Concepts in the book
Ongoing Narrative /Iterative Reporting -damage is already done, there's no such thing. Iterative reporting is bullshit, folks treat information headlines as"cultural truth", the damage is already done, even it's a baseless accusation.
Faking escapes with email editor (from different sources)
The Psychology of Error -- Errors and errors get rewarded, causes outrage = pageviews = cash
By way of instance, each image is a different load display = more pageviews (short term vs. long-term metrics). Usability vs. profitability -- publishers are focused liberally on pageviews, but in the long term, user trust will be important. Meanwhile, irresponsible bloggers are making millions from sensationalizing stories that are untrue.
Snark -- mortal weapon (humor in its own dark form. Example = "Your Daily Douchebag: John Mayer Edition". Another online illustration: Hot Chicks with Douchebags
All that occurs -> All that is known by media --> All that is newsworthy ->All that is published as news -> All that spreads. This is the systematic limiting of the information seen by the General Public
My Action List / Courses in the Novel
Headlines matter
Blogs hold a Good Deal of power
The right contacts in the ideal blogs in a specific sector hold lots of influence. Example: Apple statements
Building a brand new site with high viral grip (but with the ideal user metrics in mind) can take off fast. Websites like Watch Mojo, Ebaumsworld, Break.com, ride the tide of copying content from others, organized in a digestible manner that users can quickly spread. Millions of dollars are made this way while resources are never credited. There must be a way to do both.
There is a need for a reputable news source, or an industry specific source that does not pander to"mass hysteria". Case in point: refinery29.com