The so-called “Cat Bin Lady” has been dethroned as the #1 Viral Video Villain after a recent video uploaded to YouTube of a girl throwing puppies into a river (which I have decided not to include) has sparked outrage in the social media world on websites such as Facebook, Reddit and 4chan. No sooner than the video was posted (and subsequently removed) 4chan and Reddit members began their quest to find out the identity of the girl and a Facebook group formed in the wake of the incident recruited over 3,000 members in one day.

I have personally seen the video which is quite nauseating, but I wonder if these actions truly reflect the power and potential of social media. Are we going to form blood-thirsty internet lynch mobs whenever a video of some idiot being cruel to an animal appears on the radar? Are we going to use such a powerful medium to simply get angry about these isolated incidents and point our fingers at these seemingly disturbed individuals?

The truth is, animal cruelty has been happening every day on a mass scale right under our noses for decades, and we have been looking the other way. How can we point the finger when most of our chicken and eggs come from battery farms, where the hens are force fed and stacked on top of each other in cramped cages, unable to move? How can we justify calling someone out for abandoning a cat in a dumpster when many, if not most of the clothes we wear are the result of (human) slave labor? Maybe if we saw some footage of a taskmaster beating a pregnant factory worker or a child assembling a pair of Nikes we might have a change of heart!

Most of the problem results from the fact that we are so disconnected from the products we purchase and consume because they come from “somewhere else,” out of sight and out of mind. Social media is the perfect tool to show where our products are coming from, and instead of getting angry at a mentally disturbed individual, we can get angry about a corporation’s lack of social responsibility (or praise a corporation for complying with fair trade practices). We’re much better off uploading videos that show the conditions of factories, battery farms, circuses, sweatshops, etc., and using social media in an attempt to change hearts and minds, and create positive and effective social change – only then will the true power of social media be released.

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Technorati Tags: animal cruelty, battery farm, drowning, puppies, river, social change, Social Media, social responsibility, sweatshop

This week’s PRobecast, Alison Raymond, Tony Sapienza, Amy Krigman and Renatta Siewart talk California’s bill that makes it illegal to impersonate someone on the Web, cardless check-ins at the gym, business logos and more. Here are the issues we covered:

CA Bill says it’s illegal to impersonate – California recently passed a bill that makes it illegal to impersonate someone else on the web – and this means person or corporation. While instances like the whole Phoebe Price bullying case, would make me want to agree with this bill. What happened to freedom of speech?

Fingerprints at the Gym – An article in DailyFinance talked about a gym in the Silicon Valley installing fingerprint scanners at their front desk – as part of their national cardless check-in program. So gym-goers will scan their right and left index finders and the machine would keep in on file. The article brings up a good point, identity theft is already a problem but at least you can get a new account number. You can’t get a new fingerprint. Would you scan your print so you didn’t have to remember your card?

What to Consider when Creating a Business Logo – A mashable article talked about the 4 key things to consider when creating a logo and these included: Make sure your logo gives a good impression, Make your logo “sticky” – meaning non-changing, Find a great designer and introduce yourself into the social marketplace. I think this article brought up a good point – logos really need a good first impression. If it doesn’t look good, your audience will likely look elsewhere. And, secondly – introduce yourself to the social sphere, but think about where you want to go. Don’t spread yourself too thin. You want to make sure you have a plan as to what you want to accomplish and then proceed to do so.

Firefox 4’s Beta 4: Hello, Sync and Panorama – Mozilla just released its beta version of Firefox 4 which includes 2 features: Panorama and Sync. Panorama is a visual tool that allows you to see all of your open tabs in a group. It has a drag and drop interface so you can more easily manage them. Which is helpful for the tab-fiends. The Sync allows users to synchronize all their bookmarks, history, passwords, etc. across multiple computers. What are your thoughts on these new features

Could ‘Social Network’ hurt Facebook? – There’s a film coming out in October called “The Social Network” that is supposed to be about Mark Zuckerberg and how facebook was created. Apparently Zuckerberg didn’t have anything to do with the film and the film casts him in some bad light. If true, do you think this is going to effect how people will think of facebook?

Lindsay Lohan’s Potential New Radio Gig – Lindsay Lohan just got out of rehab and there is talk of her calling the East Coast home again. A radio show in Long Island is now offering her and her mother Dina $1M to host the morning radio show and talk fashion, tips, etc. Do you want tips from Lindsay

The Most Dangerous Celebrities to Google – McAfee recently put out a top 10 list of the most dangerous celebrities to Google. The Top 3 being Jessica Biel at 3, Julia Roberts at #2 and Cameron Diaz being the top dangerous celebrity. According to McAfee, the risk is greater when you include “nake” or “nude,” which isn’t really surprising. This really just goes back to the fact that you have to be careful what you click on, whether it’s a link that was sent to you or on Google.

The 15 Most Bedbug-Infested Cities in the US- There was a recent study of the top 15 bedbug-infested cities in the US and Boston came out as number 11. Gross! What are your thoughts on this epidemic?

Lastly, this week we are starting a PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which we go around the room and everyone votes on what story did the best job PR-wise. This week’s winner is Terminix who released the study on the top bedbug-infested cities. Not only does this story have the “yuck” – it also grabbed a lot of attention.

So, Congratulations, Terminix!

Hope you enjoyed PRobecast, Topaz Partners’ loosely edited weekly podcast!

Let us know what your thoughts are on these matters!

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Technorati Tags: bedbugs, Facebook, free speech, Lindsay Lohan, Terminix

This week’s PRobecast, Alison Raymond, Amy Krigman, Ann Dalrymple and Renatta Siewert talk the evolution of social media and what’s to come, facebook’s “dislike button,” Buick’s new image and more. Here are the issues we covered:

Social Media Revolutionizing Business/Customer Relationships – In this economy, most businesses – in all industries – have changed their business models. The “social media revolution” that has happened really force businesses to take a step back and see not only who their messages are going to – but the need to analyze what kinds of messages they are sending. While you can promote your business (sell) via these online channels, you also need to offer information of value – so you giving your audience information they want so they’ll continue to look at you favorably.

The Future of Public Relations and Social Media – Mashable recently ran an article discussing how social media is changing the face of PR. Press releases are now incorporating a social element with more links, video and audio – making these releases more interactive and interesting to editors. Even social media platforms in general have changed the way PR pros are “doing” PR – offering new platforms for PR pros to reach out to journalists, etc. While, we are embracing social media the best we can, we should also expect to see adaptations to these platforms to make using social media even easier. This would include, finding the right audiences easier, knowing what data to accept or reject, more aggregation, etc. What do you foresee changing social media-wise?

The Facebook ‘Dislike Button’ is a Scam – If you’ve recently seen in your friends’ status’ that they have a “dislike” button – do not click through. It’s the latest Facebook scam and it’s spreading rapidly. If you do click though and follow the installation process, you grant the app permission and it’ll run the same status on your page – and it could be charging you.

Is the Buick the Fastest Growing Car Brand in America? – Buick recently has changed their design and marketing plans shifting to focus their efforts on a new younger audience. Incorporating new social media strategies and with the launched of momentoftruth.com, Buick is really stepping up and trying to step back from the “grandfather car” image it previously had. In doing so, General Motors Co. sold 137% more Buicks in July of 2010 than it did in July of 2009. What do you think of this recent marketing shift?

JetBlue Passenger Goes Whacky, Causes Plane to be Diverted – Just after last week’s JetBlue flight attendant incident, an incident occurred on the other end of the spectrum – the passenger. A passenger was having an “anxiety attack” and started acting out, hitting and even spitting on a flight attendant. She had to be tied down to a seat until she was calm. What a month JetBlue is having!

What are your thoughts on this week’s topics?

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Technorati Tags: Buick, Facebook, JetBlue, Social Media