I expected to hear Heins address all the concerns of Blackberry users like frequent “white screen of death” issues, latency and even my chief concern (since I am becoming kind of a nut about this stuff), Blackberry models having some of the highest radiation in the industry.

Instead, the headlines were that Heins believes no major changes were necessary, or as Bloomberg Businessweek put it, RIM is “Staying is the Course”.

Bloomberg’s Peter Burrows and Hugo Miller’s article essentially skewered Heins for this – and used a Blackberry buried in a grave to depict where they really thought RIM is headed. This is about the worst image a PR person wants to see, yet it was no great shock because Heins didn’t say the right things in his interviews. This is a shame because it was his golden opportunity to do so. A new CEO’s first public outing is the chance for him/her to state goals, address challenges, explain the way forward and, ideally, re-shape people’s perceptions.

Had I been on the public relations team counseling Heins I would have told him to accentuate the positive while acknowledging challenges. I’d have counseled him to state the big ones, which would give him a chance to explain the steps the company is taking to tackle problems. Everyone knows RIM has serious issues. It is ridiculous to try to hide them. The trick is to re-frame the discussion while addressing how problems are going to be fixed.

The old adage “honesty is the best policy” may sound a bit old fashioned, but when you are talking about a company like RIM, and the state it’s in, they would have been better served by being open and honest. Unfortunately it is too late for Heins’ public introduction.

Perhaps moving forward RIM will learn from its mistakes and carve out a better public relations outcome. To change perceptions they must publicly acknowledge the obvious – significant products are necessary not only to stave off Apple, but also to stay relevant in the mobile marketplace.

Maybe they’d even win back former customers like me.

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Those days are now over. The US government has shut down the website. The homepage is gone, replaced with a notice saying “This domain name associated with the website megaupload.com has been seized pursuant to an order issued by a U.S. District court.”

The Associated Press is reporting the government wants to begin deleting data stored on the site as early as Thursday. What does this mean for users? This will not be the last attempt by the government to shut down file-sharing sites. Those of us older than 20 recall Napster and the RIAA’s filing of lawsuits against every single person in America who downloaded one too many songs from the site. More recently, Limewire was taken down by the Feds. Owners of file-sharing sites will have to take care to either not store consumers’ data, or else will need to change business practices.

Consumers should keep in mind the government will likely come after other sides which give customers free data, such as alluc.org and crackle.com. My personal recommendation is to not share credit card info or personal data on these sites. Not only for security reasons, but if the government goes after those sites as well, they will have a list of who was using the site and for how much. Who knows, depending on what you did, the government could be after you next.

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If you’re a shareholder with Apple, you’re quite happy: shares are up about $30, or 4.3%, since Tim Cook took over as CEO of Apple from the late Steve Jobs. If you’re a fan of the iPhone, you’re in good shape: the iPhone 4S sold over 4 million units in its launch weekend, even without the presence of Jobs. Apple said about 20 million people activated their free iCloud accounts in its first week, a record for mobile software.

Cook has big shoes to fill. People associated Apple computers with Jobs, who along with Steve Wozniak (who actually built Apple I) and “adult supervisor” Ronald Wayne (who later sold his share of Apple stock for $800 and received a total of $2,300 from the whole ordeal-his 10% stake would have made him $22 billion now), designed the first Apple computer in 1976. Although Jobs was exiled from Apple’s management from 1985-199 , he returned with a new vision-to make Apple and its Macintosh computers the most dominant OS on the market. For the next 15 years, Jobs oversaw the rise of Apple from a second-tier program to Bill Gate’s Windows PC giant to the most dominant and wealthy corporation on the planet.

Tim Cook, who has been with Apple since Jobs hired him in 1998, served as Apple CEO briefly in 2004 when Jobs was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He also served a brief stint as CEO in 2009 when Jobs underwent a liver transplant, so it isn’t as if Cook is a stranger to running Apple. The question is: how will he manage Apple’s success following Jobs’s death? Whereas Jobs was visible, and associated with Apple, Cook is described as being more reserved, someone who is laid back and prefers things to be kept in the boardrooms until the final moment. Gartner analyst Michael King is quoted in a CNN story as saying by August 2013, 2 years after Jobs resigned as CEO, his effect on the company will have worn off, and everything after that will be part of the Cook legacy.

Cook has been handed a gifted opportunity as CEO of a corporation even the other 499 Fortune 500 CEOs would love to have. So far, all indications appear to show Cook is prepared to continue the work Jobs did, and not make any bold, radical changes to a winning formula.

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Milwaukee’s Co-Sleeping Ad Controversy – The city of Milwaukee’s Health Department is under scrutiny after its recent ad campaign warning parents about the dangers of co-sleeping. Their advertisement shows a baby sleeping next to a knife – not the normal picture you get in your head when thinking about an infant dozing off. The Commissioner of Health says that while the image is shocking, what is more shocking is the fact that 30 developed and underdeveloped countries have better infant death rates than the city. However, some parents are outraged and think that co-parenting is a good bonding ritual between mothers and their child. Is Milwaukee in a PR-mess that it can handle? How should the city move forward?

Overstock Backs Off O.co Name Change – About six months ago, Overstock.com started branding it O.co – in online ad, tv ads and during sporting events. They’re reverting their branding and bringing back their Overstock.com messaging because a “good portion” of those watching to o.co ads, started going to o.com. Obviously, that is a problem. Some experts are saying that by going back to Overstock.com branding, for the time being, is going to cost a lot of brand confusion with their customers. What do you think?

Justin Bieber’s Baby Drama– Looks like Justin Bieber might not have as much baby mamma drama going on as he has had in recent weeks. Mariah Yeater, the 20-yr old that accused Biebs of fathering her 4 month year old child, has quietly dropped her lawsuit. According to Yeater’s lawyer, his client was receiving death threats and decided to pursue privately. How do you think Bieber’s PR camp handled the allegations? Is this girl just looking for 15 minutes of fame?

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week’s winner was Overstock. Too often brands have messaging that doesn’t work, and instead of addressing the problem – the messaging is never altered. While Overstock is still keeping O.co, they are addressing the problem by bringing back the more well-known Overstock.com URL. It’s a win-win for them. People know it and now consumers can get to their site.

Who do you think should have won?

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Joe Paterno clearly viewed himself as a super-set of the Penn State brand, larger than life and the institution he served, unassailable. In his arrogant, tone-deaf retirement announcement he admonished the University’s Trustees: “At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.”

The University, which for decades had encouraged the development of Paterno’s brand as a proxy for the institution’s, finally took action. But it was too little, too late – for those boys, for the administration, for the students and alums, perhaps for Penn State.

Of course Penn State isn’t the only organization to ignore the risk of letting its brand ambassador’s power eclipse its core brand. Many consumer brands have been bitten by endorsements – think of Nike and Tiger Woods, Michael Vick and Nike, Michael Jordan and Coca-Cola, and Britney Spears and Pepsi.

While many of the examples above deal with consumer brands, tech companies are not immune. Many hire community managers or social media experts to mediate interactions between users and the company. Community managers are powerful people. They may serve as brand ambassadors, but they also have an investment in maintaining their personal brands. Check the Twitter feeds of community managers and nine times out of 10 you’ll see the individual’s name, not the company they work for. It’s a risk, and an opportunity lost, for the organization, and a diminution of its brand.

Brands are a huge responsibility. They are the lens through which prospects, customers and employees see an organization. They need to be built carefully and maintained scrupulously. To surrender an organization’s brand to a brand ambassador or other proxy is to be blind to risk, and to surrender responsibility.

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Voting with a Smartphone – Did you vote on Election Day? A Mashable writer suggested that many people don’t vote because voting is inconvenient. There’s the time limit, the specific locations as to where you can vote – all these things can often be roadblocks and the reasoning behind people not voting. He suggests the idea that smartphones could change all that. With all the apps available, a secure application could be created allowing people to vote directly from their mobile device. With people now being able to purchase things via their smartphones, why not vote?

Disney’s Deal with YouTube – Disney and YouTube have put together a deal to produce co-branded video content. Disney is trying to attract a bigger audience by teaming up with the video giant. On the other hand, YouTube is trying to better their reputation with parents by teaming up with this family-friendly company. Is this a good move for both players? Will we see more companies trying to partner with YouTube?

Social media: Every Channel Doesn’t Need to be Tapped – An article in PRWeek discusses how when it comes to social media, don’t jump in blindly. Companies need to be strategic as to which forms of social channels they decide to join – and have a plan as to what their ultimate goal is. Having a twitter account that isn’t geared towards your target audience is not going to help your presence. Being on Facebook, but not having any information about your company isn’t going to grow your “like”ers. When it comes to social media, brands need to be smart.

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week we chose the Disney/YouTube deal as the story that comes out on top. This deal makes perfect sense for both parties, bettering the images of both parties. Disney needs to expand their audience and seem “cooler,” whereas YouTube wants to better its sometimes explicit image with parents concerned about what their children are viewing.

Who do you think should have won?

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Waldorf Schools and How They Teach – While many schools are getting budgets for more and more technology, one school is doing the opposite. The Waldorf schools – which have 160 across the country – teach with physical activity and learning though hands on tasks. What might be even more surprising is that many of the students’ parents’ work in big Silicon Valley tech companies. Are they hindering their children’s education?

Are Emoticons OK in normal conversations? – An article in the NY Times discusses the use of emoticons. Many of those interviewed admit to using them, even in conversations with colleagues, while others are appalled by people who use them. With more and more communication being from emails and text messages, are emoticons appropriate?

A Smartphone Dock in a Prosthetic Arm – A man who was born without his left arm has found a way to still easily and safely use his smartphone. Trevor Prideaux from Somerset, England asked experts to build a prosthetic arm that he could attach his Nokia smartphone into. This is a genius idea in my opinion and I think more companies and people working to help anyone disabled should start thinking about how technology can be incorporated into the designs of their products.

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week the story about the man with the prosthetic arm wins. Not only is his smartphone dock a cool use of technology, it is paving the way that technology can enable those with physical disabilities.

Who do you think should have won?

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For his accomplishments, Ritchie was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1988, and won 3 awards in his career: the Turing Award in 1983, the Richard W. Hamming Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the National Medal of Technology in 1998, given by then-President Clinton. He shared all three awards with Thompson. Earlier this year, the Japanese government also awarded him a medal. All accolades were for creating the C Programming language, and developing UNIX.

Ritchie worked for Bell Laboratories, a division of AT&T, for over 40 years. It was during this time he and his colleagues created the original C programming Language, which is the basis of all modern OS. Imagine a world with no computer applications, an antiquated OS, and slower hard drives! Without UNIX, the ability to even make a good OS would not have been possible, or would have not occurred for many more years. Windows and Mac would not have been possible because the basis for their OS would not have been invented at the time.

I recall seeing a commercial for a tech company many years ago during the NFL playoffs that showed an inventor walking down the street, nearby a football player who was signing autographs, and the narrator said “when he walks down the street, no one recognizes him, and no one asks for his autograph, yet he is happy, because he alone knows what he has done.” Although people may not have asked for Ritchie’s autograph, or even been aware that he ever existed, his contributions to computer science impact us all. And for that, he deserves to be honored.

In his own words:
“I did it (create C programming language) as a backlash against the bad operating systems of the day,” said Thompson, 67. “We were just trying to get something better to get our own work done.”

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Ford’s and Chrysler’s Misleading Advertising Campaigns – Ford Motor Co. and Chysler Group are have had complaints to the FTC over misleading advertising that lead some of the general public to think their vehicles are made in the USA – particularly the Chrysler 300 and the Ford Edge. Apparently, these models are assembled in Canada and often have Mexican-made parts, which go against Chysler’s “Imported from Detroit” tagline and Ford’s radio spot that advertised it being an American car. What do you think of the companies’ advertising their cars as American?

BlackBerry outages spread to North America – Across the world, Blackberry users noticed an outage in their services – one of the biggest outages yet. Since the European infrastructure failed, emails and messages sent were so backed up in the RIM systems, it caused outages in the US and in Asia. With outages happening a couple times a year, people are rethinking keeping their Blackberries, opting to upgrade to a DROID or iPhone. Can Blackberry keep up?

Bank of America sharpens messaging about new fees – Last week Bank of America announced a $5 monthly fee for debit card users – causing public outrage. They now have repositioned their messaging, explaining who will be charged with this fee and how it can be avoided. According to this PR Week article, a recent survey found 36% of Americans have “very little” or “no” confidence in US banks. While BoA is saying this new fee is to recover lost revenue, do you think consumers will look to bank elsewhere?

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week it was a 4:1 vote – Blackberry. With the general population being so dependent on technology, especially mobile, Blackberry needs to make sure outages like this don’t happen again. This one on of the biggest stories of the week and had people questioning whether or not they should still be used, and that is why this story won as the Power Ranker.

Who do you think should have won?

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The similarities: both involve typing letters, numbers, and symbols from a keyboard onto an electronic screen to be sent to the screen of someone else. Both require very little energy use or cost to the server in terms of data transfer. Both can be done quickly, but only if you don’t lose the connection (which happens a lot, especially with T-mobile).

So what makes them different? E-mail is considered more formal, because one is taking the time to actually write out a message (when was the last time someone send out an e-mail that just said ‘k’ or ‘lol’ or ‘cool’?), whereas texting can be done very quickly and on the go. Also, e-mail requires one to be logged into an internet server somewhere. So even if you’re travelling and you can get internet service through your phone, you’ll have to log-in to do it-making the process slower, and potentially putting yourself at risk for phishers to hack in if your phone’s internet connection is unsecure for any reason.

That said, e-mail allows individuals to send more information than texts usually can, such as links to Youtube videos and better quality photos. It’s much easier to send word documents, excel spreadsheets, and power points to yourself or others via e-mail, (texting it is impossible at this point unless you have an iPad, and even then). Plus, if I have to wait to be on the internet to use e-mail, that’s one less opportunity to send a message while I drive (promoting safe driving).

Finally, I often am in contact with people on a professional level. I feel very uncomfortable sending out texts to those people, especially if I don’t know the person well. I’ve never been uncomfortable sending out an e-mail, even to unfamiliar people. For that reason, even more-so than the other two, I personally prefer e-mailing people as to texting.

What do you think? Do you prefer texting to e-mail? Share your thoughts on this subject.

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