12 Provocative Events in 2011 from a PR and Tech Perspective

Here on the Sterling Communications blog, we’ve never been shy about expressing our opinions on current events. From the events that made us want to stand and clap, to those that left us scratching our heads in confusion, here is a recap of the Sterling response to a dozen of the year’s most intriguing issues as seen through the prism of the technology PR industry:

1. The collapse of Solyndra

When Solyndra collapsed, the Internet was abuzz with speculation on the demise of the solar industry. In November, Lisette Rauwendaal wrote about the positive strides being made in the industry, and how past problems shouldn’t be considered representative of this industry as it continues to grow and innovate.

2. The Occupy movement

What started as the voice of the people standing against corporate greed has slowly deteriorated into a catchall for gripes and grievances of all kinds. In October, Scott Smith wrote about how the movement had begun to lose support as media coverage became overwhelmingly negative in the absence of a coherent or cohesive message.

3. The Amanda Knox trial and verdict

While the Occupy movement may have lost supporters due to lack of message, the Amanda Knox verdict did just the opposite. A woman once pegged a murderer in the court of public opinion came to be viewed as a victim of injustice. In October, Amanda Hoffman wrote about the massive PR campaign and messaging strategy that altered public sentiment.

4. Netflix

When Netflix made the surprise announcement that it would be separating its streaming and DVD rental services, thereby abandoning its single low monthly fee in favor of two fees paid separately to two companies, the concept of gauging customer sentiment before making big decisions really came into light. In July, Scott Smith wrote about how much this concept hit home for him, followed by Kevin Pedraja and Kawika Holbrook sounding off in a podcast in September after Netflix scrapped the corporate split plans.

5. BART protests

In a similarly misaligned feat of activism to the Occupy movement, the weeks of BART protests in San Francisco served more to alienate than invigorate the target audience. In September, Devin Davis wrote on the misguided idea of the protesters to use the commuters — innocent bystanders who just wanted to get home after a long day at work — as their weapon of choice.

6. The reaction in social media to the 10th anniversary of 9/11

With the anniversary of 9/11 came touching tributes and peace, but also ugly disagreements on social media sites. Lisa Hawes offered insight based on first-hand observations of tone-deafness on Twitter and Facebook.

7. Trouble for TechCrunch

Conflicting messages from company spokespersons in September regarding Michael Arrington’s status at TechCrunch and AOL cemented why companies use PR agencies. Kawika Holbrook weighed in on the issue and showed why perception matters.

8. AirBnB

When an AirBnB customer who had her apartment ransacked and her possessions stolen didn’t get much support from AirBnB’s staff, she published a blog post describing her ordeal that quickly went viral. In August, Kevin Pedraja wrote on how this is exactly the kind of PR disaster that companies – especially start-ups – fear: a damaging story that gets widespread attention, raises serious questions about the company’s business model and refuses to die.

9. Tragedy at the ballpark

Baseball became the most dangerous spectator sport in July, with the death of baseball fan, followed only four days later by a near-fall. Jordan Hubert wrote about the MLB’s culture of silence and limited response to the ballpark safety issue.

10. Facebook engages PR agency to conduct a whisper campaign against Google

Engaging Burson-Marsteller to conduct a whisper campaign against Google is a move Facebook probably regrets. Jay Nichols and Kevin Pedraja discussed in a May podcast what PR agencies can learn from this embarrassing episode.

11. Social media gripe leads to #1 book on Amazon

Adam Mansbach’s book, “Go the F*** to Sleep” originated as a father’s lament on Facebook, but ended up a viral phenomenom and a #1 book. Kawika Holbrook wrote about how such shooting stars can help us better understand the nature of social media, public relations, and publishing.

12. Groupon’s super blunder

The 2011 Super Bowl ad for the online coupon company, Groupon.com, was intended to be absurd, but resulted in an expensive, short-lived, widely ridiculed mistake. Jordan Hubert wrote about the possible PR ramifications of such an ad.

Jordan Hubert can be reached at [email protected]. Follow Jordan on Twitter@jahubert.