... and More Than 3.8 Million Do?
As of today, that's how many YouTube viewers have watched Barack Obama's much-discussed speech on race relations. Four million saw him give the speech live.
Images, real or modified, can change the power equation in a presidential campaign. They can also alter how people perceive you. Elections, career advancement, perceived choices, personal and product reputations - all can be altered faster and more widely than any time in our past.
Motion Pictures Move Us More Than "Just" Words, Research Shows.
Free, widely available and easy access to video scenes sets emotionally-charged opinions in motion more than "just" the words we Twitter, text message, email or write for the Internet. Whether it is video clips of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's radical sermons or "misstatements" by Senator Clinton about ducking sniper shots in Bosnia, long ago or recent pasts can come back to haunt one, and not just individuals who know they are in the public eye. Hint: make sure the people you involve in acts of support do, in fact, support you.
What to Do When You Are Behind the Eight Ball.
There's a tip in negotiations that, if you feel you are not getting your fair share of the pie, make a bigger pie. That can be done by involving more people in the negotiation and gaining their support before your opponents reach them - or even know that they are now involved. Obama has benefited from this several times in this presidential campaign as many apolitical and/or "undecideds" have gone online and watched the speeches, interviews, informational interactions with crowds and the spoofs and fan and opponent-created mash-ups of real video to distort a situation or personality. Hint: inspiration, celebrities, parody, quirkiness and other humor attract crowds.
We have unavoidable transparency in more of our companies, countries and personal conduct. That's not news to you, I am sure. Yet I continue to be in awe of the gathering speed with which technology is enabling someone, even with no money or constituency, (but with a captivating scene or message) can race to the top of our collective minds.
Get Reputation Insurance for Yourself.
Be proactive. You can't stop people from talking about you, but you can increase the chances of discovering what they say sooner. Don't just look once but check regularly for what people are saying about you, your organization and the people who most matter to you. Check several places, using at least google and google images and clusty. Set up google alerts to automatically get news when the people and organization that affect your life are mentioned on line. Now this seems obvious to many of you, I am sure, yet I spoke at two conferences this year where attendees were well-educated and the median income was at least $150,000 - yet only a small minority of people were aware of these basics in reputation protection. Where else do you check?
