Tag Archives: President Obama

The Twitter PR battleground

Seems hard to believe, but Twitter is only about 11 years old.  It started as a cute social media venue, used mostly by celebrities to promote their movies and shows.  Somehow it has become a PR battleground and major political communications force.

Twitter now is used by presidents (I don’t have to mention who) and state leaders around the globe.  Police forces, business people, everybody.  It is the favored way to instantly get a message out, hopefully reposted, and then often regretted.

It is fascinating that something that allows only 140 characters can become so powerful.  Of course most people post multiple messages, strung together, to make their point.  But Twitter’s constraints have forced people to write more concisely, use abbreviations they make up and often convey nonsensical messages.

President Trump has said he believes he wouldn’t have been elected without Twitter.  He touted his Twitter account years before entering politics and has never stopped using it.  Today, as the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, he still refuses to give up the habit, much to the chagrin of many Americans who see it as “unpresidential.”

What does this say about our communications, PR and marketing?  It says a lot, but foremost it underscores the fact that we don’t have the time or patience to write complete, thoughtful sentences. It says a lot about lashing out impulsively at another person, a company or a government.

The lesson to be learned from the Twitter craze is it often does more harm than good for the user.  How many people have been fired for insensitive or racist Twitter posts?  How many people in prominent positions have had to retract their Twitter posts, only to see them live on.

Instant communication via social media or even email is tempting.  Getting back at someone quickly through electronic communications can provide instant gratification.  However, for most people if they take a couple of hours, and a few deep breaths, they usually decide it is not worth it.

The internet never forgets, and too often people never forgive.

The ‘selfie’ seen around the world

When is it appropriate for heads of state to have a bit of fun?

Not a funeral service, apparently.

When President Obama attended the funeral service for Nelson Mandela, he along with Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and UK Prime Minister Cameron got together to mug for her iPhone.  In the language of teenagers, it is called a “selfie,” a self-portrait that is usually meant to post instantly on social media

The picture of these powerful world leaders crowding together made for an even greater picture.  Adding to the excitement, was Obama’s wife looking away and very stern. Every man of dating age knows that look of utter disapproval.

Almost as fast as the picture spread across the world, the photographer who took the shot came to the defense of the three leaders.  He discounted that it was inappropriate or immature.  He said it was during a time of “celebration” and not a somber moment.  According to him, he thought nothing of it at the time he snapped the shot.

Well, he thought enough of it to send it around the globe.

This bit of levity is another reminder of the power of the internet and how nothing and nobody is anonymous anymore.  It seems that every human movement is caught on video by someone, someplace.  Certainly, world leaders should be cognizant of the fact that they live in a proverbial fish bowl and need to be more careful.  But one has to believe that if they engaged in what many are calling childlike behavior at a somber event, they collectively had to believe it was not inappropriate and not childlike.

Or maybe they just didn’t care.

Defenders of the pic have also come forth to discount that the First Lady was upset, explaining that the camera just caught her in moments when she looked angry, but really wasn’t.

My take on the “selfie” is that if you’re a world leader, and you want to act human, do it in a room and make sure the only camera in the room is the one pointed at your face.

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President Obama gets into a shot with Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and UK Prime Minister Cameron at the funeral service for Nelson Mandela.  First Lady Michele Obama doesn’t look amused.

Obamacare: The branding of a President

Every president of the United States is a historical figure.  For good or bad, they are remembered as making history in some way or another.

Students memorize the presidents in order.  Some even write papers about what they accomplished, or what they messed up.

But rarely is a president remembered as a brand or a product.  But that is exactly what is happening with Barack Obama, and will continue for centuries to come.  Not only will his name live on as a president of the U.S., but it will live on as Obamacare, otherwise more officially known as The Affordable Care Act.

Long into the future, people will call their healthcare Obamacare.  Like Medicare, it will become an integral part of our lexicon even though it really doesn’t exist as an entity.   It already has.

Whether Obamacare proves to be a positive or negative, at least President Obama has achieved something no other president has ever been able to:  making his a household name that will live on in our daily language and lives.