Yesterday, I gave a talk at a small customer seminar (um, it was the seminar that was small; the customers seemed to be of average height) for Fast, a remarkably successful search service provider. In his talk, the CEO, John Lervik, pointed in passing to ThisIsTravel.com, a travel site that aggregates customer and professional reviews from other travel sites. For example, the page about the Holiday Inn Select Opryland rates it 5 out of 10 on the basis of 25 customer reviews the site found at IgoUgo.com, TravelGuide.com, etc. It also pulls links out of Fodors.com and others. The page links back to each of those reviews. If I understand correctly, the reviews are each evaluated by hand in order to assign a numeric ranking (although the Fast engine also does automatic sentiment analysis…a tough computing task).

I find our continuing climb up the meta tree to be fascinating. [Tags: everything_is_miscellaneous travel metadata fastsearch thisistravel]

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Steven Streight suggests three business models that “always work for everybody who uses them correctly and persistently, heck, even sporadically and lazily like me.” I wouldn’t go that far, but the fact that they ever work is proof that the world is better than we think it is. [Tags: business steven_streight]

I am reminded of Larry Lessig’s post on the three economies. Hey, they’re both about economics and have three alternatives.

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I haven’t blogged anything about the recent discovery that “Wal-Marting across America,” a blog recounting the travels of a couple from Wal-Mart to Wal-Mart, was in fact funded by Wal-Mart through Edelman PR. In its wake (1 2), Edelman disclosed that Working Families for Wal-Mart and its subsidiary site, Paid Critics, are also Edelman sites. It seems to me unambiguously wrong for Edelman to fund sites for clients without making that clear on the sites themselves. I haven’t blogged that (until now) in part because it’s so obvious and in part because, as a consultant to Edelman, I’m in a conflict.

By contract and body language, Edelman has not attempted to control or influence what I blog. Never. There are, however, three important inhibiting factors. First, no matter how genuine and warm the relationship, taking money from an organization taints what one thinks about that organization; that’s why I have repeatedly disclosed my relationship. Second, as a consultant, I’ve been in a position to observe how the company interacts, what sorts of ideas it contemplates and rejects, and what it embraces enthusiastically or reluctantly. It would betray their trust — and get me fired as a consultant, and keep other companies from hiring me — if I were to blab about that stuff. But that makes it hard for me to write about an affair such as the Wal-Mart one, even though I didn’t know about it beforehand. Third, As a result of consulting to the company for the past year and a half or so, I’ve developed personal relationships with people there, including with Richard Edelman, whom I’m proud to count as a friend. I’m not objective.

So, with that in mind:

Edelman’s non-transparency about its Wal-Mart programs erode the trust that makes the Blogosphere valuable. It also forces the question of whether professional PR has any place in the Blogosphere.

I think it does, but it’s not going to be an easy transition. Full transparency is the minimum requirement. But, that’s not enough. Being transparent about funding blogs is hardly what it means to do enlightened PR on the Web.

I personally think there are two fundamental roles for PR in the new world: Transparent advocacy and facilitating open, genuine engagement among customers and companies. Transparent advocacy means that the agency argues for its client, providing useful information to people who want to receive it. Genuine engagement means the agency helps its client participate in the Web conversation honestly and frankly, whether that’s through employee blogging, customer forums, or ways yet to be invented. Just as the agency can be a transparent advocate for the client on the Web, it should be an advocate for Web values to the client, counseling the client to be frank, honest, and open to criticism. (An agency may also create publicity stunts, but there’s nothing particularly webby about that.)

I also want to add — keeping in mind the three factors that mitigate against my credibility on this topic — that I believe that Edelman PR overall is genuinely committed to behaving well on the Web. That it has gone so wrong in the Wal-Mart instances is an indication of just how different the Web is, and how difficult it is for an agency that has bet its future on getting the Web right to break free of its long-learned instincts. PR has a long road ahead of it.

[Tags: blogging pr edelman wal-mart]

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“On my way over here, I was reminded of a story…”

Fifteen years ago, business executives were required to begin formal presentations with a joke. My European friends couldn’t understand why we insisted on having our CFOs and Sales VPs introduce themselves by doing a short stand-up routine. But now—based on almost no evidence, so please tell me if I’m wrong—it seems to me that Americans have shoved their inner Leno back into the small packing crate where he belongs.

No? If yes, why? [Tags: business jokes]

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Having just done a reinstall on my wife’s computer, I’ve then had the annoying pleasure of extirpating the various ways arrogant programs try to take the machine over. Norton Antivirus takes up an inch of the task bar. Real thinks it owns everything that makes a sound. Everything installs an entry to the Explorer popup.

But not Open Office, bless its modest soul. During the installation process, when it asks if you’d like it to be the default program for opening Microsoft Office documents, it clearly says:

If you are just trying out OpenOffice.org 2.0, you probably don’t want this to happen, so leave the boxes unchecked

The bigger the app, the more likely I’m going feel I’m at war with it. Except for Open Office. It’s so clearly on our side.

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Traci Fenton, founder of WorldBlu.com, is giving a Berkman lunchtime talk about organizational democracy. Excellent turnout, especially for the most beautiful day of the year. I’m especially glad to see that Traci has drawn first-timers, from union reps to workplace managers, in addition to the usual Berkpeople. [I’m paraphrasing throughout this post. As always.]

She says: In a democratic workplace, people get to decide which projects they work on and have access to the financial info about the company. This is the case at the GE Durham plant —150 employees and one manager. They make jet engines. All future GE plants will also use a democratic working style.

Organizational democracy = “democratic principles applied to a business context.” She cites Drucker, Wheatley, Senge, Hock, Semler, Collins, Fairtlough and Bower as sources of the idea. It’s not about everyone voting but everyone having a voice. It’s about operating out of freedom, not fear. Peer-to-peer, not paternalism. Humility and resolve vs. ego. Transparency vs. secrecy. Fluid networks, not hierarchy. It can become the norm, she says.

David Isenberg points out that the managers at GE (for example) get paid disproportionately high. How does this growing gap fit with the idea of democratic organization?

Traci says that people are rebelling against this. Whole Foods, for example, caps the disparity. Fairness is one of the characteristics of organizational democracy. GE overall suffers from the disproportion, but GE Durham does not. She points to other companies, too fast for me to keep up, except for Southwest Airlines…

Why should any one care? Context, cash and change.

The business context is changing because of technology: Employees have a voice on the Net and want one in business. Also, there’s been a reaction to Enron. And more of the world lives in democracy. And Gen X and Y have different expectations about work. And there’s a search for meaning going on (embracing our humanity). She says we’re going from the industrial age, to the information age, to the democratic age — networks, engagement, individuals…

Semco in Brazil flattened its hierarchy, gave employees a say in decisions, started job rotation, let people choose their boss, and let people choose how to be paid (e.g., hourly, by goals, royalties, etc.). As a result, their sales doubled, they launched 8 new products, and revenues went up 35%. Traci says that within this freedom, there is a tremendous sense of discipline. This happened because Ricardo Semler, the owner (his father founded it), at 25 was killing himself with stress.

Organizational democracy leads to more cash because it increases engagement. A Gallup poll showed that 73% of US workforce is not engaged by their work. Five years ago, that was 54%. This drives down revenues. Organizational democracy increases retention, increases efficiency, increases competitive advantage…

Organizational democracies have a positive ripple effect on their communities, decreasing corruption and increasing peace and stability.

WorldBlu wants to build 1,000 organizational democracies by 2020.

Q: People have been saying this for a long time. What’s the resistance?
A: People don’t understand how. Business leaders freak out because they think they have less control. I tell them they’re just giving up the illusion of control.

Q: People running the companies would have to give up a substantial amount of money personally.
A: At organizational democracies I don’t hear people complaining about the money piece.

Q: Does this work for low-skill or only for high-skill?
A: Atlas Container makes boxes. The average worker hasn’t finished high school. But they’re run democratically. Everyone knows what it feels like to be disengaged.

Q: (me) Is this a cultural change or can it be done incrementally?
A: It usually starts at the top, although I’ve blogged about how a junior employee can get involved. It can be rolled out at various paces.

Q: At GE Durham, people divide into teams and are given quotas. The team decides how many hours they’re going to work, they cover for each other, and suddenly they’re peer-accountable. I got the religion when I heard that.

Q: What’s the role for labor unions?
A: [Union organizer in the audience] This kind of model can work with the union. It seems like a natural pairing.

Q: Is this equally appropriate in rising and falling industries? And how does this play out with globalization and outsourcing?
A: I don’t know. How do the ethics of capitalism and the ethics of organizational democracy work together?

A: [audience member] Outsourcing can increase the knowledge work done by the people in the home plant.
Q: Are the outsourcers part of the organizational democracy? [Ouch!]

Q: Are these principles transferrable to very fluid industries where the parameters are changing rapidly?
A: Pandora is a startup using organizational democracy. It allows a company to adapt very rapidly.

Q: What’s your advice to new companies that want to start out right?
A: It’s not a matter of having standard processes that can be put in place but in adhering to a set of principles. At Gore, they use a lattice structure where everyone is related to everyone else. They share knowledge. “You have to find an answer that works on the scale you’re at.”

Q: What are the most common problems democratic organizations face?
A: At Pandora, the make-your-own-radio-station, people feel so engaged that they can be over-confident about the value of their participation.

Q: There are parallels between organizational democracy and the organic movement. The organic movement got coopted by the FDA. How are you working with large organizations so that the concept of org democ isn’t diluted?
A: You are in my head. We’re working on some proprietary tools that we hope will create a standard.

Q: Seal of approval?
A: There can be a backlash to that.

Q; Saturn seems to have gone from democratic to undemocratic.
A: At one company, they axed the CEO after the company missed one quarter, and the board brought in someone with a command and control background. I asked the old CEO if the employees had the strength to go forward. He said that there aren’t other job oppportunities. It’s unresolved still.

A: I love the idea of org democ, but it seems like it only works so long as the guys at the top say it’s ok.
Q: Yes and no. The movie The Take is about workers in 200 companies in Argentina demanding organizational democracy. Southwest Airlines also survived the replacement of the CEO.

Q: Why would the board care so long as the company is generally delivering? I something else going on?
A: Probably.

Q: Is one of your 12 qualifications having a certain percentage of staff on the board?
A: We don’t have set policies or processes. We recommend the adoption of principles. The Orpheus orchestra in NYC has no conductor. But their board doesn’t get it.

Q: (me) To what extent does the lack of democracy have to do with the fact that most companies are run by men?
A: Male CEOs who can run their companies democratically have this wonderful balance of the masculine and the feminine. They don’t have anything to prove, which is an important characteristic of leaders and workers in democratic organizations. Democratic organizations need a blend of compassion and discipline.

Q: What happens if the workers don’t accept change? Suppose they just want to follow rules?
A: A democratic company is not for everyone. Employees need a high degree of self-knowledge and confidence. Sometimes people have to leave companies that make the transition.

Q: I think this would work better in America than in some other countries. For one thing, when you’re responsible, you have to manage stress.
A: I don’t believe it has to do with culture. I think it has to do with the type of person you are.

Q: Does this work better for particular sized companies?
A: Smaller companies frequently are democratic just naturally.

[Tags: business democracy worldblu traci_fenton berkman]

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Traci Fenton is the founder of WorldBlu, a company and a foundation dedicated to increasing organizational democracy.

Not sure what organizational democracy is? There are still some spaces available for tomorrow’s Berkman lunchtime conversation (12:30-1:45) with Traci. If you’re interested, send an email to Erica at egeorge cyber.law.harvard.edu. [Tags: democracy worldblu traci_fenton]

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Shel Israel and Rick Segal are going around the world this August, looking for “companies that may prevail because they are empowering communities of people, rather than attempting to command and control them.” But little did they know when they set out on this journey that the biggest treasure of all was right in their own backyard.

(No, that last sentence doesn’t make sense. It just seemed like the obvious ending.)

[Tags: shel_israel rick_segal travel]

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BusinessWeek Online has a two-parter on business blogging that’s smart enough to cite Jeneane Sessum, among others. (Part 1 Part 2) [Tags: blogging jeneane_sessum]

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Richard is head of Edelman PR, the third largest PR agency in the world. [Disclosure: I consult to Edelman, reporting to Richard.] Eric Norlin is interviewing him. (Robert Scoble bowed out because his mother is ill. Best wishes, Robert.)

[Josh Hallet has posted the audio of the this session.]

Q: Why are you pitching bloggers without reading them?

A: On behalf of the PR field, I apologize. There’s a better way. If not, bloggers will revolt.

Q: What’s different about Edelman?

A: We try to be a good example. We don’t always succeed.

Q: So, how would you pitch Robert Scoble?

A: You’d probably send him an email saying that you saw something he wrote, that you represent a company, would you like a sample without any strings attached? Would you like to get info about this company in the future? Permission based!

Q: Does the offer to provide product without strings scare companies?

A: Yes. Tech companies are scared the least. Heavy industry is worried the most. The mentality of corporations is the control of the message. We’re saying that if you want to be credible, you can’t control the message. E.g., GM Tahoe ads.

Q: If your product doesn’t suck, why do companies worry? It’s like 7th graders on the playground.

A: Marketers want to know they’re getting a certain audience at a certain frequency. The ad agencies have impressed on them for 30 years that you go from impressions to action. We — all of this in the room — deconstructing that model. You can’t have a topdown conversation where you buy a certain number of impressions. We’re saying it’s a horizontal conversation, peer to peer. It can turn bad for a company but that’s good because you can learn something. We you do media training you learn the message triangle: Always come back to the three same messages. Kerry lost the debates because he was media trained while Bush came across as a regular guy. So, the message triangle is gone from Edelman’s lexicon. That you can only communicate three messages is baloney. It’s a great opportunity for PR if done properly. If it’s message triangles and top down and spin, we’ll be flushed down the toilet of history.

Q: Are the ad agencies getting this?

A: Somewhere between panic, fear and nerves. The ad agency world has a huge reservoir of people who know how to make 30 second films. They don’t have a model for making money in the new world. The best work being done in ads is being done by younger agencies that don’t have an installed capability of doing 30 second ads. The ad guys are terified. It’s ruining their revenue model. They should be at this conference, but they’re not.

Q: Who reads press releases these days?

A: I had a discussion with _____ [missed it] who said the press release needs reinvention. Add tags to the press release: This is the company description, this is the supporting quote. He said he doesn’t want our news judgment because PR companies don’t have news judgment.

Q: Plus every company is the leading provider of…

A: It’s a word that will go away.

Q: So what replaces press releases?

A: We’ll give a set of information with tags, so you’ll organize it the way you want. [Sounds like a microformat to me.]

Q: How does a PR agency deal with the fact that a 12 yr old in Australia can break news as quickly as John Markoff of the NY Times? (A Scoble question.)

A: You have to be listening to the voices, and not limited to those you’ve always thought of as your sources of news. Stories can start with those of little “authority” (in Technorati speak). Second, stories frequently start in the blogosphere; the PR agencies don’t generally understand that. The Dove Real Beauty campaign started when Gawker noticed. We’re working with Technorati on a system that will work across seven languages — PR agencies willl be able to watch seven languages, real time, for your clients.

Q: Are big clients up on all this?

A: It’s a challenge. We’re working with having our clients show bloggers their products in advance of launch.

Q: What about Wal-Mart? Did you pay bloggers? [This is not actually what the accusation was. The issue was that some bloggers used pro-Wal-Mart information from Edelman without attributing it to Edelman or Wal-Mart.]

A: No, we did not pay bloggers. We look for bloggers who are positively inclined toward Wal-Mart, our client. Then we try to establish a conversation with them. A guy from our DC office sent a message to bloggers identifying himself as a PR agent and asking whether the bloggers would like more information about what Wal-Mart is doing about health care, etc. That got misrepresented by the NY Times. But: We identified ourselves and our client, told them our interests, and asked if they wanted a conversation. We followed every rule of engagement. It’s our right and our responsibility to do precisely this.

Jeff: The NYT requested a standard of bloggers that the NYT doesn’t hold to. It wants bloggers to identify where their info came from.

Richard: It would have been better if the bloggers had atttributed that the info had come from us for Wal-Mart. We didn’t say “You must mention Wal-Mart’s name as the source.”

Jeff: Bloggers don’t know the rules. They need training.

Richard: We will tell bloggers that they should mention the source.

Eric: What will PR look like in 5 years?

A: PR involved earlier on in the product life cycle: We’ll be a means by which a company can reach out to bloggers to affect prod development. Deconstructed press release. A more robust role in the corporate suite. I don’t see PR as being disintermediated. David Weinberger [hey, that’s me!] thinks PR gets in the way; no one wants to talk to the PR person. I think we should want the flak. We are indeed agents in that we represent our clients. I don’t see that PR has to be a negative connotation, which it currently has. We have to be about truth, listening, learning, and telling the corporation stuff it doesn’t want to hear. Five years from now, I hope PR people have the bvalls to say what they know. We need to give clients good advice. (We have thirty people blogging at Edelman. You learn by falling on your face.)

Q: What’s the retraining process at Edelman like?

A: It’s not easy. We have 30 people blogging. We probably have 15-20% who are regularly in touch with bloggers. That’s pathetic. I have to be tougher about it.

Q: (Audience) A blogger got sued by an ad agency, who then dropped the suit. Is it a good idea to sue bloggers.

A: No.

Q: Are you modeling the topology of the blogosphere?

A: There isn’t a model yet.

Q: Is PR getting smarter by looking at how groups interact, etc.

A: PR agencies are getting slammed for bad behavior, as they should.

Q: Who among the consumer brands get this best?

A: Unilever gets it.

Q: Who’s the best publisher – newspaper, magazine, etc.?

A: Washingtonpost.com is interesting.

Q: Do you advise clients to do executive blogs?

A: If the executive has an interesting voice.

Eric ends it by having a moment of silence for Robert Scoble and his mom. Amen. [Tags: pr richard_edelman syndicate]

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