Aware of their critics, the site managers continue to modify and reassure users that they have control over the information they share. A good example of this is Facebook’s new Timeline Review feature that allows you to review the posts people make on your Timeline (and the pictures they tag you in). Privacy controls are invaluable, for they allow users to manage their image.

However, all the privacy controls in the world will not be able to stop a potential employer who asks for your Facebook username and password. In addition to being an obvious invasion of privacy, this action by employers and businesses is also against Facebook’s terms of service. I think lawmakers should outlaw such practices because they can interfere with the hiring process and result in unintended consequences, such as discrimination.

We have the right to manage how much information we want to share. In life, we act differently around our friends than we do our employers, so why should we be denied the right to censor what each group gets to see on our Facebook profiles? I think there is something wrong with an employer or business if they demand personal information from an employee who is uncomfortable with sharing it. It is as if the employer is looking for something because the company doesn’t trust what you wrote on your resume or what you said at your job interview. 

The image you’ve fostered thus crumbles when someone looks at all your laundry (be it dirty or not).

-- Emily Katz is a sophomore at Eugene Lang College of The New School in New York City. 

Want to even the score with an ex? Annoy the in-laws? Harass your boss? And do it all anonymously? Call Rex the Avenger! Discreet. Reasonable. Sustainable.

Our min-pin Rex will make short work of everyone on your enemies list!

Services:

One Day Nuisance Barking Plan................................................................$100.
Three incidents per day at address of your choice. Time of day varies.

Nuisance Plus Package.............................................................................$150.
One Day Plan above, between the hours of 3:00 and 5:00 a.m. Sundays

Add-Ons
Pee on Plants.......................................................$25
Poop on Stoop........................................ ............ $50
Hole Digging.........................................................$60
Menacing of Occupants........................................$75

Fuel Surcharge
There is a 10% surcharge if Rex travels beyond Brooklyn. 

Don’t wait! Call Rex today, before his obedience training kicks in!

And remember, at Rex the Avenger, your plausible deniability is our most important product. Member of the Doggie Business Bureau and United Dog Walkers of the World.

To qualify to speak about contraception a spokesperson must meet the following criteria:

1) Be a woman or a man of reproductive age who is sexually active, because you are most affected by contraception availability.

2) Be an old(er) woman, because we’ve been there, done that, and have experience to share. (Sorry, friends, but this includes Sarah Palin. Fair is fair.)

3) Be an old(er) man who meets all of the following requirements:

a.  Can still have sex without Viagra. (Sorry, Congressmen. You know who you are. You too, Newt.)

b.  Is not celibate. (Sorry, Catholic bishops...presumably.)

c. Is wiling to provide public support to children born as a result of restricted access to contraception. (Sorry, social conservatives, Grover Nordquist and a certain ex-senator from Pennsylvania.)

d. Utterances do not exceed 75 degrees Fahrenheit on the hot air scale. (Rush Limbaugh, this means you.)

-- Bonnie McEwan

Note: Thanks to Planned Parenthood for this great photo of their founder, Margaret Sanger, who was not allowed to speak about contraception. Sound familiar, Sandra Fluke?

1) Communicate the intent behind your directions and decisions.  The open atmosphere of the virtual environment encourages more openness in exchanges.  And since most virtual groups start out with low trust, it’s important that followers understand your rationale.

2) Communicate quickly to reduce rumors and inaccuracies and so employees/followers don’t hear bad news from elsewhere before they hear it from you.  If you are worried about changing conditions, just inform followers that things may change and then keep them apprised as conditions require.  Treating followers like they are mature people is OK...really.

3) Establish an “official” channel or website or list serv so followers know where to go to get the straight scoop.  This isn’t to pontificate, but to disseminate reliable information from the organization’s point of view.

4) Read blogs and social media outlets occasionally so that you can monitor your reputation as a leader and the morale of your followers.  And don’t retaliate or comment publicly about what you find there. Consider all comments, positive or negative, as useful feedback.

5) Set up a private, online comment system where followers send you suggestions and ask questions anonymously. Yes, there is a downside to anonymous feedback, but without anonymity you will not get reliable information. 

#1—Reciprocation: When someone gives you a gift, you feel obligated to reciprocate, to give something in return. I’m reminded of those fund raising mailings from the disabled veterans. They include free stickers with your name and address that you can use on your personal mail. This is, I suspect, designed to induce a feeling of indebtedness in the recipient so that we reciprocate with a donation.

#2 - Social proof: If many people are doing or believing the same thing, then that behavior or belief is validated as correct. Think of McDonalds’ “billions served” line on their signage and packaging. It implies that billions of people eat there, so you should get on board and eat there too.

#3 - Commitment and consistency: Once a person makes a formal commitment, s/he is more likely to follow through on the promised behavior. And once a behavior is established, most people tend to continue it. Last year the students in my social marketing course developed a campaign to encourage green behaviors on campus.  One feature was to get students to sign a pledge stating that they would reduce their consumption of plastic by carrying their own non-disposable water bottles instead of buying bottled water.  That’s a commitment technique. Regarding consistency, I immediately thought of the charge of “waffling” that is leveled against any politician who changes her/his mind about an issue.  There is incredible pressure to remain consistent in one’s beliefs, even if that belief is no longer credible.

#4 - Liking: People prefer to say ‘yes’ rather than ‘no’ to those they like, so it pays to cultivate friendly feelings. Think Facebook and LinkedIn.  If I want to reinforce a connection with an acquaintance, I will often click “like” on something that s/he has posted on Facebook.  And then there are the LinkedIn “endorsements.” We say positive things about colleagues and they in turn say positive things about us. The endorsements are also a good example of principle #1.

#5 - Authority: Once someone perceives another as an authority, s/he will follow the authority’s instructions, whether they make sense or not. A recent episode of Nurse Jackie had a great example of this.  A patient in the ER was obviously misdiagnosed by a medical doctor.  It was clear to everyone that the diagnosis was incorrect, yet when a nurse determined the correct diagnosis the patient chose to believe the doctor. For this patient, the doctor carried more authority than the nurse.  Also, the doctor in this instance was male and the nurse female, which may have had something to do with it. Another good example of this is the “dress for success” concept.  If you look like you are in charge, people will accept it and generally do what you tell them to do.

#6- Scarcity: The scarcer an object is, the more people tend to desire it. You see this in fashion all the time.  My favorite example are those hideously expensive Birkin handbags that have a years-long waiting list for people to pay hundreds of dollars for one.  Another example is people waiting in long lines to go to some trendy restaurant that was just reviewed in the Times and/or is owned by some celebrity.

Storytelling is one of the communication techniques I use most. Whenever I am addressing a group or facilitating a meeting, I find that a good story can do many things.  It can set the tone for the meeting and whatever discussion follows, create a feeling of camaraderie among participants, make a theme easier to grasp or frame an issue in the way I find most advantageous. 

But for a story to be successful, it must be a “good” story, by which I mean it must evoke the desired response among most members of the audience.  Therefore I often try out my favorite stories on friends and colleagues before I put them into use.  Two of my most successful stories are below.  I have used these in one-on-one conversation, as well as to open a big speech or to make a point in a classroom. Read my two favorites and see if they spark any ideas that you can use in your own work. And please share your thoughts in our comments section.

The Stone Masons
A visiting priest was walking through a medieval village one morning and came upon a group of workers.  “What are you doing?” he asked one of the men.  “I’m carving this stone,” said the man.  The priest walked on.  “What are you doing?” he inquired of another fellow.  “I’m laying bricks,” said the laborer.  The priest walked on.  “What are you doing?” he asked another.  The man looked up from his work and replied, “I’m building a cathedral.”

I like to use the stone mason story to make the point that while members of a team may have different assignments in the end they are contributing to one, great mission or goal. And, while the mission is much larger than one individual’s work, the small efforts of every player on the team are necessary if the big goal is to be accomplished. And the mission, of course, is what inspires the workers to do their jobs well, not the smaller tasks themselves. Keeping a mission focus helps people feel important because they remember that they are part of something transcendent.

The Starfish
A woman was walking along a beach after a storm.  The sand was littered with starfish, which had been stranded on the beach by the ferocious waves.  As she walked, she occasionally bent down to pick up a starfish and toss it back into the sea.  Presently she saw another woman coming from the other direction, walking toward her.  Eventually they met.

The first woman thought a moment, then bent down, picked up a starfish and tossed it back into the ocean.  “It makes a difference to this one,” she said.

In some ways, the starfish story is the opposite of the cathedral story in that this narrative puts the emphasis on one individual’s efforts, rather than the combined effects of the group. I like to use this story to illustrate the importance of each person’s efforts, regardless of the ultimate outcome of events. Sometimes taking a very micro, local view is the only way an activist can keep a positive attitude. Just as it is important to be part of something larger than oneself, it’s also important to be mindful of what is, and is not, within one’s scope of influence.

“But that looks like a min pin. Let’s just go see if it is. Such a cute little dog!” – Kathy

“Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.” – The min pin

“Oh, look, he likes you!” – Obsessed dog rescue person

“Just foster him for a week. Then you can bring him back, no problem.” – Ditto

“Aw…sexy Rexy is going home. You’ll love him!” – Second obsessed dog rescue person

“Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.” – The min pin, aka Rex

“The cat will hate us.” – Bonnie

“I really didn’t want another dog. Really.” – Kathy

“Well, we could just try it out. They said we can bring him back.” – Kathy

“The cat will hate us.” – Bonnie

“Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.” – Rex

“Oh my god, he’s not neutered!” – The vet

“He needs an EKG and a sonogram, an antibiotic, an anti-worm pill and heart medication for the rest of his life.” – Ditto

“That will be $2,200, please.” – The vet’s receptionist

“Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.” – Rex

“He’s at the door again?! I just took him out an hour ago.” – Kathy

“There must be something we can do about this diarrhea.” – Kathy

“The cat hates us.” – Bonnie

“He can’t be neutered because his heart condition precludes surgery.” – The vet

“Understand that he’s not peeing on your [brand new, hardwood] floor. He is merely marking his territory.” – The dog book

“Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.” – Rex

“Min pins are naturally energetic.” – The dog book

“Does he never sleep?” – Kathy

“My career aspirations have changed. I now aspire to be the Foursquare mayor of the Brooklyn Heights dog park.”—Bonnie

“I hate them.” – The cat

Tweet

1) The (actual) future of the Big Idea, from Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab, challenges the assumption that ideas need exposure in ‘Big Media’ in order to become big ideas.  What, author Megan Garber asks, happens when the Big Media become not so big after all? 

2) The title of this BBC News piece says it all – Species flee warming faster than previously thought. What will happen when most of the animals and plants have moved toward the poles? And what about those that already live there?

3) Here’s a sobering thought: “Somewhere between 2025 & 2045 computers are expected to develop self-awareness.” This, according to Peer 1 Hosting, is only one of the staggering developments that will come about through the progression of super computing technologies. Read it (and weep?) on one of my favorite sites, Read, Write Web:

4) Most of us know that mapping the human genome has shown that all humans are of a single race. Why, then, do ideas about race persist? Dorothy Roberts explains how “race is an invented political system” in Lies About Race, featured in The Root. 

5) Not to be lost in the new media feeding frenzy, our old friend, The New York Times, presses on. (OK, it’s a bad pun, but I couldn’t resist.) Many Baby Boomers built successful careers right out of high school. “That’s all in the past now. Money changes everything.” The Master’s as the New Bachelor’s - NYTimes.com

-- Bonnie McEwan

I have long believed that the most effective form of protest is economic and two new surveys provide support for that view. The annual Civility in America poll conducted by Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate found that 7 out of 10 Americans stop patronizing companies that allow uncivil behaviors in their places of business. In a separate survey, 64% of respondents told Consumer Reports that they had left a store due to poor service.

Apparently, the “Made in the USA” label matters to shoppers. A survey of 1,500 adults conducted by Perception Research Services International found that 60% of people claim that seeing the US label influences their purchase decisions. The most often cited reason for buying American was “to help the economy” but researchers say they also detected a subtle expectation among consumers that “Made in the USA” signals quality. 

Both of the studies above were reported in The Daily Dog, a free aggregation of public relations content that is published by Bulldog Reporter. Subscribe here.

Along those same lines, a group of PhD students at the University of Michigan studied the power of brand to inspire bias. They wondered how the logo of the Al Jazeera English (AJE) television channel might be influencing viewers’ perceptions of bias in its news content. To find out, they screened the same news story for different groups of viewers, some of whom saw the story with the AJE logo and others who saw the story with a fake CNN logo. Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab reported the results.

Ever heard of eco-driving? The term refers to a group of techniques that drivers can use to maximize mileage, save fuel and reduce tailpipe emissions. These ideas have been around for quite awhile, but few drivers are aware (or perhaps patient) enough to put them into practice. Now, however, researchers at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies believe that eco-driving’s time may have finally arrived.

This blog’s content recommendations are updated monthly (more or less). If you would like to receive email alerts when we have new recommendations, subscribe here.