Monday's quick reads: The Pope, the FCC, and medical correspondents in Haiti

1.) FCC is on the hunt for ways to improve news media (The Wall Street Journal) -- Just a month after the Federal Trade Commission held hearings on the beleaguered news industry and what the government might do about it, the Federal Communications Commission is getting into the act, too. The agency has launched an investigation into the “Future of Media,” and released an 11-page request for information about the state of the news business. It plans to examine the current state of the news industry, industry trends and what the agency could do to change its current rules.

2.) Pope to priests: Go forth and blog (Associated Press) -- Pope Benedict XVI has a new commandment for priests struggling to get their message across: Go forth and blog. The pope, whose own presence on the Web has heavily grown in recent years, urged priests on Saturday to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the Gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures.

3.) Medical correspondents face delicate balance in Haiti (Los Angeles Times) -- Confronted with the overwhelming need in Haiti, medical doctors who serve as network correspondents have been toggling between roles: that of physician and reporter. On Sunday, ABC’s Dr. Richard Besser assisted a pregnant woman in labor and NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman operated on the wounded in a makeshift clinic. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta performed surgery Monday on a girl with a skull fracture who had been airlifted to the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson.

4.) Got a gripe? Send a Tweet (San Francisco Chronicle) -- When his new dryer didn't work, Brian Williams vented his frustration on Twitter: "Sears and Samsung, you fail. Ordered the major washer dryer. Installer says dryer arrived broken. Fail fail fail." To his surprise, a Sears customer service agent replied by tweet within a few hours. Two days later, Williams had a working dryer delivered to his Nanuet, N.Y., home and the negative experience turned into praise for Sears.

FDA keeping an eye on social media

“Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” – Ronald Reagan

When it comes to the advent of social media, Ronald Reagan looks to be getting one-third of the equation right.

No, government has not yet adopted a Facebook tax. Nor has it enacted a subsidy for Twitter users (though we don’t know exactly what was in this year’s stimulus bill, do we?)

Two powerful government agencies are, however, sharpening their regulatory pencil as social media sites emerge as a preferred method of communication for consumers and large swaths of corporate America. If your company is thinking of getting active on social media, get to know these developments.

The Food & Drug Administration holds a hearing this morning on how health care companies market FDA-regulated products on the internet and social media sites. The agency’s crosshairs are focused most sharply on prescription drugs for humans and animals, prescription biologics, and medical devices.

Folks in my line of work usually bristle at the mere mention of regulating such activity, but there are two reasons that the FDA’s involvement may actually be a good thing.

First, surveys show that two-thirds of adults who research medical information online acknowledge that the information they find influences their medical decision-making.

Second, drug and medical device makers are skittish of using social media because there are no clear guidelines for what’s appropriate communication. Will they run afoul of the “direct to consumer” advertising rules that govern television and print advertising? How can they give “fair balance” to their drugs within 140 characters on Twitter? Nobody wants to be the guinea pig.

In other words, health care companies are avoiding 21st century technology because they are governed by 20th century FDA regulations.

The biggest loser in this equation is the consumer. There’s plenty of demand for health care information online, but without clear regulations there’s not a lot of supply.

The FDA needs to modernize how it regulates such communications in a way that benefits patients and companies alike. Failure to do so will mean that many drug companies remain on the sidelines, while consumers surf less reliable chat rooms and blogs for important medical information.

Here’s hoping the FDA governs with a light touch and develops a framework that encourages communication rather than stifling it.

The FDA isn’t the only agency setting its sights on social media. The Federal Trade Commission issued guidelines last month requiring that relationships between a company and bloggers who review that company’s products be made transparent to the public. The FTC also took steps to ensure that product reviews on blogs are more accurate for consumers. Violating the rules could mean stiff fines for the company and the blogger alike.

The new rules deserve your attention. Ford, Audi, General Mills, and Rubbermaid are just a few of the companies that work with bloggers to promote their product. Surveys show that consumers overwhelmingly trust product reviews they get from familiar personalities, whether it be a respected blogger or the next door neighbor. The FTC’s rules won’t change that.

Take Rubbermaid for example. To reach out to young moms, the Tupperware maker offered to remake the kitchen of widely-read “mommy blogger” and to make coupons available to her readers on her blog. Rubbermaid disclosed publicly that it was a paid sponsorship campaign, and still watched as more than 1,000 readers of the blog downloaded the company’s coupon.

The lesson? Blogger outreach can be good for your company, the blogger, and your customers, even in a newly-regulated environment.

So what to make of all this government scrutiny? In my mind, it is reason to your sharpen your social media strategy, not abandon it. As the old saying goes, corporate communicators need to “fish where the fish are” in a way that respects the consumer and the regulatory frameworks being built in Washington.

The consumer is rapidly migrating to social networking platforms for information they trust. The question is whether your business will meet them there with credible, trustworthy product information.

(This column was first published in The Maryland Daily Record on Friday, November 13, 2009.)

Monday's quick reads: Goldman, grassroots, and blogging

1.) A grassroots cautionary tale (National Journal) -- The investigation into a prominent lobbying firm's fake letters to Congress points up the dangers to K Street in so-called grassroots and grass-tops lobbying, both of which are increasingly popular -- and controversial. It also underscores the absence of disclosure, let alone regulation, in a booming segment of Washington's influence industry.

2.) Bonuses put Goldman in public relations bind (The New York Times) -- Goldman and its employees are enjoying one of the richest periods in the bank’s 140-year history, and is on pace to pay annual bonuses that will rival the record payouts that it made in 2007, at the height of the bubble.

3.) L.A. County restricts reporters' access during meetings (Los Angeles Times) -- Only a few still cover the Board of Supervisors, but reportedly are causing 'traffic jams.' No similar edict is issued to lobbyists, union officials and others also found in corridors.

4.) Non-profits outblog private sector (Marketing Charts) -- The largest charitable organizations in the US far outpace the business world and academia in both their use of and familiarity with social media , according to a study by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research, which found that 89% of non-profits used some form of social media in 2008.

Millennials, car companies, and you

A new survey from Microsoft shows that a majority of millennials (born between 1981 and 2001) expect automotive companies to connect with them through new forms of communication, such as blogs, websites, and instant messaging. In my mind, the survey results aren't just about the automotive industry. Every industry would be well served asking how effectively they communicate with younger consumers. Remember, the oldest millennials are now 28 years old. They are adults with steadily increasing purchasing power and influence.

A few highlights from the survey:

Three out of four millennials want to visit company-sponsored blogs to get information and ask questions of the company. (See our previous post about Toyota's blog.)

More than half (56%) want companies to communicate with them through instant messaging.

Nine out of ten expect car company websites to offer a full view of purchase options and service history.

Nearly two-thirds report visiting a social networking site at least once a day, creating a huge opportunity for companies to connect with them on new platforms.

Additionally, more than half of millennials polled (56%) consider the auto industry to be "old." Not surprisingly, a majority also believe the auto industry has a poor public image and fails to offer career stability.

So, how adept is your company at using new communications platforms? The answer may reveal a lot about how well you connect with younger audiences.

Toyota blogs from "The Open Road"

We spend a lot of time exploring how and why companies should consider blogging as part of their communications strategies; the tricky part is figuring out how to do in a way that benefits both the company and the reader.

Here's an example of corporate blogging done right: Toyota recently used its blog "Open Road" to respond to what it considered inaccurate coverage in USA Today. In a January post titled "MPG Race is Good for Everyone," Toyota disputed the paper's contention that car companies were "squabbling" over which company's cars were more fuel efficient.

Toyota pushes back at the paper's coverage and lays out in easy-to-understand terms what it considers the bigger picture: the industry-wide migration away from petroleum-based energy. The response is firm, personable, and in language we can all understand -- all hallmarks of a good corporate blog.

Thanks to The Blog Council for flagging it.