Scooping the Media

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On Monday there were a couple of articles about how Twitter scooped the news media by almost half an hour with news of Whitney Houston’s death.

Does this really surprise anybody?

Those who Twitter (and I am one) don’t have to verify news before they release it. Someone with a large following could report a rumor and it could be read by hundreds of thousands before the news media has a chance to verify it.

As Winston Churchill said many years ago, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”

Now I’m not saying that any of these tweets were lies — in fact, they were true. I’m pointing out that stories hit social media without any corroboration or fact-checking. That’s why it’s pretty easy for folks to scoop the news media. I’m willing to bet that the media had the story at the same time, but when through the rigors of actually verifying it before reporting the singer’s death because they have a responsibility to do that.

It’s called trust. If any credible major news outlet reported every rumor that was tweeted, it wouldn’t take long for most people to dismiss that outlet’s news reports. They would probably also go bankrupt with all the lawsuits.

Of course the tabloids do this all the time. They turn rumors into “news” and then have to retract it (usually well after the damage is done and in a much less well-read medium than the one used to set the story on fire). They also have massive legal teams.

So what does that mean to everybody else?

Think about your personal brand before you spread a rumor. Will this hurt it or help it? Are you willing to trade your reputation as valuable source of information for a lot of retweets? Will all those new followers continue to follow you once the truth comes out? Or will they feel that your lack of fact checking also cost them some credibility?

It’s great to scoop the media. But be responsible. Don’t spread it until you (or somebody you trust) verifies it.

 

 

Letting Go

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Have you ever noticed that when you stop focusing on something, it comes to you? Give up on meeting that special person, and there he or she is. Give up on trying to solve a problem and the answer just comes to you. The list of examples goes on and on.

I’ve heard a lot of reasons why this phenomenon happens with such regularity. Some say it’s because you free yourself from trying to solve the problem with normal means. Some just say it’s the way the world works. Some say it’s the Law of Detachment (like the Law of Attraction, but more about not caring how it comes about), some say God works in mysterious ways.

For me this phenomenon shows up in copywriting and developing concepts almost every time. I go for a walk, grab some lunch, or even go to the bathroom and the idea hits. I attribute this to the first reason — the unrelated activity frees my mind from the normal constraints, and allows in some less-than-obvious ideas.

But what about the phenomenon that all of my single friends talk about — as soon as you stop looking for a romantic partner, one appears? This can’t be about freeing your mind to find loosely connected ideas.

I believe this has to do with letting go. You let go of micromanaging the outcome. You relax, you accept that maybe you’re alright with just being by yourself, and you stop trying to create impossibly stressful and unnatural ways to meet somebody. And when you’re relaxed and okay with being on your own, you’re more attractive. It creates an environment that is ideal for growing a relationship.

Interestingly, this is also how I’ve been able to get the best work from people. I give them the assignment, the creative brief, and trust them to do their best work. Often, I’ve been so surprised by the result that it took courage on my part to approve it. The work was so creative, so innovative that I would never have seen their solution as an option. It was breakthrough work — which in advertising and marketing is the Holy Grail.

When I have micromanaged or been micromanaged, the best result that anybody could create was a watered down version of the micromanager’s vision. Nobody was happy with it (unless they really had no idea of what constitutes good), and the experience of creating it was invariably awful.

My dad used to say that the key to great management is to set the course, then invite good people to exceed their own expectations. He said that they’ll always do a much better job than you would.

Set the course, do your work, and let go of how you expect it to look at the finish line. The results may just surprise you.

More Questions

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The last 24 hours have presented me with more than a couple of chances to take a hard look in the mirror. But this morning’s opportunity, which came courtesy of the incomparable Seth Godin, gave me the greatest cause to pause.

“I’m often stunned by the lack of questions that adults are prepared to ask…” is how he opens his December 27th blog.  “When you see kids go on a field trip, the questions pour out of them.”

It’s so true. Kids want to know everything. Yes, some want to show off, others want attention, but for the most part, kids just want to know why and how, and they will keep asking until it makes sense to them (I know this because I raised two very curious people).

Adults, on the other hand, are usually afraid to look ignorant or foolish. And I’m hardly an exception to that rule. It takes great effort for me to say, “Pretend that I know nothing about this subject and explain it to me in a way that I don’t make any false assumptions.” As a writer, often of technical subjects, this is the only way I can make sure that all the acronyms and shorthand phrases aren’t being used in a different way by a different technology.

Yet there are other times where my ego takes over and I sound like a total fool.

Yes, that’s right (and this is directed at my own ego): when my ego takes over, I inevitably sound like a fool. I don’t ask questions or seek clarity about things that I don’t really understand. I say things that are off topic or that try to shift the focus back to me.

So, after reading Seth Godin’s blog this morning, I realized (or maybe remembered) that asking questions is the first step in learning and growing. Being genuinely interested in the answers is the second step. And in both cases, my ego is the biggest obstacle. When my need to appear smart takes over, I rarely look as smart as I would like.

The result of all this pondering is that I think that I might rephrase that famous quote from Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain to say something more along the lines of “Better to ask a question and appear a fool, than to assume to know and remove all doubt.”