We spend a lot of our time as a business working out ways to communicate our clients’ core values and messages in different representations to different audiences. In light of that, I enjoyed this article about a circus troupe of Colombian street kids who now tour the world and thrill people with their skills, and in particular a quote from their trainer, who said: “What we do is change the representation of these kids … because when somebody who before maybe sniffed glue or begged on a corner is suddenly doing a double somersault, you’re not looking any more at a poor, illiterate delinquent, but you’re saying, ‘Wow, that’s a double somersault.’?”

Last week, I received a text message from the man about to start building a retaining wall at the front of my house. (Yes, he’s building it now; a great wall and I would recommend him).  This was the first time I had ever received a text message in a business context, and on top of that I had not received any communication from him before, so his text was his first response to my phone call asking him to do the job.

His message took me by surprise, as texting has — for me — been pretty much limited to two types of message: 1) Arranging social events (times and places). 2) Sending brief frivolous/humorous comments about random activities in my life to people in a small circle of friends who are understanding (if not always appreciative!) of the humour.

So now I’m wondering if texting is a legitimate new form of business communication (and if there are protocols for it); or if a text is simply the new email, which for me is my default mode of communication for all clients, including sending invoices and often making first contacts.

Emails can include links and attachments to make the communication richer. They can be formal or casual.  The time it takes to type a text limits its length, context and  overall value but they do reach people where-ever they happen to be at any given time, I guess.

They say that for kids email is already over the hill and texting is all that matters and, yes, true, the surprise of receiving a text message from my wall guy has now receded and texting has become our  main way of sorting out working issues.

But whether I’ll now disregard texting as simply a way to arrange a beer or send a one-liner, I’m not so sure.

A huge sign on a hill shouting out Wellington’s high-standing in the movie industry seems a good idea but the slang word chosen — ‘Wellywood’ — has long been a slightly juvenile, throw-away and ironic term that has somehow crept into the mainstream.

And as a PR opportunity for the capital’s undoubted world-class skills and success in international move-making, the Miramar hill is a great site for incoming tourist flights, but Wellywood is an opportunity wasted.  It may be familiar and humorous to some ‘in the know’ but I’m siding with the growing number of voices calling it tacky.

But at Facttactic we’re not in the business of criticising things without offering positive solutions so it was great to see the guys at online-design outfit Skull and Bones with their interactive Wellywood Sign Generator. Type in your own word or phrase and see what it looks like on the side of the hill!

A Chicago woman made derogatory comments on Twitter about her landlord and her rented property. The landlord reportedly went straight to court to sue the woman.

The citizens of cyberspace are Tweeting and blogging like crazy about it. Messages for and against both parties.

The woman may or may not have the best intentions. The landlord may or may not be the world’s best landlord. But who’s right? Who’s wrong?

It doesn’t really matter anymore. The lid has been lifted, the genie’s out. Damage control will be difficult to put in place. Take care how you project and protect your corporate reputation!

Seems like us Kiwis trust people with a medal. Similarly, if you can get external recognition for your products or services it can be a helpful differentiator in the market.

Though not, it seems, for much longer in the United States if you are claiming green credentials: 98% of supposedly environmentally friendly products in US supermarkets reportedly make false or confusing claims.

It’s been interesting to read the media furore today over New Zealanders getting antsy with Canadians getting antsy with New Zealanders eating sweets called Eskimos, which are shaped as, well, Eskimos – er, make that Inuits.

Last year Kiwis ate nearly 19 million of them, making the Eskimo one of our most-loved lollies. Some Canadians have called the sweets offensive, saying Eskimo is no longer used as a term and, regardless, eating sweets shaped as Inuits is just not on and carries hints of cannabilism.

NZers have voiced their opinions in the hundreds on web and news sites, largely telling the Canadians to bog off. Email discussions at the client where I have been working this week were busy with with similar sentiment.

Pascalls, the makers of the Eskimo, has been reported saying they don’t plan to change anything.

Makes you wonder, though, what would happen if Canadians started eating lollies shaped as a person in a grass skirt called a Hori.

Looking for a publicity campaign that will hit all the right targets? Probably best to stay away from a campaign like that of U.S online brokerage site Zecco who reportedly surprised its customers by giving them multi-million dollar trading balances on April Fools’ Day!

Zecco was surprised when some customers began making real trades with their newfound riches … and the company then, reportedly, further alienated customers by making them wear any losses they incurred in their trading!

Controversial Australian former politician Pauline Hanson, who has made and lost a career on race-based policies, is trying to make her umpteenth political comeback – this time on an anti Muslim and African platform. Er, is that a vote winner, Pauline?

While on the campaign trail, she has reportedly been shocked by nude photos of herself from the 1970s being published in newspapers and websites around the world after an old boyfriend sold them.

But one wonders if, given the nature of her policies, she should stop being embarrassed by the photos and realise that they may be the only (ever-so-slightly) positive and widespread publicity that she will get!

Update (16 March): Some commentators say it a deliberate political ploy. Pauline says it is not her in the photos. Whatever the story, she certainly knows how to play up the publicity!

Update (22 March): Pauline wasn’t elected. The Australian newspaper that broke the nude photo story has apologised to her saying the photos were of some one else and they had been fooled by a con-man.

Good read in the paper over the weekend with Tui Breweries having to defend its service of offering ‘Tui girls’ from Wellington at a higher price to punters hiring out its Mangatainoka brewery if they didn’t want to have the local Tui girls.

Made our iconic brewery look kinda tacky although Tui’s spokeswoman pulled it back well in saying travelling costs from Wellington and a modelling agency fee were behind the higher charge.

She wasn’t helped in her work though by loose comments from the brewery’s manager, who excelled in the poor taste humour stakes by saying “We don’t put any ugly ones out there, if that is what you’re asking.”

I feel an advertising catch-phrase coming on: Palmerston North girls are more attractive than Wellington girls … (you can complete the rest!)

How do you find and track yourself or your business online? How do you manage your online reputation?

With the online world a key environment for spreading PR messages, it is essential to be able to track those messages as well as their responses and any other mentions and conversations about your business.

Here’s an article detailing eight good tools for tracking stuff online and here’s another social media tracking tool.

And this tool — uberVU — is so new it hasn’t  even had its public beta release yet! But it’s already getting good press. It tracks conversations wherever they go on the web and then let you reply to, and manage, them from one place.

Now that sounds very promising: convergence of social media , we need that.

Here’s an interview with uberVU’s founders: