My other spare set of keys...

We have all been there, hunched over our computers sending personal or professional emails, when we misfire and hit send.

The email you’ve been stewing over, looking to perfect, aching to find the right words for is now out there in the ether to be read and scorned by its recipient.  Or perhaps you forgot an attachment.  Or perhaps the email was a mental health exercise and you were never planning on sending that email to begin with.  Whatever the case, now Gmail allows you five seconds to change your mind and un-send that contentious email.

Now, this is great, and I’m thrilled that it finally exists, but doesn’t AOL Mail let you un-send an email until the recipient’s actually opened it?  If it doesn’t, then I have a lot of false memories from middle school where boys never got emails about crushes I had on them.

What’s interesting about this, though, is that the new feature isn’t being met with open arms, but rather contention from its users.  Some of the critiques have been:

• Why can’t I set the amount of time I want to have before I unsend a message?  (ed.  Um, I think that’s what the Drafts folder is for, no?)
• Why can’t I just delete my email if the recipient hasn’t opened it yet? (ed. Could be something to that, but not every mail client is gmail, so you can’t necessarily go removing information from other servers at your own discretion.)
• Why not just enable Gmail’s Mail Goggles feature to buy your time? (ed. I actually think this is a fine solution for someone that chronically sends out foolish emails, but some people also can’t do simple math for their life, and might find that they’re too greatly hindered…)
• What if I’m too foolish to not realize immediately that I didn’t want to send that email?  How is Google going to fix that? (ed. It’s not Google or Gmail’s responsibility to make sure you email appropriately.  These 5 seconds are a gift.)

What I find most interesting is that Google is releasing, and getting coverage for releasing, a feature that is readily available on a number of other mail clients.  It’s being applauded for doing something that should have been an initial feature (much like the Copy/Paste function on an iPhone.  To wait for Gen 3 is absurd….).  

With respect to Public Relations, Google seems to be unable to do any wrong.  Finding an easy way to solve a problem that shouldn’t have ever been a problem should not be getting the kudos it is or front page coverage on CNN.com.  At least in this publicist’s opinion…

Jackie for AMP3pr.com

@JackieBrook

Does Public Relations Shatter Through Online Advertising's Glass Ceiling?

There was an interesting post on TechCrunch today about “Why Advertising is Failing on the Internet.”  And while generally Public Relations and Marketing/Advertising go hand-in-hand, the article, written by Eric Clemons, Professor of Operation and Information Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has some well-backed opinions as to why advertising on the internet isn’t working.

From which I choose to extrapolate that Public Relations must be stepping in and filling the void (or, at the very least, should be trying to).

Very briefly summing up Clemons’ four main points:

1.  There Must Be Something Other Than Advertising:

Pop up and banner ads don’t stand the chance of being (as) effective as they are intrusive to the online reader.  If you’re on a site, there’s probably a specific purpose, and you’re not going to be paying attention to a sidebar flashing–even if it’s targeted–ads letting you know how you, too, can drop two pants sizes in two weeks.

With print and broadcast, viewers are not actively engaged in seeking information they are looking for when they come across an advertisement (such as a commercial or full-page ad in a newspaper).

2.  Advertising Will Fail:

Unlike other means of communication, the internet is designed to be a two-way street.  Content is posted, but users and readers of that content are actively engaged in the conversation, with the ability to respond and comment and question.

As such, if I’m looking for a way to drop two pants sizes in two weeks, I can enter my  query into Google, I can post a question for Yahoo! Answers, I can search sites that I already read for the answer.  I, as a user, do not need an ad to get me the information that I seek.  And if I’m not seeking the information the ad contains, then it won’t affect me anyway.

3.  Advertising Will Fail for Three Reasons:

a.  Consumers do not trust advertising

b.  Consumers do not want to view advertising

c.  Consumers do not need advertising

4.  Alternative Models for Monetization Are Available:

a.  Selling content and information: subscription based means of getting information (a la iTunes) means that websites won’t have to rely on advertising to make their money.

b.  Selling experience and participation in a virtual community: this would basically mean you’d have to pay for Social Networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc…  Luckily for us, not all sites have figured out how to make this work for them.

c.  Selling accessories for virtual communities:  get started on SecondLife with a pre-built house or what have you.  For serious gamers, it would really be an affront, as purchasing hard-to-earn items is often frowned upon.

There’s more to the very interesting piece, but if you want to read it for yourself why advertising on the internet might not be effective, click away!

As for leaving a nice little hole for Public Relations to come in and fill, it would seem to me that all those items being advertised would want to move their budgets over to an avenue which CAN’T be ignored by a reader. 

After all, if someone were looking for a way to lose two pants sizes in two weeks, PR about the product, diet book, or website would certainly be more effective than a scrolling banner ad.  If a publicist were able to get, let’s say, someone from iVillage to cover the product/book/site, you’d instantly be reaching a targeted demographic that is seeking out your services as opposed to blasting (and being ignored by) throngs of consumers.

Then there’s the whole notion of product placement within key blogs and sites, but that’s another blog for another day…

Jackie for AMP3pr.com

@JackieBrook