Gin and Topics: Customers As Muppets and PR Are Not Liars

Well, it was a fun week for Goldman Sachs, was it not?

I’m trying to decide if I’m going to write about it. Typically I would, but I feel really sorry for their head of corporate communications because everything blew up on his second day on the job.

Yes, his second day.

Justin Brackett and I were talking about it yesterday and I said I didn’t know if I would want to fix it or if I would say, “I did NOT sign up for this” and walk out. He thinks I’d do the former. He’s probably right.

So I don’t know. Perhaps I will write about it next week.

And, Illinois saw our former Governor head off to prison in Colorado. For 14 years.

I really wonder how that conversation at home goes. Does his wife tell him she’ll wait for him, as if he’s going off to war? What does he say to his kids? Fourteen years is a looong time, particularly when your kids are little.

And, with that, I give you Gin and Topics for the week.

5. All PR Pros Are Not Liars. In response to The Guardian blog post I wrote about earlier this week, PRSA CEO, Gerald Corbett writes an OpEd discussing why all PR pros are not liars.

4. Apple Hit with Siri Suit. This kills me. Some guy is suing Apple because he can’t make Siri do the things the commercials say she does. She works just fine for me. She even calls me Princess Gini. What more do you need?

3. Yahoo Asks Federal Court to Shut Down Facebook. Riiiiiiight. I guess when an acquisition by your company is turned down, the next thing you do is sue to have them shut down? They do know it’s FACEBOOK? I don’t understand lawsuit-happy people. Why can’t we all just get along?

2. Email Still Marketing Workhorse. Here’s the thing. Everyone has email. Not everyone uses social media. So why do we keep forgetting about the 40-year-old tool?

1. Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs. I left the best for last. If you haven’t yet read the OpEd Greg Smith wrote about his resignation from the top post, it’s really worth your time. There are lots of lessons you can take from it, including not calling your customers Muppets.

Have a great spring weekend, everyone!

About Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communications firm. She is the lead blogger here at Spin Sucks and is the founder of Spin Sucks Pro. She is the co-author of Marketing in the Round and co-host of Inside PR. Her second book, Spin Sucks, is due out in November 2013

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