Comments on: Lies, Damn Lies and Twitter

By: Paul Seaman

Paul Seaman — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:49:11 +0000

I was wrong. Nigel Hawkes is no longer with The Times, but is now director of Straight Statistics. Moreover, I’d like to recommend a lecture, which examines how all markets are based on trust. That explains how confidence is everything. Yet investors must take risks. It examines the role of trust in commerce and power while setting out some early thoughts on the Theory of Influence. It is by Professor Michael Mainelli of Gresham College. Enjoy!

http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=838

By: Paul Seaman

Paul Seaman — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:17:07 +0000

Great post, Kristen! Journalist Nigel Hawkes of The Times recently announced the launch of Straight Statistics, an idea of Lord Lipsey, a former deputy editor of The Times. Supported by the Nuffield Foundation, it exists to highlight abuses and celebrate successes in the use of statistics.

The PR industry has much to be ashamed on this issue. Some of us (many of us?) have knowingly manipulated statistics. We have done so when announcing either financial results or those of surveys. But the reason PRs and their clients have got away with it is because of the gullibility of both audiences and the mediation services they rely on, such as journalists.

There is also another problem: weak interpretation of good data. Take the Edelman Trust Survey. It is one of the very best surveys out there. It is professionally conducted and done so annually. It provides a wealth of honestly presented data. But most commentators – including Edelman itself – have not interrogated the data. We are mostly meant to treat the results as if they were transparent-proof points of reality (as fact).

As to Twitter, my wife working as a journalist from Zurich relied on it for information during the news blackout in Iran. But she – a Swiss – could only read it in English, as was the case for most people who were not Farsi-speakers. I maintain, as a Twitter fan, that its real impact inside of Iran was marginal. But, I admit, I have no proof.

Here’s some links for anybody wanting more:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6523495.ece

http://straightstatistics.org

http://paulseaman.eu/2009/01/would-you-trust-a-trust-survey/

http://livingissues.com/2008/04/14/bogus-consumer-research-and-pr/

By: Kristen E. Sukalac

Kristen E. Sukalac — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:48:53 +0000

Markus — Once I actually start posting anything on Twitter, I will happily share my Twitter name.

KD — I agree that bad statistics do us all a disservice. But clearly just saying so isn’t getting rid of the practice. I suspect that part of the problem is statistical illiteracy on the part of many communicators (who will tell you that they are in communications because they don’t like numbers). In my view, this also reflects a wider technical illiteracy in our society…but that is another blog post altogether.

By: KDPaine

KDPaine — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:48:31 +0000

you are SOO right. The folks out there that are inventing “ROI” metrics based on Ad Equivalency and similar nonsense are not doing our profession any favors.
The real ROI measures are based on solid business results, either money saved or revenue brought in.

By: Markus Pirchner

Markus Pirchner — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:40:00 +0000

Kristen,
spot-on. Like all other social web applications twitter is not useful in and by itself, except maybe for the aspect that it enables or simplifies communication for everybody. twitter’s role as a channel to distribute information about and organize the post-election protests in Iran is impressive and shows – convincingly, I might add – that it is something not to be neglected by PR.
As for personal usage: A good first step would be to let us know your name on twitter so that we can follow you