Who "They" Are
The Public
A Summer 1993 survey by Dell Computer indicated that 55
percent of the public does not take advantage of
technological advances. That in itself is the single biggest
Public Relations problem a Sysop faces. BBS users,
obviously, fall somewhere in the remaining 45 percent.
Those who fear technology are the ones that are the most
difficult to explain electronic communications to. They may
see computers as taking over their lives. There are chips in
their cars, in their microwaves, in their stereos, and in
their DVD playerS. Computers send them their utility bills, credit
card bills, track their income tax payments, and note when
their daughter is born.
Those in that 55 percent are not necessarily
technophobic. Most of them are just technologically
disinterested. These are the people that we should be most
concerned with from a Public Relations standpoint. What they
know about computers, modems and BBSs comes from the
mainstream media. A reporter assigned to a story about BBSs
may or may not fully understand what they are reporting on.
The remaining 45 percent includes you and me, the expert
user, the average user and the novice user. This group
doesn't need quite as much public relations massaging since
it already knows the benefits of using a modem to connect
with other people.
People that were overwhelmed when they first called a
BBS and decided it was too tough to try again also fall into
that 45 percent. They have computers, they may be
technically adept, they can probably even program a DVD player. But
the mysteries of 8-N-1 elude them. In addition, there are
those who were at one time active in the BBS community, but
are no longer involved. Maybe they had a falling out with a
Sysop or another user. These are both disaffected users
There is also the group of people that have modems
because it came with their computer but they have not used
it. Some because they don't know they have one, some
because they aren't interested in using it.
How can you distill all these diverse groups into one
simple Public Relations campaign? Simply put, you can't.
The Media
News can be defined broadly as something that is out of
the ordinary (such as a murder) or something that is a matter
of public record (such as a City Council meeting).
Generally, though, news is a change in the status quo.
Many people get upset over what is perceived as a
liberal or conservative slant in the news. Because both
sides get upset about slanted news, that indicates to me that
most media coverage is unbiased or at least politically
moderate. So-called objective reporting is a relatively
recent invention. Before the American Civil War, most
newspapers were just a cut above political tracts. But
journalism history and theory is not our topic.
Most stories involving BBSs involve a crime that has
been committed, usually pirated software, viruses, or
pornography. Even though one BBS may be raided for
improprieties, it reflects poorly on the entire BBS community
by guilt through association. This is similar to many
American's mistrust of all Arabs due to the misdeeds of a
few, as an example. It isn't fair, it isn't right, but it's
The Way Things Are.
Finding the Media
The easiest way to find out who you need to talk to or
write to is by looking in the phone book. All the TV and
Radio stations and Newspapers will be listed under those
categories. You might want to also look for Magazines and
News Services.
A phone call can uncover a lot of information. You will
need the media outlet's voice number, fax number, address and
the person to talk to or send mailings to.
Your best luck in the Public Relations arena is going to
be in the local media. Remember that not all your public
relations efforts are going to be successful. For instance,
most News Releases are thrown in the trash. But if you keep
at it your efforts will pay off.
Newspaper
Because of the rise of electronic information
distribution, many people have predicted the demise of
newspapers. That's unlikely, at least for the next fifty to
one hundred years. Yes, readership has declined.
Newspapers, though, are chameleons and are able to adapt.
Thirty years ago most newspapers looked like the New York
Times. Most newspapers now have much more open and
"friendly" looks.
They are also the most powerful of all the media. No
other media shapes and forms public opinion to the degree
newspapers do. This is usually because they have larger news
staffs and much longer traditions than broadcast media.
Print also has a permanence that broadcast does not have.
As a Sysop, your Public Relations efforts should start
with the Editor or City Editor, whichever the case may be.
These Editors will assign stories to a reporter.
You may be tempted to change your mailing list to a
certain reporter. Although this may seem like a good idea,
reporters tend to change jobs on a fairly regular basis (this
is especially the case in broadcast media). You might opt to
add a reporter to your list, but make sure you continue to
send material to the Editor.
I do not recommend offering to write a column. You will
run out of things to write about much sooner than you think.
Not only that, newspapers have access to syndicated columns
that may not deal specifically with BBSs, but will touch on
them occasionally.
The opinion page provides several opportunities to get
your name and the name of your BBS out. The Letters to the
Editor section can be quite effective in telling your
message. You might even be asked occasionally to write a
guest opinion. Use those opportunities whenever possible,
but be wary of writing too many Letters to the Editor. If
they get printed often, you will lose your impact and become
just another shrill voice on the opinion page.
News about computers and computer technology tends to
become lodged in the Business section of a newspaper. If
your paper has one, you need to put the Business Editor on
your mailing list.
Be careful with multiple mailings to newspapers. If you
have a News Conference, you could have several people from
one newspaper there. There are few things that annoy editors
more than finding out that the paper had "overstaffed" a news
conference. It might be wise to note on the announcement the
departments or individuals that are getting copies.
Television
Television thrives on good video. Too often, a story
with good video will override a good story with no video.
That is part of the reason why even though nearly everyone
watches tv news, hardly anyone trusts it. Despite that,
television can get your message across to more people in a
shorter period of time.
Assignment Editors are the people that tell the
reporters what stories they will tell that day. Most of your
productive work with tv stations will be with the Assignment
Editor. Assignment Editors work with the Producer, and both
are supervised by the News Director.
Should you be lucky and they are interested in doing a
story about the current state of art in BBS technology,
remember that you need to make yourself visually compelling.
Show lots of activity on the screen, blinking on the modem,
the tangle of wires for the phone lines.
Present yourself as a business professional, even if you
are operating a one-line, non-commercial system. That
doesn't necessarily mean you need to wear a suit and tie,
although that would be a good idea.
BBSs have become the whipping boy of tv news during the
past year. Sex and Pornography are probably the topics they
will be most interested in, especially child pornography. If
you are called out of the blue someday by a tv reporter
wishing to do an interview, those are the likely topics. Be
prepared to dodge bullets.
Radio
Radio Journalism is a dying art. There was once a time
when no radio station would even think of not having a news
department. Now many stations have only a morning newsperson
that rewrites the morning paper, and they might not have even
that. It's very tragic.
But there are still a very good number of radio stations
with active news departments. For the most part, you will
deal directly with the News Director. Some larger stations
may also have an Assignments Editor.
Radio stations will be looking for stories that can be
told very quickly and have good "sound." Normally, a radio
reporter will simply be seeking an interview. But there may
be an occasion in which a reporter is doing a special report
or a series. BBSs don't really have much sound to record,
but there is some. Modem tones, connection alarms, and ANSI
music are a few.
Because the pace of radio news departments is even
faster than tv, believe it or not, it won't be uncommon for a
radio reporter to call on the phone to get a comment on a
breaking story or even a follow-up on a story idea you may
have presented them with in some correspondence.
If you are contacted on a "slow" news day, you and your
BBS could be included in a number of radio newscasts. Even
in music intensive formats, radio news tends to be listener
active-- that is listeners pay close attention to the news.
News/Talk stations are particularly good targets. They
are nearly always looking for good people to interview on the
air.
Your Product
First of all, you have to think of your BBS as a
product. Whether you have a 32 line commercial BBS, a single
line hobby board or somewhere in between, you are selling a
service. Just as with any other product, you have to decide
where and how your public relations efforts should best be
spent. Would you sell Lambroghinis in rural Oklahoma? You
can try, but you probably wouldn't sell very many. And what
happens when your Lambroghini has a major recall? How would
you handle the Public Relations crisis?
Now may be a good time to look at your BBS and take an
inventory. If you haven't already done so, print the file
PRODUCT.TXT included with this package. It will help you
take stock of the strengths and weaknesses of your BBS.
PRODUCT.TXT examines the inventory and looks at some of
the immediate public relations problems that could occur as a
direct result of the features of your BBS. Since this file
goes into depth about particular items on your BBS that may
cause some Public Relations problems, we won't discuss it in
detail here, but we will touch on some of the same issues.
The first and foremost question you should ask yourself
is "Why should someone call my BBS?" To answer that
question, let's create two BBSs to use as examples:
Beta BBS has message bases, files and a couple games.
Delta BBS has message bases, files and a couple games.
Nothing really different here. The Sysop of Beta BBS is an
active participant in his BBS in that he writes messages on a
regular basis. The Delta BBS Sysop turns up on occasion and
makes an announcement. Hmmm. Looks like Beta has a slight
edge; the Sysop doesn't seem so unreachable. There is
nothing wrong with Delta BBS, but it seems so ordinary.
There are hundreds of other BBSs using the same software in
the same manner and it appears the Sysop is an out of state
landlord.
If there is only one weapon I can give you in your
Public Relations campaign that weapon would be yourself. You
must allow your personality to become a part of the BBS.
In this manner BBSs are identical to TV News. They may
offer the same plate, but the plate is presented a little
differently. You might like the person who does the weather
more than the other station's weatherblond. That is why you
watch Eyewitness News instead of The Newscenter or whatever
the case may be.
Graphics
Sometimes a subtle change in the graphics scheme can
make a big difference in how a user perceives your BBS. If
you use a lot of bright,garish colors a caller may get the
impression that the BBS is loud and brash. Look closely at
how TV stations use color. They generally use two or three
colors to set the overall graphics image and everything else
is either based on those colors or is worked into them
somehow.
You should also examine how your menus are laid out.
Your first concern should be whether they make sense. A
caller shouldn't have to scratch his head trying to figure
out what he should do next, unless he really has no idea.
Secondly, is the picture busy? A busy menu page takes
longer to draw and is harder to read. If after the screen is
drawn and you find yourself distracted, chances are your
layout has too many elements.
Graphics artists for print publications talk about what
is called "white space." That is the amount of nothingness
that surrounds text and pictures. The more there is the more
pleasing to the eye the page is. There is nothing wrong with
using a background to support your menus, but it should be
unobtrusive.
Making Changes
Whenever you change or add something you need to think
to yourself "Is this something that my users need or want?"
You also need to think of the image you want your BBS to
present. If you have a Science Fiction themed BBS, that new
CD-ROM of Civil War statistics may not fit in very well.
I want to make the point, though, that you might prefer
to run a BBS that offers something of interest to everyone.
But if you do have a thread that runs throughout the entire
system you need to think twice before making a change or an
addition. If it doesn't feel right to you then it probably
won't be kosher with your users.
