Nina Burokas on Better Living Through Brand

It's a Social Media World

In a social media world, rapid response is critical. A couple of recent examples of what works, what doesn’t and how to.

The overall perspective, from Ad:tech's Craig Peters: defensive branding is better titled "Crisis Communications In the Hyperlinked Era of Social Networking."

What works: Aggressively addressing negative brand perceptions – true or false
Example: Senator Hillary Clinton’s Fact Hub: “Cut through the noise and get the facts” (via The New York Times).

The context, from Clinton spokesman Phil Singer: “There’s just been a proliferation of news reporting on the Internet. As such, you’ve got a much faster echo effect when something hits the political zeitgeist, and it’s becoming increasingly urgent to have a mechanism in place that allows you to respond.”

What doesn’t: Going dark.
Example: Whole Foods Market’s Board decision to ban officials from posting messages about Whole Foods, its competitors or vendors on non-company-sponsored Internet forums (via The Wall Street Journal). As discussed during the Evangelism session at the Brand You World Personal Branding Summit, it’s absurd to pull the plug at a time when a company needs it’s greatest fans to speak out on it’s behalf.

How To:
Ad:tech's Defensive Branding 101 Session Summary
Japie Swanepoel’s takeaways from Ad:tech's Defensive Branding session

A closing reality check: from Anita Esterday, one of the waitresses in Clinton’s tipping brouhaha: “There’s kids dying in the war, the price of oil right now — there’s better things in this world to be thinking about than who served Hillary Clinton at Maid-Rite and who got a tip and who didn’t get a tip.”

Additional perspective or 411?

Every Video, Mashup, Comment Tells a Story

Three acts in an ongoing play (conversation). Credit to Pete Blackshaw's cgm for the original post, Selective & Arbitrary for a heads up on the riff and odd professor's comment, and BlogPulse for connecting the dots.

Act One: Onslaught ("Dove Self-Esteem")

Act Two: Dove/Axe Mashup (aka Talk to Your Daughter)

Act Three: A Conflicted Response with an interesting close: "which came first, the desire for ['X' (beauty or attraction, however defined)], or marketing creating a hitherto-absent desire for same?"

A 21st Century Executive Competency

In an age where you are your brand, your online identity plays heavily into the image of you as the perfect candidate. – ExecuNet

According to ExecNet’s “Dealing with Your Digital Dirt 2.5” (via Cindy Kraft’s CFO Coach), reputation management is a 21st Century executive competency. To quote Joe Meissner of Executive Capital Partners, “if you’re supposed to be world-class, I should be able to find something about you online. If I Google you and you’re not there, you’re invisible to the world and that tells me you’re not a player.”

Online Search Statistics:
* 83% of recruiters have used search engines to research candidates (up from 77% in 2006 and 75% in 2005)
* 43% of recruiters have eliminated candidates based on their findings (up from 35% in 2006 and 26% in 2005)

The awareness-action disconnect: although 76% of senior executives expect to be Googled, 22% haven’t done a baseline search on their name. This is particularly odd given a related statistic: 11% of executives fear that their online identity could impact their viability as a job candidate.

Denial is not a reasonable response to changing market dynamics. Especially given that online identity is built – or repaired – over time. Proactively managing your digital brand is a critical action item, regardless of rank, technical expertise or search status.

Picking Up the W Thread

I thought it was strangely quiet on the topic...apparently a few F/U posts hadn't indexed when I went to post. Pick up the main W thread at Successful Blog - or create your own spin-off on the conversation.

("I Google Myself" paraphernalia at t-shirthumor.com & CafePress.com)

The "W List" - Shouldn't You Be On It?

So read the email from fellow blogger and brand strategist Krishna De, a shout-out to add my perspective (and blog) to the "W List".

One step back: Valeria Maltoni of Conversation Agent started the conversation with her post on the Top 20 women bloggers in the PR and marketing profession and suggested the creation of a "W List" as a means of discovering great blogs authored by women. Krishna at BizGrowth News added a global perspective in her W List aka Women Who Blog post. Tiffany Monhollon at Little Red Suit took it the next step forward with her The W List Goes Viral - Help Promote Women Who Blog.

My additions to the list:
Business Communicators of Second Life by Linda Zimmer
Deborah Schultz
Jennie S. Bev Post by Jennie Bev
Social Media Group by Maggie K. Fox

The W List – Women Who Blog (As of 8/9/07)

45 Things by Anita Bruzzese
advergirl Leigh Householder
Back in Skinny Jeans by Stephanie Quilao
Better Living Through Brand by Nina Burokas
Biz Growth News by Krishna De
BlogWrite for CEOs Debbie Weil
Brand Sizzle Anne Simons
Branding & Marketing Chris Brown
Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk
Business Communicators of Second Life by Linda Zimmer
CK’s Blog CK (Christina Kerley)
Communication Overtones Kami Huyse
Conscious Business by Anne Libby
Conversation Agent Valeria Maltoni
Corporate PR Elizabeth Albrycht
Customers Rock! Becky Carroll
Deborah Schultz by Deborah Schultz
Diva Marketing Blog Toby Bloomberg
Email Marketing Best Practices Tamara Gielen
Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pamela Slim
eSoup by Sharon Sarmiento
Flooring The Consumer CB Whittemore
Forrester’s Marketing Blog Shar, Charlene, Chloe, Christine Elana, Laura and Lisa
Get Fresh Minds by Katie Konrath
Get Shouty by Katie Chatfield
Hey Marci by Marci Alboher
Inspired Business Growth by Wendy Piersall
J.T. O’Donnell Career Insights by J.T. O’Donnell
Jennie S. Bev Post by Jennie Bev
Kinetic Ideas Wendy Maynard
Learned on Women by Andrea Learned
Little Red Suit by Tiffany Monhollon
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog by Liz Strauss
Lorelle on WordPress by Lorelle VanFossen
Manage to Change by Ann Michael
Management Craft by Lisa Haneberg
Marketing Roadmaps Susan Getgood
Moda di Magno by Lori Magno
Modite by Rebecca Thorman
Narrative Assets by Karen Hegman
Presto Vivace Blog Alice Marshall
Productivity Goal by Carolyn Manning
Social Media Group by Maggie K. Fox
Spare Change Nedra Kline Weinreich
Tech Kitten by Trisha Miller
That’s What She Said by Julie Elgar
The Blog Angel aka Claire Raikes
The Brand Dame by Lyn Chamberlin
The Copywriting Maven Roberta Rosenberg
The Engaging Brand by Anna Farmery
The Origin of Brands Laura Ries
The Podcast Sisters by Krishna De, Anna Farmery and Heather Gorringe
Water Cooler Wisdom by Alexandra Levit
Wealth Strategy Secrets by Money Gym author and Founder Nicola Cairncross
What’s Next Blog B L Ochman
Wiggly Wigglers authored by fellow Podcast Sister Heather Gorringe
Ypulse by Anastasia Goodstein

Should you be on the list?

Self-Branding & Promotion...the conversation continues

It's impossible to adequately address two complex subjects -  branding and promotion - in the space of an hour and 15 minutes, so the conversation continues online...[BTW, is anyone doing a "What I learned at BlogHer07 wiki?].

I answered the outstanding question regarding a “step-by-step” guide to self-branding in the comments to  Barbara Rozgonyi's transcript of our Self-Branding & Promotion session [her Wired PR Works July archive provides excellent coverage of a number of the sessions]. If you didn't get one of Steph's handouts, it's posted on NextSTEPH (for you twitterers, she was  looking at the BLogHer07 photostream on Flickr when I pulled the link). 

For bloggers putting together an engagement (aka promotion) action plan, Elise Bauer's series of posts leading up to BlogHer06 is essential reading (via BlogHer Community Manager and mommy blogger Denise):

How to Build Blog Traffic - Intro
2-4: Content
3-4: Community
4-4: How to Build Blog Traffic

Additional presentations and perspective on the topic, including a compilation of Elise and Vanesssa Fox's BlogHer07 Technical Tools to Build Traffic session, is at Elise's BlogHer portal.

On brand? Blog on!

Google Goes to Harvard

The first interactive Harvard Business Review case study is - a sign of the times - "We Googled You" (via fellow Reach strategist Miguel Coelho).  The fictional case:

Hathaway Jones CEO has found a promising candidate to open the company's flagship store in Shanghai. Should a revelation on the Internet disqualify her now?

What's on page 9 of your Google results?

Technology Adoption Upside

The good news is that more than 70% of the women business owners surveyed in a recent study (1) leverage technology to achieve profit, innovation, quality and efficiency goals. Indeed, the study found that women business owners are as likely as men business owners and more likely than women in general to be willing to adopt new technology (Center for Women’s Business Research; via Lena West, guest blogging at Lipsticking).

However, in her Women & Technology Battlecry post, Lena highlights the upside potential: only 24% of women business owners consider themselves advanced or leading edge technology adopters. The remaining respondents fell into one of the following categories:
    51% : “average” rate of technology adoption
    15% : technology adoption laggards
    10% : trailing the adoption curve

The key takeaway, as West notes, is the opportunity for 76% of women business owners to improve their business performance through better use of technology. Her challenge: let’s step up our collective game.

What’s the action item?
Join Lena and women business owners for a discussion of how to leverage technology to improve your visibility, credibility, impact and revenue potential.

What: Women & Technology Brass Tacks Roundtable Discussion
When: Wednesday, July 11th, from 4:00-5:30P Pacific
Dial-In Information: + 1 218 486 1300
Bridge Number: 405772

1 - Solutions and Sophistication: Comparing Women and Men Business Owners' Use of Technology was conducted by the Center for Women's Business Research and commissioned by IBM.

Open Source Mentality

Interested in what 765 CEOs from 20 industries and 11 geographic regions have to say on the topic of innovation? With the publication of it's Global CEO Study, IBM continues to raise the collaboration bar and generate significant differentiation and thought leadership value. Bravo!

Is collaboration in your DNA? Take IBM's innovation assessment for perspective and insight.

Technology-Evolution Gap

For all its glitz and swagger, technology, and the whole interactive revved-up economy that goes with it, is merely an outer casing for our inner selves. And these inner selves, these primate souls of ours with their ancient social ways, change slowly. Or not at all.

-W. Brian Arthur, from How Fast is Technology Evolving?" via How Women Can Beat Terrorism

Always On versus Flow

The reality of globalization is that we live in an “always on” world – especially online. However, from an individual perspective, that standard is neither practical nor desirable. If you’re suffering from information overload, an addiction to your BlackBerry, Treo or other communications device or general organizational paralysis, I recommend Inbox Zero, Merlin Mann’s series on personal productivity. His tips are spot-on, his humor refreshing and my empty Inbox (one month and counting) is proof that you can break out of an “always on” mentality and get back into the flow.

Here’s the essence of what worked for me:

1. Set up an In Process folder with three subfolders, Archive, Follow-Up (or use the Follow-Up flag) & Priority.
2. Move all Inbox items greater than 60 days old to Archive (set date to delete) and move remaining emails to In Process.
3. Cull the strategic, revenue-impacting emails from In Process and transfer to Priority. Commit to addressing daily or weekly.
4. Unsubscribe from all but essential communications that can’t be RSS’d or otherwise read online.
5. Check email at limited intervals and respond based on priority, not necessarily the senders sense of urgency (or tactical use of “!”).
6. Clear Inbox and Priority daily.

Trash Talkin' the Blogosphere

From the Advertising Research Foundation's Audience Measurement Symposium (ARF AMS), Day 1:

"If bloggers achieve fame, the first thing they do is move out of the blogosphere." - Jeffrey Cole, Director of the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future

An alternate perspective, from Tom Peters Forward for Naked Conversations: "Biz Blogging...WORKS. It is of...MONUMENTAL IMPORTANCE. (Or can be.)

A point of Cole's we can all agree on: "Convergence is real."

Invention Knowledgebase

Searching for inspiration, perspective or collaborative contacts? Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center has launched MIND (Modern Inventors Documentation), the first database focused exclusively on invention-related documents and collections. Collections span the fields of art, medicine, science and technology. Users can search from over 60 subject categories, including Art & Culture, Business, Computers (including collections from Intel & IBM), Energy, Photography & Film and Writing Technology. For example, there are 22 entries under Women, including Nike’s advertising from 1976-1992. To contribute to the database, contact Alison Oswald at oswalda@si.edu.

Media Relations Refresh

TEKgroup has published the results of a survey of journalist preferences for accessing news (via Sally Falkow's Website Content Strategy).

In addition to Sally's points, key takeaways include:
-74% of journalists consider information on brands important/very important
-E-mail/Online Newsroom is the preferred method to receive information (99%) or pitched stories (97%)

However, given that:
- 92% of journalists think that access to press releases is important/very important,
- 70% visit a company's online newsroom often/very often, and
- 85% want only news that interests them,
I was surprised that only 18% were inclined (Important/Very Important) to receive news via RSS feed. Any thoughts on that point?

Also seeking input on this odd statistic:
Only 16% of journalists surveyed were comfortable/very comfortable on contact after visiting online news room. Is it a learning curve or a design issue?

Related content: PRSA's updated Tips for an Effective Online Newsroom

The Collaboration/Innovation Dynamic

Sally Falkow captures the essence of digital influence in a recent Website Content Strategy post:

It is all about the conversation.  Learning to listen to the conversation is your first step - then learning how to deliver content in a way that makes you a participant in the conversation.

What I find particularly interesting about the Generation C and Customer-Made trends referenced are the implications from an innovation standpoint. Wouldn't it be exhilarating for collaboration to be the 2006 word of the year?

Politics & Digital Influence

Politicians are the ultimate consumer brand. And as a couple of recent posts by personal branding guru William Arruda illustrate (Arianna Huffington-A Strong Personal Brand; More Personal Googling), social media is the new campaign frontier.

Arianna Huffington is one of only two bloggers on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people (via St. Petersburg Times) and her blog, The Huffington Post, was just awarded a Webby in the Political Category.

Phil Angelides' use of social networks is fresh, engaging and certainly preferable to the repetitive direct mail (one piece per day) I’m receiving from Orange County Supervisor candidate Cathryn DeYoung. From mailbox to dumpster in less than 10 seconds.

Be the Change

Heads up: The Smithonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation has issued a call for papers (full details below) on "Inventing America: The Interplay of Technology & Democracy in Shaping American Identity." The deadline for submissions is June 9.

Related thoughts: Extract of Reuters CEO Tom Glocer's speech at day 2 of the We Media conference in London (via BuzzMachine): Contrasting Technorati statistics (5 million new blogs in the last 5 months) and falling participation in elections suggests not that the people are apathetic, but that people feel they are unable to impact the political process. "People seem to feel that they are getting more investment in blogging….than they are by simply going to the polling place." Cut to Jeff Jarvis' net net: "Is citizens' media becoming a proxy for civic participation?"

Blogging for Business

If you don't find BusinessWeek raves and community engagement compelling, consider the business development implications of blogging: BlogWriteforCEOs' Debbie Weil notes that Forrester principal analyst Charlene Li's blogging translated into $1 million of business (via ProBlogger). What's the hurdle rate for your marketing initiatives? Are any of your business development activities generating a ROI in excess of 500%, much less 500,000%*?

For additional blog effectiveness metrics, check out Jason Stamper's ROI of Blogging.

If you feel the numbers game misses the point, you might appreciate James Governor's perspective (via Jason Stamper): "Ask not what a blog can do for your corporate bottom line, but what it can do for you. If it scales you, and you're already effective, then its also scaling business effectiveness. Successful Global Microbrands are indelibly associated with people. It's people, not infrastructures, that can now scale in fairly unprecedented ways. Blogging is a part of that phenomenon."

For an introduction to blogging for business, check out my Business Case for Blogging article for The PowerMark Group.

*Simplified ROI calculation: (Income-Investment)/Investment, expressed as a decimal percent (i.e., .10 = 10%). To illustrate, given income (revenue) of $1,000,000 and an investment of $179 ($14.95x12), the calculation is (999,821/179)x100=558,559%

Acceleration Delivered

Testing concepts in real time and access to a communal knowledge base are two related and compelling aspects of the blogosphere. Bloggers will be your greatest fans and your harshest critics, and there's significant value in that fact. It's called acceleration. An example I benefited from recently: Anthony Lilley (writing for Media Guardian) calling out the BBC's head of journalism Mark Byford on his use of "audience" versus "community", and the mindset implications; for example, talking to versus engaging in conversation (The best & worst of dotcomery, via BuzzMachine). Reading Jarvis' BBC2.1 post prompted me to review a blogging best practices series I had compiled for a client. As a business tool, the blogosphere excels in translating individual insight into a shared learning experience. Acceleration delivered.

"Get in the Game!"

Deloitte is now accepting nominations for the fifty fastest growing technology, media and entertainment, telecommunications and life sciences companies in Orange County, and a total of 15 regions throughout North America. Ultimate objective: Deloitte Fast 500 or Rising Star. Nomination deadline: May 31st. For eligibility requirements, to view previous winners and apply online, visit North American Technology Fast 500.

Related links:
Canadian Technology Fast 50; EMEA (Europe, the Middle East & Africa) Fast 500; Asia Pacific Fast 500

Six Degrees of Innovation

Innovation - both as creative process and competitive differentiator - is a powerful concept. If America is to reclaim it’s stature in world markets, it will be through innovation, rather than through military force or political machinations.

A recent Orange County Register article provides perspective on the innovation topic. Colin Stewart’s Six Degrees of Innovation is a point/counterpoint exploration of six elements of innovation from the viewpoint of Orange County innovators and innovation guru, author and IDEO general manager Tom Kelley. One particular point of difference is the “problem-solving” concept - whether to anticipate needs or whether to invent only to fill an articulated need. My opinion: it isn't an either/or proposition.

Interestingly, in searching for a link to the print article, I found that the “Six Degrees of Innovation” topic isn’t unique. Additional food for thought:

Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge article “Caves, Clusters, and Weak Ties: The Six Degrees World of Inventors” (via WiredJournal) discussing the diffusion of knowledge across collaborative ties and corporate boundaries moving towards an open innovation model, where the opportunity/challenge is how to leverage this trend for commercial gain. What's of particular interest is Wired Journal's identification of the opportunity "to encourage, foster and monitor these collaborative communities as the idea behind the sponsored affinity groups and shared spaces concept." Fast forward to the future of social networking. Is this progress?

For perspective on "the best ideas for organization, innovation, branding, transformation, outsourcing, and more", check out Technology Innovator’s profile of the six 2004 winners, and Booz Allen Hamilton’s profile of the 2005 Leading Innovations Competition winners and runners up.

The Future of Blogging

Update to prior post: the missing link. Veteran blogger and Six Apart Vice President Anil Dash shares his perspective on the essence of blogging - "connect with the audience you care about" and what's next: The Future of Blogging. For related commmentary and links,  see Blog Business Summit Teresa Valdez Klein's Social Networking post.

Business Blogging

One of the collateral benefits of attending the Business Blogging Summit was the camaraderie of a group of people that “get it”, where “it,” in this case, is the convergence of technology and communications. Although I picked up a number of tips, the key value add was the perspective of a group of panelists who have been there, done that and are into defining “what’s next” (Anil, where’s your presentation?). With a cumulative total of 20+ blogging years, these veterans have a wealth of experience and share it with humor and sincerity. Is it the messenger or the medium? Bloggers tend to be both high tech and high touch. But perhaps the most invigorating aspect of technology is that it’s continually evolving. For beta on developing a blogging strategy, check out Business Blogging 101: Management & Strategy, a Marqui presentation. There's no time like the present.

No Best Day, Translated

The title of ExactTarget’s article on optimizing email marketing says it all: Myth Debunked: No Such Thing As A Best Day. Indeed, the author (Morgan Stewart), sounds like a character out of John Berendt’s The City of Falling Angels, concluding that marketers “shouldn’t follow industry trends (including the results outlined in this article).” So what’s a marketer to do? The answer is it depends on your objective. One of ExactTarget’s key findings is that the best days for opens are not necessarily the best days for click-through. Thus, marketers must decide whether their primary objective is to generate brand awareness (opens) or prompt a desired course of action (click-through). If the primary objective is visibility, Wednesday through Friday rated highest. If it's all about conversion, three key findings suggest experimentation with weekend sends: (1) 97% of campaigns are sent during the work week, (2) competition for attention reduces both open and click-through rates, and (3) Saturday and Sunday mailings yield maximum click-through. In brief, to maximize email marketing impact, leverage best practices for a specific industry, audience and objective, and understand it’s a moving target. Measure, test, repeat.

Philosophy 101

I recently delivered a presentation on increasing channel sales (B2B Software & Services) and was providing context to support a proposed course of action. One slide was entitled “If You’re Not Goggle-able, Do You Exist?” The responses: “very existential,” “how philosophical”. Hmmm…perhaps. If you understand that philosophy is all about logic. Let’s drill down (statistics via eMarketer):
1. 48% of senior executives research business software on the web.
2. The first online place that B2B internet users go for research is search engines (outpacing the next category by over 40 percentage points).
3. 42% of B2B buyers start using search engines anywhere from 2-12 months prior to purchase.
My point: it’s not whether you exist per se, but whether potential buyers can find you. The acid test: type your business category into a search engine; are you visible to your target audience? As P.T. Barnum said: “Without publicity, a terrible thing happens. Nothing.”

Marketing is Design is Marketing

In Purple Cow, Seth Godin discusses how the practice of marketing has evolved from a primarily advertising function to an integral part of product development. “Product attributes are now at the heart of what it means to be a marketer.” The defining change is adoption of a market-centric design perspective. To quote Paula Antonelli, curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art (via Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind):

Good design is a renaissance attitude that combines technology, cognitive science, human need and beauty to produce something that the world didn’t know it was missing.

For inspiration, check out the MoMA Digital Design Collection, a high resolution virtual gallery of over 6,000 international works including architectural drawings, graphic design, textiles, furniture and furnishings, tools and cars. The majority of these items are not on permanent exhibition, and only five percent of the works have been published.

Digital Delivers

Who but a caffeinated New Yorker could blaze through 45 slides in 30 minutes? I recently attended Bulldog Solutions’ webinar How to Leverage the Internet Throughout the Buying Cycle, featuring eMarketer co-founder and CEO Geoff Ramsey. As a technology-centric marketer, I focused in particular on one statistic: in an industry (media spending) projected to grow in the 3-4% range overall, growth in emedia marketing and advertising is projected to be in excess of 26%. To put that statistic in context:

• consumer skepticism and ad intolerance is increasing
• technology provides consumers with multiple options to filter or block advertising
• marketers are accountable for ROI metrics; in particular, lead generation

In order to overcome consumer resistance, the imperatives are improved targeting and message relevance. According to an American Advertising Federation survey of ad professionals, online advertising is highly rated as a medium for precise targeting of fragmented audiences. Although no single medium should be used in isolation, emedia is emerging as one of the most cost-effective means of delivering on what Procter & Gamble CMO Jim Stengel cites as the key objective: advertising so relevant it's welcomed by consumers.

Intersection of Blog & Life

I arrived at a friend’s house recently with a bottle of good red wine in one hand and a galley copy of The Big Moo in the other. My hostess was both delighted and amused: “The Big Moo! You told me about that book!” Well, no – I don’t recall mentioning it. Oh, no, she clarified, your blog told me. My blog told her? So much for finding my voice. It appears my blog has stolen mine.

It’s a Flat World Afterall

Perhaps the most significant macroeconomic development in recent history has been the proliferation of technology. In his book The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author Thomas Friedman details ten “flatteners” that have effected a leveling of the global playing field. Friedman notes that former Hewlett-Packard C.E.O. Carly Fiorina anticipated the trend in 2004, envisioning an IT revolution “main event”, “an era in which technology will transform every aspect of business, of government, of society, of life.” Indeed, Friedman proposes that this convergence of factors is “the most important force shaping global economics and politics in the early 21st century.”

In brief, Friedman’s book is a call to action. His position is that the primary challenge to the American standard of living is not from alternative political ideologies, but from the aggressive capitalism practiced by China, India and South Korea. Globalization 3.0 - the ability of individual contributors to “plug and play” virtually - combined with America’s  “quiet [educational] crisis” has eroded our knowledge base. The imperative is to maintain our ability to innovate. Where I part ways with Friedman is his emphasis on scientists and engineers as the driving force. Rather, what I see fueling resurgence is integration of multiple disciplines to achieve the creative insight that generates new products, services and growth. Regardless, it’s a wake-up call to the global economy.

Google This

Given the recent controversy over personal information available on Google, the caveat for management is be aware of what you create, and hyper-aware of the brand and regulatory implications. This caution applies to developers, as well, as illustrated in the recent decency flap over a sex scene in Rockstar Games? Grand Theft Auto PlayStation 2 game. Access to information and technological expertise create transparency. In the current socio-political landscape (if not from core values), responsibility and credibility are key.

Referenced articles:
Google's Chief Is Googled, to the Company's Displeasure?

Google balances privacy, reach

Confirmed: Sex Minigame in PS2 San Andreas