This public relations video discusses the Toyota crisis, how Microsoft handled their corporate reputation when Bill Gates took his role part time, and corporate reputation in general. It’s a long video and I’ve only watched the first half hour, but the content is first class.

Today Wikileaks published a gagging order which tried to suppress the latest revelations in the Tiger Woods’ scandal.

This blog is not interested in the morality at the heart of the Tiger Woods’ case. Tiger can have ten wives if he wants, plus another ten gay lovers, for all I care.

What is interesting are the ramifications this case has for Crisis Communications. Recently the role of lawyers has been increasing, as brands and celebrities turn to lawyers as an aggressive means of keeping stories out of the papers.

At the same time British media law  has been under the spotlight for the ease at which the lawyers can be brought into play.

For me, using a lawyer in this instance is like trying to use a sledgehammer to dodge a bullet: a disproportionate use of energy and ineffective. PR professionals are who Tiger needs to be turning to, not over paid letter writers who will be charging through the nose for ineffective correspondence.

Don’t take these words the wrong way. Use of a lawyer have a time and a place.

However, even if this gagging order had worked, the international nature of media today would have led to the allegations coming out.

Not only has the letter been leaked online, but the correspondence outlines exactly what Tiger wants to keep out of the media (have a read if you want to find out the sordid details). I am sure before the day is out the content will leaked online and the whole problem will be blown further out of proportion.

Had Tiger turned to a PR professional then a whole host of other, tactics and negotiations could have been brought into play.

I feel sorry for Tiger as worse things have happened at sea. What should have been a small problem for him and his family is now being played out in full view of the world. The problem for Tiger is that every twist and turn is just so interesting because of the way it has been handled. Badly.

Here are a few links of interesting “media” stories, which tickled my whistle this morning.

TECHCRUNCH

I recently contributed to a feature for How-Do on Twitter and Mob rule, which was written by @LauraSpence. I wish I had raised a few of the points on realtime news that was written in this article . I also wanted to write a post for my blog on the Tiger Woods story, but I think realtime news has passed me by, as this article sums everything up.

Amazing picture of the Sun

This stunning photograph of the Sun was trending on Popurls.com and appeals to anyone with an interest in nature, and the natural patterns that lie within the world around us. Beautiful, and an example of the internet at its best.

RIP Technics
As a man who has several thousand 12 inch records, and a proud owner of a set of Technics 1210s, I was very said to read this last night, which shows that Panasonic has decided not to make their iconic turntable any more. The geeks among us will read the online chatter which takes the line that only the MK2 will cease production, but the official line is that the MK5 is for the chop too. It could all be a clever PR stunt and I will be looking into this in more detail.

If true, these are dark days for music fans, but the technology has moved on. All I need now is to pay someone to sit and digitise thousands of my records – a thankless task, but I am willing to pay.

The BBC keeping Cyberspace open to the public
This is an interesting read. For me the BBC should be a major battleground for Labour at the next election. It looks like Cameron has signed a deal with Murdoch to cut the BBC down in size in return for News International’s support. This article shows why we need a big BBC. I am sure the public would back a party which fought the corner of the Beeb.

Ikea Facebook row rumbles on
Yesterday I posted about a clever social media stunt by Ikea. Yesterday Craig McGill added a neat twist. Read here for more information

Seth Godin
And finally, something on the internet which annoys me. Seth Godin’s blog is one of the biggest draws in the Blogosphere, but does anyone else think that his content is crap? The Yanks really go for this sort of self help, psychobabble.

So this is why I turn to the internet for news. I went to the corner shop this morning and bought a copy of the Guardian, but I haven’t even looked at it yet. Instead I’ve tapped into five stories which have defined my morning.