Last summer's Twitter revolution in Iran now seen as “Astro-turf”

What with bad economic news, heated health care policy debate in Washington, H1N1 scares, and other recent news, it’s easy to already forget one of the summer’s seemingly remarkable news stories: the revolutionary use of Twitter by Iranian dissidents to communicate with the outside world after Iran’s controversial presidential election and the subsequent political crackdown.

Well, the much-vaunted generation of young citizen-activists who were using social media to take back their country from the clutches of Ahmadinejad’s regime turns out to be a lot less connected and representative than we were told. A pair of British media analysts will soon issue a report which concludes that the Iranian Twitter revolution was overblown and oversold by the U.S. and European mainstream media. “The meme was just too tempting, it seems, for anyone to dig into its veracity. The media…loves to write about Twitter,” writes Ravi Somaiya at Gawker.com about the authors’ work. The report will contrast fulsome Western claims with sobering data about the connectedness of the Iran people developed by a social media analytics company.

It turns out that many non-Iranian Twitter users switched their “locations” to Tehran to inflate the miniscule number of Iranian users cited by foreign reporters at the time. All of this is not to denigrate the grassroots courage of Iranians fighting their repressive government at home or the small number of genuine social media users who organized others at home and shared real information with the rest of the world. But in our turbulent era of mass communications, technological innovations, and disruptions, we should beware of oversold claims about “revolutionary” change.

Cautions for Thesaurus Junkies

Have you ever found yourself adding multi-syllable words to your writing in hopes of making yourself look smarter? Is the thesaurus your favorite function in Microsoft Word? If so, take the time to consider the following.

When using big words, good communicators should ensure that both they and their audiences know the meaning of the words. Written and verbal communications are only effective if people know what you are trying to tell them. Although a large vocabulary is an important addition to your verbal and written repertoire, your credibility will instantly decrease if you misuse large words. Without taking the time to assess your verbiage, you run the risk of sounding either unintelligent or pretentious.

So, when you press shift F7 and the thesaurus offers large word after large word, remember it’s often better to trade your syllables for clarity.

Congratulations Chris Coleman!

Mayor Chris Coleman was re-elected to his second term as Saint Paul’s chief executive yesterday. Mayor Coleman is an alumnus of Goff & Howard, and all of us here have enjoyed working with him and his staff on a variety of issues on vital interest to Saint Paul. All of us at Goff & Howard, a company proud of its Saint Paul connections, extend our former colleague heartfelt congratulations!

Don't forget to give credit where credit is due

As a recent college graduate, I am well aware of the importance of citing my sources. Each semester, professors reiterated the same spiel on the evils of plagiarism. I listened to them and never wrote a research paper without properly giving other authors credit for their work. But, as I was writing essay after essay, it never dawned on me that citing sources would be a valuable skill outside of college.

To write the most accurate and compelling material, Goff & Howard’s writers draw from all types of sources – government reports, company surveys, and scholarly works only begin to touch the surface of the research we do at Goff & Howard.

Citations legitimize the information presented in written work. By attributing facts and statistics to their original authors, readers are able to return to the original source to double check the statistic or learn more about a topic that interests them. Rather than bog down a sentence with excessive wordiness, these simple citation phrases actually help each sentence flow into the next.

If you question when or how to properly cite your sources, Goff & Howard’s writers can help you any time.

This month in history: A new age of communication

You might not know that many Goff & Howard team members are avid history aficionados. We revel in the little-known quirks of our world’s past and live each day to make obscure references that only the best and brightest of our fellow history buffs will understand. To share our love of history, GH Spin has graciously given us the space to share the idiosyncrasies of our favorite hobby.

In October 1860 – nearly 150 years ago – the United States finished construction on the first transcontinental telegraph line. Although telegraphic communication had been improving communication between East Coast cities for several years, this telegraph line, which connected Los Angeles and New York, reduced the feelings of isolation that many West Coast citizens were experiencing. The telegraph ushered in a new age of communication and connected a nation that was separated by a vast, largely unsettled midsection.

As we look back on this impressive feat that spanned more than 2,000 miles, we can’t help but think about how the first transcontinental telegraph line spawned a frantic evolution of communication technology. As people got used to a new style of communication that was significantly quicker than the Pony Express, the telegraph gave way to the telephone, and people were able to connect with each other even faster.

And now, in the 21st century, the world could not function without the lightning quick speed of the Internet and its communication glories, such as e-mail, online social networking, and – of course – blogs. The evolution of communication technology has become survival of the fastest, and so, the question now becomes, what will be the next frontier of communication?

Patty Dunn appointed to MOCA board

The Goff & Howard team has always made community and civic involvement a priority, contributing to boards and causes that make the metro area a place we’re proud to live and work. Our latest board appointment is Patty Dunn, who will serve on the board of directors for the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA).

An ovarian cancer survivor, Patty has been active in MOCA for years. Goff & Howard has also gotten involved, donating silent auction prizes for special events and making pledges in honor of Patty’s participation in MOCA’s annual 5K run. One of our employees even sold homemade apple pies this year in support of the cause.

Part of MOCA’s mission is to raise awareness of ovarian cancer to help boost early detection and raise money for research. With Patty’s help, the organization hopes to increase ovarian cancer awareness.

Congratulations, Patty.

Spelling online: even Homer nods off

Our senior writer, Tricia Nissen, previously blogged on a humorous and rare spelling lapse at the White House. As a communications company, Goff & Howard knows that small errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation occasionally can happen, but we have a zero-tolerance policy, because mistakes, if not caught, slowly but surely erode the communicator’s credibility.

The conservative standards adhered to by communications professionals (e.g., mainstream media journalists, PR types like us, and political flacks) don’t apply very well in the real world of Web 2.0. For example, in reading online comments to blogs and news stories, I am often struck by the rampant, casual spelling errors made – and not corrected. (But, hey, we’re talking about an all-too-causal medium where the spectrum of contributions runs from thoughtful, closely reasoned contributions to ad hominem attacks devoid of originality, taste or civility.)

We the readers of a posted comment can often “fill in the blanks” from context . . . some of the time. Someone may write “no” meaning “now” without hitting the third keystroke, or it might mean “know” because their synapses were shorting out. We might figure out the meaning, but we’re usually left wondering slightly about the poster himself/herself. (“Is he or she an idiot, just sloppy, or functioning on only two hours of sleep over the past three days?”)

Of course, that ubiquitous crutch – spell-check – isn’t quite so readily available when leaving online comments. And if someone is in a hurry to post or shaking in rage to respond, taking a few moments to ensure his or her thoughts are expressed in standard English, error-free, isn’t a priority.

So as a service to you, dear reader, who may be inclined to post a comment online sometime, please be forewarned on “Eight Spelling Mistakes Even Smart People Make.”

Just remember the Roman poet Horace’s judgment on trivial mistakes made by even the greatest of ancient poets: “I still get annoyed whenever the great Homer nods off” (Ars poetica 358-9).