The woman in this video clip is obviously not well-schooled in media relations. According to the reporter, she agreed to do the interview, then refused to answer his questions, save for her one carefully-scripted response. It’s embarrassing for her and the school district that employs her. Sounds like she was surprised a TV reporter brought a cameraman along.

One thing I’ll give her credit for: she never loses her cool.

Her otherwise sorry performance proves why it is imperative that top executives in any organization be trained in how to handle themselves when the media comes calling. Assuming she was willing to talk to the reporter and didn’t have something to hide, here’s what she should have done:

• prepared for the interview by having someone ask her provocative questions about the trip;
• set up the interview in a controlled environment - standing behind a counter, then moving around makes her look evasive, regardless of what she is saying;
• asked another colleague or two to be there for support but to remain quiet;
• emphasize that the board or some authority approved the request to attend the conference and knew what the expenses would be;
• provide documentation what the conference was about and how the students will benefit from the knowledge obtained there;
• point out that while $30,000 seems like a lot of money for a school district in financial distress, it represents a miniscule percentage of the budget.

Certainly, it looks bad that most other school districts in the area sent only one person or none at all to the conference. But with a modicum of aplomb, the bad PR could have been mitigated.

Popularity: 20% [?]

I’ve been trying to figure out just how effective Twitter can be as a marketing tool. After all, how much mileage can you get out of 140-character tweets?

Apparently, a lot. Tweeting forced a major drug manufacturer to deep-six a new marketing campaign. Seems as though thousands of irate new mothers, upset at what they felt was an unfair depiction in an ad for Motin, turned to Twitter to voice their displeasure. The outcry was so loud and so forceful that McNeil Consumer Healthcare, maker of Motrin, decided to pull the ad.

Now, you can argue about how offensive the ad was — as a 53-year old man, I thought it was kind of clever — but you can’t argue that Twitter was a powerful vehicle for social change.

Popularity: 25% [?]

This week’s Stumbling is focused on blogs, websites and search engines. Seems as thought there are always better ways to do things.

It seems like a new social networking site, micro-blog, or aggregator pops up every day. Who has time to keep up with all of them? How do you know which ones work and which are a monumental waste of time? Can a business really afford to be everywhere? The editors at Inside CRM have done a lot of the leg work for you with their list of 50 social sites every business needs a presence on.

Loyal readers know I’m partial to everything Google, especially its search engine capabilities. But some people, especially writers, may be looking for a different experience in scouring the Web for information. At LearningXL, Laura Milligan has put together a list of 100 fun and useful search engines for writers.

On a related note, the folks at Education Portal have put together a list of 12 insightful blogs that every writer should be reading. Wait a minute…PR Prowess isn’t on the list?

Everyone is looking for an edge when it comes to Internet marketing. Ensuring your website is performing at peak efficiency is a crucial part of that overall strategy. Brayn Eisenberg has 33 tools that can make your website better.

At Write-to-Done, Leo Babauta has put together a list of 10 mistakes that could be kiling your blog. He does not pull any punches. No. 1 on his list: less than useful posts.

Popularity: 40% [?]

I’m a sucker when it comes to free reports. If I come across something online that looks useful or interesting, I’ll gladly give up my email address for the privilege of downloading it.

Of course, the downside is my inbox is immediately flooded with a steady stream of emails asking me to subscribe, buy, join or otherwise spend money for some product or service. A few examples, without naming the guilty parties:

• After downloading a free report on October 20, I have received 14 emails from one company, including two on one day and three on another.
• After downloading a report on Nov. 1, I’ve received seven emails from another company, including two in one day.
• In a third instance, I’ve received 80 emails from a company I downloaded something from on June 26.
• By coincidence, a client I work with showed my an increasingly aggressive, almost annoyed series of emails he received from a company begging him to sign up for a several hundred dollar coaching course.

So, my question is this: when it comes to autoresponding systems, how much is too much? Once a day? Twice a week? Three times a month?

At what point does the recipient become numb and stop paying attention? Or worse yet, unsubscribes? Now you’ve turned off a potential customer who, at one point at least, thought you had something valuable to offer?

Popularity: 29% [?]