Zeno Group Blog

As I told my embassy contact yesterday at lunch, I do think this is a very exciting time in Montenegro! They are on the verge of becoming a full democracy but are not quite there yet. They have not figured out how to leave their socialist ways and embrace what a democracy means, but I feel soon they will. The government is still reluctant to fully communicate with the public, transparency does not quite mean what it means in the U.S. (not yet) and they do not have experienced people to communicate with the public as they did not really need to do that ever before. But imagine living in a country and watching it transform like Montenegro is at the present time. Especially being one of the younger generation and pushing for change through their civic activities? Very exciting and I cannot wait to return in 5-7 years and see how far they will have come! It is really fascinating to watch if nothing else!

I have finished my first day of meetings with two government agencies and an NGO. Montenegro being a democratic country early in development, they seem to be over complicating the art and science of communications. They have elevated communications to rocket science and are analyzing it as if they are studying data from the moon! What I plan to tell them is that they need to stop being afraid and strategically start engaging with their stakeholders, one of the most important being the citizens of this country! In my opinion it is better to communicate and make some mistakes than to keep the public in the dark about what their government is doing. We will talk tomorrow about how to do that and gain the trust of the public. We will also talk about the role the media can play in helping them. We hope they will take some of what I say and move forward.

I just arrived in Montenegro today after a 15 hour trip here through Vienna. To my surprise the country is much more in a state of early development than I would have thought. There seems to be construction everywhere. From what I can tell thus far the biggest problems they have are widespread smoking (everyone here does and I mean everyone!), no respect for traffic laws and especially pedestrian crossings and environmental issues such as throwing trash on the ground. I will work with the government and NGOs to help them better communicate with citizens on these issues and more. This will not be easy as they do not value the environment and health the same way we do. At least not yet!

I have spent the last week intensely working to get ready for my trip to Montenegro on behalf of the State Department. I will spend five days working with the government of Montenegro and emerging NGOs to help them develop strategies for civic engagement, how to better educate the public on health, traffic and safety issues and how and when to lobby decision makers. These are many things we take for granted in this country. Civic engagement is a right that is demanded. Buckling up and slowing in school zones is expected and we have financial penalties if we do not. Lobbying and how to influence decision makers is an industry and an art. In developing democracies these are works in progress. Perhaps we should not take these for granted and embrace what we do have? Follow me on my exciting journey and we will learn together first hand what the barriers to successful social marketing and public affairs are in a developing Eastern European country.

In my opinion, one of the most rewarding aspects of working in health communications is our ability to make a positive contribution through our work, as we help to ensure that our clients’ efforts are successful. Whether it’s an awareness campaign launch or data and milestone support, we’re invested.

All of us Zeno-ites in the health practice are always following the health news and trends to see how our clients may be impacted and where they fit in the story. The privilege of working in the health space is that it affects all of us on some level whether directly or indirectly.

As health care communications specialists, we are uber-aware of everything from oncology to orphan disorders. We can rattle off survival rates for a variety of diseases. We likely ask our doctors too many questions and may find ourselves opting for a few extra screening measures, and recommending them to our family and friends as well.

For some of us, our professional lives have further piqued our interest and inspired us to get involved on a personal level.

Just last week, a colleague volunteered her time and even braved flu-like symptoms to serve as a bone marrow donor.

On a much smaller note, I’m completing my second season with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team in Training (TNT) program. This season has been a special one for me since I’ve had the opportunity to serve as a team captain helping new runners reach their fundraising and training goals as they prepare to take on their first half or full marathon on March 20. While it’s no secret that I love running, I also feel strongly about TNT’s mission to find a cure for blood cancers and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Health may be our business but it’s personal as well.

The biggest night in movies is two days away, and everyone has an opinion as to who will win an Oscar. While there isn’t a proven formula that can tell us which film is going to win, a closer look at social media such as blogs and Twitter can provide some interesting perspective as to which nominees are dominating conversations and spurring emotional reactions.

I connected with Sysomos, a social media analytics firm, to find out which films, actors, actresses and directors are leading in share of voice and sentiment over the past month. And most importantly for the nominees, will this buzz transform into gold at the Academy Awards?

My full report with charts on the conversation is available here: PBS MediaShift

Would you have guessed that Sandra Bullock had the most mentions on Twitter (8,732) out of all the nominees during the past month?

As a public relations professional and former journalism major, I often take it for granted that scouring a variety of news outlets each morning is part of my job description. After all, I work in an environment where I’m encouraged to express myself through this very company blog.

Maybe that’s why I was so taken aback when I came across the Washington Post article, “China Faces Backlash from ‘Netizens’ if Google Leaves” regarding Google’s threat to shut down its Chinese Web site over censorship issues.

The report included commentary from a variety of Chinese citizens.

“This will make the extent of Chinese censorship a lot clearer even to ordinary Chinese people who are not aware of it,” said Jeremy Goldkorn, who runs an Internet research firm and a Web site, which has been blocked since July.

Zhou Shuguang, a blogger who has done investigative reporting across the country, said that, “the withdrawal from China will wake up more Chinese and make more people discover that China lacks freedom on the Internet and the government has very strong censorship online. There are no benefits to people at all if Google continues to make concessions with Chinese authorities.”

According the Washington Post report, “businesspeople in Beijing were pessimistic, as were many people at Google itself, about the prospect of a crack in what is known as the Great Firewall of China.”

“China can’t lose face over this, and it’s not going to let anybody run an open search engine,” said an industry source close to Google.

The report noted that, “This week alone the General Administration of Press and Publication boasted of taking down 136,000 non-registered Web sites and more than 1.5 million pieces of bad information this week”

While some friends working in other industries have shared that their companies block a few social networking sites, I can’t fathom not being a way to freely search Google.

The current censorship issue between the Chinese government and Google makes me especially appreciative of our first amendment rights.

Zeno Group’s Digital Lifestyle team looked back at the top digital and social media stories of 2009 and recapped them in our e-newsletter, which is embedded below. We discuss the real-time revolution, the shift from advertising to engagement, the App Store and more.

You may also follow the Digital Lifestyle team on our blog (www.zenodigital.com) or on Twitter (@zenodigital) to see what’s influencing our world in 2010.

Zeno Group Digital Lifestyle: Top Stories of 2009

As the health care debate continues, women’s issues are taking center stage. Now, more than ever, women are key stakeholders and must remain engaged.

This week Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D., Md.) offered an amendment that would require insurers to cover more screening and preventive care for women, with no co-payments. According to a Dec. 1 New York Times article, “Senators Pitch to Women and Elderly on Health Bill,” Mikulsi said, “Women often forgo those critical preventive screenings because they simply cannot afford it, or their insurance company won’t pay for it unless it is mandated by state law.”

But not so fast, according to the article, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R., TX) criticized Mikulski’s proposal which would develop comprehensive guidelines recommending preventive care and screenings for women, saying it would “allow yet another government agency to interfere in the relationship between a woman and her doctor.”

The New York Times Economix blog’s November 30th post, “Sex, Abortions and Health Insurance,” by New York Times blogger and University of Massachusetts economics professor, Nancy Folbre, noted that the Stupak-Pitts amendment in proposed House legislation that would prohibit companies from offering policies covering abortions in subsidized health insurance exchanges.

Folbre included comments from Wellesley economist Phillip Levine’s recent New York Times Op-Ed which labeled the controversy a “false alarm” stating that, “If health insurance reform passed, after all, the expansion of medical services to low-income women, including improved family planning services, would compensate for the risks of paying for abortions out-of-pocket.”

Folbre stated that she was “unconvinced” noting that “neither of the bills currently before either the House of Senate mandates coverage of contraceptive services, pelvic exams or counseling for sexually transmitted diseases.”

Regardless of where you stand, one thing we can all agree on is the importance of women’s health issues. It will be interesting to see how the debate plays out and how it ultimately affects women.

It has become more than clear that the controversy with screening will not cease. This week, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force added fuel to the controversy by advising against regular mammography screening for women 40-49 years of age, provide mammograms only every other year for women between 50 and 74, and stop all breast cancer screening in women over 74. Soon after that statement was issued many including Komen, American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiology, issued statements against this new recommendation.

As I wonder why this controversy is heating up now, I wonder if it is all due to the renewed emphasis on cost-cutting measures and getting our country’s health care budget under control? Or is it that we are finally realizing that we need more research to understand why even though we have early screening guidelines for many types of cancer we are still losing many of our loved ones unnecessarily? I think that many of us can agree that we need new and improved tests to detect cancer at an earlier stage and there are many in the works but not approved yet. But until we improve on what we have are issuing conflicting guidelines by prominent health organizations really going to save lives and improve care or just create more stress that leads to even more disease in this country?  I believe the argument for delaying testing by many is that there is no proof that testing in younger patients has saved lives. But I wonder if I wait until 50 to get a mammogram, and then at that point I am told that I have cancer and its advanced, how I will feel about having waited? I personally would rather endure the yearly mammogram than have the uncertainty and regret later. This is of course a personal decision with perhaps no right or wrong answer but I am certain of one issue: creating confusion in the minds of Americans will not lead to better outcomes.