'BPGlobalPR' Twitterer Donates $10K to Non-Profit Plus My Thoughts on Gulf Oil Spill

This story is taken right out of the Baton Rouge Business Report. I would have simply tweeted the link to it, but the Business Report doesn't provide hyperlinks to individual stories on its Daily Report Page, which is where this came from. 

I reference this on the handyman blog because it serves a dual purpose, allowing me to write about an issue that is very real to me, given that I live in south Louisiana, and it's talking about Twitter. 

Following the story, I express my own viewpoint about the Gulf oil spill and in no uncertain terms. I hope you will take a moment to read my comments. But first, here's the story straight from the Business Report.

"A spoof on BP PLC's oil spill press relations has brought in $10,000 for a nonprofit group created in 1995 to restore the Gulf region's natural resources. Gulf Restoration Network official Aaron Viles says that the person who has been tweeting as "BPGlobalPR" put $10,000 into the organization's PayPal account this morning. And he says there's a promise of more if spoof BP T-shirts sold by the same person keep selling. 

"That Twitter account has gained nearly 104,000 followers since it opened May 19 with the comment, "We regretfully admit that something has happened off of the Gulf Coast. More to come." Since last week the owner has been selling $25 T-shirts, bearing a black BP logo and the black, smudged legend "bp cares." The originator has said all proceeds are going to the Gulf Restoration Network."

Here's the T-shirt in question:

 
Here's the link to Gulf Restoration Network's Twitter account.  

Here's where to go to make a donation. 

Here's what I think about this: 

BP CEO Tony Hayward says he wants his life back. Well, Mr. Hayward, we want our way of life back. The fisherman who have been put out of job want their livelihoods back. The families of the 11 victims who died in this tragedy want their loved ones back. We want out wetlands back. We want the millions of dollars in lost tourism back. We want you, Mr. Hayward, to shut the hell up and fix the gusher! 

I don't mean to cast everyone at BP in such a negative light. I believe there are well-intentioned people who are trying everything they can think of to stop the leak and repair the damage, to the extent such reparation is possible. Unfortunately, it may take years before things are returned to normal and no one knows how long that could be. 

I understand that there were strong warnings something wasn't right with the rig. If that's the case, then we can only chalk this up to human error or negligence. Face it, there has never been a leak of this magnitude before, so it's not surprising people may have paid less heed than they should. I'm not excusing inaction, but that's human nature. 

It's not unlike those who stayed on the Mississippi Gulf Coast during Hurricane Camille back in 1969. Hurricanes were not uncommon and many people even threw "hurricane parties" during the storms.

However, in Camille's case, that negligence led to the death of 259 people and I dare say no one has taken the same lackadaisical attitude about hurricanes since. If they did, Katrina straightened that out once and for all.

Similarly, no one will take underwater oil leaks with the same attitude again either. I guarantee you an entire subset of the oil & gas industry will develop to ensure this never happens again. 

Regardless, it has happened and, once again, the Gulf Coast has to pick up the pieces and rebuild. And we will. We most certainly will. 

NOTE: BP promises to "make this right." No clue has to how they will do that. Merely throwing money at people won't solve this, though stopping this gusher is a good start. 

Question for you, will PR help stem the tide of the overwhelming amount of bad press BP has received? 

Comments

[Lisa Prejean]

Paul, I think BP's public relations team has an enormous challenge, made even worse by the runaway mouth of the company's CEO. I heard Hayward's new radio spot this morning, which is nice, but unless the guy has a script, he needs to "shut the hell up" as you say. Good PR starts with good company policies and practices - and more and more reports are indicating that is not the case at BP. Until they fix the well and their long-term safety and accountability practices, the PR effort is moot.

[Susie Sharp]

I don't think there is a way for BP to recover from this - at least during my lifetime. BP may forever be thought of with as much fondness as the former captain of the Exxon Valdez. Both entities treated precious natural resources with total disregard.

This may topple BP as we know it. All those years of deregulation made the oil industry careless, just like it made the banking industry careless, and the mining industry careless. And everyone acts surprised when actions turn out to have consequences.

John D. Rockefeller must be twirling in his grave to see what has come of his Standard Oil. Parts of me wonder if it had not been sold to BP, would its standards have been any better... but I doubt it.

Hopefully BP is employing local fisherman in its cleanup efforts to help replace their lost income. And it's not like fishing has a great profit margin, either. Folks who live off the water usually do it as a labor of love and make just enough to get by. My heart goes out to them. My brother was a shrimper and lost his life after contracting hepatitis handling raw shrimp, but he loved the water to his last breath.

Thank you, Paul, for sharing.

Susie Sharp
Social Zense Media
Cleveland, Ohio

[Paul Chaney]

Totally agree Lisa. Fixing the well is the first and only order of business at this point. Everything else is smoke and mirrors.

[Paul Chaney]

Thanks for those comments Susie. All I know is that the oil industry, coupled with fishing, shrimping, crabbing, etc, is the life blood of our economy. If any of those are put in jeopardy it makes life much more difficult for many. Not to mention what it is doing to the ecology of the gulf and the marshes. As a friend of mind is fond of saying, "This is a mell of a hess!"

[Pbarbanes]

Paul -
I've written a few posts myself about BP's use of Twitter and about the BPGlobalPR account. But any Social Media types still trying to figure out how to use social media to put lipstick on a pig MUST read what the man behind the @BPGlobalPR account - under the pseudonym "Leroy Stick" - has written himself: http://bit.ly/clv2KH

Like Nestle before them, BP can't social-media their way out of this.

[Paul Chaney]

Truer words, as they say, both yours and Leroy's.

[AskinsOnline]

Paul--
I appreciate your heartfelt words spoken as someone, who as Louisana resident, will be feeling the consequences of this criminal negligence for the rest of your life.

I was also struck by discussion of BP's PR and the words of Susie Sharp, who said..." John D. Rockefeller must be twirling in his grave to see what has come of his Standard Oil. Parts of me wonder if it had not been sold to BP, would its standards have been any better..."

This struck me as interesting because it seems centuries go by and we still fail to hold individuals and their corporate interests responsible for their actions and crimes versus the common citizen. Believe me, Rockefeller didn't have many standards.

At the turn of the last century John D. Rockefeller put an end to a miner's strike outside his steel mill in Pueblo, CO, by having his hired Pinkerton's just ride out and shoot all the strikers. The public outcry at the time of the 'Ludlow Massacre" made Rockefeller the most revilved individuals in the country at the time...but, alas, a professor from Columbia (I believe) came to him and told him about this emerging field he had created of 'public relations.'

Thanks to his PR campaign, he was able to reshape Rockefeller's image so much that when he died, Rockefeller was the country's lovable, white-haired, philanthropist and captain of industry.

That's what campaign BP is now embarking on, but some of us will not forget what they have done to this planet and to the human race.

[Paul Chaney]

Seems they have embarked on an agressive pr campaign, complete with the CEO apologizing on YouTube. They must teach that in pr school now -- company screws up bigtime, have CEO apologize on YouTube. Make sure he looks really sincere and, better yet, make sure the prompter is positioned relative to the camera in such a way that it looks as if he's looking straight into the lens.

You know, I understand that BP didn't see this coming, the few hours of warning that trouble was afoot notwithstanding. No one could have envisioned a systems failure of such a massive proportions as to cause the biggest oil spill in history.

Whether the failure of the blow-out preventers is all BP's, I don't know. But, they are the ones bearing the brunt of this and no amount of pr is going to salve the wounds the people of the Gulf region now feel. Getting the spill stopped will be the first step toward reparation however. And I'm praying that efforts currently underway will accomplish that.

[BP Blows T-shirt]

I would like to share your link Paul if its ok to you.

- Peter

[Paul Chaney]

It's okay with me Peter.