Inside the world of Rob Mclean, Author

Fascinating story on China and its efforts with high-speed rail. It's amazing to see the difference between China and the West now, where China seems to be innovating and 'thinking big' on such a larger scale. It sort of boggles the mind that China will have 42 high speed rails by the time the US has only one. Makes you wonder, if China ever ceased to be a communist country (thereby embracing open communication with the world around them) what kind of innovative PR techniques they might bring to the table. The spirit of innovation seems to be thriving in the East while here in the West it's reported that US companies are hoarding over $1-trillion dollars. 

Not that it's too surprising, but Jim Watson is now the new mayor of Ottawa. What is interesting about Jim from a PR perspective is that from everything I saw he ran a very clean, positive campaign. His Web site had no mention of any of the flaws associated with his electoral competition and was 100 per cent focused on why he was the best candidate. His messaging was positive and focused on solutions as opposed to simply making people feel scared about voting for one of the other candidates. His demeanor during interviews is very laid back, almost self-effacing. Even after winning the race, as you can see in the video below, he continues to carry himself with a very humble demeanor. In essence he comes across as a nice, trust-worthy guy who isn't about how great he is, but rather about how he can be of service to those in Ottawa.  While there are obviously a wide array of variables behind why Watson won, what his campaigned showed was that the public is receptive to

(Not a PR post - but had to share) For those who smoke and are always looking for different tools to help you quit (I'm giving it another shot myself), I would highly recommending downloading iQuit (for the iPhone). I've tried various apps and because of their bland interfaces and often over-complicated (feature overload) design find them next to impossible to remember to use regularly. This app however is perfect. It's really simple. It takes your baseline cigarette consumption, asks you how long you want to take to quit (I suggest being realistic and give yourself a few months - since this method is about weening off your habit), and then begins a basic process of slowly extending time between cigarettes.  If you're looking at quitting over a couple of months, it could be as simple as the app adding 60 seconds a day to the intervals at which you smoke, which is not a big deal at all.  What's nice about it also is that it gives you 'three cheats'

This will probably be my last 'health' related blog, but as always it will incorporate a PR slant. The theme of this post is about individuality and the importance single individuals make, even when we operate in what can be considered automated systems of services. So I went to the walk-in clinic twice the past couple weeks and went for a physical today (basically three doc visits in 2-3 weeks). Had nausea issues, sinus issues and dizziness. First doc, no real diagnosis, but ran some tests  (although his insights did lead me to some valuable conclusions about potential mold issues associated with allergies). Second doc, interpreted tests, no real diagnosis, sent me for more tests. Third doc, diagnosis and prescription. Long story short, I had acid reflux. Which shocked me given I never had any heartburn. I always thought feeling bloated after eating was normal - turns out it's not.  But here's the real kicker... my sinus issues were a result of my acid reflux as

So the Horn Group , a US PR and Interactive Design shop, has launched an iPhone App . This is clearly a brilliant effort on their part to show their expertise in the smartphone arena. It's a slick interface that basically takes everything Horn that you would usually have to view on the Web and makes it available on your iPhone.   This follows on the heels of Paver Smith's iPhone app that provides you with daily insights about the profession of PR. To my knowledge, these are the only two PR shops that have apps for the iPhone. The Horn application is a great showcase piece but I still find the Paver Smith app my most enjoyed app on my iPod. The tips they provide every day are smart. They do a fantastic job of saying a lot in just a few words. I can see over time how their app will become almost a catalogue of 'best practices' in PR - which is something highly useful both for PR folks and executives.  (believe it not, PR folks get second-guessed by colleagues a

For the life of me, I don't know what Microsoft is thinking?  They've released Windows Phone 7,  their market offering to compete against the iPhone, Android and other smartphone OS systems. This thing looks like something that some European compsci graduate student put together for this masters project as opposed to polished and refined operating system created by a billion-dollar multinational tech company. It truly boggles the mind as to what is going on at Microsoft. They have usability engineers, they have beta testers, they have focus groups - how with all these NPI pre-steps do you release an OS that looks like this?!  The only thing that could possibly explain their 'tiles' strategy is that someone must have brilliantly said,  "No matter what it looks like, it has to look completely different than Apple. I know... boxes! Lots and lots of boxes guys, that's the ticket!" Microsoft needs to throw in the towel already and just go buy RIM. I pre

I was impressed with CNN's special coverage on bullying . I've noticed media outlets are doing this more - addressing specific social issues and doing extensive coverage on them with multiple stories and angles bundled up together. I like the trend. While a single story is important, or multiple outlets writing a story on a given subject definitely helps raise awareness... nothing hits home like when a media outlet does a large special feature on a topic. It really let's people know that this is not a passing issue, but rather one that deserves everyone's attention. I remember when I was in high school there was a kid who had a mental disability. One day he was in the washroom and someone put a paper bag over his head while he was at the urinal and then proceeded to beat him up (I wasn't there obviously as I would have intervened). To my recollection no one was ever identified as the assailant and no one reacted to the event like they would if it had been one

Interesting article in the Ottawa Citizen today . I'm blogging about this article because it is a rare example of something that is so important for folks practicing PR out there to think about. The mayor of Ottawa has basically come out and said he did a lousy job as mayor, this right before elections are held for who will be the new (or re-elected) mayor. Now, on the surface this would seem like a pretty unwise PR strategy to take - "I did a horrible job, hire me again!" And yet, it's actually not a bad strategy (especially if you actually did a lousy job). I say this for two reasons. The first is that what it communicates is that O'Brien, whatever you may think of him, is not so ego-obsessed as to not be able to admit to his failings. That will resonate with voters who vote on the ever-hopeful desire of electing a straight-shooting, tell-it-like-it-is politician. More importantly though, and this is something PR folks need to think about, is that some

Interesting article on CNBC about the top nine jobs that will be in decline over the next decade. Some of them were somewhat surprising... 1) Reporters (8% decline) 2) Insurance Underwriters (4% decline) 3) Computer Programs (3% decline) 4) Judges (3% decline) 5) Chemical engineers (2% decline) 6) Advertising managers (2% decline)  - but on a positive note, PR and marketing in general expected to grow 13%  7) CEOs (1% decline) 8) Editors (0% decline) 9) Operations managers (0% decline) I was really shocked to see reporters as the top declining profession. They point to M&A as the primary reason, but I don't know if I really buy that. It would seem to me that if you toss in the various internet-outlets out there that there should be an increase in demand for reporters, not a decrease. Although, with wires like AP and Reuters, I suppose more and more outlets might get their national and international stories from such wires, hiring reporters mostly to cover local

I had an interesting thought that I felt like sharing today, although admittedly I have reservations about doing so as the topic might be a tad controversial for some who tend to occupy dogmatic views on this specific subject.  I smoke (cigarettes). I don't endorse smoking. In fact I've never given a cigarette to a non-smoker or casual smoker in my life. I might be taking health risks with my own life, but I would never be party to contributing to someone else taking those risks. Despite my smoking though I eat extremely healthy, I lift weights, (force) myself to do cardio regularly and generally have a positive and low-stress attitude towards life - in essence, aside from one bad habit I take extremely good care of myself.  So what does this have to do with PR? For those following this blog you'll know that recently I was quite sick. Since identifying the cause (mold spores) I'm totally recovered - in fact more than recovered - I haven't felt this good in

You can read the full story here . Well, looks like another death from (accidental) prescription medication overdose (following in the wake of Britney Murphy and Heath Ledger deaths). Hard to believe Giraldo is dead after just watching him on last season's Last Comic Standing . He seemed perfectly healthy, which goes to show how dangerous prescription medications can be if not taken properly (and even if taken properly sometimes, hence the need to be monitored by your doctor and to understand all possible health risks associated with any medication).  My only PR comment on this unfortunate event is on the press coverage. I was really impressed by the way the press covered this story. They didn't sensationalize it. They reported the facts in a very sober and respectful manner. I almost got the sense that this issue, overdosing on prescription medication, is being treated with the soberness it deserves. Often times when a celebrity dies from a drug overdose or complicatio

A while ago I had a post about how I thought one pet food company had a great Web site. Today I stumbled across the fact that Purina has a video site on yahoo (basically the equivalent of a youtube channel) called Animal All Stars. I don't know why, but the pet food folks seem to really understand social media. They don't have to put these sites up, they could just let users post their videos to youtube. Yet by providing a centralized area for their customers to share videos of their pets they are deeply embedding their brand with the passion their customers have for their pets. They aren't just selling pet food, they are sharing and enabling others to share, the experiences of having a pet. That's what social media is really about - building communities of people with similar interests and enabling them to share. Brands that do so make great strides in evolving their brand equity with customers - evolving from a basic brand tied to product quality to a brand that

So a completely different experience to report back on. Went in to the walk-in clinic and was seen in 10 minutes. Then went to get blood work done the next day and that took about 15 minutes. Then I also found out that even if you don't have a family doctor, you can get one easily by simply booking online and they will even correspond with you via email to arrange your appointments. As always, I do my best to make things on this blog about public relations and surprisingly this experience with the health care system has brought up some interesting PR thoughts (which surprises me, because I didn't think it would). What strikes me about the health care system is that it truly has terrible customer service and does absolutely nothing to manage public perception of such service. Now, this isn't surprising since, after all, they have a customer base that really have no options. Either you take whatever service they offer or leave it, it makes no difference to them. And the