Reliving Titanic 100 Years Later in Real-Time

Earlier today, I watched James Cameron’s Titanic in 3D at the Potomac Yards Regal Cinema in Alexandria Va. When I was presented my ticket, it came in a clever little boarding pass which I must confess was an excellent branding strategy.

As I had hoped, the lights dimmed, the first scene flickered to life and Cameron’s beautifully artistic masterpiece once again transported me back to the astonishment and hallowed awe of this defining moment in history. The last time I had the opportunity to watch Titanic was 15 years ago during its original cinematic 2D debut in 1997 at the Westbrook Cinema 4 Regal movie theater in my hometown of Brookhaven, Ms.

I chose to watch the movie on this date in particular because it honors the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking on April 14, 1912. Tomorrow I’ll also be attending the Titanic: 100 Year Obsession exhibit at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C.

But tonight I’m experiencing the tragedy in real-time.

According to various sources, there will be at least four twitter accounts tweeting the events that led to the Titanic’s haunting journey to the depths of the Atlantic.

@HistoryChannel – Follow the voyage and disaster in real time from now until April 15.

@TitanicRealTime – Experience Titanic's epic journey with minute-by-minute tweets as if from on board the ship itself. Created by @TheHistoryPress See our App http://bit.ly/yNhKMo

@titanic_live – To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, this account will live tweet events as they unfolded in April 1912.

Of course, I give the greatest kudos to the Nova Scotia Museum which is also tweeting the event tonight. Why? Because the museum pioneered the idea last year for the 99th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking. Even more fascinating is that the museum’s tweets are that of the wireless operators from the ship herself as well as the responses from others in nearby contact.

This makes tonight’s observance even more hauntingly reminiscent given the realization of Twitter as the modern day relative of the telegraphs used that night. Twitter in it's own right has helped to play a critical role in defining moments of history such as the Arab Spring. From a PR perspective, it’s really quite brilliant and will be extraordinary to watch.

You can follow the museum’s accounts tonight at @ns_museum or by following hashtag #TitanicMMA.

If you want to really get into the action and watch all four accounts simultaneously, l suggest using TweetDeck’s free real-time monitoring dashboard service.

Why I love ‘Real-Time Marketing & PR’

Long overdue on my reading list has been David Meerman Scott’s bestseller, “Real-Time Marketing & PR.” Now that I’ve read it, I don’t know how I could have gone without it. “Real-Time” is a catalyst of insightful case studies, resources and thought-provoking strategies.

His book adds new insight to already classic examples of real-time PR such as the “United Breaks Guitars” incident and highlights other great marketing examples including the Grateful Dead’s real-time tour marketing strategy. Scott also touches on the importance of crowdsourcing. One of my favorite analogies from the book was his astute observation of today’s two-way, tech-savvy communications between vendors and consumers as resembling that of an ancient bazaar – something that was lost in the later part of the 20th century due to the one-way communication format of traditional media.

I particularly enjoyed Scott’s citation of Telstra’s 3Rs of Social Media Engagement:

• Representation
• Responsibility
• Respect

If you’re puzzled about where to start writing your organization or brand’s social media guidelines, the book includes eight insightful steps to create and implement those guidelines along with a great example that showcases how IBM gets it.

Scott is also very candid about his own missed opportunities and how real-time responses by others such as GM helped to provide positive examples of the organizations and brands that readily understand the urgency to adapt a real-time strategy.

Whether your strategies involve everyday or crisis management communications, “Real-Time” resonates a central theme for succeeding in today’s evolving marketing and PR field: “Scale and media buying power are no longer a decisive advantage. What counts today is speed and agility.”