Well, today’s the day. After the months of bickering and bombshells and vitriol and divisive rhetoric and cable-news-inspired anxiety, we’re here. Election Day 2016; the culmination of the nastiest fight for the presidency we’ve ever seen. Short on inspiration and unity, heavy on mudslinging and angst-driven bombast.

Both candidates pretty much look like Andy Dufresne, right before he emerged from that drainage pipe to finally gain his freedom.

To think about it, it’s a fairly apt metaphor for how we all probably feel. After tonight, this will all (hopefully) be over.

But enduring this sideshow will be entirely for naught if you don’t get out there today and vote. Skip lunch. Leave early. Fashion any sort of excuse you need to make sure your ballot is cast and your number counted. Your meeting about next week’s meeting this afternoon can wait. Today is far too important.

It’s your opportunity to participate in what makes our country so great: democracy. A government for, by, and of the people. Don’t take this right for granted—get out there and make your voice heard today!

Good afternoon everybody! I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and a fun and safe Halloween filled with no tricks, just treats. I’m admittedly a bit of a Halloween Grinch, so I spent my evening catching up on Westworld and avoiding the ghouls and goblins lurking around my neighborhood. The candy bowl was empty this morning, for the record.

Speaking of scary, we’re now just a mere one week away from Election Day. In seven days all this madness will be all over. Or maybe it will just begin; who knows with this election season. If Hillary Clinton flew into Orlando on a Hippogriff today I’d hardly bat an eye. We’re in The Upside Down at this point.

One thing that’s entirely for certain is that along with a new administration transitioning into the White House, there will be a digital transition, as well. With social media becoming such an immense platform, the new president will assume the @POTUS Twitter account on Inauguration Day—and all of its followers.

Other accounts, such as the White House Twitter, Facebook and Instagram will also be transitioned—followers intact—with previous content, such as Obama Administration photos and status updates registered with the National Archives and Records Administration. Crazy, eh?

Another sign of the rapidly changing times, I suppose. In elections of yore, the transitional period involved intelligence briefings and cabinet appointments readying for a shiny new administration. Now federal IT teams are going to be working alongside those transition teams to archive all social media activity, and prepare the accounts for the arrival of a new president.

Seven more days.

Twitter is still a colossus in the social media stratosphere, but as a business, it might as well be real estate agency selling oceanfront condos in Kansas. Since going public, this company just can’t get it right.

Even with promising new ventures such as livestreaming NFL games, it’s hemorrhaging money, its shares are plummeting like jettisoned space junk, it’s failed to find a suitable buyer—and now Twitter is going to be cutting another 300 jobs, the second such round of cuts since Jack Dorsey made his (inauspicious) return as CEO.

Twitter should serve as a massive cautionary signpost for how a concept or product can fail when it’s not coupled with an effective business model. Going public, it now appears, was an incredibly damaging move to the company. It has struggled mightily to remain profitable for its shareholders, and with that added pressure, is being forced to sacrifice its talented workforce—one of the most valuable assets of any tech business. In an attempt to churn out dollars, Twitter has tossed great minds into the grist mill.

There’s no doubt that Twitter will remain a premiere player in the world of social media. It’s upended the way we communicate and the way we receive news. Hell, Donald Trump’s witching hour tweetstorms alone could keep the company afloat. What we don’t know is what path this business in turmoil will take. Will an acquisition finally occur that rights the ship behind the scenes? Is Jack Dorsey due for another pink slip?

No matter what happens, you can bet you’ll hear about it on Twitter first.

Social media can be extremely weird sometimes. It gives rise to unwitting or unlikely celebrity. It aids in promoting false narrative clickbait. It’s added the winky face emoji to your great aunt’s digital lexicon.

But some of the peculiarities of Facebook and Twitter go beyond merely eye roll-inducing, and wander into territory that is truly troubling. As a multi-factional coalition begins a long-awaited assault on the ISIS-held city of Mosul, Iraq, several news outlets have begun to livestream the battle on Facebook and Youtube.

I’ve championed the value of live streaming in the past, especially in regard to citizen reporting, but this appears oddly morbid. The thought that I can click a link and watch, in real time, a major military operation from the ground—and throw it a thumbs up!—feels darkly Bradbury-ian. Like futuristic shock journalism. This isn’t a local resident documenting a protest outside his front door; this is warfare, with all of the death and destruction that accompanies it.

I’m all for transparency, but this is too much.

Many of us vividly recall the opening salvo of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq—Shock and Awe. ‘Round-the-clock broadcasts of aerial ordnance pummeling the buildings in Baghdad. That offensive officially marshaled in a new era of war in the Middle East, and a new way in which it is covered. While those images are cemented in many of our minds, they never felt exploitative or overkill. This was a pivotal moment in American history and was being covered accordingly.

Livestreaming the attack on Mosul feels like Facebook fodder for the sake of Facebook fodder. It doesn’t adequately convey the immense importance of liberating Iraq’s second-largest city, besieged by terrorists for over two years; and to a point, diminishes it. This offensive could prove a crucial turning point in the fight to uproot ISIS from its major strongholds across Iraq and Syria. There are real people involved. Real children and families involved. Emojis floating their way across war footage, sent by people from the safety of their homes, feels more like an exercise in voyeurism than journalism.

What a wild few days here at PR HQ. The water, bread and peanut butter and jelly were purchased. The lawn furniture and (extensive) Halloween decorations were secured. Your publicity professionals were sufficiently hunkered down. The decades old oak trees were looming.

Thankfully, Hurricane Matthew took a last-minute path further eastward, sparing Orlando from what was expected to be the worst of the storm. There was some slight tree damage around town, but quite the break for our city. Can’t say the same for our friends along the coast, and especially for Haiti and the Caribbean. Absolutely devastating and heartbreaking destruction; our thoughts are with those who were affected by Matthew.

We’ve got a couple of busy weeks coming up on the PR front. With the 2016 IMC USA Conference in Washington, D.C. next week, it starts the countdown clock to begin your publicity campaigns for 2017.

There’s a bit of a misconception regarding the media in the final quarter of the year; that they slow down, that they’ve already mapped out their final editions before the calendar turns and they put it on autopilot until the calendar turns.

Nope.

If you’re seeking a boost in visibility and name-recognition in the upcoming year, the time to get started is now. Many trade, industry and association publications work with 60-90 day lead times, meaning the article that you wrote may begin getting placed in print in January. This begins the seamless stream of publicity that we aim for with our clients.

So join Russell in D.C., or call for a complimentary consultation on how PR/PR can help you achieve your publicity needs and goals for next year and beyond.