Helping the Homeless via an app? iHobo, hhhhmm

iHobo,a new app created to raise awareness of homelessness reminds me of a throwback to the '90's Neopets a.k.a Neopests. It's this year's equivalent of virtual "caretaking" - but with an apparent cause. Homelessness.

For those not familiar with Neopets, they were/are virtual animals that could be revived with cash, credits and virtual caresses - games after all - but I'm left wondering what is the point, or rather pointlessness of iHobo?

Homelessness is no game, nor is it entertaining. Has iHobo been created to build awareness of a tabooed and greatly misunderstood problem in our society? More importantly, can an app actually achieve that?

Some questions to iHobo's creators:

1) Is iHobo supposed to remind us that ad people are clever and can make a play out of any issue, any cause?
2) Is iHobo intended to build awareness of the issue and engender support from Hipsters? Will they really care?

Taken from a press release on May 10th, Publicis London says;

"By creating this app we aim to dispel negative stereotypes of young homeless people and raise awareness of the reasons that young people become homeless and the emotions that they feel. We wanted to create an app that would stand out and make people pay attention, and make people think about how they can make a difference."

Can an app do all that? I am undecided.

If you've got an iphone, you can download the app here or search for 'iHobo' in iTunes.

Or visit the dedicated microsite http://www.ihobo.org

Advice To BP That It Didn't Ask For / from MediaPost

Dear BP,

Here's some advice you haven't asked for.

Yours truly,
The PR Industry

That's the column I would have written if I hadn't decided to take another tack. You see, writing a column can be a solitary affair, and exceptionally polarizing when tackling big issues. The impulse to take a position -- the more incendiary the better -- and hammer it home is powerful when composing in a vacuum (I imagine this is how, say, Ann Coulter feels on a regular basis).

But it's an inherently limited process, and yields a limited viewpoint. So with something as topical, heated and broad-reaching as BP's Gulf Oil Spill, I decided to open up the dialogue by inviting other brains to take part in what I consider an important discussion about a substantial PR crisis. Though there are significantly more pressing issues surrounding the spill (ask an Appilachicola oyster or the guy that makes a living farming them), this column will focus solely on BP's handling of the spill from a PR and communications perspective.

I invited PR industry and marcomm experts to share their views on the BP's actions -- good and bad. The interviews printed below were insightful and well-reasoned, but the overall result of my invitation was disappointing. Of the 46 responses I received from PR experts, only these four PR professionals offered meaningful commentary. The rest were either incoherent or self-serving babble -- no wonder BP hasn't solicited any advice from those "experts."

But they would be well served by listening to Brad Burns, Mark Tardiff, Rene Henry, and Dan Baum.

Brad is a principal at Revoltion and a former SVP of Corporate Communicaitons with MCI/Worldcomm; Mark is the Associate Director of College Communications at Unity College; Rene is the author of Communication in a Crisis, and Dan is CEO and Creative Director of DBC PR+New Media. My interview with them begins:

Gentlemen, how do you think BP is handling the current crisis, from a PR perspective?

To read their responses, click here.