Hasta La Gadget!

To work out what dizzying speeds they can offer you, ISPs have to use some simple math to predict how much the demand for delicious internet will vary at peak times. Only, they don’t always get it right.

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Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog

DeSmogBlog’s Steve Horn and Republic Report’s Lee Fang have co-written an in-depth report on the influence the government-industry revolving door has had on Big Oil’s ability to obtain four liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits since 2012 from the Obama Administration.

 Photo Credit: DeSmogBlog

Titled “Natural Gas Exports: Washington’s Revolving Door Fuels Climate Threat,” the report published here on DeSmogBlog and on Republic Report serves as the launching pad of an ongoing investigation. It will act as the prelude of an extensive series of articles by both websites uncovering the LNG exports influence peddling machine. 

The report not only exposes the lobbying apparatus that has successfully opened the door for LNG exports, but also the PR professionals paid to sell them to the U.S. public. It also exposes those who have gone through the “reverse revolving door,” moving from industry back to government and sometimes back again.

It reveals that many former Obama Administration officials now work as lobbyists or PR professionals on behalf of the LNG exports industry, as do many former Bush Administration officials. So too do those with ties to potential 2016 Democratic Party presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. 

They include:

–David L. Goldwyn – Goldwyn is an industry consultant who also works as an attorney at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, a go-to law firm for the oil and gas industry.

David Goldwyn; Photo Credit: U.S. Department of State

Sutherland represented Enterprise Product Partners in its successful quest to obtain the first permit in four decades to export crude oil from the Obama Administration back in June and has also represented numerous firms seeking LNG export permits from the Obama Administration.

In addition to his consulting firm Goldwyn Global Strategies, David Goldwyn is a fellow at industry-funded think-tanks Brookings Institution and Atlantic Council and an outspoken advocate for both LNG exports and oil exports, though his industry ties often go undisclosed when he speaks in public or appears in the media.

While not working for industry, Goldwyn worked in both the Clinton and Obama Administrations.

He headed up the Obama State Department’s influential Bureau of Energy Resources and helped found its Global Shale Gas Initiative, a global fracking missionary force of sorts. For Clinton, Goldwyn worked as an assistant secretary of energy for international affairs for the U.S. Department of Energy and in other high-level roles.

–Heather Zichal – Zichal formerly served as deputy assistant to President Obama for energy and climate change, leaving the White House in October 2013.

Not long after leaving, Zichal accepted a spot on the board of directors for Cheniere Energy, the first company to receive an LNG export permit from President Obama in April 2012 for its Louisiana-based Sabine Pass LNG facility.

While working for the Obama White House, Zichal had many private meetings with Cheniere officials, including with Cheniere CEO Charif Souki, DeSmogBlog revealed. 

Prior to working for Obama, Zichal worked for then-Senator John Kerry. 

–David Leiter – Leiter is the president and founder of the lobbying firm ML Strategies, LLC. Leiter previously served as chief of staff for then-Sen. John Kerry (D-Ma.) and as deputy assistant secretary of energy under President Bill Clinton.

Leiter now lobbies on behalf of Sempra Energy, owner of the Cameron LNG export facility in Louisiana, which received final approval from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) earlier this year. His wife Tammy Luzzatto formerly served as chief of staff to then-Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

–Blue State Digital and Blue Engine Media – A key email list-keeping platform and public relations firm for the Democratic Party, respectively, both firms have done the bidding of the LNG exports industry.

Blue State maintains the email list for America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), while Blue Engine until recently did PR work for LNG industry front group, “Our Energy Moment.”

–David A. Merkel – Merkel formerly worked for the Bush Administration State Department, in which he served as deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs. He formerly worked for the International Republican Institute, an offshoot of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

David Merkel; Photo Credit: U.S. Department of State

After leaving the Bush Administration, Merkel and many other former Bush Administration officials founded the Texas-based LNG export company United LNG, which co-owned the Main Pass Energy Hub with Freeport McMoran. 

United LNG has since disbanded and taken down its website.

But while it still existed, Joe Davis — former principal deputy director of public affairs and spokesman for former Bush Administration Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and communications director and policy advisor for Abraham when he was a U.S. Senator — lobbied on behalf of the firm.

–Spencer Abraham – Chairman and CEO of The Abraham Group, he formerly served as U.S. Secretary of Energy for the Bush Administration and is a former Republican Senator from Michigan.

Spencer Abraham; Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Abraham Group has provided crucial support for Cheniere’s lobbying efforts. Many top Abraham aides now work directly in-house lobbying for Cheniere. 

This is just a tiny taste of what is in the 16-page, 5,000+ word report.

At its core, “Natural Gas Exports: Washington’s Revolving Door Fuels Climate Threat” is a sequel to DeSmogBlog’s 2011 report titled, “Fracking the Future: How Unconventional Gas Threatens our Water, Health, and Climate.”

Please stay tuned for much more to come on the topic soon.

Most camera manufacturers will milk a popular model dry, but not Sony! Just a year after releasing the first full-frame mirrorless cameras, the Alpha 7 and Alpha 7R, Sony has revealed their successor: the Alpha 7 II. It launched the new version…

This Earth video created by James Tyrwhitt-Drake using footage from the Elektro-L weather satellite —a Russian satellite that takes one 121 megapixel image of Earth every 30 minutes—is the highest resolution video of our home planet ever created. Watch it in all its 4K glory here.

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So, you just uploaded some great content to your blog post and shared it across you social accounts expecting a signal back from the universe.

But nothing: a ping with no echo.

Instead the old hawk and drone story hit you upside the head. #realization

You remember, the one your grandad used to tell you sitting around the wood stove?

Everything old is new again and William Randolph Hearst was more prescient than even he imagined!

It’s a publish or perish world.

Over 70% of marketers today struggle with creating a coherent marketing strategy.

That’s not going to be reassuring.

Proactive steps your business should take.

• Quality content goes hand in hand with a marketing platform. At least 20% of your annual content marketing spend should be on a marketing platform.
• Less is more may be better: focus your messaging and content with WIFMs (“what’s in it for me”). They still work even for millennials.
• Embrace technology as an integral part of content marketing. If you are too small to onboard a geek then outsource this to someone who knows what they are doing.
• Don’t start content marketing until a Persona Profile is done. Who are we marketing to and how do we provide value to them?
• Design is baked in to every marketing initiative: if they can’t use the web site via a phone all the content in the world is meaningless.
• If you’re a 5M a year company then your content marketing should map to your size. Don’t try to mirror Cisco, SalesForce or Intel. It’s not going to work.
• Throw out dated SEO tactics: people are not searching on keywords as much as in years past. Think about targeted phrases, not bare bone keywords.

I repeatedly hammer home themes about the importance of content syndication and using an editorial calendar but, this is not be enough.

• Publish everywhere you can that extends your brand reach via sites that are consistent with your market focus.
• My posts on Huffinton Post generate 50-100X times the ROI of my blog. I wish this weren’t the case, but that’s reality. Mainstream reach can be a good thing.
• How to find publishers: where do your “customers live?” Local or national? Understand where/how your competitors are publishing, target these publications, editors and/or journalists yourself.

Know and differentiate between content syndication, social platforms like LinkedIn, vs. publishing: getting your content shared via other sites or newsletters.

These are not the same and require distinct marketing process and a well planned content marketing strategy.

• Think like a publisher and not a business. Once Google sources and maps your content to your website then make it freely available to others. Look at any major portal today including Huffington Post, probably 40-50% of the content is sourced elsewhere.
• I don’t think this bon mot is a brilliant marketing strategy on par with David Ogilvy; but, share content via social channels with a built in rinse and repeat cycle using a marketing platform for content syndication.
• Hire a great writer, editor or thought leader in your industry and put them to work creating content mapped to an Editorial Calendar. Creating great content is expensive but, will pay for itself over time. It’s one of the best investments your business can make.
• Give prosumers two plus two, not four: standing out from the crowd: is about sharing original images, writing kick ass copy, sharing it everywhere you can possibly come up with and asking friend, neighbors, customers to comment and re-share.
• Getting traction with content takes time and effort. Don’t expect your content to perform miracles overnight.
• “Cross channel” marketing (multiple places) gives you reach. Reach=more views.

Get emotional even if you are marketing to other businesses.

B2B brands sometimes forget emotion is a critical aspect of your content marketing.

Emotion cuts through the clutter.

Look for contextual clues from your customers that identify areas where they need help.

Twitter’s built in direct response functionality is used by bigger brands for identifying customers having problems with direct competitors.

Remember the thing you occasionally hold in your hands on the week-ends that is not electronic?

Great content is still about writing awesome headlines. See: Hearst.

Test headlines and gear the latter for your audience and platform.

Some times attention grabbing headlines “What I Learned About Social Media via Andy Warhol” do not get as much traction a a more mundane title: “5 Myths of Modern Advertising ( @digiday). Test and retest your headlines.

But, remember, platform, customer focus, type of content (short or high value long form) will have a big impact on the engagement with your headline.

Commenting on other sites is not content nirvana and it’s quite a slog for many businesses.

But, the offset is visibility, if you are commenting on the right sites.

Over half a billion comments are made on sites across the web each month.

Don’t ask an intern or somewhere offshore to do this for you. It’s brand suicide.

The commenter should know what the hell they are talking about or the comment is going to look lame. Or, it won’t get published.

Everything You Need to Know About Publishing

There is no sage or agency that can tell you exactly what you need to know.

Some of this is going to be trial and error, coupled with content feedback loops (traffic, conversions, testing, etc.).

Make a distinction between publishing and content syndication.

Both are critical to giving your content real reach.

It’s a two screen world at times and cross channel brand development with repetition may determine success or failure.

Have some fun with your content; mix and match facts with a dash of humor.

Create smart content that informs and engages.

#goforth