Sort of Like the Stages of Grief

Advertising Age gives us the Seven Stages of Committing Media Sin looking at the Kenneth Cole Twitter debacle. You can see your own moments of social media err in their ways.

The takeaway kicker: the sixth step of indifference. More to the point, what that fade from the wave of bad PR left behind:

It also turns out you can score from a social-media sin -- Kenneth Cole ended the day with a spike in followers. As of about noon, @kennethcole had 8,935 followers; three hours later, 9,262; and by 7 p.m., 9,779. That's counting those who during stage two began asking people to #unfollow the brand.

In other words, just spell my (on-line Twitter) name right school of PR wins again.

Interesting side note: the entire cycle lasted by Ad Age estimate nine hours. So unless you freak out and do something to make your situation worse, it's gone in a day. Remembered forever by the searchable internet, yes. But lasting impact? Only if you shoot off your own foot trying to "contain" the unstoppable.