Comments on: PR Bloggers: Are we all just full of shit?

By: Greg Hoffman

Greg Hoffman — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 00:14:33 +0000

Once again, Peter speaks his mind and says things most PR Practioners wouldn’t publish, let alone say out loud. But did this really offend anyone? Did the community that you targeted get it or did they think you were talking about the next person.

Don’t stop Peter. You have loyal followers that will drink the Yoohoo when you say so.

By: Steve Lubetkin

Steve Lubetkin — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 11:37:43 +0000

Peter makes perfect sense with his divisions (I will put myself in Camp C, blogging only when I have something to say, but passing reluctantly on the S’mores, because they are too many WW points!). I often get anxiety attacks when I see the volume of posting by other PR bloggers, thinking that I’m not being productive enough…but then I relax when I realize that the volume of blog postings is probably inversely proportional to the client hours they can bill.

By: Kevin Dugan

Kevin Dugan — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 11:33:42 +0000

Peter - I started blogging to keep my skills current, writing and overall tech profciency. It worked. The bizarre side-effects include meeting folks like yourself. Thanks for keeping all of it in perspective. I like living inCamp C. The campers here like to make smores around the fire every night!

By: ErinM » Blog Archive » Holy S@#t!!

ErinM » Blog Archive » Holy S@#t!! — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:42:40 +0000

[…] In an article from last week’s Global PR Blog Week, Peter Shankman posted PR Bloggers: Are we all just full of shit?. This is one of the most honest, personal posts I have ever read. I am new to the blogosphere, but in my novice perusal, I have seen the range of bloggers he categorizes. I admire those who can blog daily, and still have important things to share…but they are few and far between. […]

By: Jess

Jess — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 22:14:55 +0000

One of the most interesting and entertaining posts I’ve ever read.

Since starting blogging for my PR class at Auburn, I’ve been reading numerous blogs of PR professionals. I can’t tell you how many hours I spend searching for something interesting enough to comment on. So many posts that I read are simply link after link, and I don’t have the patience to look through them all. Like you said, they should be using their own words and their own opinions. If I could have read the majority of the content from your post somewhere else, then what’s the point of ever having written it?

Also, I do realize the benefits of blogging for public relations practitioners, but I’m tired of reading about blogging in their blogs. This type of meta-communication seems a bit excessive to me. If someone is reading your blog, odds are they already are aware of the benefits of the technology. Maybe these professionals should consider targeting other publics. Step away from the computer for a moment and build a relationship with someone. By building that relationship, you’ll be better able to determine client’s needs, which will make it easier to tell him or her how blogging would benefit the organization he or she works for. Plus, since you have a more personal relationship with your clients, they would be more likely to trust you.

I can relate to Dana’s comment on many levels. Like her, if I don’t have anything interesting to say, then I’m not saying anything. This has become somewhat of a struggle lately since I’ve been required to be thought provoking twice a week. I too believe that we should be searching for quality rather than quantity. Who cares that you wrote 50 posts before 10a.m. if the content was slightly more enjoyable than a root canal?

With people like Dana and I coming into the PR field in the next couple of years, maybe there’s hope for the future of PR blogging. Camp C bloggers unite!

By: Shel Holtz

Shel Holtz — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 17:16:18 +0000

I guess I must fall in Camp E. For years, I have been producing a monthly email newsletter; I have about 5,000 subscribers. I’d write something when it occurred to me, then store it for assembly later into a single newsletter. As blogging emerged, it became evident that the articles in my newsletter were essentially blog posts, and a blog would allow me to publish the article as soon as it was ready rather than waiting for the monthly distribution cycle. This is one point you didn’t cover about blogs, Peter: They can replace older channels in those cases where blogs do a better job than the previous method.

By: David Rossiter

David Rossiter — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 10:11:07 +0000

Fantastic summary! Thank you so much.

By: Nathan Schock

Nathan Schock — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 02:24:38 +0000

Actually, if you just replaced the word “blog” with “press release,” you’d have about the same thing. There are those that issue a press release for everything and those that wait until they actually have something useful to say. Technological advances don’t replace the need for editorial judgement. Like Neville said.

By: Dana Voss

Dana Voss — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 01:57:22 +0000

Peter Shankman is my hero. First, he is probally over the age 20 and he actually used “dissing�? appropriately. Furthermore, he seems as though he would understand and appreciate my motto in life communication which is “Why talk if I have nothing to say?�? I would be willing to swear that most college classes and Sunday sermons that I’ve sat through in my life could have been summed up in less than half the time. Likewise, some bloggers could make their point in half the time. To borrow from my grandmother’s advice on everthing, “It’s not about quantity it’s about quality.”

Like Peter, I want to make it clear that I too am a blogger so I don’t mean for my observations to be hurtfully critical…only helpfully critical. First, of all I personally feel that public relations is about…public….relations. That traditionally includes a physical presence and verbal and non-verbal communication skills. I don’t think that PR practioners that are “Camp A…phycho-bloggers�? are getting as much of a grasp on a variety of the multiple aspects of successful PR as they would if they weren’t on their computers all the time. However, I must say that the “Camp B…non-existent bloggers�? aren’t getting a grasp on blogging, a tool that role in the future of PR CANNOT be overestimated. I am a Camp C blogger myself. I feel that Camp C bloggers who blog when something is relevant or important are the most interesting. Likewise I hypothesize that if researched they too would be the most successful PR practioners.

By: Neville Hobson

Neville Hobson — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 21:34:35 +0000

Peter, I read your post with my tongue firmly in my cheek. I would add a further Camp D, though, to you list - PR bloggers broadly from your Camp C but who consider blogging as a natural extension to all the other ways in which they communicate and converse with other people, including when (ie, the timing) they post.

As a European blogger, I often employ tactical posting where the timing of something I want to publish is an important consideration if I want to get it out there for people in different time zones and especially those in parts of the US. And ‘get it out there’ means in the RSS feed - far more important than the post appearing in the blog itself at a particular time.

That’s no different to how I’d approach many other methods of communicating. It’s often all about the timing.

And that’s no shit