July 2004 - Global PR Blog Week 1.0

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Site Statistics and Trends

July 22, 2004

We used Sitemeter and our own server to track statistics. There is a rather large discrepency between the two, with our server showing more than 200,000 page views from July 11 - 17 and Sitemeter showing under 30,000. There are problems with both numbers, due to technical issues, but regardless of which you like better, this was a very respectible showing for the event. We are still receiving several hundred visitors a day, with nearly 2,000 pageviews, according to Sitemeter.

So, with an eye to trends, vs. actual numbers, which as we have seen above are fairly problemmatic, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week were the busiest in terms of all measures: visits, page views and pages viewed per visit. All measures are in decline, yet still respectible nearly a week after the event "closed."

The most popular pages were the interviews, with Jay Rosen's heading the list, followed by Seth Godin, then Dan Gillmor. The most popular post that wasn't an interview was Trevor's inaugural post, Re-thinking PR.

Our referrers list was topped by Technorati. The order was:

www.technorati.com
blo.gs/ping.php
technoflak.blogspot.com/
www.bloglines.com/myblogs_display
weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/
www.prwatch.org/spin/
sethgodin.typepad.com/
www.scripting.com/
www.feedster.com/
www.natterjackpr.com/

Our wiki was also a good referrer, with people stopping by through several different pages.

We'll keep an eye on the trends, and will share them with everyone over the next few weeks.

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 22, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: Announcements

A participant’s final thoughts

July 19, 2004

We made it up as we went along. Global PR Blog Week began as a vague idea about creating a virtual conference. During months of discussions, via a Yahoo group list, ideas were tossed around, rejected or accepted, and refined, until we created something truly splendid.

The public has many misconceptions about the work of PR professionals. Now there is a place in the public domain where anyone with internet access can read about our work and judge for themselves.

Our single most important contribution may have been to shift our industry from the idea of controlling the message and manipulating public opinion to that of presenting the message and cultivating public opinion. This change of metaphor is crucial to successful public relations in a world of increasing transparency. Those who fail to make transparency their friend will find it a formidable enemy. We offer readers many ideas on how to make transparency their friend.

Technoflak thinks Global PR Blog Week will serve as a prototype for similar events. Any group could have done this, and I think PR pros everywhere can take some pride that our profession was the first.

Author: Alice Marshall | Jul 19, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ Alice Marshall | Final Thoughts

Traditional PR is dead - Long Live DIY PR

I stand by my original thesis that PR is dead.

Based on the comments I received, I will modify it as:

Traditional PR is dead. Long live DIY PR!

DIY PR will be the authentic voice of corporations. And it will come from employees and C-level executives doing it for themselves and their organizations and not from the professionals.

We will still need PR people, just far fewer. PR pros that can give up control and teach organizations to communicate with their customers in a human voice will survive; many others will not. And in the long term, the formal boring PR voice, messages and spin will become extinct and replaced by people conducting conversations with their customers and clients.

Quiet is the new loud

July 17, 2004

When trying to summarize my impressions of this week, I come to think of the title of an album by the Norwegian lo-fi rock group Kings of Convenience. It is called "Quiet is the new loud". Is that not what we have been preaching through out this week? That, in times when everyone screams, the solution is not to scream louder but to whisper. It has become incredibly hard to reach consumers via mass communication. Super Bowl ads and sponsorships of the Olympics, millions of dollars are spent on branding activities with questionable results. But with new technology like blogs we have the opportunity to start small conversations - whispers - with tiny groups of people who actually will listen, which if our predicitions are right, in time will spread and our messages will have the chance to reach larger audiences. Quiet is the new loud.

Anyhow, Global PR Blog Week has been a positive and interesting experience. We have learned a lot ourselves, made new contacts and hopefully shared knowledge with people outside our little PR blog community. One thing though that I think have been partly missing from the debate is that we are focusing very much on the distribution of news and not the quality of news today. Sure we like to believe that media consumers are getting more and more of their news online, but at least here in Sweden, it is simply the online versions of the traditional media. Still just a fraction of all people get a fraction of their news intake via blogs or independent online media. Big media rules like never before, in spite of internet. And big media don't write about stuff that matters anymore.

Media concentration in combination with conglomeration and infotainment journalism prevents vital information from reaching citizens in favour of trivia. And in my eyes is it getting more and more difficult for PR to get the messages out simply because the media are full of non-news and the space PR is fighting for is getting smaller and smaller. Let me give you an example from Sweden.

Last fall, the Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was stabbed to death in the center of Stockholm by a young man named Mijajlo Mijailovic. It was a story that was of vital interest to all citizens of this country. A leading member of the government gets stabbed by a lunatic in broad daylight. The notion shook our socitey and everything Sweden stands for: openess, safety, democracy etc.

In January 2004, there was a murder in Knutby, a small community north of Uppsala in Sweden. The story had all kinds of nasty ingredients, including sex, murder, religion and technology. A perfect news story, but one that had nothing to do with ordinary people's lives, and should not be very interesting.

Not surprisingly though, Swedish media have to this date written 7291 articles about the Knutby murder and just under 6000 articles about Mijailovic. Both incredibly high numbers, but still, shouldn't the murder of our Foreign Minister be more important to cover than a local murder within a close circle of people? Why are media full of trivia and nonsense like all these reality show "news"? These stories are like a balloon you try to flush down the toilet. It is just air, but it still keeps floating up to the surface over and over again. Even serious news tend to turn into mega events. One month it is the Iraq war, the next it is all about the European Championships in football or the Olympics. News are blown out of proportion and no other stories can be told.

This is what we are up against and what I think is the most important challenge for the new PR - to find ways to increase diversity of voices and to get a multitude of messages. Blogs, wikis and so on are a very good start and I have high hopes for the future. Let's continue to build on the knowledge we've gained during Global PR Blog Week and make it an annual event.

Author: Hans Kullin | Jul 17, 04 | Permalink | 3 comments
Category: @ Hans Kullin | Final Thoughts

Day 5: Emergence of Ideas

July 16, 2004

On the last day of Global PR Blog Week, we tackled the topic of the State of the PR Profession. As one might expect, this generated an incredibly wide variety of posts, including interviews with luminaries like Seth Godin, Jack O'Dwyer and Richard Edelman. The state of the profession was examined from multiple angles, including ethics, professionalization/need for accreditation, the role of PR in facilitating the learning process inside organizations, and from the results of a survey of PR professionals ourselves.

Some highlights:

1) Constantin issues a challenge to the Global PR Blog Week and the wider communities of PR professionals and academics worldwide to create a code of online PR conduct.

2) The idea that constantly evolving online content, i.e., content that is new and current, is viewed as [therefore?] credible. This in the discussion of dynamic communications.

3) With the internet becoming the preferred news source for millions, how does the PR industry have to change (a theme that has been pervasive throughout this week)?

4) How do PR agencies, from the large international conglomerates to boutiques and networks, view their practices in today's economic climate? Here.

5) Most corporations view customer feedback as a cost and threat vs. an opportunity. Here.

6) PR people in the US care about being ethical to society. Here.

Day 5 Stats

Global PR Blog Week was Feedster's Feed of the Day!

Technorati: Global PR Blog Week 1.0 has 268 Links from 80 Sources

VISITS

Total: 7,020
Average Per Day: 678
Average Visit Length: 6:14
Last Hour: 35
July 16: 1,135
This Week: 4,747

PAGE VIEWS

Total: 22,609
Average Per Day: 2,375
Average Per Visit: 3.5
Last Hour: 58
July 16: 3,325
This Week: 16,625

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements

The New PR - A Call to Action

The signs are here: Bill Gates pitches CEOs on bottom-up communication and empowerment, RSS, and "a thing called blogging," Business Week reports on the visible extinction of mass marketing, and the New York Times's editorialists tremble with anticipation at the thought that bloggers covering the Democratic Convention will "lace the proceedings with fresh insight and even some Menckenian impertinence." As the saying goes, we're living in interesting times.

The future - as always - seems bright. But we're not there yet.

There's a huge gap between the promises of tomorrow and the daily reality of Public Relations practice, and we can do something to fill this gap.

What do we need?

1. A reconsideration of the role played by PR professionals

The increased public pressure for transparency is met by the businesses' concern that, instead of building trust, this will expose organizations to further harsh scrutiny. But organizations will have to change in order to survive, and PR professionals can have a leading role in this process. Pitching blogs, monitoring micro media outlets, and offering RSS feeds are all fine endeavours (if done well) - but probably the most challenging task for PR pros will be to make the case for dialogic public relations and address the implications of such an approach in terms that will make sense for management. Employees' expectations for freedom of speech and opinion will grow, fuelled by the social and media habits of the internet generation, and by the constant pressure of having to deal with the daily conflict between online freedom (outside the workplace) and workplace restrictions. How to reconcile these expectations with the organizational culture and regulatory environment will be an important task for PR pros (for more about speech rights for corporate bloggers, see Jay Rosen: PR Needs to Stand for Real Transparency, Letter to Bill Gates, Soon to be a Weblogger).

2. A code of conduct for online communicators. Two starting points:

The Arthur W. Page Society: Establishing Principles for Public Relations on the Internet
Pete Snyder: Wanted: Standards for Viral Marketing

3. New tools

We need new ways of facilitating relationships (hint: see "relationship portals"), as well as tools for capturing, analyzing and understanding in real time the skyrocketing volume of conversation happening on the web. The use of RSS feeds and blog search engines is extremely useful, but we'll have to see if, and how, it will scale. Soon, notifications - as lists of headlines (or long pages of full text postings) - will be not enough; the next step is to have them analyzed in their context, grouped by various criteria, and represented in a compelling visual form.

4. New paradigms, players, and resources

With the rise of personal publishing, the whole process of public opinion formation is changing and we'll have to understand how various socio-technical shifts are factoring in.

We need to be willing to learn from other disciplines (Knowledge Management comes first in mind) and to start a dialogue with the academic world, that's a largely untapped resource of knowledge, expertise, and research skills and capabilities. There's a growing lack of communication between the academic and the professional world, and this is likely to affect both of them, and public relation as a field of knowledge. As the scholar publishing starts to change its business model under the influence of the open access movement, more and more academic articles will be available online, for free, if professionals will ask for them (notable, Reed Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of scientific and scholarly journals, including Public Relations Review, announced recently that allows authors to offer open access to their article, if they are posted on personal or institutional websites).

But that's not enough; we have to encourage the academic community to open itself and join the conversation. 15,000 new weblogs are created everyday, but we still have to found an American public relations professor who's blogging.

Also, we need to find a solution that will allow PR students and practitioners to learn about the changing landscape of the PR practice in real time - as changes are happening. The internet is still presented in PR textbooks as a "new technology" that offers "interesting opportunities". We past that point a long time ago, and we need internet-based learning materials and methods to capture the freshest knowledge in the field.

So, here's the challenge:

Let's create a community that will make all - or most - of these things happened.

The Global PR Blog Week has already coalesced a group a bloggers, most of them PR professionals and academics. We can expand this community, and start working at The New PR:

We can continue to build on the resource created by this event.
We can start to draft a code of conduct for online communicators.
We can help PR and communication professors to start blogging, by offering them help and advice.
We can start asking authors to make their articles available for the larger community of PR practitioners.
We can start writing a collaborative, online PR textbook that it will be available online for free.

And that's just the beginning.

This is what I'd like to do - how about you?

Author: Constantin Basturea | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 3 comments
Category: @ Constantin Basturea | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

The Battle Over PR

Public relations is at a crossroads. The industry has weathered the bad times - downturn in economy, dot-com bubble bursting, title inflation, junior staffing to save costs - and is now ready to enter into a new era, one where public relations is going to either take the lead, or just become part of the advertising and marketing mix.

It really depends on who takes the lead, and what will bear out in the coming year. Is public relations going to be driven by the boutiques, by the seasoned practioners that branched out on their own? Or are the large independents going to continue to grow and provide better counsel and strategy - and the sense of safety of a large corporation - and beat out both the multinationals and the boutiques. Or, as The Economist recently noted, the face of advertising is changing, and the multinationals could be better positioned to serve with "below-the-line" advertising, like public relations and guerilla tactics.

For this article, instead of presenting just my views on boutiques vs large corporations, I went out to interview the pillars and pundits of public relations: Jack O'Dwyer of O'Dwyer Publications; Richard Edelman of Edelman Worldwide for a view from the big seat; Matthew Podboy from the boutique angle as a cofounder of Voce Communications; Jonathan Zaleski for the view of the small boutiques forming their own group at The PR Collective; and then Ben Silverman of PR Fuel fame from the pundit and journalist perspective and Lindsay Olson from the recruiting views at Paradigm Staffing.

While the rest of the participants responded to emailed questions, O'Dwyer was on vacation and was gracious enough to be interviewed over the phone. While he deviated from the questions, or characterized some as idiotic, he provided some good insight into the state of public relations. The rest of the participants will be presented as a Q&A for the post.

JACK O'DWYER, O'DWYER PUBLICATIONS
O'Dwyer went to the University of Connecticut, and was the former business reporter for the Journal American, then marketing columnist for the Chicago Tribune, then founded O'Dwyer Company 36 years ago. The O’Dwyer Company has been recognized as the leading publisher about the public relations industry, and provides the latest news and information about public relations firms and professionals, the media, corporations, legal issues, jobs, technology, and much more through its website, newsletters, directories, and guides (O'Dwyer Publications).

________________________________________

With the $13B debt hanging over the heads of the multinational conglomerates, all that the large agencies care about is tracking the time to the second, squeezing out as much money from the clients as possible.

But, for a corporation, if the choice is between a large independent or multinational and a boutique, the corporation would be better off going to a larger firm. By going with the large firms, the company gets worldwide presence. Right now, 48 countries are being served by the large agencies.

With the smaller boutiques, corporation has to worry about "virtual particles" - the problem is that the boutique can be here today, but gone tomorrow. With the boutique, there is a higher risk factor.

In regards to measuring public relations, it is just idiotic. Public relations is about winning good will, it's an honest job that is not measurable because you cannot price the truth. Public relations is not about marketing, public relations should not be sold by time as it's not measurable by time. How can you measure good will with the public? How can you measure creativity?

The biggest problem with the conglomerates is that it has become about time measurement, a stopwatch mentality, which has translated into public relations becoming research-focused, which takes an immense amount of time and can be immensely billed.

An agency can come in with reams of research, but there's no creativity there, and public relations is about creativity, about the spin. Public relations is about hits, it's about getting ink and notorierty and targeting the public. Our job is to get the message across, effectively, and there is no measurement for beyond clips and being on message.

Right now, there are very bad forces affecting public relations. We are supposed to be a bridge for the press to get to CEOs, not a barrier, but the industry has fallen into the trap of blocking access for the press. There is this tremendous force that is trying to convert public relations into advertising, especially at the conglomerates, and that will be the downfall of public relations.

(Breaking News Part ...) To help combat such thinking, O'Dwyer Publications is going to begin the O'Dwyer Awards, which will focus on the quality and quantity of press and the press' access to the CEO. The O'Dwyer Awards will be for firms that get press, and are a bridge for the company, not an impediment.

RICHARD EDELMAN, EDELMAN WORDLDWIDE
Richard Edelman is the president and CEO of the world’s largest public relations firm with 1800 employees in 39 offices worldwide. Edelman, named 2003 Agency of the Year by The Holmes Group, has been a leader in public relations since it was founded in 1952.

Richard Edelman was named president and CEO in September 1996. Prior to that, he served as president of Edelman’s U.S. operations, regional manager of Europe and manager of the firm’s New York office.

Richard won the Silver Anvil, the highest award in the public relations industry, in 1981. He was named ‘Best Manager of the Year’ by Inside PR magazine in 1995. He serves on the board of directors of the New York Historical Society and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum, the Arthur Page Society, PR Seminar, the International Council of the Field Museum, and the World Corporate Ethics’ Council. He has worked on several political campaigns including “Jim Thompson for Governor” and “Ed Koch for Mayor.”

With the current state of public relations – with purchasing departments coming into the equation, influencing the agency choice – how does your firm position itself and its costs to the client?

We need to provide a cost effective, cost justified solution to clients. We can be transparent on our cost structure, and build in suitable profit on top of cost and suggest some means of sharing in the success, such as bonuses or more fees.

What accounts and situations do you feel are better suited for a boutique? For a large multinational agency?

Clients best for Edelman are those with complex problems, cross border, requiring multiple practices skills or those requiring immediate scale with lots of resources applied.

How is your agency able to justify the costs of a multinational conglomerate to the clients – paying for all levels of talent, and offices?

We justify our prices on basis of excellence of personnel, unique products such as brand care, great intellectual capital such as our trust barometer, and of course, great results. We also try to be reasonably priced.

What differentiates your agency and experience?

Our 52 year heritage in marketing to consumers. Our global reach. Our creatvity and our independence of ad agency ownership. Our specialist abilities in public affairs, financial PR and crisis communications.

Are corporations demanding more return on their public relations dollars? Are you seeing a push for less money, but more results?

Companies are demanding more ROI statistics. We have developed a relationship index to measure quality of connection to stakeholders, and now have an advertising equivalent called PR GRP that can be adopted by all agencies to help measure public relations. Edelman is encouraging other agencies to use PR GRP, to use the metrics and language, to help corporations relate to the measurement. More information will be forthcoming on the Edelman Web site, and we are meeting with various organizations to bring them on board.

Money is definitely coming our way out of advertising. Examples include Unilever campaigns on Dove and Axe. Technology and health have been big spenders on public relations for years, and consumer products are beginning to transfer monies from advertising to public relations. And, Edelman is very nimble on guerrilla tactics with such examples as the KFC promotion with The Apprentice and Donald Trump.

One of the complaints against large, multi-national conglomerates is that accounts are being used to teach junior staff – how do you respond to this?

Yes, we have junior staff. And, that is a good thing. They live in the fast changing real world with different media choices, are more open to new ideas, more tolerant of new ideas. They are less reliant on establishment media and bring more creativity to the accounts. For our work, we have mix of junior and senior folks. Now that I am 50, I am in latter group. But, we don't put untrained folks forward. We take training very seriously to provide for our clients.

During the technology boom, the industry saw the large conglomerates either start boutique shops or buy them – such examples are PR21, Red Whistle, Simon/McGarry. Do we see that trend returning, with more skilled and targeted teams able to provide more counsel and work for clients? Will we see the boutiques again being acquired by the large agencies?

I do not see another crop of boutiques springing up. Those that survived the recession did so on basis of specialization, a clear focus on a given business area and great service. Clients are moving to firms that have scale, depth of resource, and are priced competitively.

Essentially, Edelman started out as a boutique, and has expanded since then. How has the culture changed since the founding of the firm, and is there still elements of the boutique mindset?

We still operate mentally as if we are a small business. My dad does not take the wins for granted, and beats himself up on each account or pitch lost. Happily, I celebrate the wins but suffer in defeat.

We are still private, family owned business, so we take it all pretty seriously. Come to a family dinner some time. The main topic is usually business. I love being an entrepreneur, and we are now moving into India

The Edelman family built this business with our own hands, and can appreciate what each boutique owner is going through daily. We are a success story, but we never take anything for granted.

The Edelman motto is "relentless pursuit of excellence" and "never surrender."

Do you have any closing thoughts for the readers on your views on the state of public relations?

PR has to get beyond the perception that we are simply media relations. We are also counsel. We can do promotions. In short, we need to compete with both ad agencies and mangement consultants for budget, not simply our fellow PR firms.

MATTHEW PODBOY, VOCE COMMUNICATIONS
Matthew Podboy co-founded Voce Communications with Richard Cline and David Black in June 1999, coming from Miller/Shandwick Technologies (now Weber Shandwick). The three set out to build an agency incorporating the best of the large PR conglomerates into a consultant model. Before Miller/Shandwick Technologies, he worked in-house for several non-tech companies in Santa Barbara, California.

Voce Communications is a mid-size firm with 31 employees in Palo Alto and Boston. We focus on five communication disciplines: public relations (including micro media/influencer campaigns), analyst relations, investor relations, customer acquisition and public affairs. Our largest footprint is PR and within PR, our present focus is on the technology market. The other disciplines are growing and diversifying our client portfolio.

PR programs seem to be in a good corporate position - meaning the budgets are appearing if they were cut or growing if they were cut down. Your question does bring up an interesting point. We've seen the finance departments and CFOs much more involved in the selection process. Voce offers modest billable rates for some of the best tech PR consultants in the industry so we are rarely challenged on cost.

So how do we differentiate the firm? To put it frankly - we offer a healthy alternative to the multi-national conglomerates. We're hungry. We're fast and lean. When we engage in a dialogue with a new prospect, it's because we want the business and we believe in the story. We aren't winning "accounts" and staffing them with "bodies." We are PR consultants. When we find the right match with a new client, we believe that our counsel will help the organization meets its communication goals. It sounds cliché but focusing on doing a lot of little things differently, in the end, will create a new model for PR.

What accounts and situations do you feel are better suited for a boutique? For a large multinational agency?

Maybe this should be answered by ruling out some of the common opinions. In my experience, the size of the vendor has no bearing on whether or not a large or boutique firm should assist the PR program. We can all list large and small companies that have various "size" PR firms. How about the need to have an "international" program. We challenge that notion at Voce quite often. I don't think the industry is quite ready to concede that international PR programs have nothing to do with international firms - but we are getting close.

For one particular client, Voce manages international coordination responsibilities for the entire Asia Pacific region consisting of: Australia and New Zealand, Greater China (PRC/HKSAR), Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, and India. Voce managed the agency RFI process for the selection of each agency and manages the contract and budget process for each along with local country management. Each agency directly reports to Voce for day-to-day tactical items as well as long term strategic objectives. Voce, in turn, reports the worldwide corporate PR team. Voce also held international coordination responsibilities for other South America and Mexico. One thing we have learned is that there are terrific boutique and mid-size PR firms all over the world. Can we take all the credit? No. Our client has built a terrific model to make it work. The point is, the need for an international program does not require an international agency. Those are the common situations. In the end, it depends on the internal team working with the agency. Past experience and personal/professional relationships will push many vendors to one side or the other. Some folks are going to take a long time to trust a hungry boutique or mid-size firm because of a bad past experience. The same is true for the large conglomerates.

My point here is that the old opinions that big vendors should have big firms or that firms wanting an international presence should hire an international firm should not factor into the equation. Let the firm's expertise and the value of their counsel drive the decision. Factor team chemistry into the equation. Don't look at the number of cities listed on the business card - look at the team across the table.

How is your agency able to qualm fears of your small size, limited localities to prospective clients?

Our experience, our team and our clients have to smash those misconceptions. If they can't be torn - or if it doesn't look like they can be torn down - it's best if we don't work with that firm. More often that not, however, the vendors we meet give us a fair chance to explain why our model for PR supercedes size and location.

What differentiates your agency or experience?

Our people. That is the only true currency for a PR firm. Great people build a great culture. A good culture keeps people happy and excited about their job and their career path. A good culture creates opportunity and growth for everyone. And the result is great client service. The people have to come first. We believe this to the core and our clients benefit from it each day.

Are corporations demanding more return on their public relations dollars? Are you seeing a push for less money, but more results?

This is a good question. On one hand I tend to believe that everyone should try and get the most out of their vendors - be it PR firms, mortgage brokers, appliance vendors or copy machine technicians. The PR industry should not be immune to pressure for results. Can it go too far and exploit good PR consultants? Sure - and I'm sure it happens in every industry. There was certainly more pressure on PR firms to perform during the downtown. Budgets came down and expectations stayed high. For the most part I think that situation has been corrected and things are “normal” again – you can define that for yourself….

According to a recent article in the Economist, advertising budgets are being shifted away from advertising to public relations, and other “below-the-line” efforts. Have you seen your clients transfer budgets away from advertising into public relations?

Not nearly enough! All joking aside, we have seen some instances where advertising budgets are being redirected to PR but I don’t have the data to confirm if it’s an industry wide trend. What I assume from the term “below-the-line” is that micro media and influencer campaigns conducted by PR firms are pulling advertising budgets. If that’s the case, it’ll be important to measure below-the-line programs or they’ll quickly turn into advertising dollars again.

The industry seems to be moving away from strict press relations to more integrated relations, with guerilla marketing, event marketing, and community relations. How is your agency nimble enough to handle the new demands from clients?

This is precisely why our consultant model works. We have the experts in place to handle emerging communication trends. Our model is built upon being nimble. We must be at the forefront of the PR industry if we are to effectively counsel our clients. Our consultant-minded culture breeds this type of integrated marketing expertise. Our people are empowered to develop their counsel for the benefit of their colleagues and clients.

One of the complaints against large, multi-national conglomerates is that accounts are being used to teach junior staff – how do you respond to this?

I tend to believe that this is an eroding stereotype similar to the notion that smaller agencies can’t handle large, international brands. I began my career at a large firm and learned a lot from my colleagues. My teammates became mentors – and a few became business partners in addition to mentors. There are good PR consultants in large firms - young and old.

One of the complaints against boutiques is that low-level task work is being performed by senior level people, using precious account time. How do boutiques address such an issue?

We believe that there is a room for strategic value at every “level” of the account. Smaller firms do require a bit more scale from their employees and that offers terrific upside potential too. A properly structured account team should have folks performing work that meets their ability and challenges them to improve. The small to mid-size firms I’m familiar with provide this opportunity as well as the large agencies.

During the technology boom, the industry saw the large conglomerates either start boutique shops or buy them – such examples are PR21, Red Whistle, Simon/McGarry. Do we see that trend returning, with more skilled and targeted teams able to provide more counsel and work for clients? Will we see the boutiques being acquired by the large agencies?

Is there room for consolidation in the PR market? Perhaps, but that should not be the focus of small and mid-size firms. It’s a byproduct of building great teams and providing outstanding client service.

When pitching against a boutique / large agency, how do you position the company as better-suited to serve the client’s interests?

If we enter into a discussion with a prospect due diligence has already suggested that the relationship could work. From there, we focus on their objectives and our strengths. We certainly put our team in a position to communicate their experience and recommendations – we want the team to be tested. We present the account team – not a cloak of senior advisors that’ll drift away over time. By exposing the team, the client is in a better position to appreciate our strengths and make a decision.

Currently, Voce has two offices. Do you see Voce as one day being the next Ruder Finn or Edelman, growing into a national or international presence?

We are shooting a bit higher than yet. We’d like to take down Omnicom or IPG. I’m kidding…We are looking at new markets to establish a presence and some of those markets are oversees. My vote is for an Olive Oil PR office on Italy’s Amalfi Coast but I haven’t found the right business model to pull it off – yet. We are committed to no more than 25-30 employees in one office. If we have enough business in a particular region to justify a larger team, we will start another office. We are fanatics about people and culture and believe that it can be lost in offices with more than 30 employees.

In what sense or instances do you feel that clients would be better served by a large, multinational firm?

Small to mid-size firms will have a tough time with companies that have limited internal resources and limitless egos. Internal folks with limited experience may gravitate toward a large firm – to find a false sense of security. It’s similar to what some of our technology clients face – “Nobody ever got fired for buying Cisco or IBM.” Savvy PR professionals will evaluate agencies with a set of criteria that tests small, medium and large firms on their level of counsel.

In what types of accounts do you think that boutique firms are better suited for?

I’m painting with a broad brush here, but typically, internal folks who have experienced diverse PR relationships – in house teams, agencies, contractors – will appreciate the fact that they are hiring counsel and experience that can be found at a variety of firms. The key is equal opportunity.

How has the request for international (or region specific, i.e. Asia, Europe) affected your firm's odds of receiving an RFP?

We have relationships with the best firms in each of the top international regions. In many cases we have helped our clients conduct the RFPs in those regions. We thrive on the request for regional specific programs and our experience in this area has kept the pipeline full of prospects.

If you have global capabilities, how do you market that? Or are you content in working within only the North American market?

Our global capabilities are based on a network of experts in the top international markets. We work with these folks daily and often serve as the North American point of contact for our clients. International programs are exciting and teach PR consultants important lessons about how to spin messages to serve a specific culture or region. Over time, we plan to have our own presence in some of these regions but we will always have a network of experts to best serve our clients.

Do you have any closing thoughts for the readers on your views on the state of public relations?

I think PR people have to be optimists. I’m certainly a glass is half-full type when it comes to PR and I’m inclined to say that the PR industry (read: the technology PR industry) looks great. New companies are being funded with the promise of exciting new technology. That also forces the established players to become more agile and focus on innovation. These are all good indicators for PR. Raising it up a notch, we do believe the PR model is changing. We must gravitate toward a consultant model. I don’t mean that everyone should venture out and become a lone practitioner. The focus is on counsel and expertise. The trick for the industry is that counsel and expertise is the result of hard work and dedication to the profession. It requires us to be “students” of the profession. Learning from one another and taking the best ideas, experiences and tactics to elevate the profession as a whole. This is the path we walk with a focus on the journey and not the destination.

JONATHAN ZALESKI, THE PR COLLECTIVE
The PR Collective is a national public relations company based in Santa Monica, California, with 40 Affiliate offices comprised of boutique agencies. The innovative company can connect clients with the best matched executive for their communications needs or create a centrally-coordinated team of communications experts handpicked from multiple offices. The PR Collective crafts and implements expert public relations campaigns for clients in all industries. The company's president, Jonathan Zaleski, is a PR veteran and former Director at Weber Shandwick's Rogers & Cowan.

With the current state of public relations – with purchasing departments coming into the equation, influencing the agency choice – how does the PR Collective position itself and its costs to the client?

Boutique agencies are small businesses and few entities on the economic landscape are more cost conscious that small businesses. I am always happy to point out the our Affiliate offices are run by publicists who are also entrepreneurs. They know about keeping costs down and understand that every dollar spent as on PR was hard earned by the client. It is our mission to control costs as much as possible without impinging on the effectiveness of the outreach.

On a more obvious level, boutique agencies operate with way less overhead. This makes it that much easier to avoid having to keep retainer fees high to support overhead and other costs completely unrelated to the outreach.

How is your agency able to qualm fears of your small size, limited localities to prospective clients?

The PR Collective has a unique business model that negates these fears. Since we are a centrally coordinated network of hand-picked boutique agencies located all over the country, we can build a team of any size and can craft an outreach targeting a single region or the entire country. We can also combine areas of expertise to handle companies with even the broadest focus.

Are corporations demanding more return on their public relations dollars? Are you seeing a push for less money, but more results?

The phrase I hear most often from potential clients is something along the lines of "we are idea rich but cash poor." These companies want more results from all dollars they spend whether it is for PR or not. With a rough economy, increased competition and scars still showing from the dot-com crash, every expenditure can be a make or break decision.

According to a recent article in the Economist, advertising budgets are being shifted away from advertising to public relations, and other “below-the-line” efforts. Have you seen your clients transfer budgets away from advertising into public relations?

Not only have we seen budgets in established companies move away from advertising, we are seeing start-ups passing up advertising and going straight to PR. Advertising has become so pervasive that the amount of money to make a dent with an ad campaign can be crippling.

We received a call the other day from a company that had been manufacturing designer clothes for years for other labels, and now was interested in launching their own label. They were quoted $880,000 for the first year by an ad agency. After that they simply crossed advertising off their list and turned to PR. Just about any PR agency would gladly get results for small portion of that. Public relations, when executed properly, is just too cost effective to not be considered an option.

The industry seems to be moving away from strict press relations to more integrated relations, with guerilla marketing, event marketing, and community relations. How is the PR Collective nimble enough to handle the new demands from clients?

Many of our Affiliates go beyond PR to be "marketing communications" agencies that can also build websites, create and implement direct marketing campaigns, handle events, and create advertising. The best part about this approach is that the client's message is integrated literally into all of their communications with the public. There is no interference or mixed messages to worry about.

One of the complaints against boutiques is that low-level taskwork is being performed by senior level people, using precious account time. How do boutiques address such an issue?

When I was in the large agency environment, I was expected to hold down six or more clients myself to help contribute to the overhead. Most boutique agencies can pull the same profit from three accounts. So if you were a company, how would you prefer your PR rep to be dividing their time? I would prefer mine was working on only two other accounts and taking a few hours a week to handle some administrative tasks as opposed to fighting with five other accounts for attention.

Plus I believe the best executives are the ones who participate in an account down to the nitty gritty details. The same person should be developing your message points, building your press kit, selecting your target media, crafting the pitch, writing your releases and bringing it to the media. That is the boutique approach in a nutshell. In larger companies, the person working on your account is often not the same senior executive you met with during the pitch. In a boutique you meet with the person who will be on the front lines with you, and you have constant access to them through the length of your outreach.

I hope not. A big word on the business landscape used to be "corporate culture." It was often applied to large companies but it exists in small companies too. In a small PR shop, corporate culture is a creative essence that gives the firm its character and fuels unique and effective approached to getting the word out on behalf of their clients. Getting gobbled up by a larger company, no matter how well intentioned, is going to trample some flowers in the garden. Small agencies come from a completely different mindset..one that rarely meshes well with the overhead-driven mindset of large PR entities. It is for that reason that we coordinate our Affiliate Offices, but we do not mettle with their formulas.

When pitching against a boutique / large agency, how do you position the company as better-suited to serve the client’s interests?

The PR Collective's business model, and approach to PR, is a blending of boutique and large agency boutique We really did stumble onto the perfect formula that is flexible enough to bring the creative pizzazz and small client fees of a smaller shop but with the resources and reach of a large conglomerate.

Currently, the PR Collective has a group of approximately 40 offices. Do you see the Collective as one day being the next Ruder Finn or Edelman, growing into a national or international presence?

The PR Collective already has a national presence. We have gaps in some of the less populated states that we are planning on filling over the next 12 months or so. However, we feel that somewhere around 80 Affiliates is the most we would want domestically. This is a comfortable number that allows us to cover all markets and all industries without having to push up our administrative costs or lose touch with our executives in the field. This is how we differ from a standard agency network. We all really do keep in touch with each other and the central office.

Synergy is not a buzzword over here, but a promise fulfilled. When a client calls and says they need some PR support for an educational product with an adventure angle, I know one of my two Connecticut Affiliate Offices is headed up by a pro who not only specializes in educational PR, but also is an explorer at heart who has traveled the world. He is a perfect match, but would I have known that if I was tracking 150 offices at once?

On the international side, we do plan on developing an International component of The PR Collective, but we are more focused on developing our domestic strategy and services first before we look in that direction. We would want a dedicated staff working with those Affiliates, so we again could develop strong relationships with our executives to best apply those resources to the right clients.

In what sense or instances do you feel that clients would be better served by a large, multinational firm?

If a company needs an outreach that truly requires different approaches in different countries, then a large multinational firm MAY be the way to go. However I would warn companies not to be lured in by overhyped promises of synergy between the PR agencies' various offices. Is the account being overseen by someone who has directly coordinated the offices in the various countries the potential client operates in? Maybe, but probably not. What these clients are paying for is the local cultural knowledge each office can apply to crafting a campaign in their home country, but the value really comes if someone who has a strong understanding of all pieces of the puzzle is bringing it all together into a cohesive cost-effective strategy.

In what types of accounts do you think that boutique firms are better suited for?

I think small to midsized companies in growth positions are best suited for boutique agencies because the mindset of the agency and client are usually the same. These type of companies also are stretched thin and are not often very sure exactly what they need from their PR company. They can really benefit from the self-starting approach that boutique agencies bring to the mix.

In a way, you have started a collective to mirror the conglomerates reach with the skill-set of boutiques. How do you ensure the PR Collective clients that the quality of work stays the same across the board?

We provide consistant service by centrally coordinating the accounts. When we build a Collective Team, the central office stays on board to administrate or participate in the team. This not only ensures a cohesive strategy, but also facilitates communications with the client by providing a senior executive as a point person who is involved and available.

Also, we built The PR Collective by gathering up some superb boutique PR shops then providing them access to resources that make them even stronger. Not any boutique agency can be an Affiliate. We limit the number of Affiliate Offices we have so we make sure we bring only strong PR talent into The PR Collective.

How has the request for international (or region specific, i.e. Asia, Europe) affected your firm's odds of receiving an RFP?

Until we expand into international markets we are not interested in receiving these types of RFPs. There is enough business to go around here domestically. Despite what you see in FedEx commercials, not every company has to target the entire world to be successful. A chain of restaurants in the northeast does not need to be big in Croatia. We do not feel the need to over extend ourselves or go after accounts we are not a strong candidate to perform well for.

Do you have any closing thoughts for the readers on your views on the state of public relations?

I believe that PR companies really have to look at what they are promising their clients, and start sorting out what is rhetoric and what is reality. It is a very competitive environment and agencies almost have to overpromise results in order to land a client these days. This is a dangerous practice that can sour the way the business community views our industry in a very short period of time. If a client has an aspect or strategy to their business that is going to make the PR effort difficult to sell the press, I would like to see agencies point out those challenges and suggest how the client can change that aspect to be more media friendly instead of promising them the world. It demonstrates that the agency cares more about seeing the outreach and the business succeed as opposed to juicing them for the length of the contract then moving on when the client is unsatisfied. A stronger company is a stronger client. This appraoch benefits the client, the agency, and our industry.

BEN SILVERMAN, PR FUEL / FINDPROFIT.COM
Silverman is a Contributing Editor for FindProfit.com, an investment research firm. He also handles public/media relations for the company. In his spare time, he writes PR Fuel, a weekly email newsletter aimed at public relations professional and PRFuel.com, a weblog covering PR-related topics. These are both products of eReleases.com, a press release distribution service. Previously, Silverman was a business news columnist for The New York Post and the publisher of DotcomScoop.com, an independent business news service. Prior to this, he was an executive at two privately-held online media and technology companies and he spent about five years working in the music business as an artist manager, independent record label owner and consultant for major recording labels.

You have worked as a reporter at the NY Post, as a Web journalist with Dotcomscoop.com, and now are working internal PR and as a columnist for FindProfit.com and have dealt with many PR people. When working with the large agency versus the boutique, which practitioners did you feel provided better access and help for you?

I've always felt more comfortable dealing with boutique agencies for one simple reason; I feel that the people at boutiques are more involved with the client and have a better understanding of the needs of the client. By and large, my dealings with boutiques were much smoother than my dealings with large agencies. I felt the boutiques offered better and faster access to client sources, information and material. When it came to writing about a company that employed a large agency, I always tried to side-step the agency and deal directly with someone at the company. If a company employed a boutique agency, I had no qualms about going through the outside PR firm to help accomplish my task.

What accounts and situations do you feel are better suited for a boutique? For a large multinational agency?

I think multinational agencies are obviously appropriate for multinational companies such as Microsoft and General Electric. For small companies, obviously a boutique is the way to go. A boutique will generally be more cost-effective and a small business does not have to compete with larger companies for the time and resources of the agency. I've found that large companies often employ boutique agencies for special products, certain units or simply specific public relations campaign. I think this is effective and is a good way to break up the staleness that comes from large agencies. There will be times when a company simply needs the power of a large agency - be it resources, "muscle," or contacts - but by and large, I see no reason why a well-staffed boutique agency couldn't be able to handle all but the largest accounts.

With that said, I think it's also important for all companies, once they reach a certain scale, to have in-house public relations people who can work with outside agencies to maximize the total PR effort.

During the technology boom, the industry saw the large conglomerates either start boutique shops or buy them - such examples are PR21, Red Whistle, Simon/McGarry. Do we see that trend returning, with more skilled and targeted teams able to provide more counsel and work for clients? Will we see the boutiques being acquired by the large agencies?

I'll be honest, I'm not that familiar with the consolidation trends that have taken place in the PR industry. However, I do believe that if the economy can reach a point of sustained recovery, that we will see consolidation across most industries. I do know that a lot of good PR firms have been ruined after being acquired. This is just a fact of businesslife when a larger company acquires a smaller company that has established itself as a niche player. My hope is that, like with the tech boom, people have learned their lesson and realize that if you're going to acquire a company to help your top- or bottomline, you'll take advantage of the inherent strengths of that company.

Are you seeing an improvement in the overall state of public relations?

The improvement I've seen from the industry has come through the eyes of a former journalist, so you'll have to take what I say with a grain of salt. But I did notice a somewhat quiet shift over the past few years in the industry and I've wondered if it had to the with the weak economy weeding out some people who simply should not be working in the industry. I should note that I feel this has also taken place in the media and many other industries and I certainly don't mean to say that anyone who has lost a job deserved to do so. Nonetheless, I think the public relations industry improves everyday because of new communication channels and more public scrutiny of the industry.

Events like The Global PR Week Blog are very important because they bring PR professionals together via a learning experience - and it's one that can extend to the general public. I think more improvement will come in the industry through two things: better training and a better understand within the business community of the role that public relations can and should play for a business.

Do you have any closing thoughts for the readers on your views on the state of public relations?

There are a lot of unfortunate misperceptions about public relations, the role of public relations and the media, and, public relations professionals in general. The media has, obviously, had a hand in perpetrating these misperceptions, but the industry itself hasn't helped much. I think most people equate public relations professionals to publicists, and we know there's a huge difference between the two. I think the focus on the industry now should be in coming up with better ways to quantify the work that public relations professionals do and working with the other cogs in the business machine so there's a clear understanding of the need for public relations beyond "getting some ink."

Oh, and if you still have me on your media list, please remove me.

LINDSAY OLSON, PARADIGM STAFFING
Paradigm Staffing Solutions was founded in 2001 to service the Public Relations and Marketing industries nationwide. Paradigm Staffing Solutions currently operates offices in California and New York City. Lindsay Olson is Founder and Executive Search Consultant and has been recruiting in the public relations and marketing industry since 1997. She currently manages the New York office and business development efforts nationwide. Jolie Downs, Director of Recruiting Services, manages our Bay area office and supports the search efforts for all of our customers requirements. Both Lindsay and Jolie are award winning executive recruiters who have been recognized in the top 25 executive recruiters in United States in a MRI network of over 1000 offices.

What accounts and situations do you feel are better suited for a boutique? For a large multinational agency?

We typically see the boutique agencies better suited to service and retain the smaller early stage startup and public companies. Not to say they don't service larger accounts well, but generally it seems earlier stage companies are more satisfied with the level of service and coverage that a boutique agency can provide. A boutique agency also seems to have less employee turnover allowing the client to build a long-term relationship with the account team members.

In business, conglomerates will always swallow smaller firms to acquire clients, skilled team members, more market share, etc. - however, there is a place for boutiques in the PR field, especially when it comes to the intimate attention a client may need.

During your recruiting efforts, do you see a preference from your placements to be either at a boutique or at a large multinational? Or, a large-sized independent?

In the current market, a large sized independent seems to be preferred. Between a boutique and large multinational it truly varies from candidate to candidate in what specifically they are looking for in their next position. With the downturn of the tech boom more people are concerned with the environment and candidates choosing the boutique route are generally more concerned about their day to day environment, working with less bureaucracy, more autonomy, and a wider variety of responsibilities. Candidates looking to build their resume and gain international exposure with Fortune 100 accounts tend to market themselves to the large multinational conglomerates. Preference is individual.

Does your agency get most of its work from the independent shops?

Yes, independent shops tend to retain our services more often, especially recently. A current client with a very small office in the Bay area recently mentioned how before using us to fill their Sr. Account Executive role, they were losing a majority of the candidates for this position on offers to the larger firms. I attribute this to the difference between interviewing and hiring passive candidates vs. active candidates. Passive candidates are not actively seeking employment, responding to the newest job advertisement, or shopping themselves around. They are only open to making a change when approached with the right opportunity. Sourcing these candidates and matching with the right company typically takes a recruiters touch.

Are you seeing an improvement in the overall state of public relations?
Absolutely. Agency and corporate opportunities are steadily on the rise. 2004 has been the busiest year we've had since late 2001.

Closing thoughts: As the founder of my own boutique, POP! Public Relations, I have an interesting seat to view all that is going on. The firm is located in a non-traditional PR city, I have worked at the large multinational, the boutique and in-house, and I have seen both the positives and negatives of all three. With the recent news of Fleishman Hillard in the Los Angeles Times on overbilling, and then the Los Angeles Daily News about the impending fraud lawsuit, our industry really needs to make the right decision for the future of our profession.

By providing the best possible public relations strategy and then execution (whether the boutique, the conglomerate or the independent), we can only hope that we prove our worth to a corporate world that just doesn't get public relations.

NB: if you are not registered with any of the news sites within the article, visit BugMeNot.

Author: Jeremy Pepper | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 3 comments
Category: @ Jeremy Pepper | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

Dynamic Communications and the case for speeding adoption of technology in PR

Since the Internet is becoming the default news source for millions, that means we, as communicators, increasingly need the ability to easily create, manage, distribute, and measure our messages in order to contribute directly, without intermediaries, to building, influencing and perhaps controlling our reputation - or our clients’ reputations - online.

Hence, all the interest here in blogs and Internet PR Tools. But as an industry, many people in PR are still behind the times in their use of technology to support their objectives.

Many practitioners still fax or even mail press materials. Of course, in certain cases this can’t be avoided. True - blogs and Internet-based PR tools do not serve every objective. But they are valuable in many cases. In fact, as others have mentioned this week this evolution is potentially reshaping the communications landscape. On a more practical level, appropriately applied technology has the potential to help us become more efficient, productive and effective PR practitioners.

I was quoted (apologies for the self-promotion - it's just a good example) in a recent issue of PRWEEK (log in required – sorry) in response to the question, “Can an Internet Pressroom increase my agency’s revenue per employee?”, in which I replied;

“The web can be used not just to provide access to press materials, publicity stills, VNRs, and b-roll on both a controlled and self-service basis, but also to facilitate distribution, build communities, manage blogs, and register and credential press contacts. You can even track the results.

“Consider the amount of billable time your employees spend responding to incoming requests for information manually via email. How many hours a day per employee do you think you could free up if you could automate the administrative side of PR campaign management?”

Of course I realize I may be “preaching to the choir” here, but I wrote the following article in order to attempt to educate and encourage those practitioners that are not fully taking advantage of the tools that are available today. It is my hope that all of us on the forefront of Internet PR will continue to evangelize the benefits of communicating online – what I call dynamic communications. Hence my question to the industry and communicators everywhere:

Are You Communicating Dynamically?

It took only a few years for the Internet to fundamentally change the way we communicate, and marketers have learned to take advantage of this new medium by creating innovative ways to reach their audiences; from banner ads and interactive pop-ups to talking email messages. But corporate communicators, for the most part, have not. With all the choices for news and information, it’s harder and harder to cut through the noise of the competition, keep audiences engaged and influence them to move in the right direction.

Static vs. dynamic communication:

Typically, the places on the Internet that draw the most visitors are always changing their content – weekly, daily, or even hourly. That content is dynamic, not static. The fresh, often personalized, information continually engages us and makes us want to return. Think of the Internet as a dynamic communications tool that gives us the ability to target, focus, and change our messages constantly in order to influence diverse sets of audiences. But too often online communications remain static, unchanged, and even out-of-date. Consider the benefits of dynamic communications:

Dynamic communications build credibility.

Think about the sources you trust and why you trust them. You’ll probably find some common themes: frequently updated content; comprehensive information; noted sources; clean, simple navigation; information in a variety of formats (photos, video, audio, PDFs, etc.); targeted, even personalized, content, all peppered with easy-to-use feedback and response mechanisms, such as registration forms and surveys.

This constantly evolving content, displayed in engaging formats using methods that fully exploit the Internet’s audio/visual capabilities, tells audiences that what they are viewing is new, it’s current, it’s credible. Note that most Reuters stories aggregated on Yahoo! for example, always have a date and a time and some even say, “2 hours and 8 minutes ago”. A simple notation tells us that this is the latest news; it’s up-to-date; it’s current; it’s credible.

Dynamic communications influences action.

Dynamic communications enables us to provide the content that will engage our audiences and encourage them to act. If our audiences don’t invest in our firm, write an article about us, buy more products or services, or do anything else we want them to do, then we haven’t done our job.

Journalists, as most of us know, have very specific requirements for the content they use. Their ability or inability to get the information they need affects the way they will write a story and usually determines whether or not they will write one at all.

The latest Neilson Norman Group study on, “Designing Websites to Maximize Press Relations” states, “If journalists cannot find what they are looking for on a website, they may exclude or limit information about that company in the story. According to our users, some test sites were so unusable that the journalists would have given the companies little or no press coverage.”

Ecast, Inc. is a San Francisco firm that runs a network of almost 2000 coin-operated, broadband-enabled digital downloading jukeboxes in North America. The company has seen its media coverage spike, according to Bob Cooney, V.P. of Marketing, since it began using a dynamic content management system for its Internet pressroom. (Read the Case Study for More)

In order to interest journalists in your company, you must provide them with more than just a press release. Consider creating a “speakers’ bureau” staffed by experts in various subjects within your organization, or perhaps a “hot topics,” “story ideas,” “trends” or “statistics” section to offer journalists ideas for stories that will pique their interest and make their job easier. When you become a better resource for factual, relevant and up-to-date information, you are more likely to get media coverage for your firm.

Some guidelines:

Look beyond the text

Dynamic communications should go beyond mere text. As communicators we usually have a variety of audiences that we need to reach. Even when the communication is internal to our organization we are usually addressing different types of employees and executives. Are we delivering our message in a format that will interest all of them? Some people respond to images, others to audio, still others to audio and video, or audio and text. Unless it’s really fresh, text alone is often not enough. How many times has a journalist asked you if you had any art to provide along with your release?

Avoid Dependence on IT

In order to keep your key audiences engaged, you need to keep your content alive – and you need to be able to do it easily from anywhere, at any time – without relying on a team of developers.

Learn From Savvy Communicators

There are many tools at our disposal, among them e-mail, eNewsletters and even interactive online press kits. Blogs (or web logs) have become a hot topic of late (though they have been around for some years) – mostly due to their effective use by U.S. politicians in the current presidential campaign. Former U.S. presidential candidate Howard Dean launched the trend by using a blog to shape his image and keep in daily touch with his supporters.

In a February, 2004, Wall Street Journal article titled, “Blogs Have Become Part Of The Media Machine That Shapes Politics,” (requires log in and payment – sorry) columnist Lee Gomes wrote, “These blogs are becoming an alternative-news universe, giving everyone with a PC and a Web connection access to the sorts of gossip that was once available only to reporters on the press bus.”

Don’t Forget the Power of the Moving Image

Multimedia tools are also effective. There are a number of firms which offer online conferencing and “webcasts” that enable communicators to make presentations with audio, and sometimes video, and even allow white-boarding (for drawing onscreen) with live online chat features. Many public companies use these tools to announce their quarterly earnings. Private companies should consider using similar multimedia to deliver their messages. Streaming media (video or audio on demand) is an effective and low cost tool that can be employed to display B-roll (company or product footage available for journalists), pitch a video news release, feature a spokesperson, communicate with employees, or educate partners and affiliates.

Leverage the Expertise of Your Peers

Use tools that have been built specifically for marketing and communications professionals employing “best practices” – based on experiences with leading corporations. Make sure you have the ability to create content-rich communications vehicles that include photos, video, and even audio, and link those to response and measurement mechanisms.

Avoid Maintaining Your Own Hardware

Look for services and software that can be delivered on demand – when you need them – over the Internet. No software to install. No long ramp-up times. Pay as you use. Look for a provider whose service can expand or contract according to your needs. Think about what makes sense for your organization and quantify the value and potential cost-savings by leveraging someone else’s existing assets.

Finally - Tap the Potential, Reap the Benefits

The Internet is no longer in its infancy – yet its potential is still highly underutilized. Take a step back and assess your current position. Follow the examples set by other savvy communicators and determine your goals (and your clients' goals) by considering the benefits, in terms of productivity and results that a truly dynamic communications platform can deliver to you and your organization.

Blogs are just one component in the overall mix of communications vehicles. They may make sense for your needs, they may not – either way, you can still blog for fun :)

Author: Chris Bechtel | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Chris Bechtel | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

On the use of puppets

It was encouraging to read about transparency, public relations ethics and the insidiousness of spin at various points of this PR Blog Week. On this forum as in others, public relations professionals are trying to get the industry moving toward new paradigms and values.

The calls for change are coming not a moment too soon.

Ninety years after Ivy Lee was labelled a “professional liar” for saving the Rockefeller’s reputation following the Ludlow Massacre, public relations professionals are still being seen as one of the less trustworthy categories of human beings. The fact that famous entertainers and talk radio hosts score even lower on the Public relation Society of America’s National Credibility Index does little to make our 42nd (on 44!) place look better.

So after the first century of modern PR, our clients and employers recognize us as valuable members of the team, but the public thinks we’re despicable liars. How about starting the second century with a little public awareness campaign to correct public perceptions and clean up our image a little, as some proposed in other forums? Wouldn’t that improve our professional prospects, or at least our social life?

Perhaps, but we have to clean up our act a little if that fragile veneer of respectability is to stick. If not, we’ll have to continue avoiding the words “public relations” when future in-laws ask: “So, what it is that you do?”

The ever-present “spin”, mostly the look-at-the-bright-side variety, is probably what most people would complain about. As Jim Horton mentioned earlier this week, there’s “too damn much of it.” Cutting down on spin won’t be easy though, in part because the line between “a good pitch” and a bad spin can be tricky at times, and being recognized as a good spin doctor is a point of pride in some sectors of the profession.

I’m actually more concerned with the increasing awareness among the public that PR operations make massive use of seemingly independent groups or experts to bolster the credibility of dubious claims. The practice of putting together front groups as part of “astroturf” campaigns and buying the services of researchers with scientific credentials is now so widespread that it’s entirely possible most people interviewed as experts by the media are being fed their lines by a major PR firm.

Fairly few PR outfits and departments can summon the resources and ruthlessness necessary to use these tactics, but they’re having a large impact. On a global level, examples include climate change issues, genetically altered foods and foreign policy.

If they are allowed to continue, these practices might have lasting negative effects on academics and legitimate NGOs when large segments of the public realize the media makes little efforts to separate independent voices from PR puppets. Part of the blame will be placed at the door of some of the world’s largest communications firms, especially those that associate themselves with a controversial message for a long period. When people get sick, or global temperatures rise, or the earth doesn’t stop turning, inquiries will be made to learn why so many experts said were so sure about something that turned out being false. In some cases, the link between the faulty message, PR firms and their clients will be easy to follow.

Something to keep in mind in the ongoing discussions on establishing standards for public relations.

Note: I’m not involved in any way in the issues mentioned as examples, in case anyone’s wondering.

Author: Montag | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Montag | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

PR: our role of facilitating the learning

Public Relations: Our role of facilitating the learning process inside the organizations

When finding us with new forms to be and to make organizations, it is imperative for us, professional and directors of corporative communication, to facilitate and to lead learning processes to find the keys that open the door of the success shared in the implementation of innovating practices in communication.

This affirmation receives sense when we interpreted to the organization like a network of conversations, and operating from the thesis that maintains that to the capacity and quality of the communications that arise from the organization towards the fan his stakeholders, define what it is possible to him to reach in terms, as much of economic growth, as of maximization of assets nonfinanciers.

The following article was conceived to be published within the frame of Global PR Blog Week, therefore, the content of the same one puts to consideration questions critics, from of the professional scope of Public Relations like coach within the new paradigm that supposes the tool.

The Blog Company

At the time of implementing this very good idea that is the corporative Blog, is important to analyze the same one from a social system methodology: observing and identifying tactically important points to adopt this new practice of communication in the organizations.

I consider that from the privilege place that has a professional of public relations in the corporative communications link, it is imperative to be leader of the change and to orient efforts in two-way traffic strategic that requires in this novel form to open communication channels: the people and the processes. This means to create learning spaces, taking part in the networks of conversations of the organization, being responsible for the effective development in terms of the confidence and the commitments that are generated of the same ones.

The theories (in permanent transformation) and first experiences that we are observing in the corporative world, do not leave doubts on the benefits and attributes of this innovator practice, nevertheless is necessary to implement this type of tools, to review three important axes of management: the competitions and abilities of the organization, the model of business, and our capacity like communication directors to lead, to teach and to train to all the people involved in this tool.

Before developing this technology, many organizations must consider if their shared culture and mental models have the attributes and characteristics necessary to implement this modality successfully. Let us remember that this tool proposes a new paradigm in communication and at the moment is put in practice by organizations who orient their efforts, in greater or smaller measurement, to the innovation of its processes of business; but not all the organizations, are proactive and many have enormous and heavy chains to implement these changes.

Before taking weblogs within strategies of external communications, many organizations they need to be observed if same verifying if they are really prepared for the challenges of this transformation in the way to talk with his stakeholders. Of course this affirmation is a great call to the action to do of this, a fact before implementation.

The collective reflection is precise, to unite the flow of different opinions of managers, to visualize indeed blogs like an excellent opportunity to construct bridges golden with its public. This forces to think about this change from the interior towards the outside, is to say to orient the efforts to the internal transformation that the organization needs to take ahead this practices in her communications, this way to approach the idea system considering as I detail myself previously, the people and involved processes of business.

This can take to the corporative conclusion that the use of weblogs is an opportunity to develop and to train equipment under the participation directives, collaboration and takes independent from decisions to agglutinate sinergye in networks of conversations. This is an important mission for the new status of the professional public relations.

This technology is a great handle of action for the construction of an organization with participative and reflective conversations of its points of view and mental models, and from our roll of director of communications or external consultants, it is imperative to give direction him to obtain the multiplicity condition that on the flow of communications that this tool supposes in the virtual world. The capacities of leadership and the competitions of coaching to accompany this process in this aspect acquire a critical relevance.

Consequently, implement corporative blogs, as much for internal communications as external, requires much more that the same technology. I maintain that the ideas, the values and the imagination are the three components that make of the technology a competitive advantage and a value in if same. As anything it will serve the attempt to implement and to obtain the benefits of weblogs in an organization where sinergye equipment does not exist and low a vision that hangs of a pretty poster, but not this in the commitment of the people.

To operate from the own language of the organizations is a great departure point to take part in processes more intense than it requires the effective implementation of weblogs. It is important to remember that the value or competitive advantage of this tool does not make the technology, but well the commitment of the people who useit. The language besides to conform the own essence of the organization, conforms the own conversational competitions that limit or expand the possibilities and opportunities of growth of if same.

The Blog company demands to happen of a emotional of the fear, very present in the organizations, to a emotional of confidence, where its participants, by means of the opening of I engage in a dialog reflective, initiate the possibility of opening and of sharing different points of view towards the freedom to investigate, to engage in a dialog and to reflect the involved hypotheses of certainty of each person or equipment. It is important to put emphasis in the construction of a shared vision to specify the values, aims and speeches of identity of the organization in the reach of this tool.

It is therefore that it practices it of the modern Public Relations require to work with in convergence of different disciplines, among them I emphasize the competitions of coaching and the importance of thinking this tool from a “systemic perspective”.

Matias Fernandez (Argentina)

Author: Matias Fernandez | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Matias Fernandez | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

RP: Su rol de Facilitar Aprendizajes

Relaciones Púlblicas: nuestro rol de facilitar procesos de aprendizaje en las organizaciones.

Al encontrarnos con nuevas formas de ser y hacer organizaciones, es imperativo para nosotros, profesionales y directores de comunicación corporativa, facilitar y liderar procesos de aprendizaje para encontrar las llaves que abren la puerta del éxito compartido en la implementación de prácticas en comunicación innovadoras.

Esta afirmación cobra sentido cuando interpretamos a la organización como una red de conversaciones, y operando desde la tesis que sostiene que la capacidad y calidad de las comunicaciones que surgen de la organización hacia el abanico sus stakeholders, definen lo que le es posible alcanzar en términos, tanto de crecimiento económico, como de maximización de activos no financieros.

El siguiente artículo fue concebido para ser publicado dentro del marco de Global PR Blog Week, por esta razón, el contenido del mismo pone a consideración cuestiones críticas, desde del ámbito profesional de Relaciones Públicas como facilitador de aprendizajes, dentro del nuevo paradigma que supone la herramienta.

La Empresa Blog

A la hora de implementar esta muy buena idea que es el Blog corporativo, es importante analizar la misma desde una metodología sistémica: observando e identificando puntos claves, para adoptar esta nueva práctica de comunicación en las organizaciones.

Considero que desde el lugar de privilegio que tiene un profesional de relaciones públicas en la dirección de las comunicaciones corporativas, es imperativo ser líder del cambio y orientar esfuerzos en dos direcciones estratégicas que requiere en esta novedosa forma de abrir canales de comunicación: las personas y los procesos. Esto significa crear espacios de aprendizaje, interviniendo en las redes de conversaciones de la organización, siendo responsables del desarrollo efectivo en términos de la confianza y los compromisos que se generan de las mismas.

Las teorías (en permanente transformación) y primeras experiencias que estamos observando en el mundo corporativo, no dejan dudas sobre los beneficios y atributos de esta innovadora practica, sin embargo es necesario para implementar este tipo de herramientas, revisar tres importantes ejes de gestión: las competencias y habilidades (implícitas/explicitas) de la organización, el modelo de negocio, y nuestra capacidad como directores de comunicación de liderar, enseñar y entrenar a todas las personas involucradas en esta herramienta.

Por esta razón, antes de desarrollar precipitadamente esta tecnología, muchas organizaciones tienen que plantearse si su cultura y modelos mentales compartidos tienen los atributos y características necesarias para implementar con éxito esta modalidad. Recordemos que esta herramienta propone un nuevo paradigma en comunicación y actualmente es puesta en práctica por organizaciones que orientan sus esfuerzos, en mayor o menor medida, a la innovación de sus procesos de negocio; pero no todas las organizaciones, son proactivas y muchas tienen enormes y pesadas cadenas para implementar estos cambios.

Antes de llevar weblogs dentro de estrategias de comunicaciones externas, muchas organizaciones necesitan observarse a si mismas para comprobar si realmente están preparadas para los desafíos de esta transformación en el modo de conversar con sus stakeholders. Por supuesto esta afirmación es una gran llamada a la acción para hacer de esta, un hecho antes de su implementación.

Es precisa la reflexión colectiva, unir el flujo de opiniones de distintos managers, para que efectivamente, se visualize en conjunto los weblogs como una excelente oportunidad de construir puentes dorados con sus públicos. Esto obliga pensar en este cambio desde el interior hacia el exterior, es decir orientar los esfuerzos a la transformación interna que necesita la organización para llevar adelante esta práctica en sus comunicaciones, de esta manera abordar sistemicamente la idea teniendo en cuenta como se detallo anteriormente, las personas y procesos de negocio involucrados.

Esto nos puede llevar a la conclusión de que el uso de weblogs corporativos es una oportunidad para desarrollar y entrenar equipos bajo las directrices de participación, colaboración y toma autónoma de decisiones para aglutinar sinergias en redes de conversaciones. Esta es una importante misión para el nuevo rol del profesional de relaciones públicas

Esta tecnología es una gran palanca de acción para la construcción de una organización con conversaciones participativas y reflexivas de sus puntos de vista y modelos mentales, y desde nuestro rol de director de comunicaciones o consultores externos, es imperativo darle dirección para lograr la condición heterarquica sobre el flujo de comunicaciones que esta herramienta supone en el mundo virtual. Las capacidades de liderazgo y las competencias de coaching para acompañar este proceso en este aspecto adquieren una relevancia crítica.

En consecuencia, implementar blogs corporativos tanto para comunicaciones internas como externas requiere mucho más que la misma tecnología. Sostengo que las ideas, los valores y la imaginación son los tres componentes que hacen de la tecnología una ventaja competitiva y un valor en si misma. De nada servirá el intento de implementar y obtener los beneficios de los weblogs en una organización donde no existen equipos sinérgicos y bajo una visión que cuelga de un bonito cartel, pero no esta en el corazon de las personas.

Operar desde el lenguaje propio de las organizaciones es un gran punto de partida para intervenir en procesos más intensos que requiere la implementación efectiva de los weblogs. Es importante recordar que el valor o ventaja competitiva de esta herramienta no la hace la tecnología, sino mas bien el compromiso de las personas que la utilizan. El lenguaje además de conformar la propia esencia de la organización, conforma las propias competencias conversacionales que limitan o expanden las posibilidades y oportunidades de crecimiento de si misma.

La empresa Blog exige pasar de una emocionalidad del miedo, muy actual en las organizaciones, a una emocionalidad de confianza, donde sus participantes, mediante la apertura de un dialogo reflexivo, inician la posibilidad de abrir y compartir distintos puntos de vista hacia la libertad de indagar, dialogar y reflexionar las hipótesis de certidumbre de cada persona o equipos involucrados. Es importante poner énfasis en la construcción de una visión compartida para explicitar los valores, fines y discursos de identidad de la organización en el alcance de esta herramienta.

Es por esta razón que la practica de las modernas Relaciones Públicas requieren trabajar con en convergencia de distintas disciplinas, entre ellas destaco las competencias de coaching y la importancia de pensar esta herramienta desde una perspectiva sistémica.

Matias Fernandez (Argentina)

Author: Matias Fernandez | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Matias Fernandez | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

Tomorrow's PR Today

Where PR is Going and How to Make Sure You Get There First

To predict the future of PR it's first important to assess the forces that are shaping the media today:

1. The Internet is becoming the default news source for millions

People are turning not only to direct sources like CNN, The Drudge Report and targeted niche operations like BusinessKnowledgeSource.com; but to indirect news sources like Google News, Yahoo News, and Topix.net which aggregate news from other sources. Increasingly, people are choosing to view the stories (and frankly to get the entertainment) they choose to receive on their schedule, rather than reading a paper or watching / listening to news.

2. This trend has already and will increasingly cut into media revenues and profits

3. Media sources will make cuts in the news gathering and reporting process

4. Editors and reporters will be even more time-crunched and stressed than they are today (hard to imagine)

5. It will be harder for those seeking free publicity to get the attention they need and to generate the results they desire

6. Editors and reporters will increasingly turn to
a. sources that save them time
b. trusted sources that consistently generate powerful information, stories and leads

7. Media sources, with declining audiences and news resources will focus on
a. Preserving local audiences by localizing and personalizing national stories
b. Taking quality information provided by trusted sources and delivering it almost as is
c. Generating fresh stories that will draw the attention of local and possibly national audiences (local scandals, local business becoming big, local disasters, etc.)
d. Providing entertainment as part of the news process

Doesn't this list sound familiar? Isn't this exactly what's happening today? What's key to realize is that the Internet has increased the media's pain, accelerating this process to an even higher rate.

Given these changes, bright PR seekers will carefully consider their public relations tactics and change them to fit the trends.

Implications for PR practitioners:

1. Relationships are key

Gone are the days of achieving success by appearing on a reporter's radar screen twice a year when you've got some news. Now you need to be carefully creating and cultivating relationships with key media sources who have the interest and the power to run your stories.

This means that you need to constantly give what they really need - real news, stories, leads, impactful quotes, even if these don't build your business in any way. Think of it this way - who will a reporter turn to in question - the source that exclusively pitches their company, or the one who gives them a consistent set of great leads that turn into powerful stories, only occasionally pitching a story that involves his company?

2. You NEED an active, powerful, online presence

Reporters, producers and editors increasingly turn to the Internet for research, rather than the telephone or the directories of the past. You need an online media room; a powerful, frequently updated blog; and most importantly, a search engine presence so that media people will repeatedly encounter your name in their research.

He who has the best search engine presence and the most links, wins.

Isn't it interesting how the net has changed our world?

By the way, you can get those links both through natural search engine positioning and through buying pay per click advertising, (which can place you on the first page of the search engine listings.) At least 50% of the media calls I receive come from my pay per click advertising. For more information on how pay per click works, check out The Pay Per Click Money Machine

3. You should regularly produce excellent articles of journalistic quality

If a reporter with 5 stories on his docket stumbles upon your story that's just as good as he would write himself, he's likely to save his time and simply run your story. plus bookmarking your story archive for future story needs.

Create a schedule and system to create a never-ending series of articles.

A great way to do this is with tip sheets, quizzes and surveys - which not only make interesting reading, but great filler material for that last remaining 6 column inches of space.

4. You need to have your name and stories showing up consistently in GoogleNews and Yahoo! News

These tools have become powerful story archives and story generating sources for the media. You need to be included.

Unfortunately, doing so is tough, because both of these outlets carefully screen the news outlets they include. However, if you deliver great articles that carry bylines and get run by major and even local media, you too can have your stories showing up in these sources.

Google and Yahoo news can also be a source to identify journalists who cover your topic area, to generate news story ideas and to increase your targeted media relationships. Two articles that cover this in more detail are How To Use Google News To Get More PR and Competitive Drafting: Getting Effortless PR By Letting Your Competitors Do The Work!

5. Recognize the power of video and audio in helping media sources to choose to call you rather than your competition

Besides your writing, video and audio can be great tools to help expand your impact with the media. Journalists and producers want to know whether you'll be a good interview - let them see or hear you do it. Add video and audio clips to your site, add presentations that illustrate your story, and create video news releases where appropriate. Give them the tools to recognize you as the great information source that you truly are.

6. Learn to wisely use email to pitch stories

Email's both a powerful tool and a curse for the media. Most hate the huge amount of unwanted email (note - if you send a press release or even a story pitch to someone who doesn't want it, you've just spammed them - think about it, and make sure that you carefully target your emails) but most love the ease of obtaining and developing story pitches through email.

Email (and RSS, by the way) will be powerful tools in the future of PR. Learn to use it well by writing powerful subject lines, great lead sentences, pithy pitches, and leaving them wanting more. Hang something out there that sparks curiosity and forces them to contact you for closure. By learning these skills, you can turn email into one of your most powerful PR tools.

7. Learn to stand out

Journalists see hundreds, often thousands of pitches a day. What are you doing to stand out? How are you different than everyone else?

Different doesn't mean a box of pink feathers carefully cradling your latest media release, it means providing great leads and stories that are better than everyone else's.

Once again, content rules. Standing out does no good if your content (the quality, news or entertainment value of the story that you are pitching) is weak. When in doubt, create great content, that will always win.

One other factor to consider is the entertainment value of your pitches. How can you make your stories fun, funny, or thought-provoking. These won't always win, but definitely have a place in tomorrow's media world.

All of this involves work, and it certainly steps beyond the traditional press release blasts, phone pitching stories, and backslapping journalists. It takes recognition of change, ability to quickly learn and adopt new technologies, and a willingness to take risk.

But as you do so, you'll become that trusted source who not only makes the media's job easier, but who helps them to build their careers by giving them great news and entertaining pieces that gather them praise, awards and promotions.

So it's all up to you. Are you going to continue the old ways which are rapidly becoming dinosaurs, or are you going to make the mind- and skill-set changes that will make you a powerful public relations practitioner for the next decade?

Let me know your results!

Author: Don Crowther | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Don Crowther | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

The Seth Godin Interview

Global PR Blog Week Day 5: The Seth Godin Interview

As PR Machine's producer, Robb Hecht, evangelizes the technological integration of blogs and RSS with brand advancement within the public relations practice, we were overjoyed during Global PR Blog Week 1.0 to get the opportunity to interview Seth Godin, former Yahoo! VP of Marketing, named "the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age" by Business Week and author of five best-selling marketing books including Free Prize Inside, Permission Marketing, Unleashing the Ideavirus, Big Red Fez, Survival is Not Enough and Purple Cow.

Given Godin's expertise in permission marketing and the online space (not particularly PR), PR Machine solicited Seth Godin, the famed marketing guru, to comment on the integration of blogging, branding and PR based on his blog posting dated June 19, 2004 entitled Brand Journalism.

QUESTIONS FOR SETH GODIN

PR MACHINE: Does the Seth Godin brand have any particular advice to the PR industry in terms of effectively and ethically using the Internet medium via blogging?

SETH GODIN: Two moms are talking. One mom says, "Oy vey! My son is going to become a lawyer! He's so smart and so good and I don't know where we went wrong." The other mother consoles her... "at least he's not going into PR."

The giant upheaval for marketers is that the 'channels' of media (newspaper, radio, TV, net) are exploding in number while simultaneously imploding in impact. As a result, a plug on Oprah or in the New York Times (the survivors) is priceless, while just about all the rest doesn't matter as much as it used to. So... blogging looks tempting. Blogging looks like an easy way to get ink, an easy way to get your message out there. Bloggers, after all, are amateurs, right.

The problem is that this medium is amateur at its best. Amateur which means that bloggers aren't bored, bloggers aren't lazy and bloggers aren't just trying to fill space. The traditional PR approach isn't going to work (at least for now). What works is bringing actual news and actual remarkable stuff to people who care.

PR MACHINE: McDonald’s vp of marketing, Larry Light, introduced a new marketing strategy which entails using many stories rather than employing one message to reach everyone. He called this new strategy “Brand Journalism.” How do you think this will affect McDonald’s public relations outreach and media management...will the company tell different stories to different media outlets if it wants?

SETH GODIN: I think the vision is just fine, IF McDonald's also changes the product. Spin isn't going to be enough. The challenge is going to be to make stuff worth talking about, and then giving the PR people the freedom to follow through.

PR MACHINE: You recently implied on your blog on June 19th, 2004 (Seth’s Blog) that marketers don’t really get to run the conversation that McDonald’s marketing vp, Larry Light, is inviting...via his term, “Brand Journalism,” because, as you said, “It’s not really brand journalism that’s happening…it’s Brand Cocktail Party! You get to set the table and invite the first batch of guests, but after that the conversation is going to happen with or without you.” If you say that the brand journalism conversation is going to happen with or "without you” don’t you think PR folks should attempt to manage it [the conversation] by continually staying involved with it (by interacting with it and perhaps attempting to proactively direct it)?

SETH GODIN: I think (but what do I know) that PR pros can add a huge amount of value by focusing on P, not R. By working with the company as the voice of the public, helping them understand how to make stuff worth talking about. Moving upstream ever closer to the core of the factory.

PR MACHINE: Do you believe that blogs pose a “threat of true interactivity” and that rapid online dialogue is challenging the power of corporate branding?

SETH GODIN: Blogs help formalize and record conversations, but they're not the whole conversation. I do believe that blogs make it harder than ever to snow the public.

PR MACHINE: Given your expert status in the online arena, and familiarity with online media measurement services, do you think PR will come to mirror the measurements of interactive marketing and online advertising by focusing more on ROI (e.g. each link and each piece of content that is moved in the blogosphere will be studied for its contribution to the overarching corporate brand goal of customer messaging, acquisition, lifetime value retention and reputation management)?

SETH GODIN: If you're [PR professionals] not using Technorati to watch what people are saying, I'm not sure you're [PR professionals] doing your job!

PR MACHINE: When PR people pitch yourself and media professionals, it certainly isn’t permission marketing (your mantra). What is your take on RSS feeds as the newfound ‘reach channel’ for PR professionals to use?

SETH GODIN: RSS is a huge step forward. It lets you talk (in an unfiltered, time effective way) to the people who want to hear from you. Imagine how much more effective you'd be if you had an RSS slot on the desktop of 100 or 1000 key influencers!

PR MACHINE: How will RSS feeds affect your argument for permission marketing? Do you believe that RSS feed are the ultimate form of permission marketing? How will the strategies you recommend to marketers change? Do you feel then that corporate America will fully adopt them for marketing purposes? Why or why not?

SETH GODIN: I don't know if it's the ultimate, but it's a lot better than email! If you [PR professionals] don't know what RSS is, go to Google and take a look. You need to be on top of this.

PR MACHINE: In Business Week’s article, "The Vanishing Mass Market" they wrote that "mass media is fragmenting at an accelerating rate" and that "a heterogeneous marketplace requires much more one-to-one communication, instead of one-to-many communication, like advertising." Do you think that blogging can be one of the ways PR meets this one-to-one communication need and do you think that blogging can be an effective PR tool? If so, how?

SETH GODIN: No, stop seeing it as a solution. It's a tactic that leads to an overhaul to what you do. If all you do is view this as a new way to do your old job, you will fail. Fail! I hope that the PR community doesn't wreck this medium, but I'm not optimistic.

PR MACHINE: In your view can brands benefit, as the Cluetrain Manifesto said, from the openness that blogs provide by tapping the credibility that comes through dialogue and honest conversation vs. the old black-boxed credibility of the “expert’?

SETH GODIN: Sure, if they don't manipulate it. Am I a broken record, yet? Imagine someone in high school trying to game the gossip networks, trying to "tap the credibility" of the jocks. What a failure that would be. The way to live in a community is to live there.

PR MACHINE: Are companies really prepared for their customers to talk back? And if they aren’t prepared, what will happen to their brands? Will those brands lose control and die? Or, do you think they will open up and address these “threats”?

SETH GODIN: Companies have no clue. They view customer feedback as a cost and a threat, not an opportunity.

PR MACHINE: Your views of email and online political advertising were well known back in 1999 and paved the way for people like Howard Dean. What was your opinion of Howard Dean’s approach to interactive marketing by blogging and email and how do you view John Kerry’s outreach in comparison?

SETH GODIN: I think Dean appeared to do so many things right. At many levels, though, the community picked him, not the other way around. Dean was smart enough not to stop it. He lost the election when his actual "product" didn't match the expectations the online early adopters had established for him. Not his fault... but he went much much farther than he would without it. I think this might be the last presidential election where the Kerry/Bush/Big politics money machine (half a billion dollars this time) is going to be the key to winning.

PR MACHINE: What do you think the impact of bloggers at the upcoming national political conventions (Republican vs. Democratic) will be?

SETH GODIN: Almost zero.

Author: Robb Hecht | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ Robb Hecht | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

The PR Lessons of A Clueless Blog Pitch

The majority of the PR industry continues to log behind in the blogosphere, seemingly unconvinced that the influential new medium is worth learning about. Those who are looking at blogs are also pitching them and, from what I've seen, their approach is disastrous. But not surprising. Sigh.

Here's a sample e-mail PR agency pitch, with names changed to protect the guilty, that a blogger associate of mine and I got the other day. It began:

Time to kick off with online advergame specialist [JoeBlow's] latest game for [phone company.] See if you can connect up and down field for a few TDs with QB [John Doe.]

It pointed to a URL where the game could be played and went on to give the usual formulaic PR detritus about the company. To its credit, it was short and it had no attachments.

However, this is exactly the kind of pitch traditional journalists complain about, so why, oh why, would bloggers, who tend to be snarky and often downright rude about PR, want to see this pitch?

Certainly, some bloggers fall for press releases and even gush about new products described in them. But influential bloggers are more likely to ridicule PR people than run their pitch. Mike Massick in TechDirt recently ran a headline that railed: Sneaky PR People Discover Blogs." You think he likes PR people?

Bloggers are ripe for pitching
Lest publicists think blogs are a mere blip in the PR landscape, consider this: There are a growing number of influential blogs that have a huge number of readers (Boing Boing, for example, has in excess of 350,000 unique readers per month) and offer many opportunities for promoting clients.

Like any other journalists, bloggers need to attract readers. Because writing about anything on a daily basis is actually a lot of work, many blogs have faded away. But some writers bloomed and eventually turned their blogs into a lively form of journalism that continues to evolve.

Bloggers delight in scooping traditional media outlets with news, rumors and opinions. PR people have the opportunity to become sources, but not by spewing out the same kind of tired pitches they been sending to traditional media for years. Examples of bloggers making fun of PR pitches abound, so beware of your clueless pitch backfiring.

Original reporting in blogs is still fairly rare, because most bloggers comment on other bloggers' posts and items in traditional media. But many bloggers are experts in their disciplines and bring perspective from the trenches of business, law, education, programming, design and other fields that traditional journalists observe rather than practice.

They don't want to be blasted with press releases. Show me a blogger (or a traditional journalist) who swears he/she never reads press releases or PR pitches and I'll show you one who's lying. So it's worth your while to learn to pitch bloggers who are often closely followed by traditional journalists and opinion leaders alike.

The much-blogged-about case of the Dr. Pepper "Raging Cow" campaign (What's Next Online Issue 83) is another example of a PR firm that blew its pitch to bloggers by being overly commercial, is one of many that has bloggers tittering about the cluelessness of PR people.

Tips for effective PR pitching
Pitching to bloggers (or any journalist!) requires a short, smart, striking e-mail. Nobody wants to get a pitch that everyone and his dog has also received. And no journalist wants to be sold.

Keys to a great pitch include:
• Address the blogger by his/her name, or just say "hi." Never say "dear editor" or "dear sir/madam" (honest, I get pitches addressed that way.)
• Don't tell anyone they "must" or "should" write a story or book a guest. Instead, explain why the topic is of interest and why this person an expert worth knowing. Don't be cute.
• Reporters and bloggers all follow headlines. Explain how the idea or person you are pitching ties into a current news item or a trend.
• Let the blogger know you've at least looked at the publication and see if you can find something to praise. For God's sake though, don't say "Loved your great post the other day" unless you read it and you mean it. People who look at dozens of releases and pitches a day can pick up on baloney faster than a hungry hound.
• Don't whine if you don't get coverage by saying you "can't believe" the blogger didn’t include, won't write about, haven't heard of XYZ company.
• Bloggers aim to provide a personal view of the news. They write in conversational style as an antidote to the canned news of traditional media. Why would you send a canned PR-speak pitch?
• Run your content through Bullfighter or similar software to be sure it is bullshit and jargon-free before you send it out.

Author: B.L. Ochman | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ B.L. Ochman | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

The State of PR - A Tale of Two Professions

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . . it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair . . . in short, the period was so far like the present period .”
Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities

Dickens could have been thinking about the current state of Public Relations when he penned those lines nearly 150 years ago. Public Relations is an industry with schizophrenic tendencies. On the one hand, PR has enjoyed a prolonged period of prosperity both in terms of fiscal growth and its transition from the periphery to become a pivotal component of the marketing discipline. In short, PR has succeeded in obtaining greater influence, value and awareness. But that’s not the whole story.

Public Relations is still widely misunderstood. The popular perception of PR is driven by high profile “practitioners” whose professional conduct often bears no resemblance to the daily working lives of most PR professionals. PR is also faced with a range of challenges from the significant changes taking place in how people receive and use information. While the traditional media and PR tools continue to play an important role, practitioners are faced with new technologies and new audiences that require new thinking and some brave decisions.

Public Relations in 2004 is indeed, a tale of two professions.

Any attempt to analyze the State of Public Relations is fraught with difficulty. The sheer diversity and scale of a profession that operates in every industry, in practically every country, language and culture, is acute and complex. When you factor in the diverse daily challenges facing agency and in-house practitioners, and the different issues faced by professionals in different PR disciplines from media relations to community relations, the disparate nature of the profession becomes even more acute – and any analysis more difficult.

While it’s tempting to look at well–established Public Relations industry metrics such as “Agency income” I will avoid it in this analysis. These measures do not, in my opinion, provide a qualitative analysis of the opportunities and threats facing Public Relations

Instead I propose to try and identify some common themes, which should be applicable to the majority of practitioners, regardless of their employment, location, language or industry. By focusing on these themes, I hope a better overall picture of the profession and its health, will emerge.

Public Relations – back to basics
So what are these common threads that hold our profession together?

At its most basic, I think we can define Public Relations as the effective management or practice of communication between an organization and its audience(s) via the most appropriate media whether that is going direct or via third parties such as the press.

If we can agree on that definition (and given I’m writing this alone we have!) then it seems to me that there are three common factors that apply to the majority of practitioners:

> Audience – The people who we try and communicate
> Tools – How we communicate with those people
> PR Professionals – How practitioners see the industry developing

The Audience

Let us begin with the sole reason for the existence of Public Relations. The audience.

Regardless of whether you market to senior business decision makers in the Fortune 100 or local residents beside a pharmaceutical plant, you can’t help but notice the significant behavioral changes taking place in how individuals and groups receive, search, share and digest the information they receive every day.

These changes can be categorized under a number of headings.

Information Overload
Our progress over the past few centuries has been staggering. When you think that it’s estimated that a single issue of a daily national newspaper today (maybe excluding USA Today!) contains more information than someone living in the seventeenth century would have seen in a lifetime, you begin to realize how much information we are now assimilating (and ignoring) on a daily basis.

The term “Information Overload” first appeared in common usage in 1985. People were concerned about all the information and noise they were faced with in a personal and professional capacity. Of course since then, the problems surrounding information glut have become far more acute. The number of marketing messages continues to grow each year and now we also have to content with websites, e-mail, cell phones, instant messaging, blogs, spam, text messages etc.

People’s response to this deluge of information has been to develop advanced filters - irrelevant information is often ignored. Effectively communicating with all this ambient noise requires that PR practitioners have a clear understanding of the desires and preferences of their audience. In summary, reaching people is getting harder. In the past, a story in a national newspaper may have helped to achieve your client’s business objective, but today it’s likely you’ll need additional placements, you’ll need additional online support and you’ll need to get in front of your audience again and again and again.

Networked Communication
Alongside the growth in information, the Internet has introduced radical changes in how people receive information and how organizations share information online.

The advent of the Internet is fundamentally changing many of the mechanics of how we communicate.

In the past, PR has followed a mostly linear process. The client briefed an agency or in-house practitioner, who in turn crafted that brief into an applicable set of messages, controlled that message and decided on the best media to communicate the message to the right audience and then controlled how, when and where the message was released.

Today this simple, linear model is gone and gone with it is the mythical concept of control over information – though some would disagree with that sentiment. I personally believe that organizations today have less control over information than at any time in the past. E-mail has created an environment where mini-crises occur more frequently. Sites such as Internalmemos.com highlight how any digital information can freely move from inside the organization to the general public with the click of a button.

Furthermore, the way people receive information has changed. E-mail, websites and Weblogs publish information directly and indirectly making the entire communication process far more complex and convoluted.

Unfortunately, it falls to us as communicators, to understand these changes and how they impact the delivery and receipt of your message. Furthermore, we need to understand new approaches to delivering information, finding information, and new ways of reaching out and communicating with our audiences.

Are we doing that today? I think we’ve begun, but it’s not an exact science and we’ve a long way to go.

Goal-Oriented Consumers
One of the major differences in how people use the Internet, is the emergence of goal-oriented behavior. In other words, whereas people traditionally sit passively in front of the TV channel surfing, or casually browse a magazine or newspaper, when a person goes online, they typically have a number of tasks they want to perform. These could include collecting e-mail, checking news, researching products etc.

The impact of this more aggressive approach to using the online medium, means that to communicate effectively you need to understand why, where and when they’re going online. Furthermore, you need to understand the best means of communicating with them and in a format they’ll accept.

The Informal Network
The Internet also offers the perfect medium for enabling like-minded individuals to find one another, share advice, information and guidance.

These groups present PR with a double-edged opportunity. On the one hand, it provides marketers with a great opportunity to tightly target a specific segment of the market. After all, if you can communicate effectively with this group then you are directly touching a real target market. However, finding these individuals can be difficult and the downside is that should a member of this group have a bad experience with your product or service, then just one e-mail could have disastrous repercussions for your success with the group.

The other characteristic of these groups is that they typically have a small number of key influential participants who hold disproportionate influence over the group. Identifying these individuals simplifies communication with this group – and potentially other groups.

The Rise of the Educated Consumer
When you put all these elements together I think we begin to get a picture of a new type of individual. By developing strategies to deal with information overload, by becoming more sophisticated at ignoring or deconstructing marketing messages, a new breed of consumer is emerging. I call them the “educated consumers”.

These people make purchase decisions on their own terms. They understand and discount marketing messages. They won’t believe the organization without specific third party validation of their choosing. They typically undertake a lot of personal research in their purchasing process, which may encompass organizations’ websites, marketing collateral, competitors as well as traditional media outlets and the new groups available online.

The result is a longer and more in-depth sales cycle, which challenges companies to engage consumers on multiple levels, to engage not only media outlets, but individuals and influencers. It’s a far more complex environment than the traditional one and it places a lot more emphasis on understanding your audience, their behavior and their preferences.

The Tools

Rather than spend a lot of time discussing the new and existing tools open to PR professionals, I instead want to share my thoughts on how new developments may or may not change the practice of Public Relations.

First and foremost, I firmly believe that the traditional PR skills, such as writing, oral communication, media relations etc. are as relevant today as they have ever been. In the past couple of years some new tools have emerged. The most obvious of these are things such as search engine optimization, Weblogs (or blogs) and RSS (really simple syndication). I don’t intend to go into a lot of depth on the pros and cons of these tools, as there’s already a wealth of information on the Internet that’s readily accessible.

No everyone agrees with me on my next point. In fact many of the contributors to the Global PR Blog Week, vehemently disagree with my view on these tools. My personal belief is that these new technologies provide a number of fantastic opportunities for the PR profession, particular in communicating more effectively with your target audience.

However, I believe that we need to strike a balance between the old and the new. I believe these tools will become a fundamental part of the PR toolbox, however I do not believe they will replace the tried and tested techniques we already use. I believe we need to be pragmatic and heed the lessons of history.

Here’s why.

If you accept my thesis on the “educated consumer” then we have a situation where your audience undertakes sophisticated analysis of the products and services that are available. This means that they will probably read standard corporate websites, traditional brochures, consumer websites, magazines, mailing lists, Weblogs and they may even go to a physical location to see and use the product. The reality is the Internet is being integrated with the traditional media – with all our computers, digital devices and the Internet, we still are printing more information on paper than ever before.

Personally speaking, whilst blogs influence my thoughts and decision-making, I will never make a complete purchase decision on a weblog post. Rather it will encourage me to find out more. This is why traditional corporate and product communications remain important. If I want hard and fast facts about a product, the best (and most obvious) place to find that information is in a product brochure. That’s the reality and it’s certainly true of the visitors to our websites.

I believe the most important thing is for PR professionals is to understand which of the old and new tools are useful in achieving your client’s business objectives. Rather than losing ourselves in the “new new thing”. We need to pragmatically analyze what works and more importantly what doesn’t.

The first step is to find out your audiences’ preferences and use them. Start talking with your client’s customers and potential customers. That is a really valuable way of getting a better understanding of their behavior, where you can reach them and what they are looking for.

One final point. I am a fervent believer that there is a need for organizations to “open the kimono”, so to speak. People increasingly value an organization’s human face. We still like to talk with a customer service rep rather than a “robot”. Blogs provide a real opportunity to show your audience a third dimension to your organization which was previously hidden behind corporate speak and press releases. But remember this, use it wisely.

"From an end-user perspective, RSS fits unobtrusively into the mix of information services available. As with all advancements, public relations professionals need to stay abreast of changes, embrace them, and use them to their benefit. While the technology may be new, the story is not." Keith O’Brien, PR Week, July 2004

Public Relations Industry

The last element of this review is a look at what our fellow PR practitioners believe are the opportunities and challenges facing Public Relations. To provide a sample of their views, I recently conducted an online survey and 52 people kindly responded. The survey results are interesting and conflictive. They highlight the state of flux that currently affects Public Relations as we try to hold onto the hard earned gains we have made, while we keep an eye on how the changing world of communications will affect us.

These survey results are not scientific. They were exclusively conducted via my Blog and therefore the results are weighted in favor of the more technological savvy practitioners. Nonetheless they provide an interesting insight into the state of our industry in 2004.

Profile
The majority of survey respondents (59.1%) work in PR agencies with in-house and independent practitioners ranking as the joint second most popular categories with 13.6% of respondents each.

Audience
When respondents were asked to highlight their top three audiences, the overwhelming primary audience was traditional print journalists (77.3%). Online journalists were the second most popular category (68.2%) with customers third (36.4%). Less that 5% of respondents mentioned bloggers as a primary audience, though the survey didn’t actually name bloggers as an option, all votes for bloggers were entered in the “other” category.

Public Relations Indicators
The survey attempted to gauge how PR practitioners feel about their roles and the health of Public Relations by asking them to rate their agreement with a number of statements. The findings were interesting:

> PR is more important than ever before (90% Agreement)

> The Benefits of PR are not understood (68% Agreement)

> PR has image problems (77% Agreement)

> There are huge opportunities for the PR profession (91% Agreement)

> PR is not getting any easier (64% Agreement)

> PR is not easily measured (64% Agreement)

> There is disagreement whether PR budgets are growing (45% Neutral, 32% No, 23% Yes)

> There is disagreement about whether PR’s relationships with journalists are improving or not (45% Neutral, 36% No, 18% Yes)

> Media relations continues to be the most important element of PR (77% Agreement)

> There is more to PR than media relations (68% Agreement)

> Blogs are becoming an essential PR tool (73% Agreement)

> The PR business is definitely changing (95% Agreement)

> Mixed feelings on whether PR Standards are high enough (55% 45% Neutral)

> The Internet isn’t making PR any easier (50% Agreement, 40% Neutral)

> PR still isn’t taking advantage of technology (55% Agreement, 27% neutral)

Where are the opportunities for Public Relations?
The survey was designed to encourage people to provide their own opinions on the potential opportunities for PR, rather than forcing them to conform to some pre-canned options.

As a result, the answers were varied. For the purposes of clarity, I have grouped them into common categories.

The greatest opportunity for Public Relations according to respondents is the emergence of new online tools (31%) primarily blogs, RSS and search engines.

“To use new communications tools like blogs, wikis, social networks etc. To help organizations gain credibility through conversation and interaction vs. from "expert" commentary. To wrench open the black box of communications so all can see and participate.” Elizabeth Albrycht, Albrycht McClure & Partners (A.M.P.) Communications

“Weblogs present the biggest opportunity for PR professionals. By launching blogs, marketers can join the community and share thoughts and ideas at eye level. It's an entirely new, but different communication channel that PR people haven't fully explored.” Steve Rubel CooperKatz & Co. Micro Persuasion

“Blogs and disruptive messages are threatening the strengths of corporate brands. PR practitioners must step up to the plate, react to these threats and proactively engage customers online by developing strong online corporate voices for clients.” Robb Hecht, Hecht Consulting

“I think corporate Weblogs are still in their infancy, however, I'm convinced that as marketing dept.'s get behind this medium, blogs will offer organizations with one of the strongest emerging platforms for communicating with media, investors, analysts, etc. -- since the advent of the press release.” Mike Manuel, Voce Communications

The second most popular opportunity for Public Relations surprised me. 18% of respondents felt that PR professionals taking an active role in adopting a more ethical approach to communication and guiding organizations to ethically deal with their audience was a great opportunity.

“One of the greatest opportunities for PR is to gently guide corporate and organizational policy to make our clients better -- read more responsible, kind and compassionate -- members of their communities. Powerful PR practice is not about helping our clients look good. It is about guiding them to be good.” Mike Simms, JSPR

“The future of PR is not in the tools of the trade (media relations, events, newsletters, blogs etc) but in our ability to manage reputations. Improving corporate behavior leading to better outcomes (be they sales, share price, legislative changes or whatever) is where we should be concentrating our efforts. One discipline that will and should grow is corporate social responsibility. But our challenge is making sure that we are the professionals leading CSR - because lawyers, accountants and management consultants all want a slice of the cake. In reality CSR needs all of these professions and more, but PR professionals should be at the centre of it.” Stuart Bruce, NetworxPR

The emergence of new media channels was the third most popular opportunity for PR accounting for 15%. In essence, it concerns the ability of PR people to use new and innovative channels to reach out to audiences that may not have been available before.

“Since technology can enable the PR professional to directly access consumers, there is a greater opportunity for PR to bypass the media gatekeepers and interact directly with their key publics. Ultimately, it will help PR get much closer to finally achieving a 2-way symmetrical model.” Heather Carle Director of Communications Afilias

The other most popular opportunities for PR according to the respondents are building online communities (14%), PR getting a bigger share of the traditional marketing budget (10%), better measurement (6%) and a greater executive role for PR practitioners (6%).

“The declining importance placed on traditional advertising presents the greatest opportunity for PR.” Nathan Schock, Breukelman, Kubista Group

“It’s an exciting time to be in PR. The rules of engagement for both Big Media and Micro Media are changing, which is forcing PR pros to re-think and re-work how to best communicate with their target audiences.” Anonymous

Where are the threats for Public Relations?
The question on threats also provided a free-form style of response and again the results were very interesting.

The number one threat identified by participants in the survey is also the number one opportunity -that provides an interesting symmetry.

31% of respondents believe that PR practitioners’ inability to understand, use and utilize the new PR tools (namely blogs, RSS etc.) is one of the greatest threats for the profession. Many added that it’s vital that PR professionals get trained up as quickly as possible.

“Mastering the ever changing technologies that are transforming communications, then convincing organizations to change their strategies. And once that is accomplished, understanding that you are already late on the next wave. Simply keeping up with change is often overwhelming.” Elizabeth Albrycht, Albrycht McClure & Partners (A.M.P.) Communications

The second biggest threat at 18% was the continued “ignorance” of clients when it comes to understanding the value of Public Relations and the potential offered by new tools and techniques. Many of the respondents quoted specific meetings where clients dismissed new tools as irrelevant.

Joint third in the major challenges facing Public Relations, with 15% of the survey, were professional integrity, and better measurement. In particular, respondents pointed out that if PR people do not work by the highest possible standards then the profession as a whole is in danger of being discredited. Measurement is a constant theme. There is continued frustration at the lack of clear measurement being used in PR, though the ability to offer better measurement of online media was cited as a potential bright spot.

“We need to be far more open about what we do as PR practitioners and encourage the broader community to see what we do as positive.” Anonymous

“Today, PR practitioners face huge challenges of integrity not only to their clients, but to themselves and the entire PR industry. Journalists, the traditionally perceived keepers of truth and integrity in information dissemination, have seen their position eroded substantially in the morass of public opinion. More and more it is up to PR practitioners to pick up the standard of truth and bear it with integrity against the overwhelming cacophony of millions of voices with millions of individual agendas. It's not clear yet if we are up to the task, but the challenge is there nonetheless.” Mike Simms JSPR

The other challenges cited included, PR’s lethargy in embracingnew communication channels (7%), Information overload (6%), Competition for marketing budget (5%) and PR not identifying new audiences, primarily online (3%).

“We're at a huge turning point in the profession. Either we move to where most consumers of information get their news or we run the risk of being obsolete.” Anonymous

Conclusions

So what does all this tell us about the state of the PR profession?

My personal conclusions are as follows:

> PR is in a stronger position today than it ever has been

> PR practitioners are very aware of the weaknesses and limitations of the profession and the issues created by a small number of sectors whose practices vary from the majority but tarnish the entire business

> There is still widespread skepticism on the ability of practitioners to adapt to the changing demands of the present time

> Practitioners believe there are huge opportunities from the growth in online communication and PR’s suitability to manage that communication – if we get our act together

> Traditional audiences such as print journalists continue to play a vital role in today’s PR activity for most practitioners.

> The lack of formal measurement techniques continue to cause major problems

I hope at the very least, you have found this article interesting. Whether you agree or disagree with its tone or findings, the fact that you have taken the time to read this article and the fantastic array of other articles in the Global PR Blog Week 1.0 is a good sign for our profession. We have our problems but I believe Public Relations has the opportunity to become an even more important part of business life.

The growth in the online community and their changing behavior may prove to be the greatest opportunity of all – if we get it right.

Author: Tom Murphy | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ Tom Murphy | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

Global ethics?

In my piece, Are Ethics Good Business? I highlighted research that suggested PR practitioners saw themselves as more ethical than the clients or organisations that employed them

Here's an update based on responses from Blog Week visitors:

In the original survey, conducted in the North East of England, I got this response
Some would say ethics is good business. Would you personally…agree strongly (47pc) agree (49pc) no opinion (2pc) disagree (2pc) disagree strongly (0pc)

How about your clients/ internal contacts? Would they mostly
agree strongly (17pc) agree (68pc) no opinion (12pc) disagree (2pc) disagree strongly (0pc)

So the majority of PRs ‘agree strongly’ but say their clients, or their in house colleague would only ‘agree’. The survey of Global PR Blog Week visitors shows a similar trend with 68pc of practitioners agreeing strongly, compared to a perception that only 20pc of clients would agree strongly.

I also noted an interesting difference appeared to arise when I asked English practitioners
My prime ethical loyalty is to:
no-one (0pc ) me (41pc) organisation (34pc) client (5pc) society (20pc)

I think this is a key question - one that underpins a lot of other assumptions on ethics. When I posted a small survey of attitides among 12 Global Blog participants, most from the US, they said:
no-one (0pc ) me (16.7pc) organisation (0pc) client (25pc) society (58.3pc)

When I widened it to visiors to the Global Blog, they answered
no-one (0pc ) me (20.8pc) organisation (29.2pc) client (4.2pc) society (54.2pc)
Again the majority of respondents were from the USA, and they were the ones shifting the emphasis to PR practitioners believing themselves to be ethically responsible to society.

Thanks for taking part

Author: Philip Young | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Philip Young | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

Royal Charter or spiv's charter?

As my main contribution to Global PR Blog Week 1.0, I have chosen to write about the state of PR professionalism in the UK. I'm hoping this experience will resonate with others around the world. Is public relations a profession? Should it be? What are the risks and rewards of professionalisation?

In summary, we fall short of meeting most attributes of a profession, yet we have professional aspirations and we are beginning to pull in the right direction. This Global PR Blog Week 1.0 is an example of the growing confidence among a diverse group of PR practitioners, commentators and academics to push forward and challenge our understanding of what we do.

The professionalism debate has also taken a step forward in the UK in recent weeks with members of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) voting at its recent AGM to pursue chartered status.

This will involve the granting of a royal charter, complete with archaic language, conferring some rights and responsibilities on the IPR. It will bring PR's professional body in line with the marketing industry's Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). Yet is marketing notably more professional than PR? And is the archaic granting of a charter an appropriate step for a forward-looking industry?

Seeking parallel perspectives

Rather than tackle these questions directly, I thought it would to helpful to look at the experience of another industry that has its chartered (ie professional) side, and its unchartered (ie cowboy) world.

Welcome to the weird world of house buying in England and Wales (different laws apply in Scotland).

Though there has been some enthusiasm for selling houses directly on the internet, most people enlist the support of an estate agency (realtor) to handle the sale on their behalf. The estate agent will be selected from several who will have been offered the chance to view the house and advise on its value and 'marketability'.

In estate agency as in PR consultancy, the winner is often the one who pitches highest. The estate agent who sounds most bullish about the price to be asked for the house (remembering that agents work on commission) will often be given the chance to sell it. In consultancy, this is the equivalent of overpromising results.

The estate agency (like the overpromising PR consultancy) then has to deal with the realities of the market (ie number of affordable houses and availability of willing buyers; or strength of news stories in a competitive media market). These realities almost always act as a damper on the initial expectations, leaving the agent/consultant to manage expectations. Either the expectations (and the price) get lowered, or the relationship falls at its first hurdle.

The seller (or the client) often feels disappointed and let down by this experience. But their only recourse is to take their business to a competitor. Not all estate agents are members of the National Assocation of Estate Agents; not all consultancies are Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) members. So there's usually no third party to take a complaint to. And no sanctions to impose against those who fail to meet the standards expected.

In other words, both are constrained by operating in competitive free markets - but both do not fully meet the definition of a profession. Barriers to entry are low: anyone will the knowledge and the nerve can set up an estate agency or a PR consultancy. Many provide a great local service. Some do not. How is the buyer to choose between them?

Yet some estate agents also act as buildings surveyors. This is the professional wing of the business. As part of the house buying process, it is usual to commission a building inspection. This report is prepared by a building surveyor and is an important part of buying as it allows you to assess whether the house has major structural problems. If it has, you have the chance to withdraw from the purchase before it's legally binding - or to renegotiate the price.

Though some buyers invite an experienced builder to offer an opinion on a house, the surveyor's report offers greater reassurance because it comes from a professional - you would not rely on a surveyor who was not registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Should your surveyor fail to point out serious structural defects, then you would have the possibility of taking legal action against them.

About PR professionalism

Where does this leave PR? Are we, like chartered surveyors, trusted professionals? Or are we like the unloved estate agents, running hard to succeed in business and resistant to external controls?

One problem is that we want both, simultaneously. We want the respect that comes from professional status, without wanting the inevitable restraints and restrictions, and without seeking the external scrutiny this implies. We have, like the estate agents and chartered surveyors outlined above, elements of the commercial and the professional. (But so do lawyers, and those doctors who work partly in private healthcare. They have resolved these paradoxes, and so must we).

The other problem, it seems to me, is one of definitions. It's possible to define the role of a medical practioner or a solicitor. But public relations practitioners work across all industry sectors and in activities as specific and as diverse as investor relations and internal communications. This centrifugal force has already led to one damaging split in our industry, with the PRCA breaking away from the IPR the better to represent the interests of its consultancy members.

By extension, we could end up with professional bodies awarding membership for practitioners in public affairs, investor relations, community relations, motor industry public relations etc. etc. This could happen - but it would weaken not strengthen the external image of public relations.

The alternative is to go the way of medical practice, with everyone achieving a generic qualification before going on to specialise in a particular area of practice.

Education, education, education

However you define a profession, certain concepts always appear. There should be a 'body of knowledge' and some form of training and professional development. As my colleagues Ralph Tench and Johanna Fawkes argued in a recent paper (in PDF format) presented at Bledcom, 'the majority of employers [surveyed] consider that public relations education makes a positive contribution to the industry, and is an essential component of the drive to achieve professional recognition, as it is for most professions.'

They identified resistance among employers to an over-theoretical public relations curriculum, but recognised the contribution PR graduates can make to the workplace.

I have also seen the adoption of a more flexible balance between work and study with many senior PR practitioners taking time out for block-release study to complete their IPR Diploma qualification - a theoretical course that yet has immediate payback in terms of better understanding of the role and potential of public relations within their organisations.

Practitioner and employer support for PR qualifications and continuous professional development is a necessary prerequisite in the move to professionalisation.

Another is the adoption of a code of conduct and the acceptance of the need for ethical practice. This week has seen the case for ethics in PR being well argued by Philip Young.

There are other problems to resolve, and the pursuit of chartered status by the UK's PR professional body will not be an end in itself. But I welcome it as a milestone on a journey that we need to make collectively.

We need to do this for the sake of current practitioners, their employers and clients. And for the sake of future graduates who will enter the workplace with high hopes only to realise with horror that our generation of practitioners and thinkers had done nothing to progress the professionalism and the esteem of the industry as a whole.

Author: Richard Bailey | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: @ Richard Bailey | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

The Martha Stewart Crisis

Whether you consider Martha Stewart a criminal, hero or victim, her sentencing signals the end of a long, punishing crisis. This analysis will focus on what Stewart did right and wrong from a public relations perspective; and how the scandal was shaped by the media and corporate reform.

Weighing in on this topic are authors Eric Dezenhall and Al Ries.

Dezenhall is an oft-quoted expert in damage control and the author of "Nail 'Em: Confronting High-Profile Attacks on Celebrities and Businesses."

Ries is the best-selling author/co-author of 12 marketing books including our favorite “The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR.”

But before we dive in, two points to make:

Some simply stellar content on blogs and public relations have been posted here over the last four days. As this post does not focus on blogs, I am hoping it offers Global PR Blog Week a timely, refreshing change of pace. You be the judge and let everyone know in the comments section.

The basic history of Stewart’s crisis will not be covered here. If you need a refresher, check out this timeline. Or just follow today’s news.

Every Meal Starts with a Salad
The media feeding frenzy around Stewart’s fall from grace began after her now infamous appearance on CBS' The Early Show. During her then weekly cooking segment, she was asked about the ImClone issue.

Stewart tried to dodge the question and noted she wanted to focus on her salad. Media training executives around the globe quickly added the footage to their training tapes of how not to handle direct questions.

“This interview took place too soon after the ImClone story broke,” says Dezenhall. “She was too flip and hadn't endured the crucible long enough to show human depth. When you live by personality you can die by personality. There are acute limits to what you can do with someone with Martha's personality.

“The same doggedness that served her well on the way up, served her poorly on the way down. Avoiding the CBS salad interview would have been a good place to start. But you can't tell divas that diva behavior is wrong. After all, until now it was effective.”

Silence isn’t Golden, it’s Guilty
Stewart’s first public appearance during the scandal was the most damaging of all. We could note this snafu proves out the importance of media training, but lets consider the bigger issue of brand strategy. Crisis communications’ and media training's role in a brand strategy is to preserve and reinforce the brand—when used proactively. Far too often, they're used reactively with mixed results.

Stewart fell silent after the CBS spot turned bad into worse, canceling public appearances. She hired The Brunswick Group to handle damage control and help create a crisis strategy (Citigate Sard Verbinnen now handles this work).

She should have engaged a crisis team the day the scandal broke. Especially during a crisis, silence isn’t golden, it’s guilty. Until Martha Talks was unveiled, the media had no comment from Stewart and they were left to assume, and assign, guilt.

Web Page As Spokesperson
Martha Talks proved the effectiveness of the Web in crisis communications. And as we’ve discussed, a blog could also support crisis communications.

Martha Talks tells Stewart’s side of the story. It generates support and presents her as a normal person—not the uber-perfect home heroine her shows and the media make her out to be. The site is humble, subtle and presented in a way that communicates, while Stewart maintains her innocence, that she realizes the serious nature of her legal issues.

Timely trial updates, statements from Stewart’s legal team and a library of different op/eds written on her behalf populate the site. It’s become a news source, getting Stewart’s point across without her having to field interviews. Of course, she did conduct strategically-timed interviews with Larry King and Barbara Walters.

Traffic Shows Support
Stewart also translated traffic stats into a show of support. The site has received more than 34 million hits and more than 170,000 supportive emails since it was launched in June, 2003. This information is brought to your attention on first view.

Personally, I think she could have employed a blog or comparable comments/bulletin board section to build on the e-mail support base the site developed. The danger is that anti-Stewart fans can also post, but I think the pros of pushing her site further to tap into this audience outweigh the cons.

“Stewart's Internet campaign was quite good,” says Dezenhall. “It allowed her to mobilize and to communicate with supporters. In the end, it didn't turn the jury, but it was a good move to establish the Web site.

“I am a skeptic about too many TV interviews, especially with a personality like hers. When I have a legal defendant I've been conservative about press, but because Martha had a publicly-traded company there was reason to do it. In the end, the killers were bad facts against Martha, the hostile Marie Antoinette climate and Martha's persona.”

Brand Personification
Can the brand survive without Martha Stewart? Wharton School offers up an interesting article on this entitled: “When the CEO is the Brand, But Falls from Grace, What's Next?” (login now required – sorry!)

The article explores brand personification—when the brand is tied to an individual. The main point is to strike a balance when you rely on the CEO as your brand.

"Strike a balance, where the company benefits from an appealing public personality like Martha Stewart and Donald Trump or Ralph Lauren and Michael Dell, while it builds a strong identity that doesn't rely on the individual.
“Like Stewart, Trump places his name on everything he gets involved in. He is a visible, vocal brand voice. Lauren and Dell, however, have cleverly created a separate, institutional identity that doesn't make them so vulnerable if they have a personal problem.”

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) is moving in that direction with products and projects that do not bear Martha's name. It will be interesting to see how much more they will need to change at MSLO to strike a balance.

“It's a long road, to differentiate your company from your personality,” says Dezenhall. “But it's do-able.”

Ries disagrees.

“The Martha Stewart brand can’t survive without her,” says Ries. “But we do think that brand personification is a good idea. For every failure there are many successes. Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and George Foreman to name three.”

MSLO and Martha Stewart have been very inconsistent on how much MSLO’s house of brands relies on Stewart. MSLO is quick to point out that Stewart is one employee of a large company. How could one person possibly account for the bulk of the brand?

Then after the guilty verdict, the lawyers had everyone saying that MSLO could not survive if Stewart were in prison. There was lots of waffling here. And not the Belgian kind, made from scratch for your next Sunday brunch (you KNEW there would be a domestic reference in here sooner or later).

What's in a Name?
“Eventually the goal will be to make Martha Stewart a Betty Crocker-type figure,” says Dezenhall. “This is someone who we know as a symbol, but do not know personally. I'm not even sure if Betty Crocker was a real person. [she’s not]

“In a less radioactive climate, the name Martha Stewart still has equity. I'd be throttling back on her personality but not necessarily doing away with her image. There is no singular strategy here, and much will depend on the business and cultural climate after Stewart's sentence is served.”

The New York Times brings us an interesting fact: "Since last June, when Stewart was indicted on charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice, MSLO has applied for 12 trademarks—none of which include her name."

The article notes, "trademarks are a capital asset—property a company can own to enhance a brand, product or service. An exclusive name or image often increases a product's value."

Based on how the sentencing goes Friday morning, I'm predicting that MSLO might even start referring themselves as just that...MSLO, or their ticker symbol MSO. I call it pulling a KFC. Unfortunately, this is no longer an accurate statement as KFC tries to distract us from the sizzle and crackle of the deep fryer by evolving from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC and now to Kitchen Fresh Chicken? They should have stopped at KFC.

CEOs & Corporate Reform
Personally, I think Stewart is a victim of much needed corporate reform.

Keep in mind, she’s not being convicted of insider trading, rather lying during the insider trading investigation. Her worth has plummeted from billions to millions and she lost the helm of a diverse company she built all by herself. Hopefully U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum will hand down a sentence fitting the crime.

So why the need to incarcerate her? Well, I’ll argue it’s because most folks cannot match these executives:

Rigas, Ebbers, Kozlowski, Fastow, Nacchio

to their respective companies

Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, Qwest, Adelphia

The Justice Department has charged more than 700 people in the two years since the Corporate Fraud Task Force was formed. But Stewart is the celebrity CEO everyone recognizes. This sentence sends a message to corporate America.

Dezenhall notes, “Legally, Martha isn't a victim because she was convicted of breaking the law. Her career and her business certainly have been victimized. There is a witch hunt component to this on top of the legal violations. Her celebrity and her success played a role in the intensity of the scrutiny and the harshness of the punishment.

“We are living in a Marie Antoinette period right now. The savaging of success is considered universally good. Americans enjoy playing a role in building someone up, but once they rise out of our reach, they must be torn down. How it's done, in a court, in the media, is academic.”

The Big House or Stewart’s Farmhouse?
August 3rd is Stewart’s birthday. Will she spend it in the big house or at her farmhouse? We’ll find out, but legal experts estimate the prison sentence could be 16 months or more. Will a prison sentence spell the end of Stewart? Of course not.

“Stewart will be back,” says Dezenhall. “Americans enjoy the whole process of crucifixion and resurrection. A wounded Martha may be a lovable Martha. We do love to see the mighty suffer. A Martha comeback would be a story the media would love to do and that may dictate things.

“There are simply too many examples out there to tell us that scandal is not only temporary, but it could be the best thing that ever happened to someone.”

--
In addition to comments here, feel free to drop me an e-mail: prblog@yahoo.com

Author: Kevin Dugan | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ Kevin Dugan | Topic 4 Crisis Management

Chat schedule for July 16

Matias Fernandez will be available for chat from 5 pm to 7 pm EST via MSN Messenger (matiasdelmar[at]hotmail[dot]com).
Jeremy Pepper will be available for chat from 6 pm to 8 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) via MSN Messenger (jspepper[at]hotmail[dot]com) and Skype (jspepper).
Robb Hecht will be available for chat from 9 am to 3 pm (Eastern Daylight Time), via AOL IM (prmachineblog), Yahoo! Messenger (prmachineblog), or MSN Messenger (prmachineblog[at]aol[dot]com)
Chris Bechtel will be available for chat from 1 pm to 5 pm EST via Yahoo! Messenger (cab_la).

Also, B.L. Ochman will be available to answer questions on the blog, through comments, from 10 am to noon and from 2 pm to 4 pm.

Before starting a conversation, please reach an agreement on the discussion's degree of confidentiality: is it confidential, is it blogable, would you agree to be identified by name, etc.

All the authors will respond to comments and questions throughout the day.

[Updated and reposted - July 16]

Author: Constantin Basturea | Jul 16, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements | Topic 5 State of PR Profession

Day 4: Emergence of Ideas

July 15, 2004

Our topic for Day 4 was Crisis Management. A major theme that emerged was the need for planning ahead, for example, through following an ongoing risk communications process and by creating a crisis communications kit. In other content, Kevin Dugan provides an excellent analysis of the Martha Stewart crisis, and interviews with two influential journalists, Dan Gillmor and Steve Outing, are available.

Some other interesting ideas emerged:

1) Speed is of the essence in a crisis situation, the blogging can be the answer, as PR/communications has control over posting the content vs. waiting for the IT department. Here and here.

2) Given the negative, cynical tendencies of mainstream media, the blogosphere can offer an alternative, more positive viewpoint of a crisis. Alice Marshall comments on this on the Blogging in a Crisis post.

3) You can't treat bloggers the same as journalists, as they generally don't come from that background, and don't understand the intricacies of "off the record."

Day 4: Lessons Learned

We decided today that it would be great if all of the authors had a chance to post their impressions of this event, discuss what they've learned, add more information based on feedback to their original posts, and so on. Therefore, we are creating a final category, "Final Thoughts," in which the authors can post whatever they want beginning on Saturday and throughout next week.

So, please come back and visit next week! We'll be watching the comments, and discussion will most certainly continue.

Also, the New PR community, to which the authors of this blog belong, is discussing the possibility of a new set of postings on this blog on one "Big Idea". The idea is to apply the knowledge that we've shared with you here to an issue. Some people suggested that we do this in the comments, and we are currently figuring out the best way to move forward and the timing. We'll make an announcement soon.

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements

Day 4 Stats

The number of visits were down a little from Wednesday, but still just over one thousand people checked in. Even counting return visitors, that will total between 4000-5000 total visits this week, and the numbers will certainly continue to climb over the next weeks.

Average Per Day: 550
Average Visit Length: 6:15

Technorati: Global PR Blog Week 1.0 has 302 Links from 86 Sources

The Global PR Blog Week was no. 29 in BlogPulse's Top Links for July 14:

http://www.blogpulse.com/04_07_14/links.html
http://www.blogpulse.com/04_07_14/link_29.html

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: Announcements

What Could Your Company Do With A Blog?

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND BLOGGING: HOW SMART COMPANIES USE BLOGS FOR MARKETING SUCCESS

The PR industry has taken a head-in-the-sand attitude about blogging. With everything we need to read already just to keep up, they say, how can we possibly add a few hundred blogs to the list?

Well guess what folks, you have to find the time because blogs have become an important marketing tool for a many hundreds of companies, and an important soapbox for a lot of self-appointed digital journalists who can trash your company in their blogs in a New York minute.

This report will show you examples of the many ways companies are using blogs and explain how blogs can be incorporated into public relations and marketing programs. In short, everything you need to know about blogging but didn't know whom to ask.

Because blogs are popping up daily, this list is far from complete. But it is broad enough to show you examples of how blogs are being used in a wide variety of businesses.

While many businesses are still getting used to the idea of having any kind of Web presence, forward-thinking companies are looking to blogs as simple, self-sustaining Websites and Intranets. If you're not thinking about how to use blogs in your business, you're missing a big opportunity.

Blogs make people feel like they know you and trust you, and that's one step closer to having them become your customer.

Blogging can be a remarkably effective marketing tool. It's also an excellent way to stay in touch with customers and hear concerns that can be an early warning system of potential problems. Many marketing campaigns cry out for blogs, but companies are missing great opportunities for blogs.

What could your company do with a blog? Read on!

Blogs are NOT for everyone.
Blogs are not an option for every company. They require time, commitment and, above all, good writing and research skills. Knowing how to search engine optimize blog copy is also important because that's how to get the great search engine placement that is still being afforded to blogs by the likes of Google and Yahoo. Search engines like blogs because they are frequently updated, have lots of outgoing and incoming links, and are almost entirely made of words. Search engines like words!

Blogs work in the marketing mix of companies whose products and services are somewhat complex. Maintaining a blog takes work and dedication. Publishing anything on a daily basis is time-consuming, and difficult.

Nobody will read a blog that sounds like a press release or standard company crap. You have to be willing to be conversational, and if you want an audience, you should be willing to be controversial as well.

Who should blog for your company? Someone you would trust as a public spokesperson. And it has to be someone who is a good writer. Better yet, an excellent writer, with a sense of humor. Now let's tale a look at what companies can do with blogs.

Blogs are not the answer to every marketing and PR question, but they certainly are a useful tool. Including them in the marketing mix frees you from the tyranny of the IT department and waiting to get new material online.
You make an entry into the template of a blog, hit the "Publish" button, and you are online. Couldn't be more simple or more suited to those, like me, who lack the technical gene.

Companies ranging from IBM and Microsoft to Jones Soda and Stonyfield Yogurt are using blogs as effective marketing tools.

Many other posts on The Global PR Blog Week blog have explained what blogs are and how they work, so I will skip that area here and get right into how they are being used.

Blog's Roles in Business
Talk of blogs is everywhere. But a lot of people still have basic questions about what blogs are and what businesses can do with them. Here are some straightforward explanations that will tell you just about everything you wanted to know about business blogging, but didn't know who to ask.

Because blogs are interactive, they are an excellent way to establish a point of personal contact between a company and its publics.

Despite the fact that the majority of people still don't know what a blog is, there is no denying that traditional journalists follow them closely and often cite them as news sources.

Journalists Read – and Write – Blogs
Here’s what’s next. Change will happen even faster online in the future and those in PR who don’t keep up will find themselves in a scrap heap populated with buggy whip manufacturers who decried the invention of the horseless carriage.

It doesn’t matter if you like blogs. It doesn’t matter if you agree with the opinions of the people who write them. What matters is that there are now more than 4 million blogs worldwide according to blogcount.com. And some of those have become quite influential – meaning that journalists read them and write about what is in them.

Not all blogs are rantings or diaries. For PR people, the ones that count are business, media and marketing blogs, particularly those like MarketingVox and Boing Boing which digest the contest of other blogs and traditional media worldwide and comment on the content.

Bloggers delight in scooping traditional media outlets with news, rumors and opinions. That’s one place where PR opportunity can be.

There are a growing number of influential blogs that have a huge number of readers (for example Boing Boing has in excess of 350,000 unique readers per month) and offer some opportunities in terms of promoting your client’s ideas or products.

What are the potential risks or pitfalls in using blogs (both internally and externally)?
It is important that the people who represent the company in the blog are the same people you would allow to represent the company to the media or to the outside world.

However, to fit the definition of blog, the blog has to be unedited and free from the legal mumbo jumbo that often mars PR material and robs it of credibility.

The Dr. Pepper Raging Cow blog has become a classic example of what PR people should NOT do. The company set up the blog and then went to several young bloggers and offered them financial rewards for blogging about the Raging Cow blog being cool.

Bloggers caught wind of the scheme and Raging Cow was creamed all over the Blogosphere. You can look up the case study on MarketingVox by typing "Raging Cow" into the search bar.

Many companies have embraced the new technology and incorporated blogs into their marketing campaigns. The following are examples of business blogs in many categories.

Examples of Effective Business Blogs

• Adverblogs
Blogs that are part of a company's marketing strategy and are intended to help sell a product or service.

Jones Soda http://www.jonessoda.com/blogs/ from this alternative soda company which appeals to young people is one of the best examples I have ever seen. It creates a real, open and interactive community for Jones' best customers.

Jones Blogs participants can:
• rate and review the products;
• suggest names for new flavors;
• upload their picture to the blog and have labels produced with their photos on the front and their copy on the back (minimum order is 12 bottles)
• suggest new flavor for Jones to make, with winners determined by votes from other participants
• suggest skateboarding, snowboarding and extreme sports athletes to be featured on the blogs;
• apply for Jones' sponsorship for athletes
• tell other participants about cool skateboarding parks and events of interest
• submit photos to be considered for use on Jones labels nationwide
• buy soda

Stonyfield Farm Blogs The environmentally conscious yogurt maker has five blog Cow-munities."

Stonyfield's Blogs include:
• Strong Women Daily News, for women's fitness and health tips and Stonyfield-sponsored events
• The Bovine Bugle, featuring daily moos from an organic dairy farm in Vermont
• The Daily Planet, discussing Stonyfield's efforts to reduce the company's impact on the environment
• The Daily Scoop, about Stonyfield Farm happenings.
• Creating Healthy Kids, moos about how to change the way kids eat as "the nation faces an epidemic of childhood obesity."

This may be more than anyone ever wanted to know about Stonyfield. And as a result there is not much reaction from visitors to the blog. But they definitely get an "A" for effort and hopefully the content will evolve to be more interesting.

The Stonyfield blogs are integrated into the company's consumer Web site, providing a way for customers to interact with the brand.

Those who register on the site can become eligible for "moosletters," e-coupons, enter contests, send e-cards, get recipes and sign up for a "Strong Women" conference.

Scene Embassies brands its hip European fashion label by having 18-28 year old bloggers around the globe spot trends in their cities and blog about them.

Beta-7 a marketing blog from ESPN and Sega, that is supposed to appear to be the blog of a beta tester for ESPN NFL video game. It has an active following of gamers and includes lots of video clips, some of which are supposedly commercial out-takes and rejects.

• B2B Blogs
These are blogs produced by one company to cater to other businesses.

Brand.blog Jennifer Rice of Brand Consulting blogs about branding, marketing and customer experience.

Ongoing Tim Bray technology director for Sun Microsystems, is one of the highest profile bloggers online.

His blogs notes, "The opinions expressed here are my own, and neither Sun nor any other party necessarily agrees with them." He says that his blog's "unifying themes are Truth, Technology, and Business. My strongly-held beliefs in each of these areas are … (I hope) reflected consistently in every other entry that is part of ongoing."

Microsoft Blogs More than 700 Microsoft employees maintain blogs, a remarkable phenomenon in a company that has always been highly secretive.

One of the highest profile Microsoft bloggers is Robert Scoble, whose Scobelizer is widely popular, and whom Steve Rubel interviewed for this event. .

Another remarkable Microsoft blog is Channel 9 It features video clips of the bloggers interviewing eachother as well as a moblog (mobile blog) and a wiki (collaborative Web site.) Channel 9, which has several authors, welcomes visitors with this statement:

"Channel 9 started as a personal story from one of us about fear of flying. Lenn realized after years of dealing with it, that it was actually a fear of the unknown. The fear was conquered through learning. The more transparency into what it took to fly a plane, the more the fear went away. Lenn got to know pilots who flew planes everyday, and every time he flew he turned on Channel 9 on the in-flight audio system to listen in to the cockpit.

We think developers need their own Channel 9, a way to listen in to the cockpit at Microsoft, an opportunity to learn how we fly, a chance to get to know our pilots. Five of us in Redmond are crazy enough to think we just might learn something from getting to know each other. Were we wrong? Time will tell.

Join in, and have a look inside our cockpit and help us fly the plane. Welcome to Channel 9."

ANA Marketing Musings
Robert Liodice, president and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers provides useful, straightforward posts on topics relevant to the industry.

This blog provides an example all associations would be smart to follow because it allows immediacy, interactivity and a human touch. Bravo.

ACCAbuzz - the official weblog of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America. Covers topics ranging from awards to chapter news, conferences, government affairs, marketing, legal issues, training and certification.

A perfect example of why blogs are an excellent medium for organizations with huge amounts of information to cover and a need to share up to date content with members and the public.

•Product Sales Blogs

Blogs set up to handle e-commerce

Shop Loosetooth .com Artist Brandy Agerbeck uses her blog to present her accessories, art, beads, cards, clothing, dolls, houseware and jewelry. She handles fulfillment through Cafe Press http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/

Nike Art of Speed Nick Denton's Gawker Media, entering the market as a publisher of marketing blogs, has teamed up with Nike to publish Nike Art of Speed blog, a new ad campaign.

For Art of Speed, Nike commissioned 15 young filmmakers to interpret the idea of speed. Over the course of 20 days, this weblog introduced these directors, their short films, and the digital technology behind the scenes.

What's Next Blogis my blog, where I cover Internet strategy, marketing, public relations, politics with news and commentary. While book sales are not the primary purpose of my blog, I showcase my e-books and reports, and sell them through my Web site, whatsnextonline.com

• Customer Service Blogs
Blogs are perfectly suited to customer service because they are interactive, automatically archived and searchable. Clever companies are using then for handling customer service inquiries, giving out product information, explaining company policies.

Macromedia Flash Product Blogs take advantage of blog's ability to provide really extensive product information, instruction and background.

These blogs establish their authors as experts in their field because they provide useful information. Two dozen Macromedia employees provide product information, including:

John Dowdell's"news service for people using Macromedia MX."

Macromedia Director of Architecture Sean Cornfeld's, An Architect's View "Thoughts from the Director of Architecture in IT at Macromedia on: ColdFusion MX, Rich Internet Applications, software design... and neat CFMX hacks!"

Red Hat, which sells Linux services, used blogs and MeetUps during a worldwide customer outreach tour in early 2004, "for 1/5th the price of a trade show."

They set up a blog because, said Chris Grams Senior Manager, Marketing Communications, at Red Hat, "I really believe if you talk in a real person's voice, you reach people in such a deeper way. We try not to make the message so watered down and so enterprise antiseptic that it appeals to no one. We may make at least a couple of people mad, but I'm hoping an enormous number of people feel a deeper connection."
Apparently they did, because the blog averaged more than 3,500 visits a day during the tour.

Marketing Sherpahas an excellent case study of this campaign.

• Politics
Blogs by candidates or political organizations and political commentary by individuals. Candidates' blogs help raise money, plan MeetUps and encourage volunteerism.

John Kerry for President is the official blog of the Democratic Candidate. Posts are by Kerry's campaign staff, but it is not unusual to get 200 responses to a post.

Democrats.orgis the Democratic National Committee blog with the unlikely title "Kicking Ass." (Donkey, get it?)

Eden Prairie Blog Scott Neal, the "friendly City Manager for the City of Eden Prairie, MN," says he uses the blog "to keep Council members, staff, and interested citizens informally updated on a variety of community-related stuff that's crossing my desk and my mind."

• Thought Leader Blogs Blogs by well-known people in various fields.

Seth Godin, author of several best-selling marketing books, including "Free Prize Inside," "Permission Marketing," and "Purple Cow," blogs his opinions on topics ranging from marketing to politics. His blog was voted Number One in a Marketing Sherpa poll.

Godin recently hit the virtual road to do an online book tour for "Free Prize Inside." He guest blogged on a different blog every day. I first wrote about this possibility about a year earlier, yet he was the first name brand author to give it a go.

Godin also maintains a Web site for his consultancy, speaking inquiries and books.

Release 4.0 Esther Dyson is a long-time technology and Internet thought leader, and publisher of the influential monthly magazine Release 1.0.

Release 2.0 is the name of her highly regarded book, Release 3.0 is the name of her bi-weekly New York Times column. So the blog, of course, was 4.0.

• Media Blogs
Blogs by media organizations include publications which have blogs in addition to their Web sites and digital media organizations.

Fast Company Magazineblog tries to help the magazine regain its former reputation as a bastion of hipness and coolness. Doesn't quite make it, but some good writers are blogging and there is the standard disclaimer that the posts are the writers' opinions, not the publishers'.

• J- Blogs
Blogs by journalists
Wall St. Journal Opinion Journal- Best of the Web Today, by James Taranto features commentary on news stories carried online in a variety of media.

Dan Gillmor’s Must-Read Letter to PR People

On his blog, which covers technology, Internet trends, politics and lots more, Gillmor tells PR people his preferences in helpful detail.

Cyberjournalists
A directory of hundreds of journalists who blog. Invaluable to PR people.

Slashdot
"News for nerds." This group blog has become an important example of new media and a prime source for journalists. Get a technology client on here and you don't need to do a lot more. More than a million people read it in a week. Quantity is not as important as quality with blogs. Some blogs that are read by only a few hundred people have huge influence even with a small audience.

BoingBoing
Covers everything from politics to technology to Internet trends and gadgets. Has more than 350,000 visitors per day.

Poynteronline
A site by journalists for journalists. Let's PR people be a fly on the wall. The Poynter Institute is a school for journalists, and is dedicated to teaching and inspiring journalists and media leaders.

Because the blogosphere is ever-evolving, this list is incomplete. I conduct Bloginars for corporations and regularly write articles about blogging, with examples, in my newsletter, What's Next Online, and in publications including MarketingProfs and WebProNews.

Glossary and How Blogs Differ From Forums, Listserves, Newsletters and Websites
A Blog -- short for Web Log -- is a Website featuring information (posts) shown in reverse chronological order. Blog software provides an inexpensive, but full-featured content management system that is easily used by people with no technical skills. The act of updating a blog is called blogging and bloggers frequently add new material.

The totality of weblogs or blog-related websites is usually called the blogosphere.

The format of weblogs varies, from simple bullet lists of hyperlinks, to article summaries with user-provided comments and ratings. Individual weblog entries are almost always date and time-stamped, with the newest post at the top of the page.

Blog software allows automatic archiving of entries in categories created by the blogger. A static address, referred to as a permalink is generated for each individual post. The latest headlines, with hyperlinks and summaries, are offered in weblogs in the RSS XML-format, to be read with a RSS feedreader, described later in the report.

How do blogs differ from other online discussions, such as listservs or discussion forums?
On a listserv or forum, anyone can start a new discussion thread. On a blog, only the blog publisher can post a new item. Readers can comment on posts but cannot start a new topic.

Blog posts generally are followed by a link for comments. People who read a post and wish to comment on it simply type in their name, email address and comment on a built in form.

The comment is then visible to visitors to the blog, who can comment on the comments. The blogger can turn off the "comment" feature and also can decide to accept, reject or edit a comment but no reader can change or delete a comment. However, a blog that doesn't allow comments is not a true blog.

An e-zine is a publication containing the work of one or more writers. Can contain artwork, photos, streaming media. Readers wishing to make a comment can send a suggestion to the editor, who then can publish or respond to it.

Creating an html e-zine issue requires knowledge of programming, unless a designer has created templates that can be filled in with copy and artwork. Archiving the content of a newsletter or e-zine is not automatic and requires programming skills. Search software must be integrated into the archives.

Readers can comment to the publisher by email and the publisher can decide whether or not to publish these comments. E-zines are delivered by e-mail and/or posted to a Website. Some e-zines are now providing RSS feeds as a delivery option because e-zines and email newsletters are frequently caught in or mangled by spam filters.

Since blogs can have many different formats (which generally have to be set up by a programmer or designer) a blog can become a template for a newsletter or e-zine and notification that an issue has been published can be sent by email.

Newsgroups allow members to post comments or start a thread to which others add comments. However, newsgroup software does not allow posting of photographs, artwork or streaming media, or automatic archiving or delivery by RSS Feed.

Clearly, blogging for business is a huge and growing topic. I've given you real-world examples that should help you wrap your brain around blogging and what it might do for your company.

Author: B.L. Ochman | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ B.L. Ochman | Topic 4 Crisis Management

New to the Global PR Blog?

There is a huge amount of impressive, cutting edge comment on this site but I thought it was worth putting together a few quotes for those who, like me, are a bit lower on the learning curve. It's not a 'best of', just a taster to give a flavour of the rich variety of new ideas.

Trevor Cook: Re-thinking PR
What will blogs do? We have some inclinations but I think it is still far too early to tell with any real clarity and certainty. But we do know that the world of PR will be turned upside down over the next few years as we re-invent ourselves in response to this awe-inspiring new phenomenon.

Blogging is different from other mediums because it collapses the distinction between producer and consumer. Bloggers and blog readers are essentially the same people. Instead of largely passive audiences, complex webs of online communities and conversations are being created.

Intervening, and influencing, these communities and conversations, will require different skills, techniques, protocols and strategies. Up until now, ‘feedback’ has been the poor cousin of PR, which has been mostly concerned with the disciplined download of cleverly-crafted, and tightly-controlled, messages

Ryan May: Defining participatory journalism

As PR professionals we have two choices when it comes to blogging, either we can ignore it and hope our company never ends up in a blog or we can monitor blogs related to our business or our clients.

…. To which Elizabeth Albrycht added: I'd say we have a third choice. We should participate in the blogosphere itself (along with our clients). Don't just monitor from afar. Jump in with both feet.
PR people have been trained to be invisible in the old "control the message" world. In this new world, they need to celebrate their identity. Don't hide behind the client, but participate in public conversations with the client. Be open about what you are trying to persuade people to do and give them darn good reasons to take the action you want them too.

As the old adage says, talk TO people, not AT them.

Robert Scoble of Microsoft to Trevor Cook
... consumers now are getting knowledge networks that are unparalleled to learn about products that they are about to purchase. We can look up Consumer Reports latest ratings within minutes of them being posted. Thinking of buying a car or a book? Search Technorati and Feedster to see what people are thinking.
If people are saying your product isn't good, then you better have an answer. Why not link to those people and try to answer their concerns? Or, do you not care about your brand? Is sticking your head in the sand and trying to ignore the concerns of your customers going to do your company or your brand any good?

Companies traditionally are used to controlling the messages that go out... In the old world, word-of-mouth happened, but companies weren't able to be involved, and because word-of-mouth happened offline only, most corporate PR guys didn't worry too much ...

In the new world, however, word-of-mouth networks are far more efficient. Today people can email hundreds of friends within a few minutes of a news event...

I don't know if there should be rules, beyond a few common sense ones. But education is key. If you're going to have employees talking with the outside world, you should educate them about what's legally acceptable or not ... You should let them know what acceptable behavior is online. That will vary from company to company and product to product.

Trudy Schuett: All the basics in one place
(A blog is different from a traditional static website because) it can easily be set up and maintained by anyone who can comfortably use a word processing program ... send e-mail and surf the internet. The IT department of your organization need not be involved in the project at all.

John Cass: Microsoft Corporate Blogs and other stories
E-mail is losing its effectiveness as a communications tool. RSS will replace e-mail in key areas. RSS (really simple syndication), a method for syndicating content from a source (a website or a blog). RSS is providing an alternative to email as a way to keep in contact with websites and email newsletters. Tired with the barrage of permission-based e-mails, customers will switch to readers that read RSS content. A customer reads their RSS content through a reader on a daily basis. While, at the moment, it is presently culturally unacceptable to send too many emails, even permission based email. Armed with an RSS reader your audience will demand more content. Those corporate bloggers who provide regular content will be more likely to keep their audience’s attention in an RSS reader.

Blogs are communications tools that give your company a touch of honesty and establish the company has humans running the place. With a blog it is culturally acceptable for employees to use humor and inject their personality into their online conversations with an audience. Microsoft’s progress into corporate blogging (over 700 bloggers) illustrates that corporate blogging on a larger scale may subtly change an audience's perception about a company.

Wayne Hurlbert: Blogs as a website promotional tool
Blogs are communications tools that give your company a touch of honesty and establish the company has humans running the place. With a blog it is culturally acceptable for employees to use humor and inject their personality into their online conversations with an audience. Microsoft’s progress into corporate blogging (over 700 bloggers) illustrates that corporate blogging on a larger scale may subtly change an audience's perception about a company.

The very concept of adding a human element to your business, may seem a little obvious to many people. On the other hand, many business and website owners have overlooked the benefits of placing a personal stamp on their business. A blog can provide precisely that human element for you.

Robb Hecht: Blogs are Corporate Brand Threats… blogs are posing threats to Fortune 1000 brands and in order to meet the new brand threat that blogs pose, corporations are attempting to influence bloggers in their media relations outreach, as well as shifting media budgets to strenghthen their own online corporate brand voices.

Author: Philip Young | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: @ Philip Young | Announcements

Basic Principles for Crisis Communications

Whether the phones are ringing, camera trucks are showing up at a worksite, union leadership is speaking at a public hearing, or a regulator is issuing safety warnings about your product, it's pretty clear you've got a crisis.

Instead of days or weeks, you've got minutes to map out how your organization will respond. You have to demonstrate awareness of the issue, empathize with the community and possible victims, appear knowledgeable to stakeholders, and prepare for detailed questioning from the board, Wall Street analysts, regulators, politicians and the public.

Ideally, you will have already tackled your toughest challenge: preparing your leadership for the glare of the local, national or international spotlight. In some industries, some tough media training will suffice. In others, CEOs, Presidents, General Managers and Plant Managers may be called upon to explain safety or health consequences of an accident clearly and competently.

The key to the success of this dialogue is a corporate culture that understands the benefits of risk communications. It's a field of study that emphasizes transparency, information sharing, honest consultation processes and accountability.

Effective risk communications forces your organization to identify possible threats to its business, clients, workers, neighbours and other stakeholders - and to work with these groups in developing a shared response. It's an ongoing process - more effective than a stale binder on a shelf, and more reassuring than a troubleshooter flown in when the first reporter calls.

Vincent Covello, one of several academic authorities in the field, identified seven cardinal rules of risk communication:

Accept and involve the public as a legitimate partner
Plan carefully and evaluate your efforts
Listen to the public's specific concerns
Be honest, frank and open
Coordinate and collaborate with other credible sources
Meet the needs of the media
Speak clearly and with compassion

While these rules were originally developed with health risks in mind, they apply equally to any situation where you must communicate to a variety of audiences about an incident, accident or health or safety risk.

Interestingly, the recent push for greater accountability from corporate officers (and subsequent court cases) has helped "open some eyes" in the previously insular world of the "e-suite" to the benefits of open and honest communication strategies. An example? Michael Eisner reacted slowly to the emerging threat from Roy Disney and Stanley Gold - and is now seeing his power curtailed because of it.

Clearer applications can be found in the transportation, food, chemical, energy and nuclear industries - where accidents arising from everyday operations can affect the lives of thousands of people.

Peter Sandman, another expert in the field, acknowledges that communicators will face ten (or more) dilemmas when developing or implementing emergency and crisis plans:

Candor versus secrecy
Speculation versus refusal to speculate
Tentativeness versus confidence
Being alarming versus being reassuring
Being human versus being professional
Being apologetic versus being defensive
Decentralization versus centralization
Democracy and individual control versus expert decision-making
Planning for denial and misery versus planning for panic
Erring on the side of caution versus taking chances

He's offered his preferred approach to each dilemma - at the link.

Sandman has also provided some suggestions for messaging during crises - especially when a corporate decision has provoked outrage from stakeholders. Many of these suggestions will run counter to any advice being offered by your legal counsel:

Don’t over-reassure.
Put reassuring information in subordinate clauses.
Err on the alarming side.
Acknowledge uncertainty.
Share dilemmas.
Acknowledge opinion diversity.
Be willing to speculate.
Don’t overdiagnose or overplan for panic.
Don’t aim for zero fear.
Don’t forget emotions other than fear.
Don’t ridicule the public’s emotions.
Legitimize people’s fears.
Tolerate early over-reactions.
Establish your own humanity.
Tell people what to expect.
Offer people things to do.
Let people choose their own actions.
Ask more of people.
Acknowledge errors, deficiencies, and misbehaviors.
Apologize often for errors, deficiencies, and misbehaviors.
Be explicit about “anchoring frames.”
Be explicit about changes in official opinion, prediction, or policy.
Don’t lie, and don’t tell half-truths.
Aim for total candor and transparency.
Be careful with risk comparisons.

There are useful resources available on the web for:

Author: Colin McKay | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Colin McKay | Topic 4 Crisis Management

7 Must-have Elements in Every Crisis Communications Kit

Chances are incredibly high that your company is going to experience a crisis of some kind in the next 5 years. It's how you handle that crisis with the media which will likely determine whether that crisis builds or seriously damages your company.

That's why it is vital that you develop a crisis communications and management plan that prepares you in advance for this eventuality.

In preparing this plan, keep in mind that this crisis may allow you to continue business as normal, or it may result in a situation where you aren't able to get access to the tools you normally use to do your job (natural disaster, lockout, etc.) so your crisis communications kit needs to provide the capability for you to provide the appearance of normality even in the most abnormal situations.

Thus it's important for your crisis communications kit to not only be duplicated in some offsite location, but to also include information, disks, graphics, computer files, photos, etc. that are normally readily at your fingertips in your office.

Here's a starter list of seven items that should be included in any crisis communications kit:

1. A list of the members of the crisis management team, which should include, at minimum, the CEO, a trusted assistant/top manager from the CEO's office, heads of each department, public relations and marketing team members, legal and security.
In case of actual crisis, this team will be focused down to the group applicable to that specific crisis.

2. Contact information for key officers, spokespeople, and crisis management team members including company and personal phone numbers, email addresses, cell numbers, pagers, faxes, instant message handles, addresses, even spouse's cell numbers.

3. Fact sheets on the company, each division, each physical location, and each product offered.
These should be in camera-ready condition, plus available on a disk in a generally-accepted word processor format (Microsoft Word) so they can be revised and printed out if necessary on a computer external to your facilities. Photos should also be included.

4. Profiles and biographies for each key manager in your company, again in camera-ready condition and on disk.

5. Copies of your company, division and product logos, your press release format and the scanned in signature of your CEO on disk in a format that works on your internal word processing program (plus one in Microsoft Word in case you have to work on a computer that isn't tied to your network.)

6. Pre-written scripts answering key questions that you have generated through your crisis scenario analysis. Included in these scripts should be the words you use to say "we don't have that information yet, but will let you know as soon as it becomes available."

7. Contact information for each of your key media contacts both locally, nationally, and if appropriate, key financial press and analysts. Contact information for your appropriate political, regulatory, and union leaders should also be included. Don't be afraid to go overboard here - if you have a large chemical release, your CEO will probably want to call not only the Mayor, but the Governor and congressional representatives.

We strongly recommend that you assemble this kit shortly. It will be one of the best insurance policies that you can have on hand once a crisis begins.

For more information on crisis management and communications, we recommend that you check out Crisis Communication Planning: Organizing and Completing A Plan That Works.

Author: Don Crowther | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Don Crowther | Topic 4 Crisis Management

CHATEAR / LET'S CHAT: OCTAVIO ROJAS

For those who want to chat with me, you can reach me from 7 to 9 pm (GMT+1.00) (1-3 pm EST), 15th July.

I will be on MSN Messenger: octavio (dot) rojas (at) wanadoo(dot) es

Para aquellos que quieran chatear conmigo, pueden encontrarme de 7 a 9 pm (GMT+1.00) (1-3 pm EST), el 15 de Julio.

Estaré en MSN Messenger: octavio (dot) rojas (at) wanadoo(dot) es

Author: Octavio Rojas | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Octavio Rojas

Interview: Steve Outing on Blogging's Impact

To get an overview of blogging's impact on both traditional journalism and the practice of PR, I interviewed Steve Outing, a well-known expert in the field of online media and a noted digital journalist. Outing, who has been covering online media since 1995, is a senior editor at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, and an interactive media columnist for Editor and Publisher Online. He is US editor for Poynter's group blog, E-Media Tidbits.

Ochman: How do you keep up with all the media, online and off, these days? A lot of people are wondering if we have to grow another head.

Outing: My media habits have definitely changed. In the last year or so, I get as much of my intelligence and news about what's going on from blogs as from regular sources.

Ochman: What's the impact of blogging on traditional journalism?

Outing: Over the last 10 years, traditional journalists have been learning the lesson that the Internet is a two-way conversation with readers as opposed to just talking to them.

Blogs support his conversation between audience and journalist. That trend is influencing mainstream media. On my blog the other day, Katja Riefler cited a newspaper article in a German paper that was very critical on an online news service in Germany.

The editor of the online news service being criticized wrote an editorial and readers were invited to discuss it; bloggers stepped in with their point of view. The author of the original article came back and joined the conversation. This is the way journalism is going in the Internet Age. And that is one of the effects of blogs.

I sometimes think about bloggers as like alternative press, but maybe with a larger megaphone. The way things have spread throughout the blogs is pretty remarkable.

Some people have a very narrow definition of blogging. And much of the journalistic potential that I envision strays pretty far from that definition. (Besides, I've never liked the word 'blog.') Maybe we can come up with a new word to describe journalistic blogging." Anyone got any good ideas?

Ochman: A woman who works for a Fortune 500 company said at one of my seminars on blogging for business that she was mortified to learn that bloggers with no editors could say whatever they want about her company. Since most blogs are unedited, what are the checks and balances now with blogging?

Outing: Outside of the news industry, bloggers are an opinionated bunch. Typically they write independently; they're usually unedited, unfiltered voices. Controversy is considered to be a good thing in the land of blogs.

The best bloggers will rise to the top because their content is brilliantly written and well edited. Some blogs will even be edited pre-publication (especially blogs published by news organizations). To say that an edited blog (and that would include this one) is not a blog is just bizarre, in my humble opinion.

Blogging is still relatively new. Even among the top tier 5% bloggers, most are not making a living at it. Not many are doing it fulltime. It is not a fad, it will be around for a while.

Ochman: What impact will bloggers have on the US Presidential convention coverage?

Outing: Blogging is getting to be more and more mainstream. You hear about blogs on the news now.

There will be some very different perspectives coming out of having bloggers at the conventions. Wonkette will have a very different perspective. Ana Marie Cox is the irreverent writer behind Wonkette, and her writing and attitude is a joy to read -- well, assuming you enjoy seeing politicians on both sides of the aisle getting skewered and don't mind the occasional profanity and frequent use of questionable-taste humor.

I read wonkette because she's who she is. She's very funny. It's really hard to tell if she is a Democrat or a Republican, she keeps it pretty balanced.. Most bloggers have their politics on their sleeves.

Another milestone blog is AP's. Surely this must be a sign that blogging is mainstream. Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press reporter Walter Mears and colleague Nancy Benac will be providing "running commentary, insight, and news tidbits" from the Democratic and Republican conventions later this summer.

Their AP feature, called blog@ap.org, is being offered to AP clients as part of the wire service's political coverage, and will open for business the Sunday before the conventions open and run through the final proceedings on Thursday night.

This is the first blog to be offered by the AP. Mears has reported from every U.S. national political convention since 1964 and spent most of his 45 years with the AP covering politics; Benac has covered 10 conventions. Mears retired in 2001, so the blog is his temporary return to news coverage.

Ochman: How do you find the bloggers you follow and how many do you read?

Outing: I follow about 20 blogs daily. I tend to find new ones I like through posts on other blogs. . Often one blog mentions another, and there are the blog rolls that a lot of bloggers have. I use Feed Demon as a newsreader to scan blog headlines.

Ochman: Do you still read press releases?

Outing: There has definitely been a drop off in number that come in email, and I get hardly any regular mail. Most of what I get is fairly targeted from people in my industry.

I definitely find some stories breaking in blogs. There is a great talent pool in bloggers.

Ochman: Are bloggers being watchdogs to the traditional press?

Outing: The Trent Lott story is example. People in mainstream press didn't think it was important enough to keep the story moving.

Lott praised Senator Strom Thurmond's segregationalist platform when he was a presidential candidate in 1948. Newspapers did not immediately notice the remarks but bloggers kept up the campaign and the outcry eventually forced Lott to resign as Senate majority leader in 2002.)

Ochman: Why aren't newspapers keeping up with trend to have blogs and have reporters use photo phones to quickly get stories online?

Outing: Media has traditionally been a fairly conservative industry and slow to change. The vast majority of income still comes from print. Even though the Web is exciting and news organizations are getting more diverse, the money still isn't there.

To get money into digital journalism – a lot is dependant on the technology, on having broadband in every home. We have made great strides already, with people already carrying portable devices that can bring them news.

The phone will become a more and more important media device.
Vodafone has a cool site with a vision of the wireless future. One of their visions is a replacement of a watch.

Ochman: What should a company do when bad news about it is reported in blogs?

Outing: If news is bad about a company, respond directly to the bloggers and engage them in conversation. But realize that however you respond, be ready for that to go public. I wouldn’t send a blogger a private note and expect it not to be widely published in the blogosphere.

In traditional media, you might be able to say "off the record" but bloggers, with no journalistic training, no editors, may not have same rules. They are definitely a little more unpredictable.

Ochman: Is that a good thing?

Outing: It's the way it is. Everybody has a microphone, has a publication. If you have something that really strikes a cord, it will spread everywhere. The nice thing about the blog world is that sometimes, something on a blog gets written about on 100 other blogs and has a spiral impact.

Ochman: Will journalists take corporate blogs seriously? What's your advice to Bill Gates when he starts blogging?

Outing: Write it himself. There is lots of precedent. Mark Cubandoes it. (Cuban is owner of the Dallas Mavericks. He previously co-founded Broadcast.com, the leading provider of multimedia and streaming on the Internet, in 1995, selling it to Yahoo! in July of 1999.) Alan Meckler, CEO of Jupiter media also writes a blog.

It's the approach they take. If it comes across like a press release, nobody will pay attention to them.

Ochman: Will big blogs ever have audiences of millions?

Outing: It will take talent, luck. It may be that a blogger who is really talented will become that popular one day.

Ochman: What should PR people do to approach people who blog?

Outing: The first challenge is that you have to pick and choose who to go after. Most bloggers have a fairly narrow niche, have to be sure you fit in it.

Ochman: Is it ok to send bloggers a press release?

Outing: I personally like that. If it's something in left field, that's like spam. If it's something that's appropriate, a press release is fine.

Ochman: What is the best way to reach you?

Outing: I am getting a couple hundred emails a day, but e-mail is still a good one for me. I have really good spam filters.

Ochman: Does a PR person have to have a personal relationship with you before you pay attention to them, or is the story the most important thing?

Outing: Personal relationships really help, especially because my field of coverage is the news industry. There definitely are PR people who often send me things and I definitely value those relationships. Sometimes I call them and they are really helpful in getting me interviews.

Ochman: What's the best way to start a relationship with you?

Outing: Send some interesting stuff that turns out to be a good story.

Ochman: With all the bloggers providing leads, will there still be a need for PR people in the news process?

Outing: With the expansion of all the blogger/journos, there might be more demand for PR. Mainstream media isn’t getting any smaller, and now you have bloggers. There will be more and more journalists for PR people to pitch. But only about 1000 journalists really matter to corporate PR folks.

Ochman: Why don't you have a personal blog?

Outing: I wonder about that myself! News organizations – the NY Times is a classic example , don't want journalists' personal views. It depends what role you have in the organization. If you are a liberal at the times, everybody knows your view, if you cover political news, that is not good.

I found that there are two principal types of employed journalist bloggers:

1. Those who are very careful about what they blog, never getting too controversial and seldom expressing opinions. Their employers know what they're doing and support them as long as they don't do anything that might put the news organization in a bad light.

2. Those who feel stymied by their media-company employers from writing what they want -- who look at the larger blog world and feel annoyed at their managers because they're not allowed such freedom of expression.

Personal employee blogs, it seems, are land mines for media employers. The nature of the Internet is why. A simple family blog written by a reporter might contain a reference to trouble at work, or discontent with a boss. It's so easy for such an item -- meant for a tiny group but accessible by the entire Web world -- to take on a life of its own and spread to a huge audience, embarrassing not only the employer but also the employee. The media operates in a Google-driven, Romenesko world now.

Author: B.L. Ochman | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 6 comments
Category: @ B.L. Ochman | Topic 4 Crisis Management

A Conversation with Dan Gillmor

Dan Gillmor is a nationally known technology columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley's paper of record. His syndicated column runs in many other U.S. newspapers. Gillmor's daily weblog for SiliconValley.com, an online affiliate of the Mercury News, is read by nearly 500,000 people each month.

Later this month, O'Reilly will publish Dan's first book, We the Media. In the book Dan writes that grassroots journalists (such as bloggers) are dismantling Big Media's monopoly on the news, transforming it from a lecture to a conversation. He believes the impact is just beginning to be felt by professional journalists and the newsmakers they cover. The public relations profession needs to adapt too and Dan devotes much of an entire chapter to this topic.

I recently conducted an email interview with Dan focused on how grassroots journalism is changing how we should listen to customers and respond to crises. If you have additional questions on this topic for Dan that are not covered here, please leave a comment here and I will forward a selection of these to him for further elaboration as his schedule permits.

STEVE RUBEL: Dan, as weblogs and personal journalism mushroom, will companies become more prone to crises? Which kinds of firms are most vulnerable?

DAN GILLMOR: Apart from the kinds of difficult situations all companies can find themselves in from time to time, there may be heightened vulnerability to a new kind of problem. For example, customers, employees or gadflies might use blogs or other new media to reveal information a company might otherwise have wanted to keep secret.

I don't necessarily believe that companies are in greater danger if they have internal bloggers, however. With proper guidelines, employee bloggers are among the greatest PR assets any enterprise can have.

RUBEL: Weblogs and personal/amateur journalism mean greater transparency. Does this mean PR pros will lose complete control of their company's reputation? What opportunity is there here for PR pros to shape reputations?

GILLMOR: Not at all. The PR mission evolves. But it's important for people to understand that a) they never had complete control in the first place; and b) "control" is a mistaken notion. Think in terms of managing, not controlling, what clients say and what is said about them.

The risks are growing on one level. Bloggers and other grassroots media -including the increasingly ubiquitous digital camera - are uncovering information many companies might prefer to keep secret and then spreading what they learn to anyone else who cares. Customers help each other "hack" products today in ways companies might not like. And some of the information that gets spread is false.

The opportunities are also growing. Using the same tools, companies can communicate better with their various constituencies: customers, suppliers, employees, community. With a more human than PR-laden voice, they can explain what is happening and why. They can have a conversation with these constituencies, via comments, bulletin boards, etc. They can enjoy the value that comes from listening to people's ideas.

PR folks also can use RSS to distribute routine news, instead of clogging up the e-mail inboxes of journalists who are already overwhelmed. And they can be careful to pitch the right people at any given organization, rather than blasting messages widely.

RUBEL: How has a journalist's job changed in this new era of communications?

GILLMOR: Journalists have to use the tools, and we have to learn to listen better. In an emerging era of multi-directional, digital communications, the audience is becoming be an integral part of the process or journalism. In fact, the audience *must* be part.

This boils down to one of my mantras: Our readers (or viewers or listeners) collectively know more than we do. This is not a threat, but an opportunity. We need to recognize and, in the best sense of the word, use their knowledge. Our former "consumers" have more choices now, and they'll use them.

Journalists have to embrace blogging and other grassroots media, for ourselves and for our communities.

RUBEL: The media are an important part of this country's checks and balance system. As blogs and participatory journalism take off is the media becoming more relevant or less?

GILLMOR: Since I include blogs and participatory media as part of the media, I'd say the media are becoming more relevant. But even assuming that we're talking about new media as a separate entity, I don't think mainstream media are necessarily less relevant in the mission of helping people keep themselves informed. The new entrants are adding context and facts and viewpoints that we - and readers who want to know more - can use to create more complete news reports.

RUBEL: Recently we both - on our individual blogs - re-reported some news that was partially inaccurate and promptly took steps to correct it. You're a pro journalist. I am simply a blogger. Do we each "live" by a separate code of ethics?

GILLMOR:Apparently we don't. We both felt obliged to post corrections/clarifications to what one of the parties in the dispute said was incorrect. Some bloggers - and some major media outlets - might not have felt any such obligation. I'm more comfortable correcting the record.

RUBEL: How should PR pros monitor the blogosphere for potential crises?

GILLMOR: Avidly, but not just for crises. With sites like Technorati and Feedster, it's becoming almost trivial to track what people are saying about you. If they're offering praise, a company can use that to do an even better job. If they're complaining, there's an opportunity to fix what's wrong.

RUBEL: What steps should professional journalists take in following up on damaging news they find on Weblogs?

GILLMOR: Check it out. This applies to all responsible media.

RUBEL: Why/why not should PR pros chase down every rumor they see online?

GILLMOR: Life is too short to track everything. But it's vital to track down the ones that are seriously damaging or wonderfully positive. Your critics can help you learn how to do things better; pay attention.

RUBEL: Why do you feel that trade secrets are dying?

GILLMOR:Threatened, not dying. Because technology reaches into everything we touch, with things like digital cameras, blogs and a global reach, it's getting harder to keep secrets. More important, the reason for keeping secrets in most cases is less compelling. Transparency is almost always a better strategy than secrecy.

RUBEL: What impact might regulation have on weblogs/personal journalism? What should we watch for?

GILLMOR: Potentially the most dangerous is the emerging duopoly of cable and phone "broadband" carriers. They'll have every incentive to turn today's open-access lines into walled gardens, or to allow some content to get to people before other content. This duopoly could make the already problematic corporate consolidation of media seem tame.

The copyright industry, meanwhile, is trying to outlaw all kinds of technologies that will be essential for the creation of a true grassroots media. Unfortunately, Congress has been on the wrong side of issues such as fair use and copying for personal use. Intellectual property is turning into a license for older industries to thwart innovation, and we have to fix this disaster.

RUBEL: How can PR pros use blogs - either penned by their own employees or outsiders- to their advantage in responding to crises?

GILLMOR: Tell the truth. Tell it quickly. Tell as much as you can. People crave a genuine, human voice in times of crisis.

RUBEL: Finally, are PR pros paying enough attention to all of these changes? If not, what will it take for this to occur?

GILLMOR: Some are, most aren't yet. I don't expect every PR person to get this right away, but I do sense a growing recognition that something important has changed. The word is getting out.

Author: Steve Rubel | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 3 comments
Category: @ Steve Rubel | Topic 4 Crisis Management

Now Is Too Late

Gerald Baron is the owner of a public relations and marketing company in Bellingham, Washington. Gerald’s book "Now is too late," describes Mr. Baron’s work with a gas pipeline company in the Pacific Northwest. The company had a major disaster, three people died. Gerald documents how he (a consultant) and the company handled the incident's crisis communications.

As I read the book, I thought maybe it was a primer on how not to run a crisis communication incident. Gerald carefully describes how companies can build a strategy to handle crisis communications. The book discusses how to use new technologies to help smooth the process of crisis communications. Gerald is an able and experienced practitioner in Public Relations who also understands how to use technology to solve communications problems.

Gerald Baron's description of the automatic telephone notification system for crisis communications was particularly interesting. Basically, a company, say a gas pipeline company, would gather all of the telephone numbers of local residents so that if an incident occurs an automatic recorded message warning about an incident would be sent to several hundred or thousand residents within 5 to 10 minutes. Mr. Baron's company, Baron & Companyhas spun off a separate company called AudienceCentral. The company has developed an integrated technology product for managing communications called PIER.
Gerald goes onto to describe how to set up a crisis communications website. Using a content management system, a crisis manager would set up a center of operations when an crisis incident occurs. Pre-prepared templates for press releases and an e-mail list for journalists and government, safety and security officials would allow the crisis manager to get information out quickly and to the people who need to know.

Author: John Cass | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ John Cass | Topic 4 Crisis Management

Blogging in a Crisis

These comments are based on an crisis on which I worked recently. The crisis had a bit of everything -- Congressional hearings, sensational charges, innuendos, falsehoods, facts, activists, demonstrations, hate mail, poisonous phone calls and hundreds of stories. It was a difficult time because facts weren't available to the client at the beginning of the turmoil, and there was a period in which the media seemed to know far more about what was happening than the client. The client never did catch up with the news cycle and by time stories died away, the impression that the company had been engaged in wrongdoing was rooted, although the company now has a strong, fact-based case for its innocence.

How would blogging fit into a situation like this? Blogging, as some define it, -- a place to record opinion and insights -- does not fit. However, blogging as a continuous record of facts and corrections of errors in near real time would have been valuable. Regrettably, the client did not use the blogging tool but did make use of its Web page. A key difference between a Web page and blogging was critical. The corporate communications director relied on the Webmaster to upload information to the Web page. With a blog, the director could have created a content stream directly. Speed was critical.

The problem in a crisis is not opinion but facts. What you do not want is opinion or speculation. Either can touch off chaos and lawsuits. You need to state quickly and accurately what happened to whom, where, when and how. You need to state what the company is going to do about it, although you might not be able to give details. You need to answer questions quickly and accurately and to knock down rumors convincingly.

If a company cannot lead the media in getting the 5W's out, it is condemned to follow, and news at the beginning of any crisis is filled with inaccuracy. You have seen this yourself.

"There were 500 people killed. Correction. There were about 200 people killed. Correction, the latest tally is less than 100. Further correction. The final count of people killed was 56. "

Blogging is useful in such instances. One might not have a final count, but absurd figures like "500 people killed" could be knocked down at once. Further, blogging can add detail as it is verified and slow speculation. In the instance above, the last name of an individual convinced some reporters that a foreign country was involved in wrongdoing. The allegation was and is absurd, but it continues to surface and some "investigative" reporters appear to believe it. Blogging could have dented that rumor quickly by showing how stupid the allegation is.

Who should blog in a crisis? One person and one person only reporting directly to the CEO or to the corporate communications person who reports directly to the CEO. Facts as they come in should be verified for this person. Copy should be vetted before publishing -- yes, even by legal counsel. There should be no hint of individuality in the blog and EVERYTHING must be approved. The blogger speaks for the company and never for himself or herself.

The company in the international incident is now fighting lawsuits. You can bet every word the CEO and corporate communications director have spoken and written will go under a tort attorney's microscope. Even a minor slip will be used against them.

To summarize, blogging, because it is an easy tool to use, has a role in crisis communications to get out facts, to project a company's message and to combat error.

Author: Jim Horton | Jul 15, 04 | Permalink | 7 comments
Category: @ Jim Horton | Topic 4 Crisis Management

Day 3: Emergence of Ideas

July 14, 2004

Today was another great day, with lots of valuable posts and commentary on topics such as micro media measurement, the emergence of "brand journalism" as a meme, how to get media attention for small businesses, ways to use blogs for community building and the growth in importance of blogs in Spanish-speaking countries.

The comments are still piling up on topics for Day 1 and Day 2, so don't forgot to check back in with your favorite posts from time to time.

Some emerging questions and ideas:

1) Old PR/marketing's need for "deliverables" is bumping up against the New PR's delivery of "intangibles." Here and here.

2) What are the benefits to corporations of charitable sponsorships? Commercial sponsorships? There are some comments here, but I think there are many more things to be said. Stop on by and add your two cents.

3) Why don't the media what to hear about customer implementations when they concern small businesses?

4) Is there something special about American culture that lends itself to corporate blogging? Octavio writes in his post about the adoption of corporate blogging in Spanish-speaking countries:

"in order to enter the blogosphere they must take themselves off the pedestal on which they think leaders should be placed, and be closer to thousands of people in a direct way, without any obstacles...is hard for me to believe that a politician, a high-ranking official or an executive in Mexico, Spain, Peru or Argentina, would agree to write a blog."

5) Steve Rubel's interview with Jay Rosen has generated the most comments of all of the posts in this blog. Jay also posted about Global PR Blog Week on his blog, also generating lots of comments. These two posts and comment streams contain very important discussions to all PR people. Please join in!

Day 3: Lessons Learned

Learning on the fly. That is what this week has been about for me. I have never edited anything on the scale of this tremendous gathering of knowledge and personalities. Not to mention doing it in real time! I have a vast new respect for online editors everywhere.

I started writing these "Lessons Learned" posts at the encouragement of my other two partners in crime, Anthony and Constantin, with whom I have been triangulating all week via IM as we tried to keep up with the flow of information and deal with all of the little things that came up that we didn't anticipate. While they gave me some input on the content, the posts should be read as one woman's reflection on her experience, not as the "voice of the event."

My post on Tuesday was, well, a little testy. It was a reflection of approximately 14 hours spent online, virtually non-stop, doing something which is rather new to me! I truly think that the content we have produced here is really terrific.

When we started planning this event, I couldn't help but think: herding approximately 30 PR/marketing types, all of whom are leaders and experts in this field, is going to be interesting, to say the least! Yet, on the whole, it has gone rather well.

Todd remarked on the seemingly endless emails that followed the planning process of this event. Yes, there were many! But for those of us who wanted to have an active role in planning this (not everyone did, which was fine), we needed to thrash out the sometimes endless details in order to gain consensus. We are a group of people with strong opinions, and none of us wanted someone else dictating the decisions.

Yet, even with all of the discussion of details that took place, we missed some stuff.

Looking back, our guidelines for posting were too vague. For example, we never really reached consensus on how many posts people could put up per day, or if people should only post on the day of their topic or if they could post every day. We didn't finalize a look-feel for each post, including the length of the titles and whether biographical information should be put a the end of them or kept only in the biographies section. This vagueness led to us, the editors, having to make some decisions on the fly without reaching consensus with the group.

We have been guided in our decisions by one main concern: keeping the balance among authors as egalitarian as possible. Therefore, we asked people not to post every day, but rather to share their thoughts via the comments, so more great discussions could get started. We consolidated some posts. We deleted biographical information from the bottom of posts and edited headlines so that the posts' look-feel were more consistent.

Not everyone is happy with these decisions, but I think they were right ones. I wanted to share our thought process behind them with all of you, so you can correct us if you think we were wrong. Comment away!

I only have one question to throw out to the group today: is there some etiquette to trackbacking without attribution? I.e., if someone sends a ping back to a post here, but doesn't acknowledge it in any way on their own post, is that OK?

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 3 comments
Category: Announcements

Day 3 Stats

Visits

Total: 4,838

Average Per Day: 415

Average Visit Length: 6:00

Last Hour: 23

July 14: 1,210

This Week: 2,906

Page Views

Total: 15,768

Average Per Day: 1,380

Average Per Visit: 3.3

Last Hour: 100

July 14: 4,432

This Week: 9,658

Weekly Tracker:

Ranking of Entry Pages:

42: http://www.globalprblogweek.com/

9: http://www.globalprblogweek.co...es/topic_2_corporate_blogging/

8: unknown

6: http://www.globalprblogweek.com/archives/introduction.php

6: http://www.globalprblogweek.co...hives/jay_rosen_pr_needs_t.php

4: http://www.globalprblogweek.co...hives/bradley_peniston_tal.php

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements

Chat schedule for July 15

The following authors will be available for discussions on Thursday, July 15 (all hours EST):

John Cass: 9 - 9.30 am, 12.30 - 1 pm, 4 - 4.30 pm, via AOL IM (JohnCassCatline)
Kevin Dugan: 8 - 9 am, prblog[at]yahoo[dot]com
Elizabeth Albrycht: 4 am - 2 pm, via Yahoo! Messenger (e_albrycht)

Before starting a conversation, please reach an agreement on the discussion's degree of confidentiality: is it confidential, is it blogable, would you agree to be identified by name, etc.

All the authors will respond to your comments and questions throughout the day.

Author: Constantin Basturea | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements | Topic 4 Crisis Management

PR Ethics

I plan to (briefly) update my Are Ethics Good Business? post on Friday, in its more natural setting of the State of the Profession debate, and would ask any practitioners who haven't yet done so to take part in this survey - it only takes a couple minutes. Many thanks.

Author: Philip Young | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Philip Young

Developing Interactive PR Strategies

As strategic visionaries who have become drunk with confidence in their own thought-leadership abilities, PR-practioners often fall victim to their own hype, selling clients on the glories of the "Big Idea" du jour. Based on the belief that this new "Big Idea" will cut through the clutter in ways that no service, campaign, or previous "Big Idea" has done before, whole online initiatives are developed and executed as though this "Big Idea" existed in a vacuum — a vacuum which can be controlled through careful communication and exquisitely-crafted hype-dissemination.

Thanks to a rock-solid process and countless hours spent brainstorming with clients, a creative strategy emerges and is then handed-off to designers and developers who are then expected to perform miracles. Construction begins but deadlines start to slip as content undergoes countless rounds of review by committee after committee until the final product is rolled out to the public with great fanfare. Using traditional PR-tactics, journalists are phoned, committee-written press releases start flying into email inboxes, and television ads start flooding the airwaves. This PR-blitz puts enormous smiles on the clients' faces by displaying one's marketing savvy, and strategy-driven application of the "Big Idea". The same "Big Idea" that everyone had lost focus of and which only has relevancy while the PR-campaign is in full-swing. Following the conclusion of the campaign and the public's realization that there is no intrinsic merit to the "Big Idea", interest is soon lost and the Flash-intros and useless eye-candy ignored in favor of more compelling content.

Yet, despite the pervasiveness of the Internet and it's ever-increasing dominance in our modern lives, there are still numerous individuals — who are often powerful decision makers — clinging firmly to the "build it and they will come" philosophy of the early Web. As is shown by the popularity of blogs and the communities centered around them and their authors, Web site development and other online initiatives need not be tied so tightly to a campaign or a product launch. Web sites should stand on their own and provide information — real information, not PR spin. Users are looking for content that is useful, informative, and compelling, and sites that are simply pitching the latest FDA-approved drug — or which are hastily thrown up in response to a corporate crisis situation — will not provide the traffic needed to survive, let alone get any messaging out to the public. Without relevance, any and every site is doomed to die. Without honesty and relevance, a Web site becomes a target and once the Google bombing campaign, denial of service attacks, and blogosphere decide to strike, there often is little hope that "traditional" PR or marketing tactics can ever hope of changing the public's perceptions. Assuming that an official statement on an officially-sanctioned Web site has any more weight or authority with users than the other results appearing at the top of a Google or Yahoo! search, shows naivete on both the part of the client and their counselors.

Marketers and PR professionals need to aim for transparency and honesty in their information and strategies and successful PR campaigns are no longer based upon the tired, old press release and other official statements. In terms of ROI, the time to taken writing, revising, and approving a single press release which then must be marketed to journalists (who may have absolutely no interest in what you are discussing) is nowhere near as valuable as leveraging solid relationships with blogs and their authors, who possess an established "trust-factor" with their audience, and are key to influencing opinions. Scientifically unproven or brazenly untrue claims and hype will quickly be outed by users across the Internet, adversely affecting the reputation of you and your clients. Flooding the Web with press releases or trying to generate buzz with a risky viral marketing ploy may garner some short term buzz and interest but their effectiveness is fleeting and oftentimes ignored.

Reliance on artificial tactics such as dishonest search engine optimization techniques, astroturf campaigns, the seeding of misinformation, and the deliberate exploitation of blogs and bloggers only serve to reinforce the overwhelming distrust and negative opinions of PR-practioners which, in turn, leads to suspicion of our clients. Instead we should focus our attentions on getting to know who our audiences are and provide them with current, compelling, and topical information that exhibits our faith in them as influencers and brand advocates. Using statistics and research, specific audiences can be reached via targeted messaging yet no amount of demographic data can ever hope to promise what is gained through strong personal relationships. Communities are based on the interactions between, and open communications amongst, humans.

When developing an online PR strategy, it is no longer possible to ignore the cultures and communities that have evolved as the medium has matured. We must forgo the ill-gotten gains and short term glories of dishonest manipulation and focus our attentions on the long-term rewards inherent in a reputation of ethical responsibility and accountability built on community respect. Flooding users inboxes with thousands of email newsletters, pitching to bloggers while ignoring their individuality, and attempting to actively deceive the public should not be the methods built-in to an online strategy. Reputation management and relationship development are the keys to effective communications — and effective communications is essential to avoid further alienation from the community.

Author: Anthony V Parcero | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Anthony V Parcero | Topic 3 Making PR Work

The 5 stupidest PR tactics

The 5 Stupidest PR Tactics That Almost Every Company Tries

Want to make sure that the resources you spend on public relations (both time and money) are spent effectively?

Then avoid, or at least very carefully weigh the downsides, as you consider the following commonly-used PR tactics.

(Note: some of these are going to strike a nerve. There are many publicists and PR professionals who have created job security for themselves by constantly executing these very tactics. And there will be many who will point to one specific time that they've used this tactic with unquestionable success. But this raises the question - what about all of the other times?)

I invite us all to consider the ultimate aim of any marketing-related resource expenditure. Isn't it to increase sales? Therefore, I believe the true measure of any resource expenditure, including PR, is whether or not it increased sales, and more importantly, whether that same amount of resources, if spent on some other tactic, (perhaps even outside of the PR arena) would have increased sales to an even higher level, both short and long term.

Based on this, I present my list of

The Five Stupidest PR Tactics:

1. Big Events

Publicists love big events. Events are a great way for them to charge off a ton of hours coordinating, arranging and staffing an event. And, unlike other PR activities, events have a clear feeling of success - the CEO can walk around, see the milling crowds all happily nibbling on $10 per serving jumbo shrimp, get slapped on the back by all of the other corporate execs as they congratulate themselves on a successful turnout, and feel "now here's a PR expenditure that finally delivered."

But did it?

The key isn't in the attendance, it's in the press coverage afterwards, and more importantly, in the sales that did or didn't result from the activity.

Frankly, it's very rare to see increased sales from a big event.

For example, the Six Flags theme parks, are running a commercial where an old guy does some amazing dancing to upbeat music. It's a pretty good ad that's probably creating increased park attendance. But in Chicago they recently held an event where they did an old guy look / dance-alike contest.

And they actually got picked up on at least one Chicago station's 10:00 news.

But here's the key question, will they get additional park traffic because of the event? (And be sure to separate the event effects from the advertising effects.) I believe the answer will be no, or at least not enough to pay for the several tens of thousands of dollars in resources that went into that event.

The one possible exception to this argument is events surrounding new product launches. But this raises the question - if the product was really that good, wouldn't it have gotten close to the same level of press without the event?

2. Sponsorships

Sponsorships strike to the heart of many managers - it's a great way to give back to the community, to get your name out there, and to (sometimes) get a tax write off for the company.

But again, does it result in increased sales?

Remember, simple exposure of your brand name does nothing unless it's connected with powerful positioning that sets you apart from your competition.

Your name alone, plastered among 42 others on the sign nobody looks at as they walk into an event does nothing to tell people why your widget is better than the other guys.

If you want to sponsor local events because they're a way to build support for your company in your community, go ahead and do so.

But call it a charitable activity and charge it to that budget. Don't kid yourself that any increased sales are going to result.

3. Sending out undifferentiated media releases

In watching the press release wires, I am constantly amazed at the drivel that most companies send out disguised as media releases.

The media wants news. Who cares that so and so just got promoted, that you have new graphics on your website, or that your widget that's been out there for 12 years is now available in shocking pink.

Give them news!

Then your releases will get printed!

Don't waste your time or money with the other stuff.

4. Sending media releases to the world

For some reason there's an attitude out there that if you can send a media release to 30 outlets, that sending it to 3,000 is a better idea.

It might be

If - it's really truly news

If - it's news on a national / international level

If - it adds value to the world rather than just struts your stuff.

If not, save your money, send it out to your pre-qualified, highly-targeted list, and use that money for something that will actually sell product!

5. Creating expensive media kits then distributing them to the world

Here's the way mail is read in the newsroom - open, glance, dump in trash.

So why send a $40 media kit? And why send it to anyone that isn't looking for news on your story right now?

Give them what they need, which can usually be done for maybe a dollar or two, and you'll get the same impact as with the big, fancy media kit that's going right into the trash.

So that it - the five stupidest things most companies do to waste their PR budget.

How many have you done?

How many will you do in the future?

Author: Don Crowther | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 9 comments
Category: @ Don Crowther | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Micro Media Measurement

One of the biggest factors altering the media landscape and arguably impacting marketing and public relations programs is the rapidly growing influence of word-of-mouth behavior. Once confined to one-on-one conversations and “water cooler chatter,” word-of-mouth behavior has become a significant underlying force that’s influencing public perception and decision making.

Looking back, the early Web accelerated word-of-mouth behavior with personal websites, chat rooms and bulletin boards, but today blogging and syndication has essentially turbocharged this behavior providing anyone and everyone with broadcast-like abilities for opinion sharing. This trend, combined with the eroding loyalty toward Big Media, err, Macro Media sources, is driving people to seek out and engage with online micro communities when it comes to decision making and opinion forming.

For example, I was recently in the market for a digital camera. In the process of doing some research on various models, I read a handful of product reviews and gathered up as much information as I could from company websites (product materials, data sheets, etc.). While this helped me narrow the scope of products I was considering, it didn’t help me reach a purchasing decision – so I went online and began searching through blogs and message boards. The opinions and real-world insight people shared via these mediums not only helped me determine which product to ultimately buy, but it actually changed my mind – I bought a camera model I wasn’t previously considering.

I use this example to simply illustrate the reality that people today are arguably just as likely to be influenced by something they read on a blog or a message board as they are by traditional print and broadcast outlets. And therein lies the challenge for PR: How do you measure the influence and impact of word-of-mouth behavior? Or rather, how can you better gauge what people are saying about your product and/or brand on blogs, message boards, opinion sites, and newsgroups (i.e., the Micro Media)?

The total universe of Micro Media conversations that may be either building or bulldozing your brand at any point in time is gigantic and highly unpredictable. If, however, you can capture these conversations in real-time using quantifiable (volume) and qualitative (sentiment) methods, the insight and value your organization can glean from the findings is tremendously useful.

For example, armed with a better understanding of what the Micro Media is saying about your product or service enables you to make better decisions in respect to upcoming product launches, product quality concerns, marketing effectiveness, and brand perception. This type of information also provides you with a unique ability to pinpoint product and industry evangelists and begin forging new relationships.

There are a variety of useful tools and services that can provide you with a window into how -- and who -- spreads information across the Micro Media. Specialized search engines like Technorati and Feedster are incredibly useful for ad hoc lookups on terms and topics, as are the bigger search engines like Yahoo! and Google. Additionally, “buzz indexes” like those from Daypop and Blogdex are standards by which you could conceivably measure the effectiveness and popularity of a subject. There are, however, two challenges with using these tools for measurement: With the exception of the major search engines these tools focus primarily on the blogosphere, and while this space may certainly be a hotbed of activity and influence, these tools still exclude the millions of active participants on message boards, newsgroups and forums. Additionally, attaching some form of sentiment analysis requires manual interpretation (read: a lot of time), and that potentially becomes a resource issue.

Some organizations may be perfectly content using a combination of these tools (and others) mixed perhaps with some homegrown solutions to gauge the volume and tonality of conversations relevant to their products and industries. I think the reality is that measurement models are unique to each company and as such it’s nearly impossible to recommend a one-size-fits-all approach. Especially when you’re attempting to monitor an audience as large and unwieldy as the Internet itself.

There are, however, two companies that I think offer very compelling services for mining, monitoring and analyzing Micro Media activity -- Intelliseek and BuzzMetrics.

While Intelliseek refers to the Micro Media as “Consumer Generated Media," the audience makeup is exactly the same (i.e., bloggers, message board posters, newsgroups users, etc.). Intelliseek offers some very powerful technology for tracking the Micro Media and turning the results into “actionable insight for companies and brands.” They currently offer a popular free tool called BlogPulse that allows you to create historical trend graphs on keywords as they appeared in the blogosphere over the course of several weeks. Via its paid products and services, the company offers tremendously compelling data mining and reporting capabilities.

BuzzMetrics offers similar services in that it takes large amounts of unstructured data, mines it for relevancy and timeliness, and then adds a sentiment analysis on top. The company focuses on identifying industry influencers and evangelists, and offers several tools for capturing a more holistic view of the Micro Media landscape.

Both companies, by the way, are founders of the recently formed Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA).

I think companies are increasingly becoming aware of the influence of the Micro Media and are eager to explore ways they can better capture and understand how this audience is responding to products and services and ultimately how this is shaping public perception and brand loyalty. To do this successfully requires that companies have a strategy and the tools in place for measuring the impact of their efforts.

Success also requires that companies be prepared to engage with this audience at a new level – eye level. Corporate blogs, official message board representatives and intelligent Micro Media relations strategies are all fundamental elements for moving in that direction. Probably more important than anything else, however, is acceptance of the fact that building relationships with this burgeoning community involves not just talking, but a lot of listening.

The rules of engagement are different with the Micro Media and as such, it requires that PR practitioners quickly adapt and re-evaluate how to define and measure success.

Author: Mike Manuel | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: @ Mike Manuel | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Should CEOs blog the brand?

One could take 'brand journalism' to its logical conclusion, where everyone –including its employees and even the CEO is communicating. This internal-external communications approach will certainly defy The Cluetrain Manifesto's Thesis # 53 which states that: "There are two conversations going on. One inside the company. One in the market."

Here are two examples of the CEO taking on an unmanaged PR role: It’s one thing to complain about how CEO tend to varnish the truth. But it’s a PR person’s nightmare to hear a CEO describe the company he leads as “Formal, middle-class and boring.”

And the company? It's Marks and Spencer! Marks and Sparks' Chief Executive, Stuart Rose, described his company in such terms, and the cryptic statement was buried in a financial news story about how the company would be selling off its financial services arm (M&S Money) to HSBC Holdings.

Then there may be CEOs who, distrusting PR, want to do it themselves. Ross Mayfield is one of them, who commented in his blog that:

“As a CEO, I have grown to distrust outsourcing PR beyond coordination, especially when we can extend our reach by ourselves authentically and the strategy is core…A discussion on transparency needs to be complimented by one on ethics. If both are not addressed, sunshine is the best disinfectant and disintermediation is inevitable."

So what do you think?
1. Should the concept of blogging go this far?
2. What if Sir Richard Branson, and Bill Gates started blogging? (Gates is rumored to be doing it, but it's not public. Except for parodies of it. ) Would you read their posts, rather than their press releases? Post your comments in the space below.

Author: Angelo Fernando | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 5 comments
Category: @ Angelo Fernando | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Peeling back the tech details

The most important thing about the technology in front of you is that it does not get in the way of the message you need to promote. So if you want to penetrate the online world with themes that sell product for your client, your flavour of IT cannot be daunting in any form or fashion. Although I may rewarm some familiar points, I believe they bear mentioning in the context of making PR work.

[Declared interest: I have used Radio Userland since late 2000, Movable Type since 2001, Blogger in 2002, Live Journal in 2003 and Typepad for a year. Each has attractive features.]

If you decide to embrace blogging, ensure your blogware allows you to syndicate separate channels. This means you need to be able to quickly designate a new directory on your blog AND that directory must have its own RSS feed. The separate directories and distinct feeds give you presence, reach, and standing.

Set up your blog to facilitate efficient printing. Many potential customers want to print out what they read. The templates used on some blogs get in the way of that--just like some online newspapers fail to render their content in a friendly way. A simple Javascript PRINT link will normally generate a clean page with one-inch margins and no extraneous decorations around the sides of the text.

The faster senior management accepts the reason for blogging the better. When you get up-channel endorsement, it's time to ensure people at various levels of your organisation can nominate content for posting to the blog. To prevent problems, your blogging tool should let some be superusers, others be editors, authors and junior authors. Each category has distinct levels of capability.

Add specialty content to your blog. Thinks like link lists, blogrolls and newsfeeds will ultimately help extend your reach.

Be ready to prune, correct and delete comments and trackbacks. If you let your blog become a two-way Web experience, spammers and link sluts will show up on your site.

Work out time to upload new content and clean out unwanted debris. The blogging experience should not add to your work day--it should streamline existing processes and make you more efficient.

Listen to your referrers. People who visit your site often arrive for intriguing reasons. Their search engine referrer string can suggest new target markets, emerging prospects, and competitive interests. You must mine that visitor intelligence or you miss a valuable resource that is tapping at your windows.

Don't be afraid to ego surf and see where your URL, your client's products or your memes stand in the minds of aggregators like Technorati and Feedster.

Have fun blogging. It's one of the most enjoyable activities you can get paid to do.

Author: Bernard Goldbach | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Bernard Goldbach | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Bradley Peniston talks about blogs and their impact on Defense News

Bradley Peniston is Managing Editor of Defense News and author of Around the World with the US Navy.

ALICE MARSHALL: You said you kept a blog in 1998, what was it about and is it still online?

BRADLEY PENISTON: I was on assignment for Navy Times, traveling around the world with the U.S. fleet. I published a daily entry to Navy Times for about two months, trying to keep things a little lighter than my weekly dispatches to the paper. Alas, the posts were lost in the sands of a redesign a few years ago.

ALICE MARSHALL: How have blogs affected the news gathering process at Defense News? Do your correspondents read Riverbend, Kurdo's World and the other Iraqi blogs? I believe some of the soldiers succeeded in keeping blogs; how did that affect your news gathering process? What other, if any, blogs are popular at Defense News?

BRADLEY PENISTON: Some reporters read blogs; others don't. I scan about 60 blogs daily with an RSS newsreader; it helps me catch things that haven't hit the major media yet.

ALICE MARSHALL: How have blogs affected your relationship with your readers?

BRADLEY PENISTON: We don't have public blogs yet (though our librarian keeps one for internal use). We publish on our conventional web site. But we do know that bloggers post links to those stories, which probably boosts the readership.

ALICE MARSHALL: Do readers send you links from blogs?

BRADLEY PENISTON: I haven't received many, but others might.

ALICE MARSHALL: On a less bloggy note, how would you compare your reporting to mainstream news media? Other than the obvious difference of being a trade paper. My memory of your reporting in the summer of 2002 was there was a far more skeptical than broadcast news, other Gannet properties and certainly the New York Times or the Washington Post. Do you remember it the same way?

BRADLEY PENISTON: We report on the business and policy of defense, and pitch our stories at decision makers in government, militaries, and industry in more than 80 countries. We don't try to be more or less skeptical than anyone else; we just try to bring our expertise to bear and report the truth as we find it.

ALICE MARSHALL: I do not ever remember seeing an anonymous source in Defense News or any publication of the Army Times Publishing Co. What is your policy concerning anonymous sources?

BRADLEY PENISTON: We do use them; it would be virtually impossible to cover the military in depth without them. But we try to be very judicious, and push to get our sources to go on the record.

ALICE MARSHALL: Thank you Bradley Peniston

Author: Alice Marshall | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Alice Marshall | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Telling Brand Stories

Blogging is new to many of us who never imagined that something akin to gossip and story telling would impact deeply entrenched professions such as advertising, PR and journalism. But it has, giving rise to a journalism effect that fills the gaps of credibility in branding, politics, journalism, and mass marketing. My topic is marketing communications. As I noted in my backgrounder the people at the periphery have a voice –and the reach— that those at the center once enjoyed.

Our modern variants of gossip –marketing communications (which is all about telling our commercial stories) and public relations (which is used to narrate particular angles of a story) – have quietly eclipsed the corporate video, the press conference, the product launch, and the celebrity-studded TV commercial. The most interesting seem to be the unofficial storytellers--the ‘unauthorized’ corporate bloggers, the ‘self embedded’ journalists-blogger posting stories from the war zone, the ‘citizen journalists’ reporting for OhMyNews in South Korea, and the ‘un-ad agencies’ such as Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Even a group of consumers who release viral content for benign reasons or some form of activism have an audience.

These communicators at the periphery have realized that people and institutions at the center --the corporate icons and the traditional gatekeepers— have lost their credibility. Notice how it’s not just the Ken Lays and Martha Stewarts of this world who are being put away. Also being sidelined are information and image brokers from Tom Brokaw (whom, we learn, is losing audiences), McCann-Erickson (a powerful global advertising network/conglomerate which is losing accounts to hot shops.) And yes, even newspapers have lost their credibility, as a recent Pew Research study shows.

Whose brand stories will people listen to? It depends on who provides more relevant content, rather than who crafts the best press release. Consider the GlaxoSmithkline 'story.' No matter how you spin it, when New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against their product, Paxil, the patients took to the message boards.

Or take BBC journalist, Stuart Hughes, who’s Iraq 'audio blog' on the Web, is riveting journalism, more so, because it is not an official news report filed through Hughes’ employer. These are seemingly isolated examples of how spin, brand management (managed by one-time ‘brand guardians,’) damage control, and intermediation are not always what the audience wants.

This is not necessarily a pessimistic view of communications. We don’t have to look to Blogs per se for the answer. The concept of blogging, of transparency, and allowing multiple contributions is being embraced by the advertising and marketing world, even as we speak.

Larry Light, the chief marketing officer of McDonald’s proposed a curious marketing idea last month. He called it ‘brand journalism’ which is not a very accurate label for what he was proposing, since it is neither journalism, nor branding. “As a mass brand…we marketed a mass message through the mass media appealing to masses of undifferentiated consumers,” he said. But “customers will not accept monotonous, repetition of the same simplistic message. They want a dynamic, creative chronicle.” Mr. Light was not overtly referring to online ‘chronicles’ but he did have in mind the rich tapestry of multiple opinions, and daily inputs to this chronicle: “It means telling the many facets of our brand story every day in 119 countries.”

And in the face of those he warned as the ‘positionistas’ (those brand advocates who defend the ‘positioning’ theory of the one-voice, one-look, and one-brand image) he said that McDonald’s would redefine its brand communication in a “non advertising-centric world” where like the tapestries of old, this thing called ‘brand journalism’ would be an “endless story” when unfurled over time.

Welcome to the non advertising-centric world of marketing communications!

Author: Angelo Fernando | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 6 comments
Category: @ Angelo Fernando | Topic 3 Making PR Work

PR Function To Head Up New Blog Brand Threat

Global PR Blog Week Day 3: PR Function To Head Up New Blog Brand Threat

The Speed of Disruptive Messaging via RSS and Blog Pings are Changing the Rules of Engagement in the World of Micro Communications

Customers are actually starting to talk back to company brands through blogs (just as Cluetrain Manifesto authors, Doc Searls, Chris Locke, and David Weinberger predicted they would). One way of looking at the threat and why marketing techniques like “Brand Journalism” are arising is, as Elizabeth Albrycht of Corporate PR agreed, through the lens of political economy or power. "In the past, the company controlled communications. PR departments and employee relations (all backed by brand messaging) existed to spread the company vision. And, at the same time, these messages would assert the power of the corporation and its brands."Today, new technologies (such as blogging and RSS feeds) interrupt that power structure and its brand messages. Rather than being a technology of control (the press release, the corporate meeting, the annual report), blogging is a technology of un-control. On her blog, Albrycht said, "Blogging is one of those new technologies that makes the negotiations about power visible, vs. hiding them in a black box. Power needs secrecy and control to survive." Blogging threatens the power of brands and their message control because blogs facilitate open dialogues with customers. Or, as the Amazon review of Cluetrain Manifesto said, "In their view, the lowly customer service rep wields far more power and influence in today's marketplace than the well-oiled front office PR machine."

Brand Threat: Customers Talking Back

It’s obvious through McDonald’s corporate announcement that big marketing is turning to new media channels as print and web collateral, solely based on one-way branding, is not going to meet the new brand threat.

The universal message with its catchy ads, glitzy events and the "build it and they will come" attitude towards marketing is being turned away from.

The exact threat? The proliferation of RSS and related site syndication technologies have all rapidly given a voice to people who previously had no way of expressing their opinions. The Internet is no longer a closed-medium where knowledge does not affect or crossover into the offline, "real" world. Today’s viral marketing campaign can often alter opinions, change views, and sometimes lead to unforeseen consequences (the effect of the movie Super Size Me on McDonald’s being one of them). Combine these newfound customer interactive feedback mechanisms with an almost total lack of online censorship, and the general openness inherent in the Internet allows individuals and small groups the ability to take advantage of technology to reach, interact and amass with audiences in ways that no other media outlet has ever previously allowed.

But what exactly is it about a blog, you might be asking yourself that makes it so entirely different from the personal and corporate websites we all built extensively before the downturn in the economy back in 2001? Answer: blogs and RSS feeds are threats to brands. Because of their instantaneous and global publishing capabilities, blogs and RSS feeds (effectively customer brand touch points) can quickly catch brand managers and their strategies entirely off guard (making their current often static online website collateral seem non-responsive and old in comparison to the new global conversations now starting to take place). No worries. The next step is simply integrating blogs within websites. But, point is, on those blogs are conversations that need managing. By whom? PR. Why? Because disruptive messages that campaigns like Super Size Me and Fahrenheit 9/11 send out to audiences threaten brands (be it McDonalds or the Republican Party). But don’t think for a second that the “old” but effective approach to online marketing (sending out branded emails and canvassing highly-branded web sites with mind share banner ads) will work to effectively handle the new brand threat of blogging and talkback interactivity. Massive mindshare capture campaigns, while effective elsewhere, won’t help facilitate the conversation that corporate brands need to develop for themselves in the blogosphere. The previous approach, which ushered in the premise of our entire new online economy, was progressive and new at the time, but is seen as too "one-way" (and non-conversational) in the blogosphere. Monolithic marketing, atleast online, looks broken.

Blogger Brand Cocktail Party

“Brand Journalism” has been developed by a Fortune 100 company to meet the new brand threat. Even Seth Godin, the marketing guru behind several new economy books about e-marketing, praised McDonald’s for realizing that monolithic marketing is broken. But Godin pointed out though that the marketer doesn't get to run the conversation that Light is inviting. As Godin said, “It's not really ‘Brand Journalism’ that's happening, you see, it's ‘Brand Cocktail Party!’ You get to set the table and invite the first batch of guests, but after that the conversation is going to happen with or without you.”

Summary

McDonald's and Seth Godin acknowledging that marketers are losing control of their brand marketing programs online? Who to put in charge to help marketers regain their online voices and direct their online conversations with customers? PR. This is a great opportunity for PR to take leadership of the strategic role of integrating the voice of the customer between corporate IT and marketing. Any Fortune 1000 company that has a threat (blogs) also has a need. PR people...fill that need. Company threats are met by the opportunities of other services. Conversations developing online should be answered. By PR.

Author: Robb Hecht | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Robb Hecht | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Step-by-step promotion

If you already blog, you use a tool that can promote clients. Elements of your writing become part of a larger mass of information that is trawled and combed by Internet search engines. Linkages between your message and other related themes bubble up. Those linkages become part of directories of information. Before venturing into public space with any sort of a message, it would be wise to know how to make the best use of your effort. This knowledge enhances return on the time and money invested in forming, promoting and tracking messages.

As a PR lecturer, I teach some checklists that help measure return on investment (ROI) for clients. We mount campaigns during the academic term that invoke specific rules of thumb. If we pretend the "Global PR Blog Week" is a client, we can tick off the checklist items step-by-step as our promotion campaign evolves.
The three phases of the campaign:
Preparation
Implemetation
Evaluation

1. Preparation.
Form a message. In the Global PR Blog Week event, the message percolated in a Yahoo Group mail system. People commented on what they wanted to cover, content evolved, topics gelled, and a programme gestated. The ring leaders were helped by an gold-plated ingredient: new content by PR bloggers.
Distill memes. These two-to-five word phrases--sought by search engines--might be hot topics extracted from the press or they may be exact links from other sites. Select the correct memes and you spawn your own talking points. From a client's point of view, a well-defined set of memes helps put campaign goals in the crosshairs.
Storyboard the release. Don Crowther brilliantly explained the basis of this tactic. My quicklist follows:
Write snappy titles to all text items.
Construct links from specific text fragments.
Slice up your content according to individual themes.
Use web design skills to craft a presentation template pleasing to both a human reader and a search engine crawler.

2. Implementation You should polish most of the implementation tasks well before the campaign starts. Many campaigns start the minute an embargo expires. Here are the steps.
Release the information text. When released through bloggers, your campaign information should document linkages from other entries directly into related pages on your client's web site. In the case of Global PR Week, a half dozen other bloggers link directly to topics being discussed on the program.
Make comments on other people's blogs, linking into your page that discusses that same topic, again, using your targeted keywords as the text in the link (sometimes called the "link text.")
Ping related URLs. In blogging programs such as Movable Type and TypePad, you can "ping" other blogs via Trackback or you can send your ping through http://rpc.pingomatic.com and automatically alert electronic crawlers from all major search engines.
Release images. We often offer photo albums on blogs that promote products, people and services in a PR campaign. Photo editors need that kind of collateral. Provided quality captions accompany the photos, we're able to promote a client's message through a photo blog. Students helped the 2003 Kilkenny Arts Festival.
Check your blog items through several different browsers on several different connection points. I have seen items copied and pasted into blogs from Word or from e-mail and the information displays unwanted characters and annoying line breaks.
Monitor live flows. Geobytes offers a way to see who is on now.

3. Evaluation. This stage documents measureable results. You must monitor the program’s implementation. You must assess its impact and efficiency of various nodes of information.
Daily evaluation.
Look at links, power links and inches of coverage. The Global PR Blog Week includes a live tracking of traffic with Sitemeter.
Technorati searches the "world live web." Type in a url (try it for Global PR Blog Week), keyword or phrase above and search the World Live Web. Checking on the client's URL (www.globalprblogweek.com) gives us 241 links to the site.
Check on Feedster and find 350 posts pertaining to the client.

Offer weekly management indicators. Many clients prefer to have simple bits of information that prove their PR campaign is working.
Egosurf on Google. First, I egosurf (look up the key memes or campaign phrases) on Google. For example, when I egosurfed for “Global PR blog week” in the middle of the campaign, you get 5,600 pages returned. One month before the first online session, Google showed just over 1,800 pages. This is remarkable reach for a campaign.
Get a snapshot from Vivisimo, a service that shows a thematic view of where the campaign is placing the client. In the case of “Global PR Blog Week,” Visimo presents a snappy result that suggests the Global PR blog week campaign has a Public relations slant, uses a Wiki, features some Irish parts, and appeals to the fuel industry.
Analyze referrers on a monthly basis. Sitemeter data shows general numbers and specific referrer strings. These two separate data sets tell us that the campaign is building momentum since the numbers of readers on a daily basis are increasing. More importantly, the referrer strings show the campaign is attracting a significant amount of viewers through e-mail boxes. This suggest a word-of-mouth campaign has started on the back of general news releases.
On a quarterly basis, review the lessons learned. Each stage in program evaluation contributes to increased understanding and adds information for assessing effectiveness.

Author: Bernard Goldbach | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Bernard Goldbach | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Pitching small business stories

Reporters work for their editors - Mary Marshall

Those of us who have the privilege of representing small business always struggle with the issue of newsworthiness. If Megakluge announces the future release of Vaporware 1.0, due to ship three years from now, it will be treated as news for no reason save that it came from Megakluge. But if you call from TheLittleEngineThatCould Technology Corp., you have to deal with the “Who are they?” issue. Presumably, your client hired you to solve that problem.

It is critical to have a detailed understanding of TheLittleEngineThatCould’s product and what problem it solves. The story will almost always revolve around solving a problem that had not been previously addressed. You must determine who cares about that problem and why it is news.

Begin at the end. Since you want the story to generate sales, begin with the prospects. Who buys from TheLittleEngineThatCould? Are they network administrators? Civil servants? Financial advisors? Chief information officers? You must know your audience before you make your pitch.

What sort of publication do TheLittleEngineThatCould’s customers read? A favorable review in an obscure professional journal may be a better placement than a national newspaper. Only when you know whom you are writing for can you begin to formulate the pitch. Have a specific reader in mind as you write. This inspires livelier copy.

The reason Technoflak begins with the reader rather than the editor is that it is too easy to concentrate so much on the news organization that we lose sight of our purpose: to communicate our client’s message to the pubic in a way that inspires trust. Always remember that you are talking to the public, not the reporter.

The other reason Technoflak begins with the reader is that it is easier to pitch the newsworthiness of stories if you can point to specific readers. If you can say something along the lines of “both the network administrators and the security officers who read your magazine will be interested in this story because...” your message will have a better chance of generating a response.

If TheLittleEngineThatCould has an inherently newsworthy customer, the State Department or National Institute for Health(NIH) for instance, you should pitch the State Department or NIH as the story. This is very difficult as you have two different organizations that must sign off on the story before you pitch it. However, your chances of successful placement are greatly enhanced.

Offer exclusives: send email along the lines of “TheLittleEngineThatCould has a new web services application that provides for world peace and thin thighs, please let me know by Friday if The Weekly Whiz is interested.” Setting a deadline encourages a response and frees you to offer the pitch to a rival news organization if The Weekly Whiz fails to respond.

Editors want readers, clients want customers. Finding the place where their interests converge is the secret to all successful story pitches. Reporters want stories that will grab the attention of readers, impress editors and win a promotion. If they don’t want these things they are not doing their job. Persuade them that TheLittleEngineThatCould is moving down their readers’ track, and they will use your story.

Author: Alice Marshall | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 5 comments
Category: @ Alice Marshall | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Las posibilidades de la blogósfera para las RRPP en los países hispanohablantes

A pesar de ser la segunda lengua más hablada en el mundo, el español está a años luz de tener una presencia similar en el mundo internet. Esta situación puede trasladarse perfectamente a la blogósfera.

Apenas un par de medios de comunicación iberoamericanos ofrecen RRS: el diario español El Mundo y el argentino Clarín. Aunque los blogs se están volviendo visibles en los medios de comunicación y están comenzando a convertirse en un tema de investigación, aún es cosa de pequeños grupos “evangelistas”, quienes promueven su uso… pero esto puede cambiar en poco tiempo.

Frente a este gran reto, los profesionales de las relaciones públicas de habla hispana tienen que ver las enormes oportunidades que otros colegas, fundamentalmente quienes tienen el inglés como su lengua materna, aprovechan para sus clientes, sus empresas e, incluso, para ellos mismos.

Quizás sea más fácil aceptar para un anglosajón, con una cultura diferente, que para entrar en la blogósfera hay que bajarse del pedestal en el que piensan que deben situarse los líderes y acercarse a miles de personas de una manera directa y sin cortapisas.

Se me hace difícil creer que un político, un alto funcionario o un directivo mexicano, español, peruano o argentino, acceda a escribir un blog directamente. Es más, salvo sectores y casos puntuales, la utilización de los blogs para mantener una comunicación fluida con sus diferentes públicos sigue siendo limitada entre partidos políticos, gobiernos e incluso a nivel empresarial.

En los últimos años, ha sido un gran avance que los líderes hayan visto las ventajas que significa tener una página web y la hayan incluido en su campaña de comunicación.

Sin embargo, para algunos sectores de la población de habla hispana, el mundo de internet aún les es ajeno, difícil y caro, por lo que descartan su uso para comunicarse… y la blogósfera ofrece justamente lo contrario a todo eso: es un medio cercano a la gente, de un manejo bastante sencillo y con un coste muy reducido que, aprovechándose de los recursos que pueden encontrarse en innumerables sitios web, puede ser prácticamente gratuito.

En este sentido, es fácil hablar de que los blogs pueden convertirse en un elemento “democratizador”, con unas posibilidades para cambiar la relación tradicional entre las fuente y los medios con el público.

Los blogs harán posible el “periodismos participativo”, con el que podrán acercarse los problemas de gente de la calle a otras personas con sus mismas dificultades y preocupaciones. Las posibilidades son interminables en sociedades muy dadas a la falta de transparencia en el actuar del gobierno, de las grandes empresas e incluso con medios de comunicación con débil credibilidad.

De hecho, ya está sucediendo en varios países de habla hispana, al igual que en el mundo anglosajón, una explosión de canales que ofrecen información alternativa a la que contienen los medios tradicionales. Están surgiendo miles de blogs que reflexionan, califican y denuncian, no sólo las actuaciones gubernamentales o de los partidos políticos, sino productos, servicios o los planes que muchas empresas llevan a cabo.

Asimismo, entre las pequeñas y medianas empresas, es posible que los blogs puedan ser vistos como la posibilidad real de acceder a internet, sin necesidad de destinar una gran cantidad de recursos ni a tener que depender de informáticos que no necesariamente saben del negocio o que incluso no conocen de comunicación.

Quizás aquí esté el meollo del asunto. Por estos motivos pienso que hay muchas posibilidades por explotar en los blogs por el sector de las relaciones públicas en los países hispanohablantes.

Es posible que en un medio plazo los blogs hispanos alcancen la misma importancia que están ganando poco a poco, pero firmemente, las bitácoras de autores en países como Estados Unidos, Reino Unido, Canadá o Australia.

Ahora mismo, se me hace difícil creer que blogs realmente independientes, es decir, aquellos que no sean parte de importantes grupo de comunicación o que no estén escritos por periodistas adscritos a grandes redacciones que mantienen sus bitácoras de forma paralela a su actividad principal, sean acreditados como medios en actos de importancia como campañas de partidos políticos como ya está sucediendo en EEUU y próximamente en Reino Unido.

En este sentido, el sector de las RRPP en los países hispanos debe estar preparado para obtener el mayor provecho de este fenómeno.

¿Cómo? Me atrevo a establecer unas líneas de actuación.

* Detectar aquellos blogs que tienen un buen nivel de visitas y ordenándolos por categorías: tecnología, política, medios, etc. Esto ya lo están haciendo directorios como Bitácoras.net, Blogdir.com, Blogsmexico.com, Blogalia.com, por mencionar algunos. Habrá que estar abiertos a ver todo tipo de bitácoras y saber que habrá ocasiones en que no compartamos los puntos de vista de los autores, pero que es importante que contemos con ellos.

Pongamos el caso de las páginas web sobre videojuegos. Hay ocasiones en que niños con apenas 12 años se convierten en verdaderos líderes de opinión, que son capaces de destrozar el lanzamiento de un nuevo juego en el que se invirtieron miles o a veces hasta millones de euros.

* Adentrarse a la blogósfera con el objetivo de conocer el nuevo medio, sus herramientas, sus posibilidades y limitaciones, así como los autores más conocidos, aunque no sean de habla hispana.

Puede parecer una obviedad, pero hay muchas personas que nunca habrán oído hablar de RSS, Feeds, Posts, pero tampoco de bitácoras, sindicación de contenidos, enlaces, ni nada por el estilo.

Un consultor de relaciones públicas no puede sugerir a su cliente que lance un blog sin haberle informado previamente de todo lo que tiene que saber para tener éxito y, sobre todo, no se puede dar el lujo de no saber responder a una pregunta que se le plantee sobre la blogósfera.

* Antes de lanzar un blog corporativo o institucional se debe tener una estrategia clara de lo que se busca trasmitir y entender que el medio tiene su “net-etiqueta”, es decir, sus códigos propios, lo que tiene implicaciones desde la asiduidad, las fuentes, la forma, el tono de la comunicación… y, por supuesto, la respuesta del público.

Nos podemos encontrar que una buena idea puede dar resultados mediocres si se eligen las tácticas inadecuadas. En este sentido, un blog es una herramienta más entre todas las disponibles para las relaciones públicas. Eso sí, ofrece unas posibilidades únicas que otras no tienen.

* Hacer que el blog sea relevante, pero no olvidando que se trata de una bitácora. Hay quien sigue pensando que los blogs son diarios de adolescentes, en parte porque es verdad y no tiene nada de malo, de ahí la flexibilidad del medio.

Por eso, en el momento de lanzar un blog, hay que encontrar un equilibrio entre las características del medio con los objetivos de la organización. No se puede poner posts sin sustancia, ni esperar demasiado a actualizar la bitácora.

En este sentido, si una empresa no tiene la capacidad para mantener una comunicación continua con su público, ya sea por razones estratégicas, por limitaciones legales o de otro tipo, quizás una página web cumpla mejor con sus objetivos.

* Advertir que los resultados pueden ser a medio plazo. Es uno de los principales retos a los que se debe enfrentar cualquier profesional de las relaciones públicas, no sólo con los blogs, sino utilizando cualquier herramienta.

Quizás en el caso de las bitácoras el reto sea mayor por la novedad del medio y, en el caso de algunos países iberoamericanos, por la baja penetración de internet.

* Ser “evangelistas” de los blogs. No sólo hay que conocer el medio, hay que ser parte de él. Esta es la única manera en la que se podrá ofrecer a los clientes una consultoría adecuada. No se trata de ser un gurú con miles de visitas al día, pero sí de estar familiarizado con la blogósfera, de conocer el quién-es-quién. La única manera de persuadir a alguien es estando convencido de aquello que se predica.

La mejor tarjeta de presentación de un consultor que sugiera utilizar las ventajas de un blog para una organización debe incluir, además de su email, la dirección de su bitácora.

Habrá muchas más cosas que hacer, pero este puede ser un buen comienzo para el sector de las relaciones públicas hispanohablante, que tiene que ver a los blogs como una herramienta con un potencial enorme.

Aún está por verse si el fenómeno que la blogósfera representa para algunos países se extiende al resto del mundo. La aún baja penetración de conexión de internet en los hogares de los países latinoamericanos, una incipiente cultura del uso de las nuevas tecnologías de la información y una manera distinta de entender las relaciones sociales, serán los principales condicionantes para que este fenómeno se extienda como en los países anglosajones o puede que surja un movimiento diferente que todavía no ha explotado. Ya veremos.. aunque lo mejor es que nos vayamos preparando.

Author: Octavio Rojas | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Octavio Rojas | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Possibilities of the blogosphere for the PR industry in Spanish-speaking countries

In spite of being the second most spoken language in the world, Spanish is light-years away from having a similar presence on the Internet. This situation can be transferred perfectly to the blogosphere.

Only two media in Spanish speaking countries offer RSS: the Spanish newspaper El Mundo and the Argentine Clarín. Although the blogs are becoming more visible in the media and are becoming a research topic, still they are something of small “evangelist groups”, who promote its use… but this can change in little time.

To face this great challenge, Spanish-speaking PR professionals have to identify the enormous opportunities that other colleagues, fundamentally those whose native language is English, use for their clients, their businesses and, even for themselves.

Perhaps it would be easier for Anglo-saxons, with a different culture, to accept that in order to enter the blogosphere they must take themselves off the pedestal on which they think leaders should be placed, and be closer to thousands of people in a direct way, without any obstacles.

It is hard for me to believe that a politician, a high-ranking official or an executive in Mexico, Spain, Peru or Argentina, would agree to write a blog. Furthermore, except for some industries (i.e. IT), the use of blogs to maintain direct communication with their audiences continues to be limited to political parties, governments and even successful businesses.

In recent years, there has been a great advance, in which leaders have taken into account the advantages of having a web page and have included it in their communication campaign.

Nevertheless, for some industries of the Spanish-speaking countries, the Internet still is a foreign, difficult and expensive tool, and because of this they disregard its use to communicate with their audiences. The blogosphere offers the exact opposite of this: it is a communication tool close to the people, easy-to-use and with such a reduced price that, with so many resources available on the Internet, it can be practically free of charge.

It is easy to say that blogs could become a “democratizing” element with real possibilities to change the traditional relationship between sources and the media with the public.

Blogs will make possible the “participative journalism”, through which it will be possible to connect the problems of real people to other individuals with the same difficulties and worries. The possibilities are endless in societies that are used to the lack of transparency in government activities and large businesses, and even with media that lack credibility.

In fact, what is already happening in a lot of Spanish-speaking countries, as in the Anglo-saxon world, is an explosion of blogs that offer alternative information to the traditional media. Thousands of blogs are appearing to reflect, qualify and denounce, not only the governmental actions or those of political parties, but products, services or even plans that many businesses are carrying out.

Also, it is possible that the blogs can be seen as the real possibility for the small and medium-size businesses to access the Internet, without needing to provide a large quantity of resources or having to depend on IT people that don’t necessarily understand the business or communication strategies.

Perhaps here is the heart of the matter. These reasons make me think that there are many possibilities for the public relations industry in the Spanish-speaking countries to explore blogs. It is possible that very soon the blogs in Spanish may reach the same importance that other blogs are gradually but firmly gaining, in countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Canada or Australia.

Right now, I don’t believe that really independent blogs -that is to say, those that are not part of important communication groups or that are not written by professional journalists that update their blogs parallelly to their main activity- may be accredited like mainstream media in important events such as political campaigns, as is already happening in the US, and soon in the United Kingdom.

The public relations industry in Spanish-speaking countries should be prepared to obtain the maximum profit of this phenomenon.

How? I will tackle this through some proposed plans of action.

* Identify those blogs that have a good level of hits and organize them in categories: technology, political, media, etc. There are some directories that do this like Bitácoras.net, Blogdir.com, Blogsmexico.com, Blogalia.com, to mention a few. We should be open to see all kinds of blogs, keeping in mind that there will be occasions in which we won’t share the authors’ points of view, but that is important that we take them into consideration.

Let’s take the the case of the videogames web pages. There are occasions in which children with barely 12 years become true opinion leaders, who are capable of destroying the launch of a new game in which thousands or even millions of euros were invested.

* Enter into the blogosphere with the objective of understanding the new medium, its tools, its possibilities and limitations, as well as the best-known authors, although they not be Spanish-speaking.

It may seem obvious, but there are many people that have never heard about RSS, feeds, posts, blogs, syndicated content, links or anything along these lines.
A public relations consultant can’t suggest that his or her clients launch a blog without having previously informed the client about what it takes to be successful and, above all, he or she can’t afford not to know an answer to an issue that may be presented in the blogosphere.

* Before launching a corporate or institutional blog, one should have a clear strategy of what he or she hopes to be communicate and should understand that the blogosphere has its own “net-etiquette”, that is to say, its own codes, that have implications regarding updating, information sources, the form, the tone of the communication… and, of course, the feedback of the public.

We can find that a good idea may produce mediocre results if inadequate tactics are chosen. In this sense, a blog is one more tool among the many available for public relations. And, yes, it offers some unique possibilities that other don’t have.

* Make the blog relevant, but take into account that it is a blog. There are people that keep thinking that the blogs are newspapers for teen-agers, in part because it is true. However this is not something bad at all since this shows how flexible blogs are.

Therefore, at the moment of launching a blog, one must find an equilibrium among the characteristics of the blogosphere with the objectives of the organization. One cannot do is to create irrelevant posts or wait too long to update the blog.

If a business does not have the capacity to maintain a continuous communication with its audience, whether for strategic reasons or legal limitations of another type, perhaps a web page is better for its objectives.

* Note that results can’t be immediate. It is one of the main challenges to all public relations professionals that should be faced, not only with the blogs, but when using any other tool.

Perhaps in the case of the blogs the challenge is greater because of the novelty of the medium and, in the case of some Latin American countries, by the low penetration of Internet.

* Be “blog evangelists”. One must know not only the blogosphere, one must be part of it. This is the only way in which a consultant will be able to offer his or her clients an adequate consultancy. It is not a matter of being a guru with thousands of visits a day, but it is necessary to be comfortable with the blogosphere and knowing who-is-who. The only way to persuade someone is being convinced of that which is preached.

The best business card of a consultant that uses the advantages of a blog for an organization should include, apart from its email, his or her blog addresss.

There will be many of things to do, but this could be a good beginning for the Spanish-speaking PR industry, that has yet to see blogs as a tool with a huge potential.

We must wait to see if the “blog phenomenon”, that is taking place in a number of countries, will spread to the rest of the world. The low internet penetration in Latin American countries, an incipient culture of the use of IT and a different way of understanding the social relations, will be the main obstacles that will determine if this phenomenon spreads as it has in the Anglo-Saxon countries, or maybe it will be possible that a different movement arises with local particularities that haven’t been exploited yet. We will wait and see… and we better be prepared.

(Ahora incluyo la versión en castellano...)

Author: Octavio Rojas | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 3 comments
Category: @ Octavio Rojas | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Tools for Building Communities

Back in the late 90s, it seemed every other business plan I saw had "building community" as a major component. These were the wild and wacky days of the web gold rush, and the one identified way to make money was to consolidate lots of eyeballs and push ads at them. Of course, the same few thousand people and the same few hundred ad buyers were targeted in all of the 14,876 plans or so I had the pleasure of perusing. Thus the Oh-Ohs and the resounding thud heard 'round the world.

Yet, the drive towards "building communities" has not disappeared. Witness the stellar growth of LinkedIn, Friendster, Orkut. Yet [hand to ear]...do I hear the whistle of a coming thud? Is the buzz on "social networks" already dying?

I think there is something fundamentally broken about the way organizations have birthed online communities up until now. And in the face of a dramatic (for Americans at least) cultural decline in joining communities (as chronicled in Robert Putman's book Bowling Alone), organizations that are interested in fostering community need to adopt new strategies and tactics to be successful.

Before I get to what is broken, first I thought it would be useful to list the four characteristics of community as defined by McMillan and Chavis, which are the most widely accepted among community researchers. [This materials comes from an article by Anita Blanchard that is part of the excellent new gathering of academic work on blogs: Into the Blogosphere.]

* Feelings of membership: Feelings of belonging to, and identifying with, the community;

* Feelings of influence: Feelings of having influence on, and being influenced by, the community;

* Integration and fulfillment of needs: Feelings of being supported by others in the community while also supporting them; and

* Shared emotional connection: Feelings of relationships, shared history, and a “spirit” of community.

So, if we take these traits and apply them to virtual communities, which I think you can without too much trouble (read the papers on virtual communities at Into the Blogsphere for more on that), we begin to see where the problem I mentioned earlier lies.

To date, communities have usually been created for the primary benefit of the organizer to sell eyeballs or to create the illusion of mass support of an objective (environmental organizations are a good example here). These creative people have come up with a variety of benefits to the members, which they then market in the goal of getting more members. The organizers of community are enamored with numbers. But, let's be careful here. In fact, for virtually any membership community, only two to 20 percent of members are active in any way at all. And generally, the number is closer to the low end than the high end. (Source)

So, if you are interested in forming a vital community of contributing members, you have to overcome the inertia of built-in, cultural passivity. (Again, I am speaking mainly of the American public today, but I suspect the lessons can be applied in many other countries.) Clearly, that is something that isn't going to happen overnight. However, there are some approaches you can take, guided by the attributes of successful communities I listed above.

First of all, you must create a framework around which the community can grow organically. Trying to force fit a structure onto a group of people doesn't encourage participation! MeetUp is a great example of an organization that created a few simple tools then backed off. Now, we can argue that MeetUp itself isn't the community, but that isn't for here. It simply serves as a good example.

Then, you need to provide tools for people to contribute in ways that they feel comfortable. The usual tools include email lists, discussion boards, petition signings, etc. etc. Here, I want to focus on how blogs can be used, drawing on work I am currently doing with an business membership organization.

Blogs as Framework Of Participation

In my example, I am working with a recently launched non-profit industry advocacy group/membership organization. Our goal is to build a set of knowledge about an emerging market, while simultaneously helping to define the market itself. Furthermore, we are attempting to provide a forum where users and vendors can meet and discuss their mutual goals and challenges.

With limited budget and few human resources, we decided the best thing to do was to create a framework where others could easily contribute to the knowledgebase, while providing the opportunity for influence and recognition (see list above!). We are using a variety of tools, including case study databases, speakers bureaus, eNewsletters, committees and so on. I am going to describe how we plan on using blogs (we are on the verge of launch, but haven't done so yet).

1) We are creating a blog that will be the "voice" of the association. The managing director will be the primary author, with my help.

2) We are inviting a variety of guest authors to post for a week at a time on a subject of interest to them as well as our members. Over the past few months, we have briefed more than 20 industry analysts in the US and Europe. In many cases, we will be featuring their research on our website. At the same time, timed when possible around the launch of a new report, we are inviting them to be a guest author. This is a win-win for everyone. We get the benefit of building a set of knowledge and they get good PR.

3) We are creating a blog for all vendor members, and they are welcome to post their thoughts, challenges, etc. as a channel of communication to the member base and a broader audience. (We do not allow them to market to our list of members directly).

4) We will provide a blog for any member who would like one. They can post whatever they like in it (with guidelines for libel, profanity, etc.). Again, our goal is to create a public forum where people can share their ideas.

I'll be reporting on progress on these participatory community building efforts through the use of blogs on my own blog from time to time, so please stop on by. In the meantime, if you have questions about using blogs for community building, please drop them in the comments, and I will respond.

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 14, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: @ Elizabeth Albrycht | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Day 2: Emergence of Ideas

July 13, 2004

The topic for our second day was Corporate Blogging. This generated a multitude of posts, including an interview with uber-corporate-blogger Robert Scoble, a discussion of ethics in PR and many, many how-to articles. The full list can be found here.

As happened Monday, some themes and questions emerged from the set of posts, which I thought I'd highlight here.

1) Is it important for a blog to have an individual personality or can a group blog work to showcase an organization's personality? Here, here and here.

2) Are blogs a "technological revolution" or a "publishing revolution"? How important are human factors and culture? Here and here.

3) How do we convince leadership to blog? Many posts had lots of practical advice.

4) Is there something inherently corrupt or wrong about corporate blogging? We are being viewed with suspicion by some. And what's up with PR Ethics in general?

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Elizabeth Albrycht | Announcements | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Day 2: Lessons Learned

After the experience of Day 2 of Global PR Blog Week, we the editors thought we'd highlight one major point and reiterate a few things.

The major point:

The participants in Global PR Blog Week are self-selected. We simply posted an invitation on our wiki, hoping people with an interest in sharing their knowledge about PR, marketing and blogs would agree to join in our effort. Many have, and you see the results of that work here.

However, that openness of invitation rested upon the trust that people would not abuse the opportunity and use this forum as a link engine for their own businesses. Unfortunately, you will see that that trust has been abused in some of these posts.

We are sticking to our original philosophy of openness, and the posts will remain. However, this community will need to evaluate whether next year's event will be juried and invitation-only.

Related to that point, there are posts here that are only going to reinforce the negative opinion of PR people and the suspicion that we are trying to corrupt blogging. There have been some rather strongly worded comments to that effect. We leave it to you, community members and readers, to respond.

Some reiterations:

We remain astonished at the level of typos, punctuation and grammatical errors in these posts. We three editors, working nearly full time over 24 hours yesterday, simply could not keep up. Please proof your work! We are professional communicators, for goodness sake. This is totally unacceptable.

During our second day of editing, we realized that the multiple posting problem had more than one dimension, as posts with the same titles broke the extended post links. So, once again, please follow these rules:

No more than 3 posts should be submitted per day per author

Do not title those posts the same

Post titles should be short (4 words or so)

We decided to feature only the first 15 posts on the front page, as otherwise the page took too long to load on dial-up connections.

Finally, we entered into a discussion as to whether we should apply for a Creative Commons license, and which one to choose. We have no closure on that one, as there doesn't seem to be one for groups of multiple authors. We've posted to their licensing discussion board and will let you know the results. We'll also continue this discussion on the wiki in the near future.

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements

Day 2 Stats

We had more than 1000 visitors Tuesday.

Our total page hits for this week so far is 2,906, with the average visit time at 6 minutes.

Page Views:

Average Per Day: 1,380
Average Per Visit: 3.3
July 13: 1,114
This Week: 9,658

Technorati: Global PR Blog Week 1.0 has 238 Links from 68 Sources

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: Announcements

Chat schedule for July 14

Some of the authors scheduled to post on July 14 will be available for chat during their "office hours" (all hours EST):

Elizabeth Albrycht — 4 am - 2 pm, via Yahoo! Messenger (e_albrycht)

Angelo Fernando — 9.30 am to 12.30 pm, 2 pm to 4 pm, via MSN Messenger (heyangelo)

Bernard Goldbach — 5 am to noon, via Yahoo! Messenger (bgoldbach)

Alice Marshall — 10 am to 3 pm, via e-mail: marshall [at] prestovivace [dot] biz

Anthony Parcero — 11 am - 2 pm, via AOL IM (avparcero75)

Before starting a conversation, please reach an agreement on the discussion's degree of confidentiality: is it confidential, is it blogable, would you agree to be identified by name, etc.

All the authors will respond to your comments and questions throughout the day.

Author: Administrator | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Corporate Blogging

I think there is a lot of power in corporate blogging. It seems some think everyone has drunk the koolaid and aren't looking back. Let me try to give a realistic view.

At 800CEOREAD, our weblog is a PR tool for the company and authors we sell. We are working to be the leading information provider on business books and business book publishing. We do this through "signed" book reviews, excerpts, author visits. etc. This expertise and knowledge has our readers spending 2 to 7 minutes with our brand every day. I think that is pretty compelling.

We have two things going for us. The first is the fact that there is always new content being developed. That means there is always news to be reported. The second is a vacuum. Our blog is filling a space that many would think too small to even bother with. For us, it fits perfectly with what we do.

Author: Todd Sattersten | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Todd Sattersten | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Getting blog postings into search engines

How to instantly get your business blog postings to show up in the search engines

Search engines love blogs.

Blogs tend to be frequently updated, contain fresh insights on hot topics, link to other sites, and provide resources for further topic exploration.

That's one reason why blog entries tend to predominate over regular website pages for many search topics.

There are two things that you should know to make sure that you optimize the search engine placement for your blog. First is how to write your blog entry so that it does well in the search engines. Second is how to make sure the search engines find your blog.

How To Write Blog Entries So They Rank Well In The Search Engines:

1. Before writing any blog entry that you want to use as a search engine traffic magnet, figure out what keywords you want it to be found under when people search. Most of the time you will be most successful with two word combinations or higher ("marketing strategy" rather than simply "marketing".)

2. Use your chose keyword combination frequently throughout your post. They should be in your headline, the first sentence of your copy, and around 5% of your copy throughout your posting. Don't go much higher, as you will then be penalized and won't show up at all.

3. Write good content to which people will want to link. Most search engines rely not just on the words on your page, but also the links into a given page to determine where sites rank in their results. So, if you write great stuff to which people choose to link, you'll generally do much better than writing carefully crafted, keyword-dense copy that is so bad that nobody sends links your way.

4. Write postings that are longer than normal blog entries. Search engines discount short content pages, as this is a favorite tactic of spammers. 250 words or more is ideal for placement with the search engines.

5. Structure your blog template well, with your headline as an h1 tag, your headline as your title tag, using your blog's keyword function to get your keywords placed another time on the page, etc. You may want to ask your programmer to work with your blog's template for you to optimize these factors.

How To Make Sure The Search Engines Find Your Blog Entries:

Many people think that the secret to getting listed in search engines is submitting each page to the engines on a regular basis. That practice may have worked well in the past, but now search engines give top credit to pages that they find on their own through following links. Thus, smart bloggers work hard to make sure that there are multiple links to their key blog listings:

1. When you write something great, link directly to that post from your main website using the title of the entry or better yet, your targeted keywords as the text in the link.

2. Make comments on other people's blogs, linking into your page that discusses that same topic, again, using your targeted keywords as the text in the link.

3. Use the power of RSS syndication and server side includes to pull your headlines and short excerpts into other pages on your site, such as your index page and news pages. This process gets technical, so I won't explain it here, but here's an example of a site pulling a blog's entries into their pages using RSS: Aviation News. There are several programs out there that make this possible, one of my favorites is CaRP. Tools like these can be used either to pull results in from your own blog, or from other many other news sources.

4. Submit your blog and its RSS feeds to each of the blog search engines. You can find them either by searching the web for topics like "promote your blog", "blog search engines" and "RSS feeds", or can cut the time required dramatically by picking up a copy of Blogging For Business, which contains a list of the top 50 places to promote your blog.

As you do so, and as you write a constant stream of great copy, you'll discover that your blog is not only showing up in many different search engines, but that tons of traffic are coming to your site as a result.

Finally, we promised to show you how you can instantly get your blog content into one of the top search engines.

Yahoo has a great feature in their MyYahoo service which allows you to pull the most recent posts from whatever blogs you choose and have them displayed each time you open up your myYahoo page, like this:

While this is a great way to be able to easily track posts made to the blogs that you find most interesting, it's also a great way to get Yahoo to add your entries to their index, quickly and at no cost.

Here’s the way this strategy works. Simply go to Yahoo and click the MyYahoo link close to the top of the page.

If you don't have a MyYahoo account follow their simple instructions to create one.

Once you get into your MyYahoo page, click the choose content button, then on the resulting page, click the box for RSS Headlines under the MyYahoo! Essentials header.

This will make RSS Headlines live on your MyYahoo page. Click the Edit box next to that option which will take you to a Choose Your RSS Sources page. In the top box there, put in the address to your blog amd save your results.

Now, go to your blog and make a blog posting.

Come back to your MyYahoo page and refresh it. It may take a couple of tries, but, assuming that Yahoo’s server’s not too busy at the moment, you should see the content update on your MyYahoo page, with your brand new post being pulled into your MyYahoo page.

Here’s where the cool part comes in. Calling an RSS listing into a MyYahoo page also triggers the visit of a Yahoo spider to your site, checking out any of the pages that haven't been previously indexed in their search engine.

So, in the process of pulling your RSS feed into your MyYahoo page, you've also alerted Yahoo that you have a new post, which usually means that your post will be added to their index in record time! I've seen it work in as little as 24 hours. Try it yourself and see what happens! Then watch your traffic soar...

Aren't you glad that you came today?

Author: Don Crowther | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Don Crowther | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Response to External Comments

I've got a mild rebuttal to Mr. Horton's blog

No Flamethower here!

I did want to respond to your blog post, but rest assured there is no intent to flame here. I can see where you're coming from, and your misgivings are certainly valid, I'm not sure it's as bad as you fear.

What I see happening is a lot of others just like me who are thrilled to be able to have a technology that allows us to do something we've either always done, but it makes it easier, or allows others to try something new. It's still writing, though, and writing anything on a sustained, regular basis is hard work. Not everyone is up to that; witness the number of abandoned blogs. People have the odd idea that somehow the technology is going to do the writing for them, and when they discover that's not the case, they go back to whatever they were doing before, after a day, a week or month of failed attempts to create the magic they were expecting.

I don't think there will ever be a situation where everybody's writing and nobody's reading. Even with all this technology, there is still a major percentage of people who just wouldn't consider writing anything for public consumption, ever. Even some published book authors are telling me, "Oh, I don't know what I would say!"

I've been hung out to dry myself on this next one: not everybody is a writer. I made that statement of perceived broad insult to the world in general only a couple of weeks ago on a discussion group for academics (the PhD kind) and you would've thought I said schools were obsolete. Sheesh! In the real world, this statement is actually true, and hardly anyone would dispute that. With a blog, you have the added necessity to promote the thing, if you want anybody to read it. Not everybody can or will do that, either.

There have always been weird perceptions of new technologies. I don't know how old you are, but I've known people who insisted on picking up the living room and dressing up before the TV was turned on. ;>) Not many people went to that extreme, but there was a persistent notion in the early days of TV that it was somehow two-way, and the people in the studio in New York could see the people at home in Scarsdale or Kalamazoo. My mother once told me that when I was a toddler I thought Arthur Godfrey was my dad. It took a while, but eventually I figured out that wasn't true, and I knew the difference between Daddy who came home at dinnertime and the picture on television during the day.

It won't take lawsuits or anything radical to convince the general public that blogs are simply a content management technology. People will discover it themselves. There are a lot of people who still think the simple act of having a website will bring them fame and fortune. You and I know it can't, but it takes time for the rest of the world to catch up. They will.

Of course I remember the Internet bubble and the gazillions of dollars floating around on thin air. This is not the same thing. Sure, some people may think it is, as happened last winter, when I had an e-mail from a lady asking me how she could promote her blog and get a book deal. Turned out that not only was there no book, this lady didn't fully understand she'd need to write one. She expected somehow having a book deal meant that a publisher recognized your life or your ideas were so wonderful and charming they would come and bring writing people, and the whole thing would be lovely, and she'd get to be on TV and make millions of dollars. Ah, yep.

The only thing I can't get my head around from your post is why you think all these bloggers need an editor. They're not all for general public consumption, if you didn't know that. (There is no insult intended here; I just figure maybe you don't have the whole picture yet.) Even on the professional level, who is to know if the editor knows any better than the writer?

For example, I just finished reading a hardcover book I checked out from my library. It was entitled, And That's the Way IT Will Be. Subtitled, News and Information in a Digital World. Publisher, New York University Press. The copyright date is 1998. I love reading these old computer books, because they're often unintentionally hilarious. I'm sure your local library has a good collection of these. The problem with this book was the fact that the editor was apparently sleeping on the job. Each page has one or more typographic errors, in addition to frequent grammar and spelling mistakes.

This is indicative of the quality of hard-copy books available today. It's one reason why I stopped buying books. There are very few books that have been produced with no errors, either hard-copy or e-published form. Making books right is their job; but they aren't doing it. Same applies to periodicals. If you have occasion to read a small local newspaper or weekly, they often look like the product of Mrs. Ardisana's Sixth Grade Class.

As a reader and customer, it looks to me that editors just don't. They may be filtering or something for tone, or accordance with the publications standards, but there isn't much I've seen in editing for quality. I can safely say I haven't seen one book that was published without errors of some kind in about ten years.

Even so, there have always been publications of dubious value, no matter the technology used to produce them. I think we're in a shakedown period, and those blogs of value to a number of people will succeed and be widely read. There will be some that have a small, highly focused audience. Some will be reserved for an audience of one or two, not intended for public viewing.

We can't presume any intention for all of the blogs; any more than we can presume the same intention for all of those who have cars. Some people will go to the beach; others will use the car to drive to work. The difference between cars and blogs is that we know what cars are capable of; we don't yet know that about blogs.

Author: Trudy W. Schuett | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 3 comments
Category: @ Trudy W. Schuett

Blogging For More Sales, To Influence the Media and Show Your Expertise

So it's almost the end of the 4th quarter, and you're really not quite sure whether or not your company's going to come out a winner when it comes to earnings, or perhaps you're a single salesperson in a company that makes you at least meet your monthly quota, but for some reason people just aren't buying.

Why aren't they buying? Well, perhaps you have a useless product or service, or perhaps you just haven't educated them enough about it, other than your sales pitch, which people are rather sick of hearing. Pitching doesn't sell things, anyway. Not anymore. Nope. People are consciously tuning your ads out, too. What's going on?

Throughout the 20th century information became abundant. People only became dependent upon salespeople to make the actual purchase, or transaction, as we call it in my business. This, of course, is one of the value-points of PR, and people do tend to rely on articles they read about a product or service more than they do what an actual salesperson says, unless you play the advisory salesperson role, which I often do.

People are smart. They like to make their own decisions. They do not like, nor will they allow anyone to make them feel as if they were manipulated, whether by a sales pitch or an advertisement. So the modern salesperson should also play the information distributor-broker, gatekeeper and salesperson role. This is where blogs come in.

Having successfully blogged for sales, I can tell you that they provide salespeople the following benefits:

(1) The open showing of product (and area, in my case) knowledge to clients and prospective clients, or prospective buyers.

(2) The ability to keep your "pipeline" full, simply by typing a few keystrokes and updating daily, or even weekly (this is how I remain No. 2 in Real Estate Popular and in Google's top 5 for certain keywords, and I pay $0 for Search Engine Optimization because the blogs I contribute to increase my ranking automatically). A blog allows you to link to your website within each post, automatically providing you higher search engine rankings. Your blog will automatically be highly ranked by most search engines, simply because they're able to be updated more often than say, your company website.

This will only prove successful if you use an automated lead gathering source, which should also be placed in your company website so salespeople can follow up with potential purchasers. Various real estate companies have included automated systems to generate leads for their agents, and quite successfully, but combining blogs with an automated lead generating system could also benefit numerous pharmaceutical companies, which more often than not compete with non-pharma companies for Internet sales (Viagra, Cialis Valium and many others can be found marketed by non-pharma-sanctioned sellers on the Internet, often at prices disallowing much if any profit to the companies making them). Some technology companies could also benefit. Here are a few who I would advise to use blogging in order to increase their sales numbers:

1. Tech Data - The world's second largest global distributor of electronic computer equipment could make its sales force both more efficient and increase its volume by implementing blogs into its sales and marketing strategy. Steve Raymund, blogging could increase your company's sales.

2. DELL - I think it's high-time that DELL CEO Michael Dell got a blog. By blogging regularly, people would contstantly stay tuned in, and when people are constantly attuned to your blog it's much easier to pitch your computers to them. After all, they've tuned into to your blog for weeks, so a simple mention without a pitch involved doesn't look like a sales pitch, but your sales sure do go up when you're blogging to a regular audience. I would even bet that people who buy their first DELL tune into Michael Dell's blog (if he does make one) and continue to buy DELL's because through the blog, Dell would be directly communicating with them. DELL could also give blogs to customers as a promotion, or a co-branding venture. Dude, get a blog!

3. Cars.com - Cars.com could use a blog to constantly communicate with prospective buyers and provide them with updated information that they can't get anywhere else. That way it allows the company to build brand wareness while providing their potential customers with free information, so when it comes time to purchase a car, Cars.com would have already earned their trust, and they can search for cars anytime by the search tool implemented into your blog after it's created, assuming Cars.com does create one.

Any company with an Internet presence with lead generating or e-commerce tools will more often than not benefit from a blog. Why?

Blogs provide a constant source of information, so you can, in a sense, become the expert that people used to depend on newspaper columnists and salespeople to be, but many of them now often read the columnists, as well as five to nine blogs daily. Most professionals are experts in their field, so getting a blog simply allows a professional person, sales or otherwise, to showcase their expertise to the world.

Bill Gates, who is rumored to be getting a blog soon, has come to realize this rather self-evident truth. Blogs can easily make a CEO an expert because of two things: A CEO's expertise and the newspaper column likeness of a blog. This makes it easy for CEOs to communicate with three stakeholders: (1) The media, (2) Company shareholders and (3) Current and potential customers.

I track my blog visitors daily, and there are instances when St. Petersburg Times staff writers have visited, just days before a similar newspaper story to my blog posts was published in the Times. Journalists often get story ideas from blogs, and sometimes blogs themselves become stories.

Of course, with a blog you can also become part of the media landscape. Take Hundred Acres, for example. Its contributing writers are real estate agents and bloggers, but the posts typically read like brief news or magazine articles. Some bloggers are also selling ads using their blogs, Nick Denton's Gawker being one of the most successful ones. Hundreds of thousands of people flock to Gawker daily. What if a CEO received that kind of attention?

Then he, or she, would have to have a blog. CEOs can easily and inexpensively create brand awareness, show their expertise to the world and retain customer and stockholder satisfaction, on top of communicating regularly with the media, all with a blog. Publishing a book is still optional, but not always as necessary, because blogs often tell the stories of our lives, and those often are the most interesting to read.

Author: John Mudd | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 3 comments
Category: @ John Mudd | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

How to launch a corporate blog for a professional services organization

Traditionally, branding is associated with physical products and consumer packaged goods. But branding has become a crucial part of business for the service industry, which today employs more people than all other industries combined. And mergers and acquisitions in combination with global deregulation has seen the rise of many powerful global brands in the service industry. Financial services has been in the forefront of this development and four of the 30 most valuable brands (according to Interbrand) in the world are financial services brands (Citibank, American Express, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch).

Branding is increasingly important for professional services companies for several reasons. You cannot store a service, it is consumed at the same time as it is produced. If you are going to buy a new digital camera, you can go to the store and look at it, feel it and try it out before you buy. You can’t do that with a service which means that your impressions of the brand are extremely important. You buy a service on trust: this brand will best fulfill my expectations.

Services are also hard to show. How do you illustrate management consulting?

In a professional services company, like a law firm, a PR agency or a management consultancy, you sell competence. The most important and most expensive asset is your employees. Since services are hard to illustrate, much of the brand is built in the meeting between your employees and the customers. And the more frequent and qualitative conversation you have with your clients, the better. Corporate blogs can play a vital part of that conversation.

We can assume that the harder it is to evaluate a service before it is bought, the more important it is that the customer has favorable associations to the brand. And the more knowledge-intensive and less standardized the service is, the harder it is for a customer to evaluate the service prior to purchase. It might be easier to evaluate a cleaning company than a PR agency. Another factor is the risk involved in the purchase. The higher the risk, the more importance is placed on the brand.

Few things are more effective in marketing a professional services company than establishing experts or thought leaders who act as speakers at seminars, get publicity when quoted in media and in general act as the face of the brand. And one of the most obvious advantages of corporate blogs is that they fairly quickly can build industry experts and corporate stars. That said, it should be clear that professional services brands are among those that can benefit most from starting corporate blogs.

Corporate blogs can help professional services companies, well, any company, to improve different aspects of its communications, not just in brand building. Before starting a blog, ask yourself:

What areas of communication needs improvement in your organization (some examples)?

External communication
* Brand awareness/Brand positioning
* Business development
* Issues management/lobbying
* Crisis communication
* Media relations
* Recruitment marketing
* Customer support
* Reseller/dealer support
* Community relations

Internal communication
* Knowledge management
* Sales support
* Project communication

I have researched as many case studies and articles about corporate blogging as possible during the last months in order to list some of the arguments why blogs should belong in the arsenal of the marketing departement.

External communication

Brand awareness/Brand positioning

- Build awareness of the company and the nature of its business.
- Change the positioning of your brand.
- Influence the influencers - "Nike is talking to the right people -- instead of the most people -- who happen to be the influencers".
- Market your expertise - "As with conventional publishing, bloggers get their names out there and can carve out niches as experts."
- Improve search engine ranking. A few days after the Stockholm Spectator had an article about plagiarism at Swedish paper Dagens Nyheter, 5 of the 10 first results of the journalists name in Google came from blogs.
- Drive traffic to your company web page. New content makes readers come back, and the effect will spill over to your corporate web site, which probably is not updated as often.
- Reach new audiences. RSS and news aggregators allow people to ”subscribe” to words or phrases which in turn makes it possible for your messages to find new audiences.

Business development

- Launch a product or service - "Oxygen Media launched a blog to promote its new show Good Girls Don't."
- Gain new clients. "Today's "tech-friendly" (law) students will become tomorrow's corporate counsels. Indeed, the idea that these students will ignore technology and revert to paper-driven processes becomes the increasingly ridiculous conclusion. More specifically ... these decision makers of tomorrow may also immediately think of the web as a logical place to start looking for a lawyer."

Issues management/lobbying

- Many politicians use blogs for opinion building. Organizations and corporations can too.

Crisis communication

- I have yet not met a PR Manager that honestly can say that he quickly can post messages on the company web site himself on a Saturday afternoon, without having to call some site owner in a central position within the company. A crisis blog could be a quick way to post information in times of crisis, from remote places and on odd hours.

Media relations

- Companies are beginning to experiment with sending press releases via RSS. Predictions are that journalists will start using news aggregators and RSS readers to avoid being dependent on a mail box full of spam. So far, we have no indications that this actually works, rather we can see that the news stories sent out via RSS are being picked up by bloggers who spread the news. For example, the 8 press releases distributed by Apple via RSS between June 8 and June 23, 2004, were all picked up by blogs. In the Bloglines monitoring system, all press releases were picked up, the most popular one with 15 references (certainly more bloggers wrote about the topics without posting a direct link)

Recruitment marketing

- Today's students are more used to finding information online, and via blogs, and they will become tomorrow's employees (and clients, competitors etc).

Customer support

- RSS can replace email as communications channel. The number of e-mail newsletters is increasing, so is spam. Many newsletters get caught in the spam filters. Syndicating your communication via RSS can be more effective, or at least as a support to the regular newsletters. "At the height of the spread of the Sobig.F virus (...), PaidContent.org publisher Rafat Ali suspended publication of his daily e-mail newsletter and opted for an RSS version instead."

Reseller/dealer support

- Blogs can be used to distribute information about new campaigns, new products, FAQs, to your resellers and dealers.

Community relations

- To engage in a more direct conversation with customers, users, developers, employees etc. “Sun sees its Blogs.sun.com web site as a possible model for a new type of grassroots corporate communication.”

Internal communication

- Motivate present employees. Lets them show their expertise.
- Encourages dialogue, in contrast to ordinary top-down "weekly newsletters from the boss".

Knowledge management

- Act as a learning tool internally.
- Blogs as research tool. Feeds offer an efficient and inexpensive means to notify a large audience of a research question or need.

Sales support

- Competetive intelligence. "Information about new campaigns or new products. Verizon is reportedly using commercial blog technology within its competitive intelligence and market research group."

Project communication

- Improve information sharing within projects. The Navy’s eBusiness Operations Office is using blogs to improve information sharing for program managers, project experts, contractors, sponsors, and war-fighters.

Now that you have the arguments for starting a corporate blog I will share some thoughts on how to get started. Since I am in the starting phase of launching a corporate blog for the law firm I am working for, this corporate blog roadmap is written with the eyes of a PR practitioner in a global professional services firm, but can certainly be useful for most organizations. My top priority with a blog is to build brand recognition and promote experts in different fields of law, so if your purpose differs, there might be other factors to consider.

But first we must distinguish between
- Corporate blog: an official blog from a company, which signals that the blog is an official communications channel for the company
- Employee blog: a blog run by one or several employees of a company, with or without the endorsement of the company, about the company or business related to it

How to start a corporate blog:

1. Identify what area of communications you want to improve.
2. Choose to start a corporate blog or to encourage an employee blog.
3. Should you start a group blog or an individual blog?
4. What geographic area should the blog cover (global or should one country begin as a trial project?) and what language should you use (if you start in one country and think of replicating to more countries, should you have all in English or should they be local)
5. Company wide blog or blog per practice group, market unit, product group, industry sector?
6. Find evangelists who are good communicators and willing to spend the time posting on the blog.
7. Get the accept from your CEO or whoever has the final say.
8. Create an editorial policy about who gets to blog, tone of voice, areas to cover, length and frequency of posts, information sources to cover, copyright aspects, target audience, do’s and dont’s.
9. Get accept from your IT department. They will worry about security and the risks of having several individuals post information live on a website. Get their help in selecting admin software and setting up the blog, domain, RSS feeds and tracking/measurement capabilities.
10. Create a corporate blog with the correct graphic profile according to your brand guidelines. Include biographies and photos of the bloggers.
11. Create an extensive list of information sources for the bloggers to cover in order to get information to comment on. Include official news sources, media, other blogs, press releases etc.
12. Give your bloggers access to a news aggregator so that they get the feel of RSS feeds and how it works.
13. Give your bloggers a list of blogs to read. Most people are not used to reading blogs and need to become familiar with blogging style writing and netiquette (linking policies etc).
14. Allow a trial period for some weeks, to be able to fine tune and make adjustments.
15. Start an RSS-feed and make the blog public.
16. Begin marketing your blog. List the blog in blog directories.
Link to the blog in your email signature and from your corporate webpage. Tell your customers and your employees. Don’t send out a press release about it, to get credit let blogs market your blog.
17. Evaluate, adjust and evaluate again.

Corporate blogs are not a universal solution to all communications problems, but used correctly they can be a perfect tool to improve external or internal communications. Law firms in the US have come a long way in using blogs, or "blawgs" as a tool for branding. Many other professional services firms will follow in their footsteps.

Footnote: Since I am offline for the first part of this week, I will not be able to answer questions or comments until Friday.

Author: Hans Kullin | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 3 comments
Category: @ Hans Kullin | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Constructive Bridges

[Note: This posting aggregates three separate postings: Constructing Bridges, Continuous Mindshare, and Interactive Engagement.]

Constructing Bridges

Many blogs "preach to the choir." This has quite a lot of value as well in terms of inspiring and rallying converted constituents.

But your intent is evangelism, then your intent is to convert the unconverted...the unwashed masses (i.e. they've never heard of you or your ideas). This is a much more ambitious task.

As I write this, I realize just how big a topic this idea alone is. It's about bridge building, often between two cultures. It's about change management as well.

It's important to understand the status quo and what would motivate change. And it's important to show respect for those that still are skeptical of your message or its underlying intent and talk to them in their language. Typically dialogue is accomplished through respect for values and tapping into universal and common desires and motives rather than bashing the idiocy of the current system. Those that are still invested in the current system aren't going to listen to an attack on something they're heavily invested.

There are certainly areas in technology that result in polarization. But as an evangelist you want to understand the reasons (the objections to your message) behind polarization more than you want to join in the crusade.

For instance, in my "agile software development" and "agile project management" example, it is not simply enough to highlight pro-agile stances around bigger-picture contextual references. Unless your "big picture" also includes looking at the reasons why heavy weight methodologies (often cited as the "opposite" of lightweight methodologies that are encompassed by agile techniques) such as CMM and often, RUP, are popular and have been in use for a long time in the industry. In the areas of agile project management, one couldn't ignore the prevalence of the Project Management Institute (PMI), its traction, its message and its certification process. You have to understand the mindset of the heavyweight methodology proponent. You have to understand its strengths.

Your best best for conversion would start with those potential readers that are using the methodology just because that's all they know of - but they are aware of its limitations in particular cases and situations of software development and open to new solutions. It's important to show respect and understanding (both will strengthen your arguments and reasoning) and resist creating a religious war.

And don't underestimate the power of inertia. Typically a product/service benefit must be 10 times better than the current solution to justify a switch in most customer's minds. An example of the power of the inertia is the fact that most corporations won't budge from using the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser even with its multitude of security concerns - what it has going for it is "ubiquity and inertia." Powerful forces indeed. Typically if you are "selling change" - which is typically WHY evangelism is needed - you cannot ignore this fact.

Continuous Mindshare

What is different is that the blog allows for constant communication. If people read the blog every day, they are spending two to seven minutes with us every day. Mailers get thrown away and email get deleted. RSS allows the posts to be delivered to them and they can opt-out at any time. Blogging by its nature is more personal than other marketing communication. I think that strikes a chord with people. (Todd Satterson's interview on 800-CEO-READ blog via CorporateBlogging.info)

Imagine that the audience you want to reach is spending a few minutes with your blog every day (assuming you are updating that frequently). Now that's continuous mindshare. And that's the beauty of blogs. You don't have to wait and hope that the trade press will pick it up…you have a continuous direct conduit to your audience, many of them whom are connected influencers as well.

But continuous mindshare is not a given because you've thrown together a blog. No "build it and they will subscribe." You have to proactively build and grow an audience that anxiously anticipates your next post.

Enticing and encouraging new visitors to subscribe in the first place is necessary. Make the RSS feed easy to find and, depending on the market and your objectives, offer an email subscription if the RSS feed would be a hurdle.

Getting a visitor to your blog site once is not enough. Good intentions to visit again are simple to forget - if you've gotten them to the blog initially and they're interested, encourage subscription there and then.

To keep that continuous mindshare, it's important to post frequently - I know that for many corporations this may realistically occur only 1-2 times a week (and that's really the minimum). If you want to accelerate your success - post every day - yes, each and every day. Make it a daily habit for your readers to look forward to reading your blog.

Immediacy is also important here. Immediacy means respond to direct feedback, comments, or interesting and compelling 3rd party blog posts within 24-36 hours. Otherwise, you often miss the window of opportunity especially in heated debates - the conversation has ebbed and flowed into another topic (that's the A.D.D. nature of the blogosphere). Did you know Technorati doesn't even bother to report results on any topic older than 7 days? The blogosphere is also affectionately known as the World Live Web or the Living Web.

And don't sing the same old refrain over and over like a broken record. Imagine you had to read this stuff every day. I'm not going to mention names, but some blogs have gotten to be way too predicable. You know exactly what their opinion is and what they're going to say. Some consistency around your objectives is required but keep it at a high level. The posts themselves should strike to be fresh, compelling and even surprising. Try taking a different tack or arriving from a new angle, point to new offbeat links, and just be counterintuitive once in a while to sustain interest and avoid staleness. Evolve your message and keep your audience coming back.

Interactive Engagement

Richard Schreuer of marketing research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey talked about how to measure the impact of advocacy. According to their data, advocates tend to recommend products to an average of 6 other people. They've also found that receiving a recommendation on a product increases purchase intent by an average of 6%. So by combining the number of people who say they will recommend a product with the estimated increased purchase intent, you can estimate the financial impact of advocacy. (via Decent Marketing)

While advocates, or customer evangelists, is one of the goals of corporate evangelism, companies must be prepared for the fact that they don't control a conversation.

The shift from crafted unilateral (outbound) messages from corporate to the public to a more authentic, interactive participatory exchange is certainly new for PR and, even more so, for corporations.

The shift implies listening, not just talking. And a continuous feedback loop.

You don't always initiate the conversation, either. Fast Company magazine's restrictive linking policy came under the ire of Boing Boing - one of the most popular blogs - and quickly spread through the Internet:

FastCompany -- the tech magazine for the new economy -- has a spectacularily clueless policy on linking...

As far as lessons learned, Fast Company replied:

This is an instructive example of some of the challenges and opportunities that can arise as more organizations -- not just individuals -- begin blogging. With increased visibility and transparency comes interactivity and responsibility. And if you ever have a question, want to share an idea, or need to clarify something, don't hesitate to contact me directly.

On corporate blogging, Ross Mayfield muses:

Whether large scale adoption of corporate blogging will occur outside tech because of control has less to do with characteristics of industries than leadership. It happens first in information intensive industries, but can happen anywhere a manager wants to gain competitive advantage and is willing not just to give up some control, but recognize its already lost.

Assuming one can be comfortable with the knowledge that conversations are already occuring and control is often an illusion, how do you leverage engagement with interested parties?

A comment by a a Sun blogger on DivaBlog asserts that what's more typical is that no conversations around your company and its products and services is occuring:

The idea of a conversation is great, but what's difficult is to engage the dialog, to connect the other on the discussion thread.

Engagement occurs not just at the final sales delivery channel - to gain advocates for already finished product - but much earlier - during the conception and design phases of products and services. Iterative (for each new and improved version) and interactive engagement is a feedback loop through the entire lifecycle of the product including the earliest embryonic stages. Customers become stakeholders. When customers have a role beyond that of 'consumer' they will engage. Blogs can assist in connecting to the desires, dreams, and wants of the market and to gather that feedback. The product itself is always the primary message. Effort placed on building a buzz-worthy product simplifies evangelist's role.

Author: Evelyn Rodriguez | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Evelyn Rodriguez | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Thought Leadership, Evangelism in Blogs

[Note: This posting aggregates three separate postings: Thought Leadership, Evangelism in Blogs, Creative Passion, and Contextual Relevance.]

Thought Leadership, Evangelism in Blogs

Almost everyone, even personal blogs, are 'evangelizing' something - whether that is their favorite presidential candidate, the strategic value of enterprise I.T., or their love of knitting.

Let's say that your company or a client is interested in either starting their own corporate blog or 'pitching' ideas to the blogosphere (the collective virtual space inhabited by bloggers).

A common perception among those new to blogs are that they are frequently updated websites and thus follow the general guidelines for website content that most professionals are familiar with. While blogging software may be used for purposes of website content management, I'm using a more specific definition that aligns with the top 6 characteristics of blogs outlined at CorporateBlogging.info - namely, Personality, Voice, The Links, Conversations, Frequency, Feed.

There are five factors to consider for success with a corporate blog that is used primarily for evangelism and thought leadership as I defined those terms in my Q&A.

These factors will be discussed in greater detail in subsequent posts:

1. Creative Passion
2. Contextual Relevance
3. Constructing Bridges
3. Continuous Mindshare
4. Iterative Engagement

In addition, it's important to remember these points as well.

1. Your product/service is the primary message; it needs to be a story that begs to be told.
2. You are the message.
3. You don't always initiate the conversation.

Creative Passion

I outlined the importance of passion fairly well in a previous post. I'd like to highlight and expand on a few points made in that post. Blogging can be fun or it can be a tedious unrelenting chore.

You're not going to have much luck forcing employees to blog, even if it is part of their job description, if they don't have the desire to do so. I'm a big stickler for authenticity so I'll be honest here. I optimistically thought (even with the to-do list I had going) that I'd whip out these posts before I headed out on vacation to Ireland. But alas, I find myself sitting in an Internet café in Dublin because I made a commitment to participate in Global PR Blog Week. Don't get me wrong, I think the idea is incredible and it's an honor to participate, but under the circumstances right this moment - yes, I wish my vacation started a week out and I'd rather be strolling amongst the monastery ruins and lakes nestled in the Glendalough valley instead of staring at my laptop in a windowless basement.

That is not the frame of mind that you want employees to be writing from - sure, there will be a few posts where their heart isn't in it - but that should be the rare exception not the rule.

Why am I stressing this so hard?

Blogs get abandoned quite frequently due to burn out, lack of interest, why am I doing this onerous obligation soul-searching and related reasons. I've abandoned one blog myself because the topic was too constrained for me and it ultimately felt like an albatross hung around my neck. Next time around it's fun. Most people underestimate the time and effort required to sustain a good blog. The only way the project is going to be ongoing is to make sure that enthusiasm doesn't wane. How do you do that? Tap into some aspect of your product/service that your authors and audience are enthused about. Employees will be blogging in their off hours if it's fun for them. Edwin K., the primary author of the Collaxa blog, actually used the words "fun" in describing his 2 and 1/2 years thus far of evangelizing the business process management and BPEL space. Fun, passion, challenge, enthusiasm: It's the only way the commitment will be maintained.
You're competing for attention. There are over 3 million - amazing! - blogs tracked by Technorati now…god knows, there are plenty of bloggers that don't know to ping Technorati and are thus uncounted. For the majority of bloggers, this is a personal labor of love. They're not paid to write and in fact, their hobby takes hosting dollars in addition to their time and effort. Their motivation springs from love of something and it comes across in their writing. Your blog will be competing with those interesting, compelling voices for a share of the time folks devote to their blog reading habit. I was taking a random jaunt at Bloglines (if you are a user, you can see how many subscriptions others have) and I was surprised by how few blogs most people are subscribed to compared to my 300+. http://rpc.bloglines.com/blogroll?id=evelynr" At this point, I am loathe to add any new blog to my roster - I'm already too overwhelmed. Bottom line: If you want to compete, your blog must also be interesting and compelling. (Even more so if the topic is already being covered fairly well.) The best way to achieve this is that the authors are jazzed about writing.

This passion factor is one reason that I advocate that each author have their own blog. The sense of ownership created by having your own space - a 'room of one's own' - spurs the author on and gives her the drive to create and build up their own body of work and their own audience.

With team blogs, it's easier to feel that if you don't post for a bit maybe someone else will pick up the slack. It's also a bit harder with team blogs to impart an individual personality and voice as well as engender a deep sense of ownership. For additional perceived authenticity and credibility (and perhaps to avoid legal ramifications), I even advocate having each individual blog hosted outside of the company domain.

Contextual Relevance

Your blog isn't for you - it's for your readers. You're looking for a match between your interests and what's relevant to your target reader in their context. Make certain you have a target reader in mind and an objective for your corporate blog. You've got to search for the 'bigger context' around your topic - the topic you're evangelizing or establishing thought leadership around.

I can probably best describe this through examples.

Before I leap into examples, I would caution technology companies in particular not to solely evangelize "the blue-sky future." In this industry, we tend to (at least I know I do) want to project out 5-10 years (or more) to where the world is headed. While that makes for fascinating reading and fun researching and writing, if it's the only timeframe you're discussing it will be harder to maintain a wider readership beyond futurists.

Relevance means just that - in your readers' mind they are wondering, what's in it for me? Everyone is aware they need to think long-term but I'd balance this with short-term "what's in it for me right now" views. Lay out your product roadmap from your current in production version out as far as you can and map your posts to balance between the present, the short-term 6-18 months and the blue-sky view of where your customer's world is headed.

When the Pivia Software blog started the objective was to reach influencers and blog readers such as press, analysts, and venture capitalists as we weren't certain how much of our customer base was reading blogs. So that was Step 0, knowing your objectives and readership.

Step 1 is choosing the overall theme for the blog. We did a little informal 'research' on the most popular blog search engines to determine which topics were already showing up in "conversations" in the blogosphere. On one hand, you probably don't want to blog on a subject that is oversubscribed. (Recommend: Positioning) And if it is oversubcribed, you will have to find your own niche to differentiate among the crowd. We probably don't need yet another generic social software blog, for instance.

I was looking for a topic area that matched Pivia's software and market strategy as well as a topic area that had at least a little traction among current blog readers. It's easier for a new blog to break ground and gain readers if there at least a few other blogs it can link to covering similar and adjacent areas of interest.

Now, that's a Catch-22 if you're evangelizing a new concept - you're not going to find much in the way of current conversation. There's not going to be buzz around it…because, duh, it's new. It's so new, you may have even invented it. I remember clearly when Java didn't exist at all. Sun Microsystems put a lot of effort (pre-blogosphere) to educate the industry, build buzz and establish third-party fervor for the new language. So, at some point, new concepts, new technologies, new standards, new markets will be "unfindable". What then?

At Pivia we searched on terms like "application performance" or "application delivery" over a period of a few weeks - nothing. I had personally followed blogs for quite some time, but since I emphasized other technology interests it had been over 18 months since I tracked enterprise software or networking technologies. We extended the search to adjacent areas. Unfortunately, some of the adjacent areas are difficult to track due to their generality and commonality such as "user experience" or "Web applications" or "distributed enterprise" (and many blog search engines could stand to be beefed up). We also did research to determine the most influential blogs that covered enterprise software and networking topics. I checked whether press and/or analysts in the general enterprise software and networking areas had their own blogs.

Basically, I was looking for topics that already were discussed from time to time in the blogosphere to "hook" into and to kick start the blog into gear. These are also great indicators as to what people care about and are finding worthy enough to talk about.

Currently, the Pivia blog is titled Performance Matters for various reasons. It ties into their tagline "Because Performance Matters" but more importantly because it also it has broad connotations - the blog will discuss matters related to performance - and that can extend beyond just Web application performance - to the performance of your employees. Be careful when choosing a theme not too box yourself too narrowly - you never know where you might take your product direction.

A hypothetical example (no Kodak doesn't have a blog) is that Kodak's blog would be better served being about the general topic of memories and its related topics such as preserving a Kodak moment rather than specifically about developing film. If Kodak had several bloggers, then each one could focus in on niches around the broad theme and in that case, you could have one blogger focused on high-end photography for the professional geeks.

Another example. I'm passionate about "agile software development" as a methodology for software development - it's something that I'd love to evangelize. A quick search over two weeks showed that there is some conversation in the blogosphere but not a lot around that specific search topic.

And don't even attempt searching "software development" - that's an overloaded term and oversubscribed. At first glance, due to the sparse results from "agile software development" it might appear that it would take a lot of work to build up buzz and conversation around that topic, but a general understanding of the demographics of the blogosphere and knowing that the topic is being evangelized heavily offline in addition to by press and analysts would give me the confidence to start a blog specifically on this topic. My friends evangelizing agile project management may take longer to build buzz as more developers than managers are bloggers and familiar with agile software development, but there are ways to use current buzzworthy topics and add relevance to them.

Step 2 is choosing individual post topics. Continuing on the agile project management theme, authors (or an assigned market researcher) would need to be scouring blogs, events/conferences, press and analyst reports for relevant ideas. The trick is to think broadly and see the implications and patterns between two topics. For instance, a blog post by a 3rd party about the failure rate of new product launches could serve as a great launching pad for a discussion on why and how agile project management practices help ensure successful product launches (Curious? A biggie is collaborative feedback with customers). A 3rd party post on the difficulty of coordinating offshore software development resources could trigger a post on how teams are organized and projects managed using agile methodology.

You may have to just get creative after a while. For instance, it was hard for me to automate the process of finding relevant topics for Pivia. Lately, we're focusing on broad areas (for instance, the distributed enterprise trend, and the use of the Web as an application delivery platform) that are difficult to "Feedsterize". I hit upon an indirect tactic: I used the term "latency" (a term that doesn't result in 100,000 hits but is still quite relevant) as a way to automate some appropriate posts that could serve as fodder for posts for Pivia authors.

However, it is still vitally important to read the most influential bloggers and press to make sure you can jump into a current heated - and revelant - conversation while the iron is hot. Usually there are a few folks in each company that seem to read up more than others, it's helpful if those persons could pass along links to blog authors as well. (In fact, they should be bloggers themselves - as often the best bloggers are the most well-read!)

Of late, we've toyed with expanding the focus of the Pivia blog (perhaps as a temporary six-month intensive series) on all matters related to the distributed enterprise, especially around remote and mobile employees. This means we'd tackle topics that aren't even necessarily technological whatsoever but encompass (relevant to the end-customer) business and management issues related to distributed offices and the extended enterprise as well.

The art of contextual relevance is like art - knowing what to pull in, emphasize from the whole spectrum of reality and what to drop - and emphasizing what universally resonates with your core reader.

The best haiku have metaphorical power, because the concrete observation which is the subject has wider resonance. In this sense the haiku poet is like a great photographer: the art is in the selection. One could photograph everything and anything, but only those images that catch a universal significance, that show some balance of forces, are worth publishing. - Source here

Author: Evelyn Rodriguez | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: @ Evelyn Rodriguez | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Perfectionism, Identity and Blogs

One thing I've noted both first-hand and witnessing other bloggers initiating into the world of corporate blogs is the effect that authorship - a by-line - has to create an online identity. This is a vital component of the successful blogs - personality and voice - and an important differentiator to what make blogs distinct from much other media (and share more similarities with syndicated columnists or talk show hosts).

The other side of the coin is that people tend to take their blog posts too seriously. What do I mean?

When I started blogging I would re-read and re-write my posts several times; double-check spelling and all the links and quotes. And if I wasn't feeling particularly "on", I'd avoid writing altogether. I've seen corporate bloggers do the same thing - often to the nth degree. Seeing your name in print - associated with an article you wrote - for posterity (or at least a very long time with permalinks) can be a little intimidating. It's your reputation, your credibility at stake - the post becomes an extension of yourself and what you represent. Perceived external expectations for quality can keep one sharp and focused…or they can lead to stress and potentially burn out. However, for the most part these expectations for perfectionism are internally created.

A blog post will never be perfect. There is no time for perfection; while a professional writer rewrites their story several times (7-10 times for published non-fiction) and has the benefit of professional editorial review and copy-editing…a blog should never have that level of scrutiny or you're probably missing the boat on getting your message out in a timely manner. And thus, the post will always appear to come up short - at least according to the author - compared to the ideal post in their mind's eye. Nope, it may not be good enough to publish in Time Magazine.

Eventually what I see is the pressure is too much. Blog posts trail off because they're too much work - at least in order to meet our lofty expectations. This is particularly an issue with corporate blogs - where the standards appear even higher than for personal blogs.

It's important to explain to corporate bloggers they will be forgiven for a few mistakes, a few typos, a few unremarkable posts - freshness, rawness, intensity, frequency and immediacy are much more highly valued qualities in the blogosphere. A huge shift in thinking for most of us.

Myself included.

Again, my identity (appears) to be at stake.

For a blogger, there will never be no shortage of reasons why it's not the ideal, perfect post.

If you've done any amount of writing two factors to effortless writing may have been stumbled upon. 1) Being in touch with your "muse" and 2) writing uncensored, unfiltered from that place of connection - that is the rich soil that the authentic voice emerges from. Blogs are more about raw but precious gemstones than countless rewrites and continuous polishing for a flawless jewel.

And most importantly, stopping short of 100% completeness, wholeness and perfection leaves room for your audience to engage, collaborate, and add to the work. I hope you know that these posts are merely works in progress and not completed masterpieces.

I invite you to take up your own brush to the canvas...either in the comments or on your own blog or in your own private thoughts.

Author: Evelyn Rodriguez | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Evelyn Rodriguez | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Thoughts on Thought Leadership

I'm a big fan of the book "Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces" (see my review here and follow-up here) and found it invaluable in terms of its view of thought leadership and establishing momentum for 'digital products' - that's a broader view than just software companies - it actually encompasses any company with a significant online or digital component. And it's also one of the few books that speaks to 'branding' for B2B companies. If I knew everyone that were reading these posts was coming from that frame of reference, I'd use it as a basis to launch into how to apply Momentum concepts via blogs. But since I doubt that's the case, I'll just share a few tidbits related to thought leadership, which they define also as 'conceptual innovation' or perhaps these days meme creation.

The most important points are that it's crucial to focus on what's relevant to the customers' or readers' world not yours, that ideas not the molecules move customers, and to be as forward-thinking (read: bold) as possible.

My opinion is that Momentum stresses the CEO as the 'personality' too heavily as a key factor to building "momentum" behind a company. Perhaps the idea of personality itself is the key takeaway. Personality and voice are key components of any blog. (The book was published before corporate blogging came on the scene.)

In their view, the CEO is a human face that the public can latch onto. In the snippets below, when the books' authors speak about "scaling the CEO" - you are probably thinking that blogs are a perfect way to do that. Employees should be well-versed (and engaged) in the corporate vision and longer-term road map anyway for their day-to-day jobs and now they also can be the holders and messenagers of the vision.

"The NC [network computer] wasn't the first time [Oracle CEO, Larry] Ellison created news and piqued customer interest by providing a compelling context for, and putting a human face on, a confluence of market forces."

"The personal passion, market insight, and hyperbole of Ellison's view of the opportunities created by the media server and the NC gave them a "bet-the-company" feel."

"In some important way, the media server and the NC succeeded in building customers' belief that Oracle was the right choice for them, even as their strategic technology choices were still evolving in the post-IBM computing world. Ironically, the demise of the media server and the NC validated Oracle's position in customers' minds as the company with the product strategy most likely to overcome whatever future challenges might be required of database technology -- the exact predicament these same customers hoped to avoid by choosing Oracle."

"Clearly Ellison understood how to draw attention to himself and his company by moving beyond simple product announcements. Ellison did two things particularly well in his role as industry visionary. First, he aligned the underlying technology trends of the information technology industry and positioned them as powerful market forces made up of products and companies with a common enemy: Microsoft. Second, he personalized the concepts in ways virtually anyone could understand. In this way, he intuitively grasped, before many of his
contemporaries did, that customers would ultimately reward him for taking risks -- even when his big ideas failed. In looking back on our experiences with EMC, Intel, Sun, and Microsoft, we found similar issues existed for each company; each featured a CEO with a visionary agenda whose public persona was larger than life, especially when compared to our clients who were losing market share -- IBM's John Akers, Motorola's Gary Tooker, Hewlett-Packard's Lew Platt, and Kodak's Kay Whitmore."

"But the most interesting aspect of [Cisco CEO, John] Chamber's view of the future was not its ultimate accuracy. What was different about his vision was the fact that it wasn't a vision for Cisco. Chambers was offering a perspective on the future business model of his customers.

"Until the Marketplace of Ideas, a company's vision typically stayed inside the walls of the organization. Prior to the widespread adoption of digital technologies like PCs, cell phones, and the Web and the accompanying change in customers' expectations for differentiation, companies used vision predominantly to motivate employees, build morale, and strengthen company culture."

"In summary, the world's capacity for executive visibility -- especially for executives of digital companies -- grew exponentially and reinforced the demand for executives with presence and a vision of the future. Our momentum research validated the idea that a company's vision of the future could not be limited to its internal audiences. ...

"In order to achieve momentum, a company has to motivate not just the customers themselves, but also the ecosystem around a customer opportunity. The futures contract that comes with all digital brands must also include the brand extensions in a product or service ecosystem, or the company risks losing a source of differentiation."

"To address the futures contract he had with Cisco's customers, Chambers had to articulate a vision that promised to move its ecosystem partners in the right direction. In speaking to Cisco's telecommunications customers about the revenue opportunity at stake [reference to Cisco's famous 'voice is over' talk to telcos], Chambers was also trying to rally an entire industry around the economic opportunity available to third parties in the voice-to-data business transition. He had seen IBM and Wang lose ground to more nimble competitors as the business opportunity of corporate computing moved to the PC and computer-server business models, and he was certain that the same inclusive, standards-based business model would prevail for the Internet."

"We've said throughout this book that ideas about the impact of technology on business and people's lives are the currency of innovation in the Marketplace of Ideas. Customers expect momentum brands (and their CEOs) to tell them things they don't already know about how to solve old problems in new ways -- what we call thought leadership. In a B2B context, thought leaders illustrate over-the-horizon business concepts that describe the impact of digital technologies on a market's business models, business processes, or customer behaviors. "Conceptual innovation" is how the International Thought Leadership Council defines thought leadership.....The most effective forms of thought leadership extend beyond the "what" to the "how". In other words, customers want to know more than what to expect; they want to know how to understand the impact of digital technologies on their businesses, and what strategies, approaches, or models to deploy in order to take advantage of the new technologies."

"Think of your CEO as a product."

"Encourage your CEO to sacrifice around one of the three key areas of thought leadership: business processes, business models, or customer behavior."

"Look for sources of validation in the academic, consulting, or analyst communities." [Look for sources in trade press and especially blog posts.]

"Scale your CEO."

"Develop deliverables that scale your CEO's vision of the future, especially deliverables that are available via the Web. Include video and radio programs to establish a sense of the CEO's personality and how it aligns with the customer experience. The most common and effective channels for thought leadership are public speaking, best practices, case studies, original market research, white papers, and books. [And now blogs!!] These proven tools put your CEO's ideas in decision-making opportunities and conversations -- even when he or she isn't in the room." [Not the stress on the CEO's ideas….it's the ideas, the vision that need help spreading and the CEO cannot do it alone.]

Author: Evelyn Rodriguez | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Evelyn Rodriguez | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Case Study: Blogging to Spot Trends & Forecast Markets

Small Business Tends LLC is a company that uses blogs to spot trends and forecast the likely behavior of the small business marketplace.

For nearly a year now we have been collecting and organizing information about small business. The process has been an educational one.

With more than 300 pages up at Small Business Trends and the launch of a second TrendTracker website, we have learned that blogs are great for identifying trends and for disseminating insight into developing trends.

Spotting Trends

We daily roam the Web, print publications, TV and radio looking for information that tells us something about small business.

We rely heavily on news reports, traditional content-oriented websites, print publications, and newsletters for the intelligence we gather.

We scout out subject matter from a wide assortment of other blogs.

First of all, blogs point us to original sources that have raw data. (Bloggers have a way of discovering the most intriguing information!)

Second, blogs by their nature, with their culture of linking and creative thinking, tend to create buzz around popular topics. In other words, the more the blogs are talking about something, the more we pay attention -- it may signal an emerging trend.

Based on the most popular blog topics, we pull together a critical mass of information that we can then run through our small business filters.

We also rely on events and conferences, and our daily work interactions to identify trends. For example, we both are consultants with half a century of experience between us. We have worked at virtually every size organization, from large corporations, to small businesses under 100 employees, to solo home-based businesses. We have bootstrapped. We have raised outside funding. Our experience and how we apply it to ongoing relationships with small business clients are important ways that we take the pulse of the small business market.

And last but not least, we rely on input from our network of contacts -- and from our readers. A blog offers the opportunity for our readers to make comments. We learn from them. That level of interaction feeds back into our content gathering and trend recognition process. It also supports our efforts to bring more readers to the site.

Tracking Trends

Using blogging tools has helped us develop our websites and eased the process of publishing.

In a past life, we ran the Web's most popular motorcycle website. It had thousands of pages of content, multiple databases, and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to develop and manage. Even so it was a lumbering beast compared to the immediacy of a blog.

With a traditional, dynamic, database-driven website, we were able at best to publish new information once a day. The process of publishing was laborious. Content would first have to be created. Then it would be passed on to developers who would code it. Next it would be loaded into a database. And finally it would be called up in a template.

With a blog we can publish new content at any time with the click of a mouse. Almost no coding needs to be done. There is no dedicated staff of developers. The people who gather and analyze information post it without having to rely on an IT department, content management specialists, Web developers, or database managers.

Because a blog is so easy to publish, we are light on our feet. We spend more time developing meaningful content and analyzing how the data supports developing trends. Almost no time is taken up in the process of organizing the presentation of our content.

Blogging has allowed us to pull together a creditable level of content far more rapidly and easily than we could have using earlier Web development tools. Take a look at Small Business Trends’ 300 plus posts and see if you don't agree.

What we have done with Small Business Trends and TrendTracker, would have been prohibitively expensive for a business of our size if we had stuck to traditional content management and Web publishing schemes.

Site Marketing and PR

We also use other blogs to market our blogs. By becoming active members of the blogging community we are able to trade links with blogs and to post on other blog sites. This, along with good focused content, has given us excellent search engine position, which in turn increases our traffic. Technology such as RSS feeds and newsreaders helps us get our content out to even more people.

We also utilize a traditional email newsletter. We’ve simply placed the signup link on our blog. We increased ten-fold the signup rate once we placed the link on the blog, versus the commercial website. The newsletter is free and serves as a marketing vehicle for the blog.

As a blogger, you are able to develop your reputation very rapidly. All you have to do to be an expert is to post good information and insights on a regular and frequent basis on a focused topic, and then let the world know about it.

Summary

Blogs are tremendously versatile websites. That makes them multi-purpose tools when it comes to spotting trends and forecasting the behavior of different marketplaces.

The process we have followed at Small Business Trends is one that can be adapted to any subject matter. It's simply a matter of immersing yourself in the blogosphere and seeing where it will take you.

Contact:

We will be available from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon (Eastern U.S. time) on July 13th via instant messenger to answer questions. We can be reached at "Smallbiztrends" on AOL instant messenger, and "smallbiztrends" on Yahoo messenger during those times.

Author: Anita Campbell | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Anita Campbell | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Blogs Are Corporate Brand Threats

Global PR Blog Week Day 2: Corporate Brand Threat: Blogs & Disruptive Messaging

The great power of the one-way brand marketing strategy via static print collateral, messaging and websites is losing ground to the interactive “talk-back” power of blogging. Are PR-backed blogging initiatives the “needed mechanism” which will help save the corporate marketing branders’ day?

Micro Media is Changing the PR Practice

The proliferation of Weblogs and RSS news feeds has changed the practice of public relations forever. Despite the belief in media consolidation, as TechJournalism’s Rebecca MacKinnon says, “We are no longer living in a world dominated by mass media conglomerates. Today readers are just as likely to be influenced by something they see on a blog as they are by an article in the New York Times.” As P&G’s Global Marketing Chief, R. Stengel, said in a recent Business Week article, “The Vanishing Mass Market,” which outlines the death of mass marketing, “P&G is now standing mass marketing on its head by shifting emphasis from selling to the vast anonymous crowd to selling to millions of particular consumers…[companies] find the people...are very focused on them....and become relevant to them.” This means that to keep clients relevant to consumers today that the role of the public relations counselor is changing quickly. Corporations are still looking to communications agencies to reach key audiences. The difference, however, is that PR pros must not only secure the "earned media coverage" they have been known to do for decades, but now they must also know how to include bloggers and their niche audiences (many of whom are part of the audiences they are trying to reach for their client organizations) into their media relations outreach. As MacKinnon says, “the rules of engagement are different” in this world of participatory journalism and disruptive messaging, or as McDonald’s Chief Marketing Officer now calls it “Brand Journalism.”

Fortune 500 Abandoning “the Universal Message”

In June 2004 McDonald’s CMO, Larry Light, made history. He announced in Advertising Age that the company is pulling further away from mass marketing because no single ad can tell the whole story in today’s economy. Pointing to the fact that we are a society now surrounded by the web, email, and wireless technology (which give us 24/7 global connections to each other), he went on to announce McDonald’s adoption of a new marketing technique called "Brand Journalism."

“No single ad can tell the whole story in today’s economy…brand journalism represents the end of brand positioning as we know it… We don't need one big execution of a big idea. We need one big idea that can be used in a multidimensional, multilayered and multifaceted way.” -McDonald’s CMO, Larry Light

The announcement of a change in McDonald’s marketing strategy was probably due to the fact that in January of 2003, the Company announced its first-ever quarterly loss--$343.8 million--since becoming a public company in 1965. Undoubtedly the announcement is also reaction to the movie, Super Size Me, which slapped McDonald’s in the face by coupling a gentleman’s one month McDonald’s-only diet with an extensive online marketing and blog monitoring campaign of his weight gain (which ripped through the blogosphere like wildfire). This caused brand damage. Mr. Light described the “Brand Journalism” concept he plans to use as marking "the end of brand positioning as we know it." (Al Ries & Jack Trout are you listening?) This is not ‘light’ news coming from the Chief Marketing Officer of the world’s #8 most valuable brand (see Business Week’s 2003 Interbrand Study).

Light’s new strategy entails using many stories rather than employing one message to reach everyone.

In effect, he declared that McDonald's was abandoning the universal message concept. He went on to define Brand Journalism, which he also referred to as a “brand narrative” or “brand chronicle,” as a way to record "what happens to a brand in the world," and create ad communications that, over time, “can tell a whole story of a brand.” To branch out, he said, “The Company is using many platforms and has shifted the advertising budget….two-thirds of that budget was once dedicated to prime time broadcast TV…now, only one-third is,” he said. Surely we wonder where exactly his budget is being shifted? Surely Light doesn’t mean merely moving his media budgets to the already heavily-funded customer touchpoints like email newsletters and wireless alerts to cell phones. Perhaps he means blogs?

“The Company is using many platforms and has shifted the advertising budget.”-McDonald’s CMO, Larry Light

Summary

In light of the above, blogs are posing threats to Fortune 1000 brands and in order to meet the new brand threat that blogs pose, corporations are attempting to influence bloggers in their media relations outreach, as well as shifting media budgets to strenghthen their own online corporate brand voices.

Author: Robb Hecht | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Robb Hecht | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

A Very Brief Look at Blogging for the Uninitiated Executive

As usual the latest deluge of internet hype this time concerning blogs, bloggers, and blogging is doing more to nauseate us than enlighten us. Just about every techno-wonk in every type of publication around has written something about how blogs and their associated technologies are going to change everything (yet again). This quick piece is my attempt to cut through it all and merely provide an initial toe-hold for any non-nerd attempting to scale the mountain of hype that surrounds the blog phenomenon.

While I will be brief here I want to emphasize that the advent and evolution of blogs and associated technologies is definitely something significant and further reading is highly encouraged.

Firstly, don't get stuck on the term blog. Don't worry that you may have missed some important technical concept or that you haven't been paying close enough attention to Star Trek. Blog is simply an abbreviation for Weblog which was the name geeks gave to their online diaries they started publishing on the internet back in the jolly old 1990's.

Although a blog can still be used as a diary it may be less confusing to first think of a blog as a tool for publishing cheaply. What was once something that a fairly geeky person had to code and maintain on an internet server has been productized into an easy to use hosted publishing service. Now, for about $10/month, even a relative luddite can sign up with a blogging service like Typepad.com and easily publish a full-featured professional looking online journal.

While the underlying web technology hasn't really changed much blogs are a huge leap forward from the amateurish publishing we saw with "home pages" in the early days of the internet. The blogging services that we have today allow nearly anyone to easily create a publication very much like a magazine with features for publishing news and pictures in an attractive layout, archiving articles, advertising, syndication, and reader commentary.

Indeed what we are witnessing with today's blogging services might be better grasped as a publishing revolution rather than a technological revolution. Although creation of content and promotion still require hard work the barrier for entering publishing is barely a speed-bump anymore when anyone with a minimum of technical expertise can set up a nice looking online journal for a small monthly fee. Smart people and organizations are taking advantage of this advent in publishing and publications devoted to all kinds of interesting niches are popping up everyday.

Here are a few examples of how blogs are being cleverly used:

I-S-Cubed Inc. --- http://iscubed.typepad.com/onsecurity/
Corporate blogs are just now starting to appear and I-S-Cubed's blog is a good example of what we may soon come to know as a garden variety corporate blog. This blog is a timely journal about the company it represents. It says here we are, here's what we do, here are the interesting issues we're dealing with, and here are the thoughts of our key thinkers. Official corporate communication like press releases have not been forgotten but are instead woven into a more human readable stream of posts on the blog. The ISCubed blog is nice looking yet very economical and simply created using the Typepad service.

Payments News --- http://www.paymentsnews.com/
Payments News is the blog of the Glenbrook consulting group. The blog is a constantly updated digest of interesting news items touching financial services technologies and other areas related to Glenbrook's expertise. What better way to showcase your expertise than to publish a niche news journal devoted to things you find interesting and important for your clients? I think this blog is also created with the neat and economical Typepad service.

DPreview.com --- http://www.dpreview.com
DPreview is an extremely popular consumer website that has covered digital photography since 1998. While DPreview's format resembles a blog with news postings about digital photography, it is a definitely a full-featured website (with user forums etc.) and NOT a blog. I mention it here because it shows that a format similar to the blog format works for mainstream websites. And as blogging sevices evolve and become more robust I think the technical barrier to producing a site of this caliber will diminish significantly. Already with the blogging services we have today a cruder imitation of this digital photography journal can be created very easily. Imagine if Yahoo adopted a blogging platform and tied it into Yahoo groups functionality. Virtually anyone would be able to create a decently full-featured high-performance consumer news site.

Gawker Media --- http://www.gawker.com
Gawker Media is trying to create a bonafide media brand basically from scratch by building a stable of popular commercial blogs. Capitalizing on the economy and novelty of the blog medium Gawker has hired some good writers and has worked hard at old-fashioned mainstream publicity to create some really popular blog sites. Two of their most popular sites are Gizmodo and Wonkette with the former being a continuous stream of news and commentary on the world of digital gadgets and the latter a savvy political blog.

Intraware Blog --- http://itra.typepad.com
Since I'm writing this I have to mention my own company's fledgling corporate blog. I've tried to post interesting items with an angle toward Intraware but I also post material that I feel is generally interesting for our audience of investors, clients, and shareholders. It is definitely a corporate blog but I feel that original voice is important even in corporate writing and gives the blog a more personable feel. While norms for corporate blogging may emerge soon I would say that if you make it interesting, relevant, and have a little fun, you can’t go wrong. Telling your story with a good corporate blog beats the heck out of periodically issuing sterile press releases.

In Conclusion
I believe in being brief when writing for busy people so I am going to conclude here. I hope that this brief explanation and few examples have given you a more practical understanding of what the heck blogs are. As you gradually digest the blog concept I encourage you to read more. I think you'll find that the evolution of blogs, their related technologies, and emerging techniques for leveraging the blog medium are indeed something significant, and what all this fuss is really about.

And-- if you're an exec with too little time on her hands to keep up with stuff like this you might want to first look into the related technology for syndication called RSS. With most news sites providing RSS feeds nowadays, you can employ an RSS aggregator and then cover ten times the news you usually read in one quarter of the time. I have news fed into MS Outlook using Newsgator and I can scan through headlines on forty sites in ten minutes.

Author: Dave Austin | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 14 comments
Category: @ Dave Austin | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Blogs And Google PageRank

Like most webmasters, you face a constant uphill battle every day, in your attempts to increase your Google PageRank. You see other websites with PageRanks of 5, 6, 7, and even more, and wonder why it’s such a struggle for your website. You are searching for a way, to add those all important incoming links, to add those precious points of PageRank. If you are seeking a low cost solution to the problem, perhaps a weblog (more commonly referred to as a blog) may be just what you are looking for to help.

Before you dismiss blogs, as the domain of angst ridden teenagers and diaries of lunches no one cares about, take a closer look. Blogs have come a long way from those online diary days. They have brought some strong PageRanks along with them as well. Now part of the mainstream, we see blogs everywhere from business websites to political campaigns. They are not just about cheese sandwiches and the lovelorn anymore.

Blogs are becoming a powerful tool, for strengthening a website’s Google PageRank, by taking advantage of what blogs have to offer.

What is Google PageRank?

Google PageRank (one word) is the measure of an internet page based on the number and importance of a site’s incoming links. It is expressed as a numerical value, from PR0 to PR10, with PR10 being the highest possible PageRank (PR). Very few websites achieve that PR 10 level, of course.

Each level is more difficult to reach that one previous. The system is based on an exponential scale, similar to the earthquake Richter Scale. The only difficulty with the Google PageRank scale is no one is entirely certain how the numbers are calculated.

Incoming links for web pages are, in the opinion of Google, votes in favor of that page. On the other hand, Google considers some votes to be more important than others. The simple number of incoming links to a page is calculated by Google, but the relative importance of the “voting page” is given even more weight in the mathematical formula.

The pages that are considered to be more important votes, in turn increase the importance of the page they link. More important pages pass along more voting power. This is measured numerically as PageRank.

Note carefully, that PageRank is for each individual web page, not the entire web site as a whole. Every page in the Google data base has its own PageRank. Sites don’t have “rank”. Every separate page, however, on your web site has its own PageRank..

Be sure to always keep in mind, that PageRank is not the same thing, as your site’s ranking on the search engine results pages (SERPs). They are entirely separate items. PR is the relative importance of a page on the web, expressed as a number. The SERPs are where your site appears on a search for your keywords.

Why do blogs have such high Google PageRank?

Blogs tend to have very strong Google PageRanks. These high PageRanks are achieved through one of the hallmarks of the blogging technique. People who maintain blogs (called bloggers) are free and generous linkers. If gaining link exchanges was ever a problem for you in the past, you need to consider a starting a blog.

Incoming links are the determinant of PageRank. That is the strength of blogs. They attract both theme based link exchanges and natural links from other blogs. There are also a number of special blog only directories that supply an additional PageRank boost. That extra set of directories is not available to traditional websites unless they add a blog component.

Blogs are also well represented in the important mainstream web directories, including The Open Directory Project and by extension the Google Directory, and the Yahoo! Directory as well.

Blogs attract links because of several important factors. One of those factors is fresh, constantly updated content. It’s an old adage already that good content will attract links. With blogs, it is a fact. By providing your readers with quality daily posts, other bloggers will link to them, and comment upon them in their own blogs.

That linking achieves two goals. First of all, it adds a strong natural link. Secondly, due to the discussion of your blog post, in the linking blog, your incoming link is quite possibly themed. Because the linking blog is probably in the same general topic area as your blog, the theme is consistent. If it’s not a related blog, the context of the linking post itself can help to theme the link. In either case, your blog benefits from a solid boost in PageRank.

Bloggers are generous linkers to other blogs they enjoy, and posts they believe will be of interest to their readers. Google PageRank is an issue for very few bloggers. There is little concern in the blogging community (sometimes referred to as the “blogosphere”) about hoarding PageRank.

It is simply not on the radar of a huge percentage of bloggers. Because of that lack of concern, some very highly PageRanked blogs will freely exchange links, or link to another blog, with a much lower PageRank.

How can a blog enhance your site’s PageRank?

A blog can easily be added to an existing website. Many off the shelf blogging tools can be imported directly to your site. They can be easily modified to suit your requirements. On the other hand, a blog can be coded from the ground up, to provide a unique tailored look for your site. A blog can be set up as a separate free standing site as well.

Because of the daily, or at minimum three times a week updates, your blog has constant fresh and interesting content for your readers. That content will attract natural and unreciprocated incoming links. The bring valuable PageRank transfer, along with fresh visitor traffic.

If your content is sufficiently interesting and informative, two types of blog links will occur. One is the home page permanent link. The other is the themed link from a blog post. That themed link will slide off the home page, but will bring PageRank from an internal page. Bloggers routinely read other blogs and link to their selected posts, passing along valuable PageRank as a matter of course.

Bloggers like to make link exchanges and often they have no idea or concerns about Google PageRank. Many have never even heard of the concept. Some very good PR5 and PR6 home page blogs are blissfully unaware of that fact. They care about exchanges for traffic and interest to their readership, and will readily swap with blogs they or their readers might enjoy.

Google is thought to be discounting reciprocal links on many static websites, especially link exchange pages. On blogs, that discounting does not appear to be evident. Because blog links are heavily reciprocated, any penalties would show up quickly in a reduction of blog backlinks. That does not appear to be the case.

A quick glance at any number of blog backlinks will display many reciprocated links. One reason for that may be the fact that blog links are almost universally placed on the home page. Another is bloggers, in general, make link trades with other bloggers who write about the same theme. The on page text usually contains similar content, and often the same keywords, in both exchanging blogs.

The blog section of your website will add PageRank very quickly, often achieving a PR4 or PR5 within only a couple of months of existence. You can link that page, to any pages of your existing website, and provide that page with a PageRank boost. This is especially helpful if you are in a highly competitive keyword area.

Problems with blogs and PageRank

Everything is not perfect with blogs, but then nothing is ever without some flaws. Blogs have some shotcomings too.

One major problem to address with blogs, especially if you are utilizing a preset blog template supplied by one of the major blog platforms, is internal PageRank transfer. Blog PageRanks are heavily skewed to the home page. Many of the blog templates are not written with strong internal linkage. Because of that weakness, many internal pages in the archives, do not possess strong PageRanks.

To correct the internal link and PageRank distribution problem, the blog will often require some major changes in the sitemap structure. Since most bloggers have their most recent posts scroll off the front page, and into the archives, many bloggers are not concerned with the problem. That is a concern, however, if you are attempting to maximize PageRank. Some system of categorizing and highlighting, important and heavily searched blog posts, is needed.

Another area of concern are the incoming links themselves. If the link comes from a blog post, that has slipped off the home page, it may take the PageRank boost with it. That is another result of some blogs’ weak internal linking structure. The power of blog links is skewed heavily toward top page links. On the other hand, blogs with strong PageRanks will have some natural PageRank transfer to the internal pages, despite the blog template limitations.

Long term, there may be some potential for concern, about the heavy use of reciprocal linking between blogs. Any possibility of penalties, for excessive reciprocal links should be seriously considered. Adding more natural links and directory links could certainly help in that regard. Over dependency on link exchanges should be avoided. Some degree of balance is needed to maintain a solid ratio of incoming and outgoing links.

Conclusion

Blogs are a powerful tool for developing Google PageRank. They can be utilized as part of an existing website, or as a free standing independent entity. In either case, PageRank accruing to the blog pages can be transferred to any other website pages that need an influx of PageRank.

Transfer can be accomplished through internal linkage, if the blog is part of the existing website. PageRank can flow from a free standing blog by standard linking practices from another website.

Blogs receive strong Google PageRanks, because they gain many powerful incoming links, in a surprisingly short period of time. PR4 and PR4 rankings within the first two to three months of a blog’s existence are commonplace.

Bloggers are free and generous linkers, who happily link to other blogs they enjoy, or as a service to their own readership. Along with those links comes a healthy boost of PageRank. The constantly updated postings to blogs will add many natural and unreciprocated links as well. The fresh content and high PageRanks get many blogs crawled by internet spiders on a daily basis.

The current concern with reciprocal links being downplayed by Google, and the other search engines, doesn’t appear to be evident with blogs. Because link exchanges among blogs tend to be between blogs with similar themes, the reciprocal links are not a problem at this point. That could change, however, so diligence in gaining natural and unreciprocated links is still necessary.

To give your website a much need PageRank shot in the arm, try adding a blog.

It could be the biggest boost to your site’s Page Rank yet.

Author: Wayne Hurlbert | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Wayne Hurlbert | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Blogs As A Website Promotional Tool

You have probably heard much discussion about the new phenomenon of weblogs, more popularly referred to as blogs. Long dismissed by serious webmasters and business people, blogs were thought to be the sole province of angst ridden teenagers, and a few self indulgent navel gazing writers. That is not the case any longer.

Blogs have stormed onto the internet, sporting strong Google PageRanks, and often very large and intensely loyal readerships. The worlds of politics, sports, and business have seen an explosion in the number of blogs, over the past year. Blogs are everywhere on the internet. Along with providing a boost to your Google PageRank, and to your search engine results pages (SERPs), blogs are a tremendous promotional tool for your website and your business as a whole.

By adding a blog to your existing website, or as a cross linked stand alone site, a blog will pay heavy dividends to your business. By adding a human element and a sense of immediacy to your site, a blog will add not only potential new customers and clients to your business, but a healthy injection of goodwill as well.

Blogs provide a powerful promotional vehicle both online and offline.

Perhaps it is about time to consider starting a blog.

Promotional benefits that blogs can provide

Blogs build regular readership traffic. Because of their frequent updates, often daily, readers will return very frequently. A traditional static website has far fewer changes, and often requires coding and the assistance of a technical person. There is no such requirement for blogs.

Most blogging platforms allow for the transfer of fresh blog posts directly to a website, providing a continual supply of new material. Because of these regular additions of fresh keyword rich content to your site, you gain favor with the search engines. The spiders will crawl your site more frequently and index your site more often. The new keyword laden content will create some pages that score highly in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

The content of a business blog should not be blatantly promotional in nature. Instead, it should provide that benefit more indirectly. Posting regular blog entries about industry news in your business area, fair and unbiased product information and reviews, new product development information, and business advice for your readers will establish you as an expert in your field. As an expert, you will be called upon by the media for interviews and often as a speaker in your industry area. The promotional benefits of those activities are obvious.

Other bloggers (people who write and maintain blogs) will also promote your blog, by linking to any blog posts that interest them and their readership. Bloggers are free and generous linkers of the blogs they read. Many bloggers are completely unaware of their Google PageRank and often of their blog's position in the search engine results. They freely link to blogs for the content alone. The search engines are, at best, a distant secondary concern.

You get free publicity and promotion for your blog from other bloggers. Since many of the other bloggers, who link to your blog columns, are in posting similar themed content on their own blogs, you get the benefit of any topic sensitive PageRank that may be implemented by Google. You also get some much needed link popularity and some PageRank boost that help your site in the search engines.

Blogs bring a human element to your business

The very concept of adding a human element to your business, may seem a little obvious to many people. On the other hand, many business and website owners have overlooked the benefits of placing a personal stamp on their business. A blog can provide precisely that human element for you.

The first thing you will notice about a business blog is its frequent number of updates. Almost every day a new post or column is added to the blog. The posts are usually written in a conversational tone and often contain personal elements about the writer. Those personal elements are where the human face on the company appears.

As your readers return daily, and your blog is written in a manner that encourages repeat visitor traffic, your visitors get to know you as the author on a more personal level. The personal writing will include information about you as an individual, as well as information about your company.

Because your blog readers return at least several times per week to read your latest blog postings, you begin to develop a rapport with them. Over time, they become familiar with you and naturally become customers. It is generally agreed by marketing experts that people prefer to do business with people whom they know and trust. A blog helps to develop that trust in you and your products and services.

Promotion online with blogs

The online promotional benefits of a blog are numerous and powerful for your website. The immediacy of your blog can provide up to the minute information about your company to existing and potential customers and clients.

Your blog will develop a loyal daily readership over time. The importance of that readership is its business potential. Every one of those regular visitors is a possible future customer or client. By visiting your blog every day, many of them will be interested in checking out your main business website. In that sense, a blog is a customer attractor for your company and its products and services.

By means of the ubiquitous comments systems found on most blogs, reader feedback can be almost instantaneous. Don't worry about the potential for comment spam or abusive comments. While a potential annoyance, they are minimal compared to the benefits of personal interaction with your visitor traffic.

Most blog platforms contain a built-in comment feature. If your blog system doesn't include one, there are many good third party add-on commenters available. E-mail spam doesn't prevent a business from using e-mail. Comment spam shouldn't stop you from having a commenter added to your blog either.

A powerful feature of blogs is the use of an RSS feed. RSS stands for either Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Sydication. Take your pick, as both are correct. What an RSS feed does, is send a blog's highlights to recipients instantly upon publication.

Most blog programs have an RSS or Atom (or a combination) feature for enabling transmission of your blog to a wider audience of subscribers to your RSS feed. Many blogs have a sign-up feature right on the blog itself, making the addition of a feed easy for your visitors to read your blog as you update.

To read blogs, your visitors need to use what is called an aggregator. By attaching an aggregator , which is a blog collection and reading program to their web browser, customers can read your blog posts as they happen in real time. Some well known aggregators include Bloglines, Feedster, and Kinja. There are many more good RSS feed services available as well.

E-mail newsletters are usually on a delayed time scale compared to the speed of an RSS feed. Because of this speed difference, e-mail newsletters will take on a different role for your business. No longer required to provide news, your newsletter can provide more indepth information and special offers to your subscribers. The RSS feed enables you to utilize your e-mail newsletter in new and innovative ways.

Promotion offline with blogs

Blogs, surprisingly, can have some solid offline benefits for your business. One of the most important is the value of your blog to the media. Blogs are regularly scanned by the mainstream and the trade media outlets, vis RSS feeds, for news story ideas. Your breaking news story is of interest to the journalists in your field.

Be certain that you have easy to access contact information, on your blog and on your website, so reporters can make instant contact with you. They are often on very tight deadlines and can't wait to find you. By being available, your business story can be told, and you can also be quoted as an expert in other news stories. You may also find yourself being contacted as an expert speaker in your business area. The blog will establish your authority credentials.

Your blog will already have helped establish you as an expert, in your field of business, because of your daily informative posts. Since blogs are still relatively new to the business arena, you will also be seen as being on the leading edge of innovation, for your industry. You know that can never be a bad thing.

Be certain to include your blog URL on all of your business cards, letterhead, and everywhere else your main website URL is included. Many people will visit your blog for information, who might not otherwise visit your business site. They will often use the blog as an entry to your company website, and eventually become customers or clients.

Conclusion

The promotional advantages of adding a blog to your existing website, or as a stand alone blog, are many and powerful. The addition of a blog component establishes you as an expert in your field, reaping rewards as a media spokesperson or a public speaker, in your area of endeavor. Being a blogger places you and your business on the leading edge of your industry. Standard offline promotional techniques will also pay dividends when applied to blogs.

Online, your blog will pick up many solid and theme related links from other bloggers, and from traditional websites. The topic sensitive links created will boost your Google PageRank and your search engine results for your main keywords. Often, your blog will provide another search engine result for your business keywords, creating another entry into your main business website.

Because of the freshness of blog content, it is crawled often by the various search engine spiders. That frequent addition of newly crawled content to the search engine indexes will enhance your level of visitor traffic.

Through the use of RSS feeds, your blog posts will be instantly available to your blog subscribers. Used in conjunction with your existing e-mail newsletter, your blog's RSS feed will keep your readers up to date on your business and your products.

Add a blog to your promotional efforts, and reap the rewards, both on the internet and offline as well.

Your business bottom line will thank you for being a blogger.

Author: Wayne Hurlbert | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Wayne Hurlbert | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Corporate Blogging Survey

I've been thinking about the value of corporate blogging and I thought a survey would help answer some of my questions. Here are my questions.

1) Why do you blog for your company?
2) What goals did you set for the blog?
3) How do you think your blog fits into your company's communications strategy?
4) Tell me about the publishing mechanics of your blog. How often do you publish? How do you decide what to publish? Any special publishing techniques?
5) Who writes the blog? Who contributes to the blog on a regular basis?
6) Have you achieved your original communications goals?
7) Were there any any unexpected communications or learning consequences as a result of publishing your blog?

New Questions:
8) How have you built better relationships with customers?
9) Macromedia, MicroSoft and other companies are encouraging more of their employees to blog. How do all of these different voices together affect the direction of a company?

Here is a list of the people kind enough to post answers to my corporate blogging survey. If you would like to post answers, either post them on this blog, my blog or the PR Global Wiki Corporate Blogging Survey page.

· John Dowdell, Macromedia.
· Sean Corfield, Macromedia.
· Brooke Brown, OnClick
· Heather Hamilton, Microsoft
· Gary Lerhaupt, Dell

Author: John Cass | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: @ John Cass | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

MicroSoft Corporate Blogs & Other Stories

Remember 1995. Bill Gates did not think the web was important. He nearly made a big blunder by not recognizing the web’s importance, but Microsoft eventually won the day against Netscape.

Today, Bill Gates and other senior executives will not let another technology leapfrog them again. Maybe fearing what will happen to Microsoft if they don’t let their employees’ blog, Microsoft has over 700 employees blogging today.

Led by such Microsoft blogging pioneers as Robert Scoble, Microsoft has given its marketing and technical teams simple blogging tools to start posting content about their jobs and hobbies.

To some, Microsoft is the poster child for large faceless corporation, all this blogging at Microsoft lets MS technical people and marketers put a human face on Microsoft and communicate the company message quickly.

Intelliseek, a company researching and tracking consumer generated media, thinks any company should be monitoring what its customers are satying on forums, blogs and social networking sites.

From MarketingSherpa.com’s article ‘How to track (and influence) consumer buzz online about your brand’ “2004 Forrester/Intelliseek research shows that more than 60% of consumers trust other consumers' online postings about products and brands. In comparison, pop-ads are only trusted by roughly 5%, search ads by less than 40%, branded ads by less than 50%. So an individual consumer post may have far greater impact than the online ad campaign you paid for.”

Tech companies like MicroSoft and Macromedia have a clue. They are on the blogging train now before it leaves the station.

If the only time you ever hear from a PR or marketing professional is when they want to sell you something. Then in today’s media savvy society your average customer will discount or ignore their voice.

If you’re company’s marketing or technical employees are corporate bloggers. Mixing product announcements with an ongoing dialogue about their children’s latest soccer tournament. The audiences’ perception about your company subtly changes.

Therefore with blogging, your audience will listen, and your company has a better change to communicate their message.

CORPORATE BLOGGING PROPOSAL

There are two types of corporate blogs. Those blogs that link into a company's existing customer community and those blogs that seek to create one.

A company with an established brand and customer base that uses the Internet can use a corporate blog to start an online conversation with customers.

Forums provide opportunities for customers to talk and discuss products. But with a forum a company cannot totally control the direction of the online conversation.

A blog lets a company direct and display the content of a website in much more newsy format.

Corporate blogs are similar to online newspapers, in that they allow companies to tell their audience the latest news on both their industry and company’s products.

THE BENEFITS OF CORPORATE BLOGGING

Corporate blogging has been around for two to three years as an Internet marketing method.

A corporate blog is a website dedicated to a particular company, product or industry. One or more authors can run a blog. Authors can be technical or marketing orientated.

The layout of a blog allows a blogger to make daily or hourly posts to a website. This means that, culturally a blog allows a blogger to post many entries on the theme of the blog, thereby changing the content of the home page on a constant basis.

A corporate blog focused on the industry or a company’s products provides several advantages, including:

1) The search engine optimization benefits from a blog. The SEO benefits come from the quantity of content on a blog. It’s also culturally acceptable to post lots of pages of content on a regular (daily) basis. Search engines like new content, especially content that comprises of short paragraphs with many rich and relevant keywords. It’s also easy to generate and boost link popularity to your corporate blog. Here’s why, it is culturally acceptable to post links to other blogs. If you’re posting is relevant and useful to the other blog. The potential customer good will and PR benefits will only be really forthcoming after a few months of blogging. It will take some time to get high rankings in search engines. The quicker you start the higher your ranking.

2) Corporate blogs are learning tools for companies. Blogs to be successful have to be updated constantly. You also have the opportunity to interact with an audience informally. Much more than a corporate website. Corporate bloggers can therefore easily develop online conversations with an audience about products and a company’s industry. Microsoft and Macromedia are two companies using corporate blogging extensively. Both companies technical and development teams are writing blogs to communicate the latest information about products with customers. Blogs allow comment postings from customers. As a result such technical companies are capturing new information from customers at a faster rate.

3) Small hard dollar cost, higher soft dollar costs. Return on investment is why a company should start a corporate blog now. The hard dollar investment is small. Blog are complex content management run websites. However, a simple blogging tool can be rented for $50/year. The soft dollar investment requires regular postings at least 3 times a week.

4) E-mail is losing its effectiveness as a communications tool. RSS will replace e-mail in key areas. RSS (really simple syndication), a method for syndicating content from a source (a website or a blog). RSS is providing an alternative to email as a way to keep in contact with websites and email newsletters. Tired with the barrage of permission-based e-mails, customers will switch to readers that read RSS content. A customer reads their RSS content through a reader on a daily basis. While, at the moment, it is presently culturally unacceptable to send too many emails, even permission based email. Armed with an RSS reader your audience will demand more content. Those corporate bloggers who provide regular content will be more likely to keep their audience’s attention in an RSS reader.

5) Blogs are communications tools that give your company a touch of honesty and establish the company has humans running the place. With a blog it is culturally acceptable for employees to use humor and inject their personality into their online conversations with an audience. Microsoft’s progress into corporate blogging (over 700 bloggers) illustrates that corporate blogging on a larger scale may subtly change an audience's perception about a company.

Author: John Cass | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ John Cass | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Introduction

How Non-Profit Organizations and Local Governments Can Use Blogs to Communicate with the Public -- Part One

There are so many practical uses for blogs it’s hard to know where to begin. For this reason, I’m going to start from the ground up, with the presumption that most of those reading this are checking in to see what this blog thing is all about. First, I’ll go into the definitions and a bit of the history of blogs, and then expand from there. Information I have that applies to blogs in general will be in the section entitled, All the Basics in One Place. I’ll be focusing on hosted blogs, which are accessed through visiting the site online, rather than the kind that require software on your computer, and hosting by other means.

After we’ve covered that I’ll split this presentation into parts for the specific realms we’re exploring – non-profits and government. Each category has its own unique set of needs or values, as well as many similarities. I also recognize that individuals may have a variety of needs, and so will try to show that there are no hard-and-fast rules, and through your own innovation and creativity, you may find that something usually done for one kind of blog may be helpful at another.

So everyone reading this can become a participant if they so choose, comments are open and available at each section. Some of the information may seem to be a bit more bare-bones than you’d like, so please feel free to ask any questions you may have. If you’re reading this on my assigned day for the presentation, (July 13, 2004) during my “office hours” of 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT, you may get an answer from me within minutes of posting your comment. After PR Blog Week is officially over, this presentation will remain at the blog for future reference. You can continue to post questions or comments whenever you happen upon the discussion and I’ll respond as soon as I can.

I’d like to encourage discussion among participants, as you’d do in an informal presentation with everyone sitting in the same room. My role here is more as a facilitator rather than a lecturer. You may have ideas or points to make that I haven’t thought of yet, so go right ahead and make your point.

After you’re done here, please go over and check out the presentations by the other facilitators. After the event is over in real time, this presentation will still be here so latecomers won’t miss anything. Unlike an in-person conference, you have the ability to attend sessions which may occur simultaneously in real time.

There’s an advantage right there – any kind of org can benefit from holding this kind of conference!

Throughout the presentation, where an individual or website is mentioned, I’ll have the link highlighted in the material, so you can visit the site if you choose.

About me – there’s a section on who I am and what qualifies me to be talking about this stuff at my main blog, WOLves.

Links for sections of this series:
Pt. 1 Introduction
Pt. 2 All the Basics in One Place
Pt. 3 Blogs for Government
Pt. 4 Blogs for Non-profit Orgs

Author: Trudy W. Schuett | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Trudy W. Schuett | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

All the Basics in One Place

How Non-Profit Organizations and Local Governments Can Use Blogs to Communicate with the Public -- Part Two
Avoid Bad Websites!

If you visit a random group of websites in either of our categories, you shouldn’t be surprised to find a number of them that haven’t been updated in months, or even years. I think at some time everybody’s been stymied in their quest for information by a website that is either poorly designed, has wrong or outdated info, or just plain doesn’t work.

The website for a non-profit, or local government is often the neglected stepchild of the IT department. It’s the last thing on the list of priorities, because those in charge of computer or internet-related things have more pressing concerns.

They’ve got to consider the details of keeping the day-to-day operations up and functioning, making sure their databases are secure, keeping viruses out, even training users on working with their systems. Because until now, the website has been a complex issue, requiring specialized training and abilities to produce it. This is not to mention writing content for the thing and/or coordinating the efforts of several individuals, which often requires more time than anyone has to spare.

Maybe you don’t even have an IT department; you’ve got one staff member or volunteer charged with producing the website, among other functions.

Meanwhile, the life of the real world org goes on. There are new projects, new campaigns or fundraisers, staff changes, even changes in location. Left unattended for too long, a website can become a real liability when it doesn’t reflect a true picture of the organization.

Wouldn’t it be great if the website could become a simple, functional, and productive part of your organization’s communications with the world? Wouldn’t it be great if it could be managed by almost anyone with the time and inclination?

This can happen if you use a blog.

Basic Blogging

While I’m not sure than any individual “invented” blogging, I do know that Dave Winer developed Radio Userland software around 1997, and Pyra Labs developed what we now know as Blogger, the hosted blog service, in 1999. Other software packages and hosted products evolved from there. There are now dozens of hosted services and software products available.

Most of the original blogs were either maintained by tech professionals or people wanting to keep a diary or personal journal. That is why many who are aware of blogging mistakenly believe a blog must be a personal journal, and/or that you need to be a ‘puter geek to have one. (This could not be farther from the truth. A blog is simply a content management system. The content is entirely determined by the user. I maintain seven blogs on a variety of subject matter, and not one is a personal diary. I’m no ‘puter geek, either – without Homestead for my static websites, and the blog hosts I use, I wouldn’t have an online presence at all.)

For several years after blogs arrived in cyberspace, they were few and far between. When the Eatonweb portal was established in 1999, there were only a few dozen blogs, mostly maintained by individuals. Those that were most widely-read tended to focus on current events, political commentary, or tech issues. When the September 11 disaster occurred, those who were used to getting their news online turned to blogs for the latest updates, since traditional news sites were overwhelmed with traffic and sometimes inaccessible. In March 2003, the war in Iraq sent even more people to blogs to help them better understand current events.

From there, more people became interested in blogging and developed other uses for them, to the point where we now have about 3 million blogs, or likely even more. In the summer of 2004, blogs are used for a number of practical purposes, with daily journaling only one use. By this time next year I expect blogs for other purposes to far outnumber the journals/diaries.

Think of a Blog as an Instant Website

What makes a blog different from a traditional static website is that it can easily be set up and maintained by anyone who can comfortably use a word processing program such as MSWord, send e-mail and surf the internet. The IT department of your organization need not be involved in the project at all.

Just Add Content!

A blog can be updated often, or not -- as you choose. It can be an in-house product, not accessible by the general public, or it can be available to anyone online. It can serve as a purely informational tool, as a hard-copy newsletter would be, or it can be used for discussion, instead of an e-mail discussion group.

A blog can have one author or many. A large group could have many blogs all appearing to emanate from the same location.

A blog or group of blogs can either reside on your server, or with a host.

A blog can be maintained from any location with internet access – for example, you may sometimes find it more convenient to post to a blog from home rather than the office, or vice versa. Laptop and handheld computers, even mobile phones can all be used to maintain a blog from remote locations.

Make Your Website Speak for Itself

The thing that makes a blog live instead of static is the RSS or Atom feed. This extends the mobility and accessibility of a blog to your readers. They can of course also read your blog on all the same devices you use to maintain it.

To keep track of a number of blogs readers can use an aggregator, sometimes called a news reader. This is either software on your computer or a website online. The RSS feed alerts the aggregator of updates to your blog; and your readers/participants may either visit the blog directly or read the text (and sometimes view photos) in the aggregator. This way your readers are always informed of updates, without the need to add to their already-overwhelming mass of e-mail. These alerts stay on the aggregator until the material is read, making it far less likely that any reader would miss an update.

If you list your blog with directories, people looking for whatever you do can find you.

Yes, this is within your budget!

A full-featured, hosted blog ranges from $1.99 to $14.95 per month or even higher. Because the idea of blogs is relatively new, the adage that “you get what you pay for” does not apply here. Pricing for these services is still quite arbitrary – the price does not reflect either the amount or quality of service at this time. The various services are still figuring out what their customers want, in terms of features and variety of uses.

There are free options, either as a pared-down version of a paid service, or an entirely free service. But these are not full-featured, and will most likely not suit the needs of business, government, or non-profit use.

What is a full-featured blog?

A full-featured blog gives you everything you need to maintain your blog, and function in the online community. You should not need to add elements from other sources, or have any knowledge of HTML or other coding.

The basic features you need are:
• Ability to add a blogroll, or links off to the side, which can lead either to other blogs or websites, or to entries within the blog you want to always appear up front.
• Permalinks for each entry. This gives each entry a unique link you can use to point to specific articles or posts, saving readers the need to wade thru archives.
• Archives. Each entry is saved by date and/or time. Readers should be able to access any post made during the life of the blog. Some hosts offer the option of archiving by category as well.
• Availability of an RSS or Atom feed.
• Trackback feature. Other blogs use this to alert you that they’ve linked back to you, or mentioned something at your blog.
• Visitor tracking. Businesses especially need to be able to track how many visitors they have, as well as the dates and times of visits. A referrer log shows which other sites are linking to you, and how many visits come from those locations. It’s also helpful to know what browsers your visitors are using, as well as the number of visits to specific posts.
• Comment feature available. While the choice to enable this feature is yours, this can provide a means of two-way communication between you and your readers. This is especially important if the blog is to be used for discussion.
• Flexible editing that allows you to use either a word-processor style editor, or a straight HTML system.
• Ability to add graphics or photos.

What to do With It Once You’ve Got it

1. Post on it.
2. Promote it.
3. Repeat.
I launched my first blog last year as a replacement for an e-mailed activist newsletter that was pretty much dead in the water. At first, I tried to keep to the same publishing schedule established before, but after a while I recognized that there were things worth posting that wouldn’t have the same effect if I waited for my old deadline. So I started posting things whenever they came in (I worked with some submissions from other people) and used news items I saw in addition to my own work to keep content rolling. It wasn’t long before there were times when I’d post every single day, and sometimes more often than that.

This won’t apply to everyone. It’s really not necessary to post something every day, especially if you’re aiming for a long-term publication for a well-defined readership. Some who are new to blogs find themselves reaching beyond the original focus of the blog just to keep posting. The result is a mishmash of unrelated material that can be confusing to readers and dilute the original message. After you’ve done it for awhile, you’ll find the level of frequency and content that’s right for you and your readers.

The world is full of material that will apply to your situation. There are current events, both inside and outside your organization, and subjects that need to be discussed. In the early days, it’s a good idea to learn the habit of checking not only your e-mail, but your aggregator to see what others in your field may be talking about.

For non-profits and governments, it’s not as critical to work toward a high profile in the blogosphere, but keeping informed certainly can’t hurt. Right now there aren’t many blogs related to your field, but that number will grow as time goes on. I’ve got some examples of topic-specific blogs in the appropriate sections.

I’ve got an article on promoting a blog in more detail here at my WOLves blog. It is directed mainly toward individuals, but the concepts are the same.

I’ve also established a blog for the purpose of sharing stories about things that worked for groups and orgs. There are all kinds of tools for blogging, strategies for using blogs, helpful people and etcetera. Tell the world what works for you, and help build a better blogosphere!

Some Recommended Hosts, and etc.

There are many hosts, aggregators, and all kinds of tools and helps. Much of what is now available in terms of hosting is quite useful for those keeping personal journals, but not for business, non-profit, or government uses.

It almost goes without saying that you’d want to avoid any hosting service with the words “diary” or “journal” incorporated in their name.

Although the best-known hosts, Blogger and Type Pad, are used by many, they are not recommended for this use. Blogger works best for individuals with some experience in website building, as it is not a full-featured service and requires add-ons for the blog to function completely. Type Pad is best directed toward a small audience. Type Pad’s visitor tracking becomes cumbersome over about 100 visits per day, only provides partial tracking info, and is sometimes inaccurate. At $4.95 per month for one limited-service blog (it has a three-tier pricing system) it starts out at about double the price of other full-featured blog hosts.

These are things I have used often and found them to be helpful:

The best host in my opinion, is Blog City. They also have a branded blog option for organizations wishing to establish a number of blogs.

Another good one is tBlog. Both have active communities for help and information, and include all of the features mentioned above.

Best aggregator is Bloglines, especially if you’re looking for something that does not require a download.

About.com has an informative section on Weblogs, and a forum where you can ask questions and see how others use their blogs.

Technorati has been the best for tracking the popularity of blogs and discussions, but as of this writing it looks like Feedster may be soon giving them a run for their money.

Also coming soon is a magazine devoted to blogs.

Links for sections of this series:
Pt. 1 Introduction
Pt. 2 All the Basics in One Place
Pt. 3 Blogs for Government
Pt. 4 Blogs for Non-profit Orgs

Author: Trudy W. Schuett | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Trudy W. Schuett | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Blogs for Government

How Non-Profit Organizations and Local Governments Can Use Blogs to Communicate with the Public -- Part Three
When was the last time you heard something like this from a citizen/constituent?

“Thanks for explaining the situation. I had misunderstood the way things work, and didn’t realize how easy it actually is to get someone to help me with my problem.”

Probably not very often – or ever.

Governments and their agencies at all levels, from the smallest township to densely-populated states, are trying harder than ever before to be more approachable, and accessible to the residents of the area they serve.

In the past, public meetings and traditional media were the mainstay of communication. Unless there is a “big” issue affecting a lot of people, these meetings are sparsely attended by the general public. Public information officers and departments work hard to see the public is informed on the operations of government, and traditional media (the papers, the TV and radio stations) do the best they can to cooperate.

Outside of election years, and those times when those “big” issues emerge, the public pretty much goes about their business, blissfully unaware of the workings of their local governments. Those times when everything is working well, and it’s not an election year are the times when you’re least likely to hear from citizens, even though this would be the time when governments could best educate and inform.

Websites have gone a long way in making government more accessible. Los Angeles County has put most of its public documents online, saving everyone time and money, and you can get birth and death certificates from most states by filling out forms online. There are dozens of examples of ways to do business with a state or local government online, not to mention the ability to contact elected officials and various departments with questions or concerns.

Here in Yuma AZ, one of our County Supervisors, Lucy Shipp, holds monthly luncheons at a local restaurant to make herself more available to her constituency, as does City Council member Scott Johnson.

While these are great ways to even out the spaces between times of crisis and times when the public “forgets” about their governments, there is still more that can be done. Blogs can make a difference here. Not only elected officials, but various departments could also use a blog to explain what’s going on and how things work.

Elected officials can make themselves available for questions, and ask questions of their own of a segment of the public they perhaps could not have reached before. Those who can’t attend public meetings in person, or even those who do, can see why a City Council member voted the way he did on an issue, straight from the horse’s mouth. The official could also choose to use their blog to show their more-human side, talk about their hobbies or families, or conduct informal discussions on issues they feel need to be addressed. All of this is done without the filter of media, and their own restrictions on airtime and page space.

Government departments could use blogs to explain how things work, and how their jobs fit into the larger scheme of “keeping things going.” For example, somebody from the parks department could talk about why we have parks, how things like playground equipment and restroom facilities have changed over time, and why that is. A staffer from Administration could explain how things like local ordinances and laws come about, and how citizens can take a more-active role in this process. Each department has its unique perspective on their part of the work of government; who better to inform the public than the experts themselves?

In this election year, some localities are giving candidates for local office their own blogs, for the purpose of giving the public a better way of learning their positions on issues, and their intentions for the future. It’s an ongoing Q&A session, conducted more efficiently (and at far less cost) than a series of local meetings or newspaper profiles could ever be.

These ideas are just the beginning of the variety of ways governments can use blogs. Remember, a blog does not require any specialized abilities. It’s not one more job for the already-overloaded IT department. It’s not a very big job for anyone. Once the blog is established it takes no more time than writing an e-mail. They don’t need to be updated every day or every week, and they don’t require lengthy entries, or even that all entries be the same length. Because a blog is so easily used, your designated bloggers can make blog entries themselves at any time of day or night, when it fits their schedule.

It is a very small investment in terms of time and money, with a positive return in encouraging citizen participation. Here are some examples & resources:
London Gov't
Opportunity Wales
State&Local Govnet
Wyre Forest Liberals
Polish Consulate
Help is at Hand
Andrea Reimer -- Green Party School Trustee
Herald Sun Votebook
Downing Street Says
RSS in Government
Clive Soley MP

Links for sections of this series:
Pt. 1 Introduction
Pt. 2 All the Basics in One Place
Pt. 3 Blogs for Government
Pt. 4 Blogs for Non-profit Orgs

Author: Trudy W. Schuett | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: @ Trudy W. Schuett | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

PR is dead

The following rant was inspired by Doc Searls and Ross Mayfield. Thanks to Constantin et al for the soapbox.
I don't believe in public relations. I am not a PR pro and never want to be. I just want people and corporations to communicate in the best possible fashion.

I don't believe in messages.
I don't believe in spin.
I believe in communication.
I believe in conversations.
I believe in relationships.
PR is dead, so let's get rid of it.

Instead let's get people who are passionate about your corporation to write about your company. People who believe and who can tread the delicate line between public and private, and the myriad of laws and regulations and write in an informal, natural and conversational voice. People who can tell your company's stories.

Most often, this will be full time employees. This will be BOTH your C level executives AND other employees.

Sometimes (rarely) this can be outsourced if and only if:

This person is knowledgeable and passionate about your domain and corporation.

This person is part of the internal information flow of the corporation.

Have these people blog because:

It's the best way to engage your customers conversationally on the web.

Best way to get online feedback.

Best way to increase your Google Rank.

Best way to build weak ties into relationships that will eventually lead to money directly or indirectly for your company.

Do have a blogging policy but follow the Sun example of it being lightweight, inclusive and permissive.

When the inevitable mistakes occur:

Be honest.

Communicate clearly and quickly to the public through your blog what is happening.

Followup.

Learn.

Don't overestimate the short term impact and underestimate the long term impact of blogging:

It takes time and energy to build up readership and relationships and to have true conversations but it's worth it!

If nobody else blogs in your domain, that is NOT a proof that blogging is irrelevant; instead it's a business opportunity.

You don't need to be on the A list (blogging is not a popularity contest!):

What you need is to be acknowledged by your peers as experts and effective communicators.

How to prevent blogger burnout and keep blogging

Read others' blogs both in your industry and other industries; I suggest at least a half dozen of each. Use an RSS reader to do this so you don't waste time manually surfing.

Take a blog break (at least 2 weeks a year e.g Christmas and summer holidays).

Meet the people who follow your blog in the real world at conferences and meetings or simply over coffee.

If you are passionate about your domain and your company, blogger burnout won't be an issue.

Author: Roland Tanglao | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 19 comments
Category: @ Roland Tanglao | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Blogs for Non-Profit Orgs

How Non-Profit Organizations and Local Governments Can Use Blogs to Communicate with the Public -- Part Four
Americans Give $241 Billion To Charity In 2003
2.8 percent growth in contributions is highest rate seen since 2000
One thing that all non-profits have in common is the fact you’re all competing for a share of the same amount of funding. A big part of your success depends on your ability to get the word out to the public. It’s not all about fundraising, either. There is always something going on in the non-profit sector; either news specific to your org or to the field in general. Whether you’re part of a large multinational NGO or a small local charity, blogs can dramatically improve the way you communicate with stakeholders and the public at large.

In the past, you’ve most likely depended on good relations with traditional media, and some combination of website, e-mail, and printed or electronic publications. Printed magazines and newsletters are expensive to produce, and e-mailed items run the risk of being neither received nor read. A website by itself can’t always be updated as quickly as you’d like, and none of these provide the immediacy or the conversational attributes of a blog.

The ability to frequently contact a large group of people has some great advantages, in that it not only keeps the needs and focus of your org more in the forefront of their concerns, it also benefits your respondents, as they can feel they are more included in the workings of the agency.

Everyone – from staff, to the board, to the volunteers and the community at large can all be receiving the same message at the same time. The transparency you’re willing to provide will serve you well, and encourage participation through cash donations and volunteerism.

Because of the low cost, and ease of use, even the smallest organization is on a level playing field with the big orgs, with more resources. A single external blog can be maintained by one volunteer or staff member with a minimal skill set. That volunteer need not even work on the blog at your office, he or she could just as easily work from home or elsewhere. Posting general information on the doings of the organizations, and providing readers with an overview of your purposes and issues, this blog could well be the centerpiece for a variety of blogs serving different functions.

Most important of all is the ability to approach the public with your own message, unfiltered and limited only by your own creativity.

When it comes time for a major fundraiser or an activist project, it’s easy to establish another blog for that specific purpose. You can expand your reach in the community even farther with some dedicated promotion, in combination with your usual media contacts.
A volunteer monitoring a variety of blogs can serve as an emissary for your org, joining in discussions and encouraging other bloggers to participate in your project. People outside your org, but interested in your issues, can be referred back to the central blog for more information or to ask questions.

Some of these interested people may be inspired to start their own blogs, each of them reaching a different audience, and build a network of blogs related to, but not directly of your organization.

Once the campaign is through, the project-specific blog can serve as a record of the way things went this time, to be used for reference in future projects. This blog can be allowed to sit idle until it’s needed again. Meanwhile it can show other organizations how they can emulate your increased public awareness. Both your successes and failures can add to the growing knowledge base of using blogs for campaigns in both areas – fund raising and activism.

Here are some examples of non-profit blogs & resources:

Non-Profit Quarterly Article
The Food Museum
Center for the Public Domain
Citizen's League
Earth Share of Washington
Green Media Toolshed
Children Matter
NPO Blogs
Buzz Flood
Network-centric Advocacy

Links for sections of this series:
Pt. 1 Introduction
Pt. 2 All the Basics in One Place
Pt. 3 Blogs for Government
Pt. 4 Blogs for Non-profit Orgs

Author: Trudy W. Schuett | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: @ Trudy W. Schuett | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Are ethics good business?

Welcome - you are in the company of honest, decent people who not only value truth and transparency but also believe ethics is good business. (Whether they are honest and truthful because they were born that way, or because that's where the rewards lie... well, that's a different matter...).

Here are a few thoughts from a survey I did about ethics among PR practitioners in the North East of Engand. But before you read on, please take a couple of minutes to complete this survey.
Thanks, now read on...

OK, this contribution is not specifically about blogging, but then new technologies don't change ethical principles. It does, I hope, throw up a few thoughts on the nature of PR that are brought into sharp focus by the open access, boundary breaking potential of blogging.

For example, it touches on some fundamental questions - a brief look at some of the exchanges in the run up to this week suggested some people as see PR as a way of selling a brand or image, others as a way of creating greater understanding between organisations and publics through greater transparency. Some are happy to be advocates for their clients, putting out the good bits and being economical about the less good; others want to be more open. But as the my research suggests, however much some practitioners might preach transparency, there is a widespread acceptance that that's not what the client - internal or external - is paying PRs to do.

PRs often get a bad press but the picture that emerged from interview after interview was of practitioners taking the moral high ground when clients would prefer them to cut corners or be more economical with the truth.

The routine went like this….

Me: “I’m doing some research into ethics in public relations…”
PR practitioner: “Well, that won’t take long then, will it?”

They then went on to tell me – often in quite some detail - how they are not only ethical but more ethical than their colleagues and competitors.

And, to a great extent, I ended up believing them.

OK, it is difficult to explain how 63pc of PR practices in the North East of England can be ethically ‘better than most’, but that’s how they see themselves. Maybe it is not surprising that people in an industry that is focused on reputation should present themselves as being ethical, but it is significant they also view colleagues and rivals as being similarly ethical.

In general, how would you rate other PR teams in the North East?
always ethical (5pc) usually ethical (54pc) neutral (22pc) sometimes unethical (17pc) unscrupulous (2pc)

Interestingly, they also see themselves as being more ethical, or at least more concerned to be seen to be ethical, than many of the people who employed them, and that was the case if they were working in house or for external clients.

Some would say ethics is good business. Would you personally…
agree strongly (47pc) agree (49pc) no opinion (2pc) disagree (2pc) disagree strongly (0pc)

How about your clients/ internal contacts? Would they mostly
agree strongly (17pc) agree (68pc) no opinion (12pc) disagree (2pc) disagree strongly (0pc)

I have put these two questions to a range of different respondents and each time the majority of PRs ‘agree strongly’ but say their clients, or their in house colleague would only ‘agree’. It was only a small sample but I asked my fellow Global Blog week participants the same questions and here are the results.

The picture that emerged from interview after interview was of practitioners taking the moral high ground when clients would prefer them to cut corners or be more economical with the truth.

The study set out to try and identify the ethical ‘centre of gravity’ of PR practitioners – to work out how they arrived at an ethical framework. As the UK's Institute of Public Relations and others try to forefront ethical practice the industry needs to clearly identify procedures for establishing and promoting ethical values.

My research seems to show that there is a whole range of interpretations of what constitutes ethical behaviour. To an extent, these definitions are coloured by work experience prior to moving into PR, as well as exposure to the in house or agency culture.

Some regard PR as ‘the conscience of an organisation’. Do you…?
agree strongly (10pc) agree (49pc) no opinion (22pc) disagree (4pc) disagree strongly (0pc)

Some academics have questioned whether it is a good idea for PRs to take on the role when they are ready to ask for more grounding in the theory of ethics.

That said, I found it hard to wholeheartedly agree with one respondent who put the position succinctly: “If PR is your conscience there is something wrong with your ethics.”

On the job

Have you/ your team ever refused to carry out a piece of work for a client/ your employer on ethical grounds?
yes (39pc) no (61pc)

Has a client/ employer ever asked you to disseminate information you know to be false?
yes (29pc) no (71pc)

It is the role of PR to present the client/ employer in a positive light
always (68pc) sometimes (32pc) never (0pc)

Several respondents said that although they often have to transmit bad news this could be done in a way that reflected well on the organisation. One respondent, a partner in a private consultancy, said: “We take the view that we are advocates. We won’t lie but we are not going to volunteer damaging information. We will put the best foot forward, I would compare it with being a barrister in a court of law.”

Hacks v Flacks
Because I was interested in where ethical values came from I wanted to know if people had worked in other sectors before entering PR, and my sample showed that more than half (22 out of 41) had previously been journalists, suggesting newsroom culture plays an influential role in the industry (there was no clear career pattern among the others, with previous occupations including insurance, marketing, music promotion, administration, civil service and accountancy).

Often responses suggested ex-journalists had different perceptions than those who had followed different routes. For example, they were significantly more likely to take final responsibility for checking facts, rather than pass that responsibility up to their manager.

The final responsibility for checking facts lies with…
me (all 46pc, ex-Journalists 75pc); my line manager (all 25pc, ex-Journalists 2pc); client/internal contact (all 24pc, ex-Journalists 25pc); journalist (all 4pc, ex-Journalists 0pc).

Perhaps these are particularly interesting findings for those who are examining the impact and implications of participatory journalism.

Naturally, I asked ‘Who do you consider to be more ethical - journalists or PRs?
PRs (all 34pc, ex-Journalists 5pc); Journalists (all 17pc, ex-Journalists 9pc); Same (all 49pc, ex-Journalists 68pc)

It would appear this comparison was based on the behaviour of local journalists with respondents making a clear distinction between the two. One PR said: “There are a minority of journalists that don’t come to report, they come with an idea in mind and they will come for a quote to stack up a story. It amazes me that these type of journalists can’t see why people don’t trust them.”

Different cultures

On interesting difference appeared to arise when I asked My prime ethical loyalty is to:
no-one (0pc ) me (41pc) organisation (34pc) client (5pc) society (20pc)

I think this is a key question - one that underpins a lot of other assumptions on ethics - so it was intriguing to compare the results when I posted a small survey of attitides among 12 Global Blog participants. Most were from the US and here is what they said:
no-one (0pc ) me (16.7pc) organisation (0pc) client (25pc) society (58.3pc)

It will be interesting if the survey of Global Blog participants evolving this week reflects this emphasis on society rather than the practitioners own organisation. I will post a comment at the end of Global PR Blog Week.

My office hours, including Yahoo Messenger - Mediations 2003 - today are My 9am to 11am and 3pm - 5pm EST

Background
Approximately one-tenth of the UK population lives in the North East – Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham and what was Cleveland - but relatively few major businesses and organisations have their head office in the region, with many choosing Leeds or Manchester for their northern centre. This has a clear impact on the structure of the public relations industry.

Although a DTI report suggests the PR consultancy sector in the UK is reasonably well described, gaining a comprehensive picture of activity in the North East is difficult. DTW in Cleveland, is the only North East-based agency listed in PR Week’s Top150 Performers 2004 (based on fee income), ranked 93 nationally, and 29th in the listing of top regional agencies; it had a fee income in 2003 of £940,061, employing 26 staff to service 42 clients. Nationally, only one of the top 20 agencies was based outside London .

Only one North East respondent reported working in a PR team of more than 20 staff, and only seven in teams of more than 10 but less than 20; of the PR Week top 50 regional firms, 26 fell in to this category, and of the top 50 regionals, only five reported 10 or few staff. Nationally, 78pc of respondents said their consultancy employed fewer than 15, and 50pc five or less.
Although North East based agencies do drive or contribute to major retail and consumer brands, a significant proportion of private consultancy work is in the business to business sector; there is little involvement in, say, celebrity promotion and it is possible this has an impact on ethical culture in North East PR. It is recognised that this research would be enhanced if similar surveys were carried it in other parts of country, including London.

Author: Philip Young | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: @ Philip Young | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Robert Scoble interviewed on Corporate Blogging

Microsoft's Robert Scoble — the Scobelizer — is very much at the coal face when it comes to blogging in a corporate environment. In this interview he draws on his experience, at Microsoft and before, to provide some real insights into the power and the challenges of corporate blogging.

Cook: Blogging is obviously part of your role at Microsoft can you give us some insight into how that is developing? Are you doing more and more on your blogs, or is it mainly additional work?

Scoble: So far it's just one of the tools I use to evangelize the next versions of .NET and Windows (code-named Longhorn). I use the blog to build relationships with software developers and influentials. I am building a community of bloggers (every link I make builds the community). I look to help software developers out by linking to them, which gets them higher on Google's search pages and on Technorati's rankings.

Most of my official day work is on Channel 9. I build relationships with people across Microsoft and do video interviews. These interviews start conversations about Microsoft's future. It starts a conversation, which helps us let developers know what's coming and what the market opportunity is on our platforms.

Cook: The first point in your Corporate Weblog Manifesto (posted on 26 February 2003) says "tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth" — this flies in the face of the general perception of pr, marketing and advertising. How compatible is blogging with these traditional communication disciplines? Will those disciplines have to re-think their 'message control' tactics?

Scoble: I think that denigrates what good marketers, advertisers, and PR professionals do. I don't want to be part of an industry that has to lie to sell its product.

But, I know it happens all the time. Tobacco companies, for instance, told the public that its product was healthy, when they knew it was killing people. Would it have been better to simply have been honest? Well, it would have saved that industry from a whole lot of penalties and teeth gnashing.

The thing is that consumers now are getting knowledge networks that are unparalleled to learn about products that they are about to purchase. We can look up Consumer Reports latest ratings within minutes of them being posted. Thinking of buying a car or a book? Search Technorati and Feedster to see what people are thinking.

If people are saying your product isn't good, then you better have an answer. Why not link to those people and try to answer their concerns? Or, do you not care about your brand? Is sticking your head in the sand and trying to ignore the concerns of your customers going to do your company or your brand any good?

Look at how Mark Cuban handled losing one of his star players. He could have said "oh well, that's the basketball business." But he went online and explained what happened to his customers. Think that doesn't build up brand loyalty? It sure does.

So, if you're one of the school that thinks "oh, I can keep lying to my customers and the money will keep flowing in," think again. Your customers are talking about you. Here's another example: the movie industry. In the 1980s the word-of-mouth networks were so inefficient that they could "manufacture" three good weekends just by having a great marketing campaign.

Today, though, the networks are far more efficient. Moviegoers will go to a 7 a.m. show (or, one of the midnight shows on opening day). If the movie sucks, they'll start telling their friends with ferocity. Bloggers will start writing about it. The press will pick it up. The movie will be dead halfway through opening weekend.

On the other hand, look at Michael Moore. He played these word-of-mouth networks like a fiddle (he even gave them permission to redistribute his movie for free!) Guess what happened? Everyone's talking about his movie and it's been the #1 show for several weekends now.

Cook: Do you think blogs will be effective as sales and marketing tools, or will sales blogs lose their appeal for the 'blog audience'?

Scoble: I'm not sure. I haven't seen examples of ANY company talking with their customers in a conversational manner. One of the first is from an appliance company, Maytag. Boring company, right? But look at this, they have a blog. Did that change my opinion of the company? It sure did!

Cook: Macromedia, MicroSoft and other companies are encouraging more of their employees to blog. How do all of these different voices together affect the direction of a company?

Scoble: How does blogging affect the direction of Microsoft? A few ways. First, our customers now know where to go to give feedback directly to the person responsible for a product. Before you'd need to go to a newsgroup, or send an email to an email account to give us feedback about what you'd like to see in the next version. Now, let's say you're using Microsoft's new OneNote product. Let's say you have a list of ideas that you'd like to see the team implement. Well, you can go to Chris Pratley's blog (search Google for "OneNote blog" and you'll find him). You can email him directly (his email address is on his blog) or you can leave a comment in his comment area on his blog.

Does that change the equation? I'm finding it does. Why? Because people are far more likely to give great feedback if they know someone specific is listening. There's been an email alias for years named mswish@microsoft.com but who listens to it? Will anyone have a conversation with you if you send that email alias feedback? Who knows. But I know that Chris Pratley reads his email and his comments on his blog.

Cook: Can you envisage blogging making significant longer-term impacts on corporate behaviour and culture, particularly their tendency towards secretiveness and authoritarianism?

Scoble: Oh, yes. Would Enron have happened if they had shared their business thoughts openly, and in the public? But, that's really a debate for a business school class.

I am happy to see more blogging because of the feedback loop it starts. Customers get listened to more effectively, product teams build better products and support them better. Influentials and evangelists get more information they can use to talk about the products with authority. Everyone wins.

Cook: Corporate blogging seems confined mostly to the tech sector (Microsoft, Sun), do you see a role for it more broadly?

Scoble: I see it spreading. The Dallas Maverick's CEO, Mark Cuban, is now blogging. There are lawyer blogs. PR blogs. And more. Yes, I do see a role for it spreading. Blogging is an efficient way to reach a wide audience (and it's a great way to get your sites higher in Google, MSN, and Yahoo's search engine ranking).

Cook: Bloggers seem to be emerging from across the organisation, not just the corporate communications roles, does this create any difficulties?

Scoble: Oh yes. Companies traditionally are used to controlling the messages that go out. In the old world corporate PR professionals would meet with product teams and make sure they totally understood everything about a product and what they wanted to say about the company and the product to the world. Then they'd go on press tours and visit with the press that they wanted to write about that product.

In the old world, word-of-mouth happened, but companies weren't able to be involved, and because word-of-mouth happened offline only, most corporate PR guys didn't worry too much (other than to try to make products that got people to talk). In the 1980s, for instance, I helped run a camera store in Silicon Valley. About 80% of our sales came from word of mouth. I knew that people were talking about my camera store. More than a few customers told me "my friend told me about your store."

The closest I got to hitting the word-of-mouth jackpot was when Sally Socilich, an author of a bargain hunter's guide to Bay Area stores, talked about us on KGO Radio (the most popular talk radio show in San Francisco). Boy, did the phones ring off the hook that day.

In the new world, however, word-of-mouth networks are far more efficient. Today people can email hundreds of friends within a few minutes of a news event. During the 9/11 terror attacks I was instant messaging with people all over the world.

I've seen several news events at Microsoft already get Slashdotted (that's what happens when http://www.slashdot.org writes about something you've done and links to you. Among all the blog sites Slashdot usually brings the most traffic. One link can bring 10s of thousands of visitors). What's interesting is that often you'll get Slashdotted in the evening. By early morning there can be hundreds of comments, and thousands of visitors. Many members of the press and many influentials (like me, for instance) read Slashdot.

Everytime your company gets written about on Slashdot people are making up new opinions of how "clued in" your company is. By the time our PR company wakes up in the morning, they might already have dozens of calls from reporters around the world about what Slashdot wrote.

Bloggers are the first line of defense. We can either show that we're scared of commenting, or we can react fast — before any official meetings have happened.

This scares the hell out of PR folks. Why? Because corporate bloggers can paint a corporation into a corner that it'll be hard to get out of. Not to mention that there might be legal consequences to what bloggers say. Look, for instance, back on the Tylenol or Intel PR disasters (someone was putting poison in Tylenol's product, and Intel had a chip that had a math error). Both errors ended up costing those companies billions of dollars. Could quick reaction by a corporate blogger have blunted some of the PR hit? Absolutely. But they could also could increase the harm just as easily.

It's a tough line to figure out. But, I think that on average more transparency is better than less. Would Enron have happened if they had a range of bloggers throughout the company?

Cook: Should corporations have blogging policies, and what are some of the key elements they should contain?

Scoble: I don't know if there should be rules, beyond a few common sense ones. But education is key. If you're going to have employees talking with the outside world, you should educate them about what's legally acceptable or not (for instance, there are rules governing what employees of public companies can share and when). You should let them know what acceptable behavior is online. That will vary from company to company and product to product.

Cook: One of the big hassles for PR practitioners is the time it can take to get client sign-off on releases, advertising copy and so on, yet blogging is a fast turn-around medium. Its going to be difficult for corporates to deal with the immediacy of blogging isn't it?

Scoble: Yup, but there's the rub. If you aren't quick you'll miss out on the conversation. Go back to the 1980s when I helped run a Silicon Valley camera store. 80% of our sales came from word of mouth. But I wasn't able to be at the watercooler where people were talking about where to get their next camera. Today I can be — but I have to be willing to both listen to the market (which is easy using Feedster, Technorati, and Pubsub) and talk back using blogs and other techniques like what we're using on Channel 9.

Cook: Most corporate websites are deadly dull, the dreaded 'brochure ware'. Do you see any impediments to the idea that they will be mostly swept away by blogs?

Scoble: Well, you still need a site to provide the facts. Er, the FAQs. Heh. What's the price? Where are the authorized dealers? What are the specs?

Blogs won't replace the official site, but blogs might replace the news page.

One thing I'd like to see companies do before blogs, though: RSS feeds. Why? Because then I could subscribe to their news page and build a permanent relationship with the company. For instance, look at the Maytag Skybox site. Why should I need to visit that with a browser every few weeks just to be the first to know when they come out with a new model or a new graphic for the box I already own? I just want to subscribe to an RSS feed and have it come to me — on my terms.

Cook: Do you see problems with the mainstreaming of blogs, will it diminish their authenticity?

Scoble: I'm not sure what you mean. Blogs are harder to do when you're constrained by committeeism. I couldn't imagine doing my blog if I had to have it checked by other people before publishing. It'd slow me down.

Am I less believable now that I work at Microsoft and am paid by them? Yes. But that's OK. Bloggers are yet another information source that you can use to triangulate in on the truth. The best blogs, even corporate run ones, will work hard to keep their credibility.

Another way to look at it is that when I worked the counter at the camera store I regularly sent my customers over to our competitors when I knew that I wasn't able to fill their needs. Invariably those customers came back to me and were more loyal than before.

I just had that happen to me, by the way. I was looking to buy a camcorder and called up GoodGuys in Bellevue. They were out and the salesperson said "call up Magnolia Audio/Video, I bet he has one." That was impressive. I'm now going to go to Goodguys for my next purchase. This is exactly what I meant when I wrote the Corporate Weblog Manifesto.

One thing I've noticed, too. Your readers will keep you honest. If you decide to try to lie on your blog you'll soon have tons of people talking about how you lied on your blog. I have a feeling that that kind of PR wouldn't be the kind that your company would like.

Author: Trevor Cook | Jul 13, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ Trevor Cook | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging

Day 1: Emergence of Ideas

July 12, 2004

For those of you who are stopping by for the first time, or who don't have the time to read each post, I thought I'd offer a bird's eye perspective of the day's events, and highlight some of the ideas and themes that are emerging.

Our topic of discussion for the first day was "PR in the Age of Participatory Journalism." From an interview with journalism's conscience Jay Rosen to the announcement of a new forum for expert-PR-journalist-government interaction, our authors examined how blogging, for one, and new communications tools empowered by the internet, more broadly, are affecting the PR - journalist - public continuum.

Here are some interesting, developing conversations to choose from:

1) Where does one draw the line between reflecting a person's personality and the blog's overall mission, particularly in corporations? And how might that influence media coverage?

2) If blogging is "the ultimate form of participatory journalism", how much of that participation comes from (or should come from) the PR person?

3) How does participatory journalism (and blogging) run up against the professional communicator's tendency towards control? How does the PR mindset have to change in the face of transparency?

4) Can relationships be managed? Or do they "just happen"?

Upon careful reading of the above and other posts and comments here, readers will notice that "this blogging thing" is still a technology in formation. There are conflicting opinions. Many of these will be resolved in time, but will be a source of frustration to those looking for gospel. My response to this is to join in the conversation and help us figure it out, vs. playing armchair quarterback. You'll find we are pretty open to debate here!

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Elizabeth Albrycht | Announcements | Topic 1 PR and Participatory Journalism

Let's chat!

Tomorrow — in addition to a busy schedule of postings — our event will become more interactive. All the authors will respond to your comments and questions throughout the day; some of them will be available for chat during the following "office hours" (all hours EST):

Anita Campbell — 10 am to noon, AOL IM: Smallbiztrends, Yahoo! Messenger: smallbiztrends

John Cass — noon - 1 pm and 4 - 4.30 pm, AOL IM (JohnCassCatline)

Wayne Hurlbert — starting 2pm, AOL IM: manitobafarm, Yahoo! Messenger: manitobafarm

John Mudd — 1 to 5 pm, AOL IM: MessageJohn, Yahoo! Messenger: jmuliusa, MSN Messenger: FloridaRealtorJohn[at]hotmail.com

Roland Tanglao — 9 to 11 am, AOL IM: rtanglao, MSN Messenger: rtanglao[at]hotmail.com

Trudy W. Schuett — 7 am to 12 pm, e-mail: dsrtlite[at]mindspring.com

Philip Young — 9 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 5 pm, Yahoo! Messenger: mediations2003.

Before starting a conversation, please reach an agreement on the discussion's degree of confidentiality: is it confidential, is it blogable, would you agree to be identified by name, etc.

Author: Constantin Basturea | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements | Topic 2 Corporate Blogging | Topic 3 Making PR Work

Day 1 Stats

Here are some highlights from the first day's statistics. Time zoning makes this a little fuzzy, but this will give you a general picture. You can see the information in real time here.

Visits (Since Blog Launch):

Total Hits: 2,681

Average Per Day: 277

Average Visit Length: 5:21 minutes

Page Views (Since Blog Launch):

July 12: 878

Total: 7,574

Average Per Day: 815

It looks like many people are finding us by linking over from one of the participant's blogs. Details here.

Organization Tracking

We are getting nice pickup in Europe.

From FeedBurner:

Most Popular Pages:

[Rank, Number of Click Throughs*, Title]

1 18 Bloggers Beat the Press on Big Yahoo! Story

2 11 Q&A: Evelyn Rodriguez

3 10 Re-thinking PR

4 10 Robb Hecht

5 9 Steve Rubel

6 8 Good Marketing Blog Examples, Not Theory

7 6 Blogs, Wikis & Expert Networks

8 5 Tom Murphy

9 5 Glancing back to move forward

10 5 The New PR: How to Use Your Blog to Get Placements With Key Media Sources

* Def: the exact number of individuals and bots which have requested a specific content item in your feed

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements

Lessons Learned from Day 1 of Global PR Blog Week

All,
For those of you who posted and commented today, many thanks! We have gotten off to a great start. As editors/administrators we've learned a few things today we wanted to share with you.

Please keep your titles short (4 words or so). Otherwise they run off the page on the recent posts/recent comments.

Please do not put your bios at the end of your post. We want to keep these posts "educational" vs. "promotional" in spirit. We've provided you the opportunity to put your bio and 4 qs as separate posts.

Speaking of bios and 4 qs. Please post-date these before July 12. You can do this by saving the post as draft, then editing the box that shows the time and date.

No flames. We'll delete them (asking permission from post author in borderline cases).

If you use this forum for pure promotion of your own services/companies, we'll out you in the comments.

Please proof your posts. We've noticed typos creeping in. We have fixed some, but better they don't happen in the first place.

Remember to only put the first paragraph or two in the intro, with the rest going in the extended post area. We had to change a bunch over today.

We know we said multiple posts in one day was OK, but in reality it is a little confusing. Therefore, if possible, please consolidate into one post. If not, please make sure the posts have different titles. Also, please group them together, one after the other, if you can, so people can easily follow along.

At the end of each day, we'll provide a brief summary of the day's posts along with highlights from the day's stats.

Thank you so much for following these guidelines! It will make our job much easier.
The Editors

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements

Networks III

In anticipation of launching in Socialtext a new expert resource focused on the idea of a national ID card, we asked Ross Mayfield to describe for us the essential first steps.

His advice: Keep in mind that "projects evolve, groups are dynamic, and participants may be able to contribute patterns to work together that you cannot anticipate."

His complete response follows:

From Ross Mayfield:

"Using Socialtext, it's as simple as giving the project a name and clicking a button to create a new space for a new group. A simple framing structure such as project goals, roles and leading questions can spark the the project. Having a shared space in a tool as easy to use as email to foster private conversations is simply more efficient than email for project communication.

"You do not have to define a process for collaboration up front. Instead, let the conversation reveal the business practice and adjust the structure of the space on the fly. This is important because projects evolve, groups are dynamic and participants may be able to contribute patterns to work together that you cannot anticipate. Working with this loosely formed group with a process-oriented application would instead have you define rules and structure up-front
which can serve as barriers to cooperation. Instead, embrace change and trust participants.

"One of the better properties of Social Software is easy group forming. When groups can form at a low cost, the value of the network scales according to Reed's Law (2^N) instead of Sarnoff's Law for a Broadcast Network (N) or Metcalfe's Law (N^2). In other words, the value of the network is the ties between groups and their latent potential for action. This has profound implications for business, politics and media. A user group can arise to challenge a vendor. A group can form to create a group weblog to rival a media organization. A group can form for a previously unrepresented constituency to take collective action.

"Projects come and go. Forming a group of experts on a National ID card can serve the goal of revealing issues and potential solutions. But the social ties that are fostered in this collaboration will remain. Their latent potential could be re-activated in a different social context, perhaps to work on a solution, at any time. This hints at where I believe PR expert systems are going -- where introductions are not one-offs, but moments where the network structure collapses for a goal and to nurture a dynamic social network of professionals."

Author: Dan Forbush | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Dan Forbush | Topic 1 PR and Participatory Journalism

Participation in Global PR Blog Week

We are incredibly pleased at how many people have joined this community to write about the topics we've chosen for Global PR Blog Week 1.0. Now that our event has officially started, we are no longer accepting new authors. However, you are very welcome to participate through adding a comment or posting to your own blog with a trackback here, so people who are interested can follow the conversation. We'd also be happy to add you to the authorship roles for our next event!

Thank you so much for stopping by. We hope you find the conversations that are developing here intriguing and helpful.

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Elizabeth Albrycht | Announcements

FCC Chairman's Blog Spins Off Message in Age of Participatory Journalism

A Reuters story appears in newspapers nationwide today, which may be of particular interest to Corporate PR Blog Week 1.0 participants. With "PR in the Age of Participatory Journalism" as the theme for day one, it should be noted that the FCC Chairman recently launched his own Blog at www.alwayson-network.com "to reach out to the high-tech community..."

But instead of hosting the blog on the FCC's website, Michael Powell used web-based software from AlwaysOn to host his Blog. Here’s what AlwaysOn says about itself on its Web site: "No other media brand has dared allow such openness and collaboration amongst its readers and event participants."

In his opening post, Powell solicited comments in the transition to digital television. But the majority of the comments posted to the blog by others, diverted from his topic and touched on everything from the FCC's recent crackdown on what are considered by some as indecent antics on television and radio to media ownership caps.

For public relations professionals looking to experiment with blogs in the age of participatory journalism, the lesson to be learned is that if you want to use a Web log as a way of stimulating a discussion online that might lure like-minded people to your domain, you may want to approve new posts or comments before they appear online.

There are numerous dynamic content management and Blogging tools out there that provide this functionality.

Of course it is a matter of debate - especially among many of the participants here at Global PR Blog Week - how open should online discussions be? As PR professionals - how much should we control our clients or our company's discussions online?

This issue will not go away and will become one that we as PR professionals must delicately navigate as we seek to encourage more corporate adoption of Blogs.

Author: Chris Bechtel | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ Chris Bechtel | Topic 1 PR and Participatory Journalism

The New PR: How to Use Your Blog to Get Placements With Key Media Sources

Let's face the facts - the Internet has changed the way the media gathers stories.

Today reporters and producers can uncover all kinds of information about you, your experience in the topic area, your ability to contribute to their story, and your stand on key issues simply by performing a quick and easy Internet search.

Which gives us the opportunity (arguably the obligation) to actively manage our online reputation.

Blogs are one of the best ways available to do exactly that.

Blogs have many advantages over traditional websites. They simplify the process and provide a logical location to convey additional information than that which is usually contained in a "here's what we do and why you should buy from us" website, they make it easy to weigh in on current issues, and they are a great place to demonstrate the depth and breadth of your expertise.

Indeed, one could argue that a reporter or producer will find a blog to be a much more powerful means of vetting a potential source than a traditional, blog-less site...

Making it more likely that they'll call you, rather than your competitor.

Which is one of the keys in the practice of PR!

Here are five ways to make your blog a more productive tool to generate publicity and to build your business:

5 Keys To Generating Better PR Coverage Using Business Blogs

1. Have a business-oriented blog, with prominent links from your base website

Not only must you have one, you've got to make it obvious and easy to find.

2. Create a mission statement for your blog and weigh all potential posts against their ability to deliver that mission

Focus on delivering content that is focused around business objectives.

For example, pictures from your company picnic would most likely be inappropriate if your blog's mission statement calls for it to be the place that makes you the industry's opinion leader or if it is to publicize case studies of how your company resolved industry issues.

On the other hand, those pictures may be appropriate if your blog's mission is to show that you are the friendliest company in the industry.

But then again, what reporter (or potential customer, for that matter) is interested in seeing photos of your sales manager's 10 year old just after getting hit by a water balloon - that, and pictures of your baby napping on your chest belong in another blog somewhere else.

Constantly ask yourself the question: "will this generate another story or create another sell?" If the answer's no, put it in a personal blog somewhere else.

3. Constantly demonstrate your expertise in your blog entries

Don't feel afraid to strut your stuff, to provide specific examples and to teach lessons where appropriate. Do it with wisdom, but reporters and customers are looking for experts in the topic area, not just observers.

4. Blog with a personality

Pure information may generate one-time visitors, but personality is key to creating a following, both within the media and your industry. Controversy creates coverage and reporters, editors and producers are constantly looking to balance their stories by finding experts to weigh in on both sides of an issue.

Don't be afraid to state your opinion on issues, to point out problems and to call a spade a spade.

Another key is to identify what personality you wish to adopt. Do you want to be opinionated, fun, traditional, combative, hard line, lighthearted, or wacky? There is a place for each, but rarely all within the same blog. Decide what personality you want to portray, make sure that you're comfortable with the ramifications that it will create, then stick to it. Your personality will oftentimes be the major factor that tips the balance in your favor when a top talk show is trying to decide between two potential guests with equal expertise.

5. Blog. Frequently!

All of the above is useless if you only post a few times then go on permanent hiatus. Make blogging a regular part of your marketing and PR efforts if you wish to see it generate results.

As you build your blog based on these foundational elements and actively promote your blog (see my entry on how to do this tomorrow), reporters and producers will use your blog to identify you as their most desired expert, guest or commentator. Plus, you will begin to generate improved results, increased coverage, and a media and customer following that will make business blogging a foundational element in building your business well into the future!

Author: Don Crowther | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 5 comments
Category: @ Don Crowther | Topic 1 PR and Participatory Journalism

Expert Networks: II

The full incorporation of blog and wiki technology in ProfNet undoubtedly will change our network in many ways, but the most interesting potential new feature appears to be that of the "shared space" -- or the "collaborative space," as Ross Mayfield would call it. Ross is the founder and president of Socialtext, a leading developer of collaborative software and especially state-of-the-art wikis -- Web environments that support the management of projects by making simple the posting, tracking and editing of content by multiple participants.

A technology like Socialtext intrigues us at ProfNet because it offers a new and powerful way to aggregate expert content. It enables us to easily envision the day, for example, when we use a collaborative environment to develop ProfNet Round-ups -- enabling reporters, PR officers and experts to meet in Web "rooms" where they can interact more powerfully than by email, phone or video alone.

Exactly what will this interaction look like? How will PR officers, experts and reporters actually use this new capability? We don't know exactly and so -- with an eye toward visualizing how this new capability might work in practice -- we are undertaking with Socialtext a project directed first toward identifying experts on an issue of overriding national importance and then, via Socialtext, making them easily available for interactions with reporters and government officials.

As our "demo" topic, we'll focus on the current debate in the U.S. over the deployment of a national ID card -- a topic that, as The New York Times recently editorialized (May 31), "has always rankled Americans across the political spectrum."

"It conjures images of totalitarianism -- Big Brother or even the German SS soldier asking to see a citizen's papers. But in most European countries, people carry national ID's as a matter of course. And pressure is mounting in America for some kind of security card."

The Times went on to call upon Congress or President Bush to create a study commission.

"If ever there was a good subject for a study commission, this is it. Congress or President Bush should get the best minds, the experts on security, civil liberties and technology, to start wrestling with the most nettlesome issues in this debate."

Among the questions the Times identified as being most in need of answers:

> How will government agencies ensure that documents submitted to obtain an ID card -- like birth certificates or driver's licenses -- were not forged?

> How will access to the central database be limited and protected against misuse, particularly by law enforcement?

"If we're going to move to a national identification card, we can't afford to do it badly," the Times concluded. "Now is the time to figure out how to create a card that helps identify people but doesn't rob them of a huge swath of their civil liberties in the process."

We don't know the answers to the tough questions posed by the Times, but we do collectively know -- as a network of 11,000 PR people representing some 4000 organizations (including some 650 colleges and universities) -- the key experts government officials and news organizations should be consulting. Over the next month or so, we'll invite ProfNet members to join us in spotlighting these experts and making them easily available to any reporters and government officials.

We've already announced a round-up on this topic, and will be forwarding to reporters toward the end of this week an initial list of sources that our query has generated.

After that, we'll take the additional step of inviting both experts and their news contacts to expand on their thinking in a Socialtext workspace (to which contributions can be simply made by email, with no requirement for registration.)

When we've assembled a critical mass of experts and their news contacts, we'll invite government officials and reporters to join us in this new "National ID Card" space and give us their thoughts.

Any suggestions or thoughts on this? Please post your comment here or send me a note at dan.forbush@profnet.com.

Thanks.

Author: Dan Forbush | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Dan Forbush | Topic 1 PR and Participatory Journalism

Defining Participatory Journalism

Dictionary.com defines participatory as:

Marked by, requiring, or involving participation, especially affording the opportunity for individual participation: a participatory democracy.

And journalism ( ) as:
1. The collecting, writing, editing, and presenting of news or news articles in newspapers and magazines and in radio and television broadcasts.
2. Material written for publication in a newspaper or magazine or for broadcast.
3. The style of writing characteristic of material in newspapers and magazines, consisting of direct presentation of facts or occurrences with little attempt at analysis or interpretation.
4. Newspapers and magazines.
5. An academic course training students in journalism.
6. Written material of current interest or wide popular appeal.

So together, participatory journalism means: collecting, writing, editing and presenting news or news articles through the participation of individuals.

Blogging has become the ultimate form of participatory journalism. Why are so many people interested in blogging? Well as Time magazine wrote in their article Meet Joe Blog "Because they're fast, funny and totally biased."

As PR professionals we have two choices when it comes to blogging, either we can ignore it and hope our company never ends up in a blog or we can monitor blogs related to our business or our clients.

So what roles are PR agencies playing in the "blogosphere"? Check out my web site www.mnpr.blogspot.com for a few view points from Minnesota PR professionals.

Author: Ryan May | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ Ryan May | Topic 1 PR and Participatory Journalism

The Great Global Conversation Begins

Day 1: The Great Global Conversation Begins: PR backed blogging initiatives must start driving the global brand conversations of our 24/7 online economy

PR is about branding. And mass blogging finally puts the PR industry conversing directly and interactively with a global medium [the Internet]. In this way, blogging for PR is now about global conversations. The global intellectual dialog of blogs, similar to the network of European Coffee shops in the 18th century which buzzed with discussion and debate (the current worldwide network of Starbucks coffee-houses comes to mind) is only beginning. The blogosphere is increasingly global, language barriers are coming down due to Google’s Translator, it’s practically free to set a blog up and the blogosphere includes some of the smartest and most informed people on the planet.

Inevitably when a group of smart people gathers together, their conversations influence the media and broader constituencies such as commerce and politics. This is just as true today as it was in the 18th century. Blogs, exemplifying participatory journalism, are a place where intellectuals and commentators are gathering in the 21st century to debate issues and discuss stories circulated in the mainstream media, in exactly the same way they did in Amsterdam, London and Paris in the 18th century. But this time around, their conversations are influencing mainstream media instantly and facilitating a talkback mentality to corporate brands. Therein lies the threat for corporate brands. Brands are drivers of economies, producing goods and services and providing jobs. And like it or not blogs are allowing people to transcend linguistic, geographic, and political boundaries in order to conduct a public discussion by giving authors and audiences the means for communicating in an immersive and interconnected manner to talk about them. Blogs are thus the perfect means of conducting the discussions and debates currently affecting a world built on corporate brands. The question is: can corporate brands benefit from this openness through tapping the credibility that comes through dialogue and honest conversation, vs. the old black-boxed credibility of the “expert”? Are companies really prepared for their customers to talk back? And if they aren’t prepared, what will happen to their brands? Will brands lose control and die? Or will they address these new threats? The threats and conversations that lie therein to brands have been defined and need answering. Those threats must be answered for by PR.

Author: Robb Hecht | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ Robb Hecht

Blogs, Wikis & Expert Networks: I

Let me open by thanking all of those who deserve to be thanked, especially Constantin Basturea and Trevor Cook. All I know is that they are the guys who launched this vast collective enterprise and that I have been getting a ton of email from them lately.

Far from being any kind of expert on what many in the business seem to be calling the new “thin” media, I describe blogs and wikis to those who know even less than I do about them as narrow tube-like information channels.

Blogs and wikis enable people in small and large groups to freely converse about whatever happens to interest them. In this regard, blogs and wikis are direct extension of the Web “communities” concept that was the rage several years ago. (Now it's "social networking.")

The revolution that is swiftly engulfing us looks to me a lot like the email revolution of the early 1990s. The arrival of email listservs made the first Internet communities possible. Now -- with blogs and wikis -- we have listservs on steroids.

Consider:

· We have new browsers that enable us to filter incoming content with much greater subtlety and exactitude

· We have the ability to efficiently share comments with other community members

· We have collaborative workspaces where we can not only share information, but edit it and shape it in concert with others.

When you add all of these new functionalities to a network of 11,000 PR people and 70,000 reporters, you don't have to be Einstein to see that you have to start rethinking your business.

Which brings us to the fundamental purpose of this blog: To enlist ProfNet members, journalists and experts in the process of reinvention.

Here are two questions to start things off:

What will this network look like a year from now?

What should this network look like a year from now?

Please jump in at any time. I'll begin with the idea of shared spaces.

Author: Dan Forbush | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Dan Forbush | Topic 1 PR and Participatory Journalism

Jay Rosen: PR Needs to Stand for Real Transparency

Jay Rosen is chair of the New York University Department of Journalism and author of the Pressthink weblog. A press critic and writer whose primary focus is the media's role in a democracy, Rosen teaches courses in media criticism, cultural journalism, press ethics and the journalistic tradition, among other subjects. He was recently credentialed to cover the Democratic National Convention.

Since 1990, Professor Rosen has been a leading figure in the reform movement known as "public journalism," which calls on the press to take a more active role in strengthening citizenship, improving political debate and reviving public life.

I was thrilled when Professor Rosen graciously agreed to participate in an email interview for Global PR Blog Week on PR in the Age of Participatory Journalism since it is one of the major topics I blog about.

In the interview, Rosen shares several valuable insights for public relations professionals.

STEVE RUBEL: How would you define participatory journalism?

JAY ROSEN: Right now, by what people like Debbie Galant are doing-- hyperlocal journalism, weblog-style. ("NOW SERVING MONTCLAIR, GLEN RIDGE AND BLOOMFIELD.") But really there are hundreds more developments to illustrate. Ask someone like Len Witt of the Public Journalism Network (meeting in Toronto soon about participatory journalism): he's one guy tracking the story as citizens begin to participate in journalism. Or follow JD Lasica, who's not only on the story, but a driver of it with conference talks, articles, books, and a daily weblog-- ideas for use, as this approach is sometimes called. And what Jeff Jarvis is up to in advising a team of students at Northwestern, who created this, and at his Buzzmachine.

Is it more than just blogging? Yes... it's the spirit of participation, which moves people into doing things for themselves, into taking action of some kind, where before they were attentive but inert, or out of it completely, uninvolved. We have seen this force erupt many times in the modern world, this passion to participate.

There is every reason to suppose that it would come 'round in journalism. I mean, why not? Every journalist who's any good will tell you that being a reporter is fun. Plus, a lot of people are fascinated by the news, and what's wrong with it. There are smart people in every corner of this country, many without any professional standing or stake whatsoever--just citizens, right?--who are seriously frustrated by the failures and flaws they see in the American press.

When those people find that the tools for doing journalism, or some activity interpretative of it, are within reach, it's an ignition-- there's a spark. Is it all weblogs? No, participatory zeal is common everywhere, especially in domains of information.

Take participatory medicine. You don't have to work very hard to see that it's upon us now. People don't just depend on their doctor's prescription and "take" the drugs advised. They find out themselves, and the Internet lets them share and pool knowledge.

And so doctors, we know, are in a different position. A knowledge monopoly has collapsed, which is all part of the life cycle of media forms and their spin-off formations. You're a profession, a guild. You once had social possession of some knowledge zone. It was your zone. This became your source of authority. Then it became distributed. Can you adapt? Can your authority?

How many times has that happened in human history? Thousands. It would be shocking if it didn't happen in journalism. One can argue that it's starting again now. People are flipping things around, because they now have the tools to "do" more and more with media. Some are tools only the pros had before.

RUBEL: What excites you about participatory journalism?

ROSEN:It's democratic. I mean extremely so. There's always been a lot of talent in this country. Now it can be told.

RUBEL: What concerns you?

ROSEN: Everything that could go wrong. Everything that's wrong with the Internet. The problems and potential disasters in participatory media are the problems of having freedom.

RUBEL: Why is blogging not really journalism in your view?

ROSEN: Actually, that is not my view. It was something I wrote down, a phrase I employed in passing, or winding around to my view, which is that blogging doesn't have to be journalism to be good. Sometimes it is journalism, of a kind, which often depends on the daily output of the professional and commercial press, in the way that a second wave depends on the first. Sometimes it's just good information about a place-- and that's journalism.

Let's say, and we know it's possible, that a story can be "kept alive" because bloggers keep it from disappearing in the news tide. The Trent Lott Lesson. That's like a second action, a "holding" of the story up for inspection. It happens just after the first news wave and follow up stories are done. Many of the political blogs have this character: a second army pours over the dispatches and conclusions of the first, interpreting it.

But this is not the really new thing. The new thing is how, in the online space, bloggers knit the news together with their views and views arriving from elsewhere, and then manage to embed into the Web this second imprint, upon the items that originally struck us as news.

And so you have the first wave (also called a news cycle) and a second that embeds it further into the Web, with interpretations adding to a web of other notes and reactions. How is this possible? Because the bloggers know how to link, and quote, and entice you to look elsewhere, zap around. They're way ahead of the journalists on that. If people in the press would just understand that one fact they would grasp what weblogs are about, and why they're being talked about at all today as "journalism."

RUBEL: What about those who are empowered to blog by established media outlets, are they more like journalists than the rest of us?

ROSEN: Good question. I think these people--any journalist empowered to blog, as you well put it, by a mainstream news outlet--will be the ones in the best position to change journalism from inside the traditional firms. Will they? I have no idea. But if you are interested in the press, it pays to watch this one unfold.

I try never to make predictions. But I do place bets. If there's gonna be a carrier class for changed notions of what it means to be a professional journalist, within the body of the mainstream press, it will probably be local writers and reporters on metropolitan newspapers (or public radio stations or maybe weeklies) who learn to blog really well for their communities, which means digging into their communities, embedding themselves in the information flow-- and in public conversation.

Here I would compare a weblog to a community switching station. When professional journalists get the hang of that, they will become quite good at it. This form of publishing was made for people with journalistic skills. A growing number of people are realizing that.

When I say it "probably will" be them I only mean: I'd bet on them. "Those who are empowered to blog by established media outlets," in your phrase. (And if I were a young journalist on the way up, I would hunt down this assignment: to blog in a newsy way, day-to-day.) These people--young, old or in the prime of their careers--are inevitably going to bring radical ideas and questions to the table within newsrooms.

We'll have to watch what happens when bosses and peers meet up with this. How will they react? Of course it's already happened. Witness the live issue: Can reporters have their own blogs? Freedom of speech for journalists is a freedom of press issue for publishers and journalists.

If you separate for a moment the weblog authors, as they have emerged so far, from the weblog form and its online sphere, then it's clear that the blog software and the liveness of the Web connection it promotes are possible boons to any solid news franchise, and in particular to individual journalists-- reporters with a beat, columnists with an urge to prove themselves.

They can use the tool now called weblog to fine tune their informational "fit" with a live public of users that talks back--indeed, that writes back--and is thus able to locate stories, or find their significance. To have to deal with a writing readership is of inestimable value to a young journalist. And as Dan Gillmor always says: My audience knows more than me. A weblog teaches you that.

So much depends on the terms of empowerment for journalists who blog, and of course on the wit and talent of the professionals involved, plus the crash and thud of events. But I like what Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post said in OJR recently: the Internet demands voice. Liked it so much I've quoted it three times. And I admire what the Spokesman Review is up to. They're trying stuff, which they feel free to abandon. Often the best approach.

RUBEL: Do the majority of established journalists fear participatory media/blogging or do they embrace it?

ROSEN: The majority do not understand this new formation out there, so no, I would not say your typical journalist fears anything special, except more information pollution from unreliable, attention-seeking amateurs who blog. Nor has there been a general "embrace."

Rather, something else is going on, far more significant. Some journalists (numbers are not known) are reading blogs. Not all have the time, but many realize they can be worth the time once you develop a feel for what I call the "second wave" effect.

A little orchestra of interpreters instantly comes along and does something to journalism, plays back its significance, but first editing out all the noise. It's like a reply. Smart journalists are tuning into that because its an intelligent use of their work-- and a departure point, a place where criticism flashes. Sometimes what they are reading surpasses their work.

Ask these journalists about blogs and you get a totally different answer . It embraces a user's more intimate knowledge, and that's what counts.

This will all be talked through in Dan Gilmor's book, We, the Media. He is the one mainstream newspaper columnist who is totally in tune with both worlds. (Hype alert: I have blurbed his book and I am quoted in it.) Part of the reason Gillmor wrote We, the Media is to teach his profession to be more open. We'll see if it works. (See his note: Dear PR People.)

RUBEL: How are j-schools changing to equip students who are entering the journalism to handle these changes?

ROSEN: J-schools change even more slowly than the profession. However, students will change what J-schools are doing if the programs can attract the right bunch, and set them to work doing interesting journalistic things.

Cablenewser is a weblog written by Brian Stelter, an 18-year-old sophomore at Towson State University in Maryland. Right now, he might be the most effective journalist of his generation. Keith Olbermann might e-mail Cablenewser with views on things so he can talk to his own industry, a mini-public that "meets" at the weblog. (See "Olbermann Calls FOX The "Worst Winners TV's Ever Seen" Only on CableNewser...)

I'd hope J-schools would find that interesting. I do. But I'm confident that students will push this form forward, not only in weblogs but in web zines and specialized reports, or college newspapers on the Web. The question for my fellow deans, chairs and directors (worldwide) is: will the forward ones be journalism students?

We may be on the verge of an entrepreneurial "moment" in journalism, in which case the challenge to J-schools would be: can we nourish experimentation, entrepreneurship, team work in building something from scratch, or one-person operations in, say, the I.F. Stone (but also the Brian Stelter) tradition. That's not an approach journalism schools are accustomed to taking.

RUBEL: Does disintermediation threaten PR? How should the profession react to the changes in how consumers get news?

ROSEN: I think public relations should first understand that to the extent that its art is a form of "spin"--whether it's reasonable spin, accepted spin, good spin, bad spin, terrible spin--it is selling a service for which there is less and less value, and less mind is paid to it. Spin was possible in the era of few-to-many media, and a small number of gatekeepers who could be spun.

There are fewer who listen (or have to listen) and more who hear only dull propaganda, witless repetition, one of the many forms of mindlessness to which citizens are subjected. Spin is also comedy to Americans, and John Stewart speaks with authority on it. PR does not because it believes, on the whole, in some right to spin-- all exceptions cheerfully granted. Plus, there's what Doc Searls says to all the "pound the message home" pros, in any field: there is no demand for messages. Factor that in if you want a bright future in any media field.

Today many knowledge monopolies are breaking up, and this corresponds with what the British media scholar Anthony Smith once identified as a shift "in the locus of sovereignty over text," a shift toward the public. We could say "toward consumers," but what Smith meant is that more power has fallen into the hands of the people who were mere receivers before. They are more sovereign-- as consumers, yes. But also as producers of their own media. Pickers and choosers.

My advice to PR people is to help citizens become more so-- more sovereign over information goods. Spin is not a good. Neither is a brick wall, or a blatantly one-sided story that cleverly coheres because it leaves out every single inconvenient fact. Public relations, if it wants to do good, should stand for real transparency in organizations, and genuine interactivity with publics. Want an issue in corporate PR? Freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, freedom of interaction for company bloggers: how do we make it a practical reality?

RUBEL: Recently you told Bill Gates: "cure your blog of public relations, every hint and drop, or don't do it at all." What advice can you offer to PR pros who might be involved in helping their companies blog?

ROSEN: Well, blogs for an internal audience are one thing. I have no advice there. For the larger universe, I guess my advice would be: think of your bloggers as your organization's ombudsmen, except in multitude and over micro matters as well as macro. With what guarantee of independence? is an issue with newspaper ombudsmen. It would rise up here. PR might have ways of making freedom of speech possible, and its pros may learn how to highlight the benefits in this form of openness.

RUBEL: What other words of advice (if any) can you offer public relations pros who are coping with the changing media landscape?

Hmmm. One thing comes to mind, a kind of warning. PR could be to weblogs what spam is to email: death of a social advance, the ruination of a perfectly good public instrument. It's worthwhile for professionals to imagine how it might happen. And I know there are some who sense what a disaster that would be. I hope we hear from them during Global PR Blog Week.

RUBEL: Recently you wrote about Karen Ryan, a PR person who got into hot water for "posing" as a news reporter in a VNR. This incident indicates that PR people are under increasing ethical scrutiny. What do PR pros need to keep in mind as far as ethics is concerned as they navigate the new personal journalism waters?

ROSEN: Well, I always found the boy who cried wolf is a good place to begin. Karen Ryan called "reporter here!" when there was no reporter. The ethical problem with that is obvious. Keeping the logic (and moral) of that fable in mind is wise.

Author: Steve Rubel | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 8 comments
Category: @ Steve Rubel | Topic 1 PR and Participatory Journalism

Glancing back to move forward

At the start of Global PR Blog Week 1.0 and at the point when there's a critical mass developing around public relations blogging, I'm keen to step back and thank two pioneers who got here first and who have, it seems to me, done most to foster this growing network.

First, let's establish some key dates. 1993 is absolute zero in terms of adoption of the web, and in reality 1995 is the start point for most commercial web ventures. The year 2000 was when the dot com bubble burst and hype, optimism and venture capital millions vanished. Yet web traffic has continued to rise year on year, and several commercial (and many non-commercial) ventures have flourished since then. 2003 was when blogging went mainstream, with Blogger being snapped up by Google and Typepad launched by Movable Type.

Jim Horton thinks public relations Thoughts

Our first pioneer PR blogger is Jim Horton. His Online Public Relations site began in 1997 not as a weblog, but as a resource for his links and articles. Here's the home page from November 1998 as stored on the Internet Archive (links and images don't work).

He realised early on that a static site would need some fresh content, so he started publishing daily Thoughts based on his work as a public relations consultant. He has latterly transferred the Thoughts section of the site to a weblogging platform, but his style remains the same.

Jim's thoughts are this: reflections. He stands above the fray of frantic links, cross-postings and multimedia gimmicks that typify many blogs. He was writing daily thoughts long before the rest of us began - and he'll probably be going long after we've become bored with the medium.

He had identified a need for a general resource on public relations on the web and set out to provide this. He modestly claims that he benefits from 'finding others who are interested in the field. I have learned far more from running the site than others have taken from it'.

He is motivated to continue providing this service because 'I think it is still useful. It is a resource my agency uses continually'.

Indeed, Jim is trotted out as the internet communications expert whenever one is required. 'That is quite often', he says.

He claims about a thousand hits a day to the site and some 400 inbound links (resulting in a Google PageRank of 5/10), but Jim takes more pride from his papers being quoted around the world and used in university studies.

Jim's perspective gives him a strong position to commentate on the changes brought to PR by the internet. So here's the definitive statement - and a sanity check for all of us:

'The basics of PR remain the same, while the medium and presentation change. The internet is one more communications tool in the kitbag that every PR practitioner should use. It happens to be a powerful tool, but it is just a tool. It is not a lifestyle or mystical shift in human consciousness or any other folderol that the internet groupies were blathering not so long ago. Because it is a tool, PR practitioners must learn it and use it well.'

Tom Murphy expresses PR Opinions

My second pioneer, Tom Murphy, is modest about being placed on the same pedestal as Jim Horton. His PR Opinions site first appeared as recently as March 2002, though Murphy was not new to posting PR-related content. His first PR focused site had appeared in 1995, though 'it quickly died from neglect'.

The motivation was similar to Jim Horton's. 'I was looking for a way of aggregating a whole set of links to online PR-related content', he tells me. While researching different ways to do this, he came across Blogger. So, PR Opinions was based from the outset on a weblogging platform.

Murphy subsequently moved the site to another blogging system, Radio Userland, but his approach has remained the same. PR Opinions has always seemed to me to be the best-connected PR weblog and that's how Murphy likes it: 'The major benefit has been the growing network of fellow practitioners who are very open and willing to share their thoughts, insights and experiences, both through their blogs and offline.'

'The biggest motivator for me is feedback. Whether a reader is angry or happy with a post, nothing beats an email from someone regarding something you've written. The only metric that matters to me is that readers find the content of PR Opinions useful or thought-provoking. Getting feedback, positive or negative, is fantastic and makes all the effort worthwhile.'

'A lot of bloggers are investing huge amounts of time in networking and promoting their blogs around the web. I simply don't have time to do that. I have a steady readership that is growing nicely; I get great feedback and discussion from readers. I enjoy the growing relationships with other PR bloggers and that's enough for me.'

Murphy is also keen not to claim too much for blogs. 'I fundamentally believe that this is all about evolution and not revolution. The age-old techniques of PR are still as relevant today as before. Good written and oral communication skills, great relationships with the media and an understanding of how PR can contribute to the bottom line are still essential. New technologies such as blogs and RSS are simply new tools to help PR people reach their audience more effectively.'

'Communication is one of the most important factors facing organizations today. I believe that PR practitioners are best qualified to manage that communication, but to do so we need to embrace these new channels of communication. We need to understand them, use them and manage them.

'We simply can't afford to stand idly by as other marketing professionals start to carve up communications. Instead, we need to apply our traditional skills to the new media and face up to the challenges and the opportunities.'

I'm grateful for practitioner-thinkers such as Jim Horton and Tom Murphy for helping us all to rise to this challenge through their daily contributions to public relations online.

Author: Richard Bailey | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ Richard Bailey

Re-thinking PR

Each new technology re-shapes our world. The great historian Braudel said that France was created by the railroad, as was the USA. Telephones destroyed distance even more. Radio created the idea of the ‘audience at home’. TV created, or accelerated the creation, of mass markets – changing journalism, politics and marketing forever.

What will blogs do? We have some inclinations but I think it is still far too early to tell with any real clarity and certainty. But we do know that the world of PR will be turned upside down over the next few years as we re-invent ourselves in response to this awe-inspiring new phenomenon.

In the past year or two, blogging has already achieved a remarkable prominence. Everyday, a google alert brings me articles about blogging in the mainstream media. Many of these are still introductory and almost apologetic. Some are attacks on blogging by ‘concerned’ journalists. Concerned mostly about the sheer numbers of blogs and the millions of unedited posts that appear on them each day.

This flow of information and opinion is unprecedented in human history. The potential for misinformation is disturbing for some people (especially politicians, corporations and others in the public spotlight) but the liberating effects are far more significant.

For a long time, our democratic societies have been constrained by the fact that we have relatively few media outlets and that very few people ever have any opportunity to participate in the debates that go on in those media forums.

Public Relations, as we understand it today, has grown up in this environment – it is largely a by-product of it - and is literally a mirror image of the mainstream media problem; which we might call the ‘restricted access’ problem.

We largely practice PR with the purpose of helping our clients get through those restrictions (with reputations unscathed), and to derive maximum impact from promoting their messages to the mainstream media’s ‘captured’ audiences (leveraging off the media’s authority to secure invaluable third-party endorsement).

Many of us in PR have grown tired of this insiders game and blogging will help us, and our clients wean, ourselves off this incestuous dependence on the mainstream media.

Blogging is different from other mediums because it collapses the distinction between producer and consumer. Bloggers and blog readers are essentially the same people. Instead of largely passive audiences, complex webs of online communities and conversations are being created.

Intervening, and influencing, these communities and conversations, will require different skills, techniques, protocols and strategies. Up until now, ‘feedback’ has been the poor cousin of PR, which has been mostly concerned with the disciplined download of cleverly-crafted, and tightly-controlled, messages.

Bloggers love the new medium for all the reasons that make it a scary prospect for traditional PR and old-style journalists. Blogging emphasises ‘authentic voice’ and genuine interaction – it can be fast, rough and unpredictable, a bit like the real world as it is lived by real people. This is very different to what currently passes for communication in the worlds of business and politics.

The ease, power and popularity of blogging is already challenging the media’s centrality, and consequently its importance. Even in these early days, we are seeing a growth in direct communication with stakeholders by organisations and the use of blogs to raise the level of media accountability to unprecedented levels.

The decline in the media’s centrality and authority is a double-edged sword for PR practitioners. It gives us the capacity to go around the narrow media gateway and develop richer more robust relationships with our stakeholders.

The decline in the media’s centrality also means that PR will become less synonymous with media relations. PR has too often meant getting stuff in the newspapers (and on Radio and TV), often to supplement and enhance advertising.

For instance, many people are getting more of their information filtered through blogs. This means that they read the blogger’s take on the article before they click-through to the article. Our messages now have to ‘get through’ the journalist and then through the bloggers who link to it.

Blogging also provides complex instantaneous feedback networks of extraordinary power. PR practitioners will have to be plugged into these networks and be able to participate in them on terms set by bloggers. Not easy, given that most of us tend towards the ‘control-freak’ end of the spectrum.

Word-of-mouth has always been the best marketing tool, by a long way. Viral marketing, in recent years, has built on word-of-mouth. But blogging takes it into a whole new dimension.

Recently, before I bought an iPod, I found myself not only asking my next door neighbour about his experience with the product, I also checked around the blogosphere to check the reality was living up to the hype. I’ll be doing this with a lot of purchases in the future, I think.

But how do we – as PR practitioners - influence bloggers? The answer I think will be as old as PR itself. It’s about relationships, stupid. Our clients will have to build reputations for honesty and openness and show a willingness to mix it in the marketplace of ideas on a far more equal footing than ever before.

That could really put PR at the heart of the organisation, as an essential part of what every organisation does. Now that is exciting.

Author: Trevor Cook | Jul 12, 04 | Permalink | 7 comments
Category: @ Trevor Cook | Topic 1 PR and Participatory Journalism

Don't miss a thing!

July 11, 2004

There are three simple ways to be notified when new postings are published on this weblog:

1. Subscribe to our RSS feeds:

@ Full text postings

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2. Subscribe to a free RSS reader:

Maybe you don't know how to use an RSS reader - or what a newsreader is.
Here's your chance to learn:

Please send an e-mail to ~~globalprblogweek [at] yahoo [dot] com~~ cbasturea [at] gmail [dot] com, and we'll send you an invitation to make an account with Bloglines, a free, state-of-the-art RSS reader. The account will be already filled out with a bunch of RSS feeds, including those of this weblog. Subscription is simple - you'll just have to provide an e-mail address and to choose a password.

3. Subscribe to an e-mail alert:

In the right side menu you'll find a simple form; introduce your e-mail address and click on "subscribe". At the end of the day you will receive one e-mail with the updates of the weblog.

Simple, isn't it?

Author: Constantin Basturea | Jul 11, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements | Orientation

Matias Fernandez

Why do you blog? - ¿Por qué hago blog?

El fenómeno Blog es algo muy novedoso en Argentina. Soy un pionero en su práctica dentro del ámbito de las Relaciones Publicas en mi país. Actualmente desarrollo un newsletter dedicado a Relaciones Públicas y lo combino con mi blog personal con diversos objetivos: promoción profesional, participación, intercambio de ideas, compartir conocimientos, formar comunidades de aprendizaje dentro de mi profesión.

The phenomeno weblog is something very novel in Argentina. I am a pioneer
in his practices in my country within of the Public Relations space. At the moment I development a newsletter dedicated to Public Relations and combine that, with personal my blog with diverse objectives: professional promotion, participation, interchange of ideas, to share knowledge, to
form communities of learning within my profession.

Why is blogging important for PR? - ¿Por qué los blogs son importantes para RRPP?

Los blog son importantes para las modernas relaciones públicas: una herramienta genial para abrir posibilidades y explorar oportunidades mediante nuestras conversaciones. Son una importante fuente de información y difusión de ideas, contenidos y perspectivas. Las nuevas comunidades temáticas y las que se formaran, tendrán poder de generar importantes corrientes de opinión. Es un nuevo paradigma en las comunicaciones corporativas que otorga amplio margen de poder de acción.

Blog is important for public realtions, are a brilliant tool
to open possibilities and of exploring opportunities by means of our
conversations. They are an important source of intelligence and
diffusion of ideas, contents and perspective. The new topics
communities and those that formed, will be a power to generate
important currents of opinion. It is a new paradigm in the corporative
communications that ample margin of being able of action grants.

What do you hope to see come out of this event? - ¿Qué esperas ver como resultado de este evento?

Conocer, aprender, explorar, compartir. Es una experiencia extraordinaria para formar redes de conocimiento dentro de nuestra profesión. Es un encuentro de ideas, tal vez sepamos donde empezamos, pero no las posibilidades que puede abrir esta experiencia. Todos los contenidos que se exponen son de una inmejorable calidad, en consecuencia de la gran experiencia de los autores. Desde mi posición de principiante en esta actividad, espero poder aportar una perspectiva de valor.

To know, to learn, to explore, to share. It is an extraordinary
experience to form networks of knowledge within our profession.
Perhaps it is an encounter of ideas, we know where we began, but not
them possibilities that can open this experience. All the contents
that are exposed are of a superb quality, consequently of the great
experience of the authors. From my position of nascent in this
activity, I hope to be able to contribute a value perspective.

what issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why? - ¿En qué temas te enfocaras en tu contribución y por qué?

Mi contribución al programa se refiere al profesional de relaciones públicas como facilitador de aprendizaje. En este tiempo caótico y de intenso cambio, nos encontramos con nuevas maneras de ser y hacer organizaciones. En consecuencia, se presenta esta nueva perspectiva profesional: facilitar aprendizajes dentro de las estrategias organizacionales, acompañar y liderar los cambios. La dirección de comunicaciones es un punto critico en la construcción de organizaciones orientadas a la innovación y desarrollo creativo: Organizaciones Inteligentes.

Un buen ejemplo de esto es la implementación de un blog corporativo, pienso que se debe trabajar intensamente en los procesos y las personas que intervienen en la puesta en práctica. Trabajar en una visión compartida, en modelos mentales, en el aprendizaje colectivo, dentro de patrones de pensamiento sistémico. Por eso es necesario adquirir competencias y habilidades que permitan llevar adelante en tiempos “funky” la practica de las Relaciones Públicas.

My contribution to the program talks about to the professional of
Public relations like facilitate and coach of learning. In this caotic time
and of intense change, we were with new ways to be and to make
Organizations. Consequently, this new professional perspective
appears: to facilitate learnings within the corporate
strategies, to lead the changes. The direction of communications is a criticize and important point in the construction of organizations oriented to the innovation and creative development: Intelligent Organizations.

A good example of this is the implementation of blog corporative, I
think that it is due to intensely work in the processes and the people
who take part in the putting in practice. To work in one vision
shared, mental models, the collective learning, within patterns of
system thought. For that reason it is necessary to acquire
competitions and abilities that allow to take ahead in "funky times"
it practices it of the Public Relations.

Author: Matias Fernandez | Jul 11, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Matias Fernandez | Participants' thoughts

Chris Bechtel

Chris Bechtel, iPressroom

Why do you blog?

I have used dynamic web content management tools for both corporate and client public relations for that last 4 years. As a PR professional, the ability to instantly and easily create and distribute (through RSS and other means) communications to influence key audiences is my primary interest. After being frustrated by the lack of tools and increased dependence on IT, I co-founded a software company devoted to providing dynamic communications, Internet Pressrooms, content management and web publishing tools to agencies and corporate clients. You can read more about my firm by visiting our website at http://www.ipressroom.com.

Why is blogging important for PR?

Blogging, in addition to other dynamic content management tools, provides PR practitioners with the easy ability to provide relevent, up to date and credible information to the media and other key audiences directly and immediately. With the right set of web-based PR Tools it's entirely possible to create, manage and distribute news directly to the media and the public and measure the results.

What do you see coming out of this event?

Most importantly, increased education of the marketplace. We are - it seems - on the bleeding edge. Though Blogs have been around for some years now - mainstream adoption is low. The more we work as evangelists - the more our clients and the industry will see the value of dynamic web publishing as a valuable promotional and communications vehicle.

What issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why?

I will focusing on the need for more PR professionals - both on the agency side and the client side - to utilize technology as a means of improving productivity, increasing revenue per employee, and building more awareness and most importantly understanding. For various reasons - the PR industry as a whole is incredibly slow in its adoption of technology. Many practitioners still mail press kits and fax press releases. Even those who have created or manage Internet Pressrooms for clients tend to post only press releases and perhaps some news clippings. But, we all know the media want much more than just a press release. As a result, I will be focusing on 1) why it's important to make a comprehensive set of press materials available - including high-resolution photos and artwork, streaming audio/video, speakers bureaus, and Blog content and 2) that the technology is available.

Author: Chris Bechtel | Jul 11, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Chris Bechtel | Participants' bio | Participants' thoughts

Anita Campbell

Anita Campbell (that's me) is co-editor of Small Business Trends, a trend-tracking blog. I have over two decades of management experience helping companies grow. My co-editor, Dave Patterson, has over 3 decades of experience in all aspects of publishing, advertising and fundraising. Together, we like to think we make a great team to track what's happening in the small business market.

Small Business Trends is not a how-to site for small business. Rather, it provides market insights to companies large and small that sell to the small business market, by tracking developing trends and attitudes.

Why do you Blog?

Because it is the hottest trend on the Internet today.

And with its chronological format, blogging is perfect for tracking all the hot and happening stuff going on in the small business market.

Why is blogging important for PR?

People are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available on the Web today. Business blogs play an important role by filtering information by topic. And they typically get great search engine position. This combination of filtering and good search position is powerful.

A focused business blog can be a huge help to PR professionals to get the word out about new products and services or key company activities. And blogs can help shape public opinion.

What do you hope to see come out of this event? (ie outcomes)

(1) Participating in a ground-breaking event, as we believe Global PR Week is.

(2) Getting to know some of the globe's PR practitioners better.

What issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why?

We will be presenting a Case Study: using a blog as a tool to spot trends and forecast market behavior. We think PR practitioners will find this of great value for their clients.

Contact us!

We will be available from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon (Eastern U.S. time) on July 13th via instant messenger to answer questions. We can be reached at "Smallbiztrends" on AOL instant messenger, and "smallbiztrends" on Yahoo messenger during those times.

Author: Anita Campbell | Jul 11, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Anita Campbell | Participants' bio | Participants' thoughts

Robb Hecht

Robb Hecht will be participating in the week-long Global PR Blog event by focusing upon the double-edged sword issue of blogs: how blogs are corporate brand threats while also posing as corporate brand outreach tools. Hecht will end the week by interviewing Seth Godin, former Yahoo! VP of Marketing, named "the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age" by Business Week, and bestselling author of five books on marketing: Free Prize Inside, Permission Marketing, Unleashing the Ideavirus, The Big Red Fez, Survival is Not Enough and Purple Cow.

Hecht is a PR and marketing communications strategist with more than 10 years of public relations, marketing and communications experience. He currently serves as Chief Strategist of Hecht Consulting, a boutique PR and marketing communications consultancy in New York City. Hecht evangelizes the technological integration of brand advancement and public relations with the application of blogs and RSS feeds. He authors the PR Machine weblog, which tracks how blogs and branding are integrating within the public relations practice. During his career, Hecht has facilitated and managed ROI-focused integrated marketing communications campaigns across a range of industries for B2B and B2C clients, including Interpublic, E*TRADE Financial, Discovery Networks, Volt Services Group, ProcureStaff.com, Winstar Telecommunications, Office.com, Kiplinger.com, 24/7 Real Media, Cendant, Inacom, and Bozell Sawyer Miller Group/Weber Shandwick. He can be reached at rhecht (at) hechtcom.com

Author: Robb Hecht | Jul 11, 04 | Permalink | 2 comments
Category: @ Robb Hecht | Participants' bio

BIO: Jeremy Pepper

Deciding to branch out on his own in Arizona, Jeremy Pepper opened POP! Public Relations to help both local and national companies execute national strategic public relations plans and programs.

Jeremy's past clients and projects have included: providing public relations strategy for the national launch of a new tea company; developing strategy and marketing communications for a new bridal jewelry line; event planning and local media outreach for non-profit organizations; launching wireless technology products and services; booking media and analyst tours for various clients; securing local press coverage for a group of physicians; launching a public relations program for an online-based service; and advising a venture capitalist firm.

Before moving back to Arizona, Jeremy worked in the three major public relations hubs in the nation: Los Angeles and New York for Weber Shandwick Worldwide, and in San Francisco for B/E Communications, a boutique agency; and most recently as public relations manager for Ofoto, a division of Eastman Kodak.

While at Weber Shandwick Worldwide, Jeremy was a key member of the Eastman Kodak team, which won industry accolades for its work. At Weber Shandwick, Jeremy worked with various corporations on the launch of Kodak Picture CD – including Intel, Adobe and Real, launched a variety of professional and consumer digital cameras, developed a technology seminar for Kodak that toured Asia, and landed press and coverage in consumer lifestyle publications, business press and local and national television outlets.

While at Ofoto, Jeremy was instrumental in launching the online photo service and positioning the company as the leader in the space. He worked on the development of messaging points for corporate and product positioning, arranged special events and trade shows, and worked with a variety of outside corporations, such as Amazon.com, HP, Intel and Sony, to get the news out about Ofoto and its partners. Jeremy was also responsible for industry analyst and media relations, ensuring that the press was always fully apprised of Ofoto's new products and worked hand-in-hand with Eastman Kodak during the acquisition of the company.

In the past, Jeremy has also worked with the Cure Breast Cancer, Inc. foundation, providing support for the national launch of the breast cancer stamp, driving local press activities with the California Breast Cancer license plate, and has been working with the Arizona legislature to adopt a Breast Cancer vanity plate with proceeds to fund mammograms for uninsured and underinsured Arizona residents.

Jeremy's past public relations campaigns have won the IPRA/United Nations Grand Award for outstanding achievement, the IPRA Golden Award and two Silver Anvil Awards of Excellence.

Jeremy studied philosophy at the University of Arizona, concentrating on social and political philosophy, with an emphasis in business and medical ethics. He is also a graduate of Dale Carnegie, trained in structured approach to group projects, enhanced written and oral communication and building effective group dynamics.

Author: Jeremy Pepper | Jul 11, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Jeremy Pepper | Participants' bio

Bernard Goldbach

Dynamic web content provides me some of the most satisfying and productive moments of my work day. As a freelance journalist and college lecturer in PR studies, I have written, blogged and developed interactive online content since 1996. Thanks to the efficiency of Really Simple Syndication (RSS), I can participate in key conversations that pop up throughout various parts of my professional space.

Why is blogging important for PR?
Use blogging to update your content and you remain in the crosshairs of Google and Yahoo. Use blogging to read the thoughts of others and you remain at the top of the PR zeitgeist. As this week will show, web-based PR tools increases the speed of information dissemination and the reach of a client’s message.
What do you see coming out of this event?
Good events connect people and ideas. This Global PR Week should offer this connectivity to leading voices in the PR industry. I don’t expect many more than 100 people to connect through blogging. Many more will hear about this programme and click on hyperlinks, read e-mail summaries and follow the site updates. They will learn about the effects of blogging in the PR industry. I expect to learn some important things too—especially about how to enhance dynamic communications, online pressrooms, content management for small businesses and web publishing tools that don’t break the bank.
What issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why?
My issue-of-the-day offers ways for PR professionals to leverage their messages through web blogs. I will show examples of a campaign gaining traction through an electronic metric that produces results. In a traditional business, the metric is culled through inches of printed space or minutes of air time. In the new media realm, the metric is more sophisticated, more granular. It’s important to understand these subtleties and to guide publics towards focusing their messages.

Author: Bernard Goldbach | Jul 11, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Participants' bio

Blog and Media Coverage

July 22, 2004

Dvorak Uncensored: Post Bubble PR Blues

July 21, 2004

PRWeek: PRWeek.com Q&A: Participants from Global PR Blog Week

July 19, 2004

Scobleizer: Back from blog vacation

July 14, 2004

Lockergnome's Net Connections: Global PR Blog Week

Der Spindoktor: Blogs, PR, Spin Doctors und die Journalisten (in German)

IdeaSapiens: Las posibilidades de la blogosfera para las Relaciones Públicas (in Spanish)

Le blog de iFeedYou: Global PR blog week: How Non-Profit Organizations and Local Governments Can Use Blogs to Communicate with the Public

BlogBlu: Tools for Building Communities - Global PR Blog Week 1.0

Perception Analyzer Dial.Log: Corporate Blogging Survey

Brian Clark's Other Weblog: Filmmakers as "Disruptive Messengers"

Green Media Toolshed: The five stupidest PR tactics almost every company tries - Global PR Blog Week 1.0

Network-Centric Advocacy: Blog Conference on PR and Communications, July 14, 2004

Capulet Weblog: Global PR Blog Week

Ad Innovator: Global PR Blog Week 1.0

PR Fuel: PR Intelligence From Your Peers

Network-Centric Advocacy: Blog Conference on PR and Communications

July 13, 2004

Kalilily Time: It's not a puzzlement.

onde anda su?: [eventos e notícias] (in Portugese)

BlogOn Blog: Steve Rubel and Jay Rosen Talk Transparency and PR

iakttakelser: Global PR Blogg Uke (in Norwegian)

meryl's notes: Global PR Blog - Day 2

PR Watch's Spin of the Day: The Blog Is The Message

Atrium: Jornalismo Participativo: mais do que blogar? (in Portugese)

Tuvel: Mitch Arnowitz: How to launch a corporate blog for a professional services organization - Global PR Blog Week 1.0

Public relations az interneten: Global PR Blog Week (in Hungarian)

Active Voice: PR Pros Unite!

PressThink: After Spin: Interview with Steve Rubel for Global PR Blog Week 1.0

PR Fuel: Global PR Blog Week Off and Running

Online Business Networks Blog: Global PR Blog Week

July 12, 2004

Ross Mayfield's Weblog: Global PR Blog Week

Diva Marketing: There's nothing new in blogosphere?

meryl's notes: Global PR Blog Week 1.0

Silicon Valley - Dan Gillmor's eJournal: PR, Blogs and the Evolving Media World

Range Travels: Global PR Blog Week

About.com: The First Global PR Blog Week

JD Lasica: PR, participatory journalism, and transparency

July 9, 2004

PR Squared: Worth checking out

July 8, 2004

Marketing Idea Shop: The Global PR Blog Week 1.0, July 12-16, 2004

Farbkammer: Für PR- und Business-Blogger (in German)

July 7, 2004

Werbeblogger: Die Global PR Blog Week 1.0 startet nächste Woche (12. bis 16. Juli) (in German)

July 6, 2004

Business Blog Consulting: Global PR Blog Week

Core Components Web Marketing blog: Tech impact on PR event

July 4, 2004

Monkey Span: Global PR Blog Week 1.0

July 3, 2004

José Manuel Noguera: Blogging y Relaciones Publicas (in Spanish)

José Luis Orihuela: eCuaderno v.2.0: Mosaico (link to Global PR Blog Week, in Spanish)

July 2, 2004

Full Circle Associates Online Interaction & Community Blog: New Ways of Conceptualizing Online Events

lost and found: "Qualifikationsanforderungen an Online-Journalisten" (in German)

July 1, 2004

misbehaving.net: Where are the Women Speakers?

June 30, 2004

David Weinberger: Global PR Blog Week

June 25, 2004

PR Watch's Spin of the Day: Global PR Blog Week

MEX Blog: Global PR Blog Week

MarketingSherpa Fame Briefs:
"We love this idea — 28 PR and marketing pros got together virtually to invent the world's first blog-based professional conference. The topic is blogging and business communications. And you don't have to get in a plane to attend, just surf to the conference at appointed 'session' times.

"Starts July 12th, but you can see a list of scheduled sessions and 'speakers' here right away: http://www.thenewpr.com."

June 23, 2004

Doc Searls: More like a volcano

openBC - Business Weblogs: Global PR Blog Week 1.0 ab dem 12. Juli 04 von Klaus Eck (23.06.2004, 16:28) im Forum "Business Weblogs" (in German)

Jun 22, 2004

The Blog Herald: Global PR Blog Week 1.0 Event Set for July 12 - 16th 2004

Content Management News Wire: Global PR Blog Week 1.0

Eck.Punkte.log: Global PR Blog Week 1.0 im Juli (in German)

cyDome: Global PR Blog Week 1.0 im Juli (in German)

June 21, 2004

PR Fuel: Global PR Blog Week Promises World Peace

PRWeek.com: PR blog event finalized

PR Newswire: Global PR Blog Week 1.0 Event Set for July 12 - 16th 2004

Yahoo! Finance: Global PR Blog Week 1.0 Event Set for July 12 - 16th 2004

June 10, 2004

PRWeek.com: PR bloggers push forth the medium

June 3, 2004

AdRants.com: Online PR Week to Examine Role of PR Bloggers

Author: Anthony V Parcero | Jul 11, 04 | Permalink
Category: Media Coverage

What is a Weblog?

According to Dave Winer, author of what many consider one of the first successful weblogs on the Internet (Scripting News), a weblog — or "blog" — can be characterized as a Web site which:

"points to articles elsewhere on the Web, often with comments, and to on-site articles. A Weblog is kind of a continual tour, with a human guide who you get to know. There are many guides to choose from, each develops an audience, and there's also comraderie and politics between the people who run weblogs, they point to each other, in all kinds of structures, graphs, loops, etc." (Dave Winer, The History of Weblogs)

Originally started by programmers and Web designers who worked full-time in the fledgling Internet industry of the mid-nineties, the first blogs showcased the research, coding, and organizational skills of their authors. Often hand-written and featuring short commentaries which linked users to other Web sites, these blogs were designed to help people filter out the increasing amount of detritus on the Web. Immersed in Web culture and possessing site-design skills, these early blogs became the center of ever-growing communities of fellow bloggers and their readership. The social interactions and connections associated with blogging differentiate it from other forms of content on the Web and the framework they established is still in use today.

At their heart, all blogs are based on the relationships formed by an author's use of regularly-updated, pithy commentary and elaborate cross-linking. Starting in 1991 with Tim Berners-Lee and the first Web site, the promise of the Internet was that anyone could have a voice through which they could communicate and connect (via hyperlinks) with others. By transforming the traditional roles of active writers and passive readers into one of participatory peers who can actively and freely express themselves, blogs provide a venue for open self-expression free from the crippling effects of our media-saturated culture.

No matter what their format or focus, all blogs organize their date- and time-stamped content in reverse chronological order so that the newest content appears most prominently on the Web site's home page. As new content is added to a site, older posts are archived to a static Web address (called a "permalink") which other blogs can precisely refer to and comment upon. Due to the fact that anyone with Internet-access can start a blog, it is the individuality of the commentary (and they're associated links) that distinguishes blogs from more traditional electronic clipping services and news media. Based on short, informal, and richly-hyperlinked content that is frequently updated, the blog "post" is free from the traditional, formal constraints of the printed-page. Thus, blog posts represent self-contained topical units which are characterized by a conversational (and sometimes controversial) tone that distinguishes them from more formal essays or articles.

Sometimes as short as one sentence or, more often, running for several paragraphs, the totality of the posts which make up a blog form an accurate representation of the personality of their author (or authors). Thanks to tools like Blogger, online journals and diaries are now the most dominant form of of blogs on the Internet. Due to the fact that many of these sites are tightly integrated into the daily lives of the author(s) and their audience, an online ecosystem called the blogosphere has emerged.

Thanks to constant improvements in the underlying technologies — along with the enormous proliferation of blogs following the launch of Blogger in 1999 — many Web sites and tools have sprung up to help authors create, maintain, search, and analyze various aspects of the Internet and the blogosphere. Using different metrics to analyzing the content of blogs, sites such as Technorati and Blogstreet focus on aggregating and tracking the popularity and influence of specific blogs. Through the use of full-text searches across posts, Blogpulse extends upon simple aggregation to provide users with the ability to track current trends, key people, and key phrases within the blogosphere. No longer passive recipients of information, individuals have embraced the freedom inherent in the framework, commonality, and organization of blogs in order to position themselves as key influencers at the center of a communications revolution many of us are still working to understand.

Author: Anthony V Parcero | Jul 11, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Orientation

Posting Etiquette

As a group standard, please make every attempt to adhere to the following points when posting, editing and commenting. We are all relying on each others' best judgment as professional communicators and PR-practitioners and all authors, and their posts, will be held to the following standards:

No badmouthing of competition although, be aware that, if you use this site as a venue for pure promotion of your own services/companies, we will not hesitate to out you in the comments.

Posts should tend towards the "informational" and "educational" vs. sales pitches.

We are aiming for an informal conversational tone, but poor grammar, slang, and profanity should be avoided. This is, after all, a business blog.

Once you have created an entry, we'd like to remain as static as possible.

You should feel free to fix typos, spelling or grammatical errors. However, if you make a change to an argument or fix a mistake in facts, we'd like you to use strikethroughs, so readers can see that things have changed. To do this, simply put <s> before the section to be struck out and </s> afterwards.

Please don't delete posts and, unless something is clearly spam, please leave all comments as-is.

Author: Anthony V Parcero | Jul 11, 04 | Permalink
Category: Orientation

Q&A: Evelyn Rodriguez

July 10, 2004

Evelyn Rodriguez, Crossroads Dispatches, is a marketing professional in the blurring landscape of technology, media and communications. She frequently blogs on innovations in innovation and marketing from a global perspective. She is currently devoting her attention to Pivia Software; their corporate blog is titled Performance Matters.

Why do you blog?
The reason has evolved, but I've come to the point where I blog to blog - for it's own sake. Much like a painter paints to paint. Or a writer writes to write. I find it helps me crystallize and coalesce thoughts that are scattered and loosely formed. The process of blogging helps me think through things and I'm better able to articulate them later. It's also a form of self-expression - I've always loved writing - and it's a wonderful way to share ideas in a public forum. And yes, I'm evangelizing a couple of ideas too. More on that during the week.

Why is blogging important for PR?
PR is about leveraging influence and disseminating messages. Blogs and other participatory media are as well ...but there are a few twists. I just got off a plane departing from SFO where I had been chatting with a fellow American whom works for a French pharmaceutical. We were discussing the various cultural nuances in the manner that business is conducted between the two countries. Business is business, right? PR is PR, right? While I may understand how negotiations works in U.S.; it's a slightly different animal in Korea or Italy or Brazil. It would be wise to brush up and be prepared. In much the same way, companies and professional communicators should learn the nuances, customs and values of the blogosphere to be effective (and oftentimes not offend!) Just because the term "media" is bandied about doesn't mean it's the same thing.

Bloggers are quite often rival the influence of traditional press and analysts with readerships - and within their social networks. The presidential conventions are inviting bloggers precisely because of their recognized influence. While not mainstream in all areas of interest (yet), the blogosphere is influential if your target market is tech-savvy professionals or 13-year-old girls - among other demographic segments. So if you are a technology company - which is where most of my experience lies - you cannot afford to ignore it.

Blogs can work very well for a company that grasps the blog culture. It's a proactive means to communicate; no need to wait to have the press pick up a story - create your own - that's the participatory nature of the media. Now anyone can be a participant in media creation... play both roles of producer and consumer. Jonathan Schwartz, COO of Sun Microsystems, cites the ability to share his own words without being filtered, misquoted or edited as one reason for his new blog. Direct from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Phil Libin, CEO of CoreStreet, feels his personal blog is creating a "body of work" around the broader aspects of computer security and his posts are sometimes picked up and expanded upon by traditional media.

Blogs also allow for a continuous and interactive rapport (through its subscription facility via RSS feeds) with an interested audience. They create a means to develop an ongoing, potentially collaborative, relationship beyond the intermittent product or project announcements - whether that's version 2.0 or your next book. It's a direct conduit between the company and interested party - whether that is a journalist, analyst, customer or prospect, industry peer, investor, other stakeholder, employee or any one in the public.

What do you hope to see come out of this event?
I hope this is part of an ongoing 'cultural' awareness and evangelism campaign to educate corporate marketing and communications professionals about blogs and participatory media.

What issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why?
I will be talking about the use of corporate blogs for interactive evangelism and thought leadership. Evangelism has been in the tech industry jargon for a while - I believe that Guy Kawaski during Apple's early days was the first evangelist. It has gained wider usage and basically means advocacy and education around new ideas and new concepts. When a company is breaking new ground - creating a new market or expanding it innovatively - there's a need for a lot of educating of the market - communication - buzz - for it to take hold. The problem/need/desire may have been old hat, but the innovative solution isn't. Telling the story and educating the market around an innovative concept or product is evangelism.

That ties in to thought leadership as well. For digital products, the authors of Momentum (highly recommend) cite that the "Marketplace of Ideas" is where companies gain momentum. "The sustainability of a product's differentiation on a forward-looking basis is as fundamental as emotional conviction in people's minds as memories were in the Marketplace of Image [earliest branding efforts for consumer goods]. Inside people's heads, it's as if every purchase order and receipt subliminally asks: I know I'm buying an implicit futures contract with this brand. Is there any reason to doubt how long I can count on this company and its products to solve my most important problems?" Blogs are a wonderful tool for ongoing communication of your understanding of the customer's world and where it's headed and simultaneously gathering feedback in near real-time.

Author: Evelyn Rodriguez | Jul 10, 04 | Permalink | 1 comments
Category: @ Evelyn Rodriguez | Participants' bio | Participants' thoughts

A BOOK BY OCTAVIO ROJAS

I know this is an online event about blogs and PR, but I am so happy... otherwise I won't dare to write this post, but it is official now: I will publish my first book on PR!

I've just met my editor and he was so enthusiastic with the project!

Since I am sharing with you guys this fantastic event (I feel so honoured to do so, because I've been reading your posts for months and I know how great professionals all of you are) I would like to ask you a favor, an easy one.

Would you provide me a list of your favourite PR books? I know I could have a bunch of them via Amazon or on some other online lilbraries, but I will feel more comfortable if great PR pros could recommend me what they think are the best PR books available.

Unfortunately, there are only a few PR books written in Spanish and they are too theoretical (this is why I am writing mine based on real life experiences), and I think that it is a good idea to revise some bibliography in English.

My book will be realeased in Spanish.

You could post a comment with your recommendations or answer me via email.

My essay will be available on Wednesday, see you then!

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Sé que este es un evento sobre blogs y relaciones públicas, pero estoy tan contento... de otra manera no me atrevería a escribir este post, pero ya es oficial: ¡publicaré mi primer libro sobre RRPP!

¡Acabo de reunirme con mi editor y estaba tan entusiasmado con el proyecto!

Como estoy compartiendo con ustedes este fantástico evento (me siento honrado de hacerlo, porque he estado leyendo sus posts por meses y sé cuán fantásticos profesionales son) me gustaría pedirles un favor, uno fácil.

¿Me podrían facilitar una lista de sus libros favoritos sobre RRPP? Sé que puedo tener un montón de éstos a través de Amazon o alguna otra librería online, pero me sentiría más cómodo is grandes profesionales de las RRPP me recomendaran los que, a su juicio, son los mejores libros de RRPP.

Por desgracia, hay muy pocos libros de RRPP en español y son demasiado teóricos (esa es la razón por la que estoy escribiendo el mío basado en experiencias de la vida real), y pienso que es una buena idea revisar alguna bibliografía en inglés.

Mi libro estará escrito en español.

Pueden dejar un post para sus recomendaciones o contestarme en mi correo electrónico.

Mi ensayo estará disponible el miércoles, ¡hasta entonces!

Author: Octavio Rojas | Jul 10, 04 | Permalink | 4 comments
Category: @ Octavio Rojas | Announcements

Change in My Presentation

Since we'll have so much on blogs for business, I'm going to concentrate on blogs for non-profits and governments.

I've got a lot of interest in both areas. I actually started out writing press releases for small private charities almost 20 years ago, and I can see a lot ways blogs can work for non-profits!

See everyone Tuesday!

Author: Trudy W. Schuett | Jul 10, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Trudy W. Schuett | Announcements

Bloggers Beat the Press on Big Yahoo! Story

July 09, 2004

The practice of public relations is adapting as journalism changes and amateurs join the party - a trend called participatory journalism. Bloggers, which number three million strong according to some estimates, now have all the tools they need to break and spread news well before the pros do. Tonight, as we get ready to launch our event with an examination of this important trend, I present Exhibit A...

As I write this post, word is quickly spreading throughout the blogosphere that Yahoo! has quietly acquired Oddpost, a popular email provider. So far, none of the major news outlets have covered this story. This will probably change over the weekend. I will keep an eye on Google News to see when and how the press pick up on this story and will keep you posted.

Author: Steve Rubel | Jul 9, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Steve Rubel

Steve Rubel

Steve Rubel is a PR strategist with more than 10 years of public relations, marketing, journalism and communications experience. He currently serves as Vice President, Client Services at CooperKatz & Company, a mid-size PR firm in midtown New York City.

Rubel evangelizes the application of Weblogs and RSS in traditional public relations campaigns. He authors the Micro Persuasion weblog, which tracks how blogs and participatory journalism are changing the public relations practice.

During his career, Rubel has managed PR campaigns across a range of industries for B2B and consumer clients, including CMP Media, the Carrier Corporation, WeatherBug, Invest Northern Ireland, Canon, IDC, the Association of National Advertisers, France Telecom, internet.com, Powerade and Otis Elevator, among others. While with CooperKatz, he developed the Ziff Davis Internet/ExtremeTech America’s Fastest Geek campaign, which took home a Silver Sabre Award.

Rubel can be reached at 212-455-8085 or via email at srubel (at) cooperkatz.com.

Author: Steve Rubel | Jul 9, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Steve Rubel | Participants' bio

Telling Stories (behind our backs)

I’ve been dissatisfied with marketing (and the outdated model of the 4Ps) for as long as I can remember. It worked fairly well in the command and control culture, where the Coca Colas of this world produced their ‘one-sight, one sound, one sell’ communications, and where readers, listeners and viewers had to put up or shut up --except, for moments such as the New Coke fiasco. Every industry probably has its own equivalent of consumer ‘rebellions’ where those at the center were caught off guard; where communicators were busy ‘telling’ and not listening, and the customers were talking behind their backs.

Blogs attracted me because they were being used by, and defined by people on the periphery. They seemed to have more interesting stories to tell, better angles, and certainly more down to earth. Unlike the ‘people at the center’ (sometimes this includes you and me when we sit at our desks!) who have mission statements to protect, hierarchies to satisfy, and editors to serve, bloggers have a direct connection to their audience. That’s what marketing has always needed –a talkback button for the customer/end user/audience/congregation/whatever. It’s no different with every profession.

If you have read The Cluetrain Manifesto, you’ll know that much of this was being written about several years before blogging came on the radar, but few could do anything about it. Blogging is certainly going to rapidly change a lot of the taken-for-granted formats and trappings of communications. That, essentially is what my topic will be on, on Wednesday July 14th, 2004.

I was (and still am) a proponent of ‘branding’ but I’ve rearranged my molecules, to borrow an expression from Tom Peters, to accommodate the hard reality that branding isn’t a secret sauce that comes in one flavor, and in one bottle locked in the corporate office vault. I was writing about this before Proctor and Gamble issued it’s own shocking manifesto of sorts about advertising this year, or McDonald’s had the guts to declare the end of mass marketing last month (and introduce the world to something that suspiciously sounded very blog-like: ‘brand journalism.’) The subtitle to my Blog, Hoi Polloi, (at http://hoipolloi.typepad.com) is “Marketing Communications, Media, and PR in a post-Cluetrain world.”

Don’t get me wrong. I am not joining the ‘advertising is dead’ or ‘the end of marketing as we know it’ bandwagon. Nor do I believe that blogs are the answer to everything. A blog is a new tech tool, and tools get replaced and upgraded. New tech is often the rediscovery of older techniques. Email, instant messaging, and SMS serve one simple need: the need to invent and spread stories. Blogs seem to give this ‘gossip’ and story telling phenomenon a structure. People who have a story to tell, can now do so. The microphone is in their hands. I can see how the concept of blogging will someday be a euphemism for frank, un-hyped speech, and unmanaged conversations. I am struck by a comment made by Arthur C. Clarke, who observed that “the human race greeted the new millennium by transforming itself into one huge gossiping family.” Indeed, we are not just one huge gossiping family, but one huge connected, gossiping family.

Author: Angelo Fernando | Jul 9, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Angelo Fernando

Dave Austin

July 08, 2004

I'm a corporate blogger and sales person for Intraware Inc. and I hope my frontline perspective will be a positive addition to this event. My written contribution to this event will be a small introduction to blogging for executives unfamiliar with the blogging phenomenon.

Why do you blog?
I write my company's corporate blog because I feel that my company's story isn't being heard. Blogging is inexpensive, a cinch technically, and a great new medium for corporate communication.
Why is blogging important for PR?
Telling your story with a good blog beats the heck out of issuing sterile press releases.
What do you hope to see come out of this event?
I'd be pleased if someone was able to learn something from my contribution to the conference and I'd like to see if any new techniques emerge for companies to leverage the blog medium.
What issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why?
I've written a brief piece for a non-tech executive who is unfamiliar with the blog concept. Hopefully the reader will get a better understanding of why such a simple publishing tool and its related technologies are garnering so much attention.

Author: Dave Austin | Jul 8, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Dave Austin | Participants' bio | Participants' thoughts

About: Hans Kullin

Hans Kullin has 9 years experience from Public Relations as a consultant at leading Swedish PR agencies and as PR Manager. He served as PR Manager at Accenture for three years and is currently holding a position as Marketing Communications Manager at Linklaters in Sweden, one of the leading global law firms. Hans runs a personal weblog at www.kullin.net.

Author: Hans Kullin | Jul 8, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Hans Kullin | Participants' bio

Tom Murphy

July 07, 2004

I will be looking at the "State of Public Relations" as part of the Global PR Blog Week initiative. I hope to include not only my own thoughts and opinions (of which there is no shortage :-) but also the thoughts and opinions of a wide selection of practitioners with the results from a recent online survey I conducted. As part of the session I also hope to look at how PR is changing, what's happening to our audience(s) and how can we adapt to a changing environment.

Why do you blog?

I fell into blogging about two and a half years ago when I was looking for a means of collecting together all the various PR web links I had. I put them all on a website and low and behold people starting reading and commenting on them....

....Over a thousand posts later, the PR blog landscape has blossomed with over thirty PR practitioners regularly writing and musing on the business and the challenges facing us.

I blog to cater for my love of the sound of my voice :-) and also because it challenges my thinking about PR, marketing and online communication.

And why is blogging important for PR?

I think that Blogs are important to PR for two reasons. First of all they provide a great medium for looking at the changes and issues facing the profession and secondly they illustrate how the practice of PR is evolving.

We are moving toward a time when PR people will be increasingly communicating directly with the audience, when PR people will be using a host of new tools alongside the tried and tested techniques to help organizations communicate more effectively with their customers and prospects. As the Cluetrain Manifesto claimed nearly five years ago: "Markets are Conversations"

What do you hope to see come out of this event?

I think this event provides a great opportunity to bring together a wide range of people to discuss Public Relations and more importantly an opportunity for a large number of PR practitioners in different industries, markets and countries to learn, share and discuss how the profession is changing, developing and performing. That's an exciting prospect.

What issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why?

I along with a number of others will be focusing on the state of public relations. In particular I'll be looking at how PR is reacting to the changing communications environment, how people feel PR is developing and any other area that readers or participants want to cover.

Author: Tom Murphy | Jul 7, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Tom Murphy | Participants' thoughts

ABOUT: OCTAVIO ROJAS

Octavio Isaac Rojas Orduña es Ejecutivo de Cuentas Senior en Weber Shandwick, en Madrid, España. Ganador de premios como guionista de radio en Latinoamérica y Alemania, se unió a Weber Shandwick en 1997. Ha ofrecido servicios de consultoría estratégica tanto a compañías multinacionales como BBC, McDonald’s, Siemens, Unilever, Kodak, LEGO, y a empresas y organizaciones sectoriales españolas.

Octavio Isaac Rojas Orduña is Senior Account Executive in Weber Shandwick Ibérica, in Madrid, Spain. An award-winning radio scriptwriter in Latin America and Germany, he joined Weber Shandwick in 1997. He has offered strategy consultation for both multinational companies, such as BBC, McDonald’s, Siemens, Unilever, Kodak, LEGO, and Spanish companies, and industry associations.

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Ganó un Web Award en la categoría de Standard of Excellence por la creación de la web de la sectorial española de la carne de conejo INTERCUN.

Es parte de la organización española de empresas de relaciones públicas ADECEC.

Octavio es el Director Técnico del Curso de Posgrado “Práctica profesional de Relaciones Públicas” en el Centro Universitario Villanueva, en Madrid, España.

Es columnista y colaborador para medios tanto tradicionales como en internet en español en España, México, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay y los Estados Unidos, y en portugués, en Brasil y Portugal. Está escribiendo su primer libro sobre relaciones públicas.

Tiene una página web y un blog en los que ofrece diariamente artículos y noticias sobre comunicación, medios y relaciones públicas.

“Las posibilidades de la blogósfera para las RRPP en los países hispanoparlantes” es su contribución, que podrá consultarse en la Global PR Blog Week 1.0 el próximo miércoles 14 de julio.

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He won a Standard of Excellence Award in Web Award for the creation of the Spanish rabbit meat association “INTERCUN” web site.

He is part of the Spanish PR companies association ADECEC.

Octavio is the Technical Director of the postgraduate course “Professional Practice of Public Relations” for the Centro Universitario Villanueva in Madrid, Spain.

He is a columnist and regular contributor for on line and print media in Spanish in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, USA, and in Portuguese in Portugal and Brazil. He is writing his first book on PR.

He has a personal Web site: http://www.octaviorojas.tk and a blog: http://octaviorojas.blogspot.com in which he offers articles and news about communication, media and PR on a daily basis.

His essay “Possibilities of the blogosphere for the PR industry in the Spanish-speaking countries” will be featured in Global PR Blog Week 1.0 next Wednesday, July 14th.

Author: Octavio Rojas | Jul 7, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Octavio Rojas | Participants' bio

Good Marketing Blog Examples, Not Theory

July 06, 2004

My contributions to the event are two:
- Examples of Companies Using Blog Siccessfully as Part of the Marketing Mix
- Interview with noted digital journalist and blogger Steve Outing of Poynter.org's E-media Tidbits and Editor & Publisher
- PR Lessons of Clueless Blog Pitches (aka) How to Pitch Bloggers

While many companies are still scratching their heads wondering what blogs are and whether they are a fad, many companies from Microsoft to Jones Soda are successfully using blogs as part of their marketing and PR efforts.

I will provide examples and links. No theory. No fluff.

Author: B.L. Ochman | Jul 6, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ B.L. Ochman | Announcements

B.L. Ochman

B.L. Ochman, president of whatsnextonline.com is an award-winning Internet PR and marketing strategist, journalist, blogger and sought after corporate speaker.

She publishes the successful online newsletter What's Next Online, and the popular What's Next Blog.

Since 1995, she has created dynamic marketing/PR and search engine strategy for companies doing business online. Previously, Ochman ran an award-winning New York PR firm that she grew to one of the 100 largest independent PR firms in the US.

Her Internet marketing successes include Internet strategy consultation for Ford Motors, IBM, Biomerica Corporation, and Thomas Register.

Her articles on Internet marketing and public relations strategy are published regularly online in MarketingVox Daily, WebProNews, Marketing Profs, and Expert PR, and offline in On Wall Street Magazine, PR Reporter, Ballyhoo, and The Strategist (Public Relations Society of America quarterly,) among others.

Author: B.L. Ochman | Jul 6, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ B.L. Ochman | Participants' bio

John Mudd

You may have heard of Mudd Jeans, Mudd Mask or Puddle of Mudd, but John Mudd is not personally associated with any of them. He's a Realtor with Exit Realty Suncoast in Florida's Tampa Bay area, where he specializes in luxury home, beach and waterfront condo sales. He's also a freelance PR practitioner and a partner in the joint venture, Sensory Media. You may have heard of some of their titles, such as Sensory Impact, Wrist Fashion or Band Baja. They're about to launch a new real estate Web magazine, which Mudd will mention during his blog webinar on Tuesday, July 13. This isn't his claim to fame, though, as a blogger. That happened in 2002 when the St. Petersburg Times "stumbled" over his then public relations blog (of course, there also was that little incident with the porn star who ran for governor of California, but we can't put that here - this is a family friendly event blog!). Mudd has been using blogs as business tools ever since. Mudd was featured in Florida Realtor Magazine and Inman News earlier this year for his blogging expertise. During his webinar Mudd will show you how you can use blogs to increase your (your company's or organization's) sales, influence the news and become an overnight expert in your field, so be sure you return to this blog on July 13th!

Why do you blog?

Blogging is a wonderful business tool. I can inform clients and potential clients while attracting new ones because of my knowledge.

Why is blogging important to PR?

Because it's constant communication and it allows you to communicate directly with the public. That establishes the trust that you need to make your business successful.

What do you hope to see come out of this event?

I hope I can teach others the wonderful aspects about blogging that I have learned.

What issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why?

I will be focusing on how businesses can use blogs to increase their sales, influence media and become overnight experts without spending millions on advertising, all with a blog.

Author: John Mudd | Jul 6, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ John Mudd | Participants' bio | Participants' thoughts

Philip Young

July 05, 2004

Philip Young is a senior lecturer in Journalism/ Public Relations at the University of Sunderland, England. An award-winning journalist, he joined Apollo Communications in 1996, working on a range of public and private sector accounts including the successful launch of Hadrian's Wall Path national trail. He is currently writing a book on PR Ethics, and this research will feature in his Blog Week contribution on Tuesday, July 14.

Why do you Blog?

Partly because I think the only way to find out about something is to have a go yourself, and partly because my Mediations blog seemed a good way of keeping students in touch with a range of new ideas.

Why is blogging important for PR?

Because it is there! People can argue endlessly about what PR is, but most agree it's about communication, and anything that influences the way we communicate must have PR implications. The factors which differentiate blogging from other online activities must include speed and accessibility. In some ways blogging can be seen as being somewhere between hosting a conventional web site and sending an email to multiple recipients. Some will see the challenge for PR as incorporating ease of access with a disciplined approach that takes some care about what messages are offered to visitors; for others the core attraction of blogging is openess and it is this contradiction that will occupy the thoughts of corporate strategists. Many PR professionals see a large part of their role as being involved with focusing messages and there are serious implications for any technology that ggregates disparate stories. And of course, there is an interesting counterpoint, that it is a lot easier - and probably a lot more effective - for those with a grievance against your organisation to establish and exploit an highly accessible presence.

What do you hope to see come out of this event? (ie outcomes)

I hope it will help me understand more about how blogging is evolving. My feeling is that the US is well ahead of the UK in this area and I want to see the debate opened up here. Last week I did a highly unscientific - but very quick - online survey among North East PR practitioners: although five out of seven said they knew what blogging was, none said they used a blog regularly in their PR work. None said their clients encouraged blogging and only one had considered advising a client to set up a blog. This will change!

What issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why?

I will look at some of the ethical issues for PR raised by blogging. Although ethics don't change with technologies there are ways in which the (apparently) open nature of blogs do forefront particular issues. I will also discuss the results of a wide ranging study of ethics among PR practitioners in the North East of England, and compare the aspects of the findings with attitudes held by the wider (blogging) community.

Author: Philip Young | Jul 5, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Philip Young | Participants' bio | Participants' thoughts

About: Anthony V Parcero

July 03, 2004

Anthony has over 6 years in applications production and development. As a Senior Interactive Strategist with eKetchum Digital Media Group, he works closely with clients and account representatives to help them develop Web applications which best suit their needs. These applications vary in scope from simple customer-focused Web sites, to Internet-centric consumer-advocacy campaigns, to employee-oriented online training products, to games based on raising consumer awareness. As a strategic consultant, designer, and lead developer, Anthony has overseen production of an array of Web sites and applications — winning 2 PRSA Silver Anvils in the process.

A staunch advocate for Web standards-compliance, usability, and accessibility, Anthony has helped multiple clients develop sites, which not only meet the current needs of their PR- and marketing-objectives, but are also flexible enough to evolve with the ever-changing requirements of the Web and its varied audience(s). Starting with the premise that a successful Web site relies on the expertise of educated professionals, who are supported by technology experts, Anthony focuses much of his time on educating peers and clients about effective use and implementation of new communications technologies and trends.

An avid blogger, Anthony has been running his own personal Web site since 1998 (which is currently down for rennovations), was a contributing editor for the politically-focused Watchblog (www.watchblog.com), and regularly contributes to the group blog MonkeySpan (www.monkeyspan.com). He was also the lead designer for the Global PR Blog Week 1.0 blog (www.globalprblogweek.com).

Previous to his work with eKetchum, Anthony was a German Localization Specialist with QWIZ, Inc. While at QWIZ he helped develop their German line of testing and training software and oversaw the production and implementation of the company's first Intranet system. Anthony graduated Summa Cum Laude from the State University of Potsdam (Potsdam, NY) and spent 3 years living and studying in Germany (at the Vinzenz Palotti Kolleg, Rheinbach and Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany). Besides his German experience, Anthony also minored in Spanish while at Potsdam (having also studied Spanish while attending the Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany).

Author: Anthony V Parcero | Jul 3, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Anthony V Parcero | Participants' bio

QA: OCTAVIO ROJAS

July 02, 2004

Why do you blog? - ¿Por qué hago blog?

En un sector tan demandante y en continua evolución como es el de las relaciones públicas resulta indispensable conocer todas las tendencias y novedades que surgen, y la blogósfera ofrece oportunidades nunca vistas antes en cuanto a facilidad de uso, accesabilidad inmediata entre miles de personas y reducción de costes. Con los blogs, es más factible cruzar la frontera que muchas empresas y organizaciones ven infranqueable para lograr una comunicación eficaz y asequible.

As the PR industry is very demanding and constantly evolving, it is indispensable to know about all the trends and innovations that arise, and right now the blogosphere offers opportunities never seen before in terms of easy to use, immediate access to thousands of persons and cost reduction. With blogs, it is more feasible to cross the border that many companies and organizations see impassable to achieve effective and attainable communication.

Why is blogging important for PR? - ¿Por qué los blogs son importantes para RRPP?

Pienso que las relaciones públicas tienen mucho provecho que sacar de la blogosfera. Ya he mencionado algunos en mi anterior respuesta: facilidad de uso, accesabilidad inmediata a miles de personas y reducción de costes, pero también hay más como sindicación de contenidos entre periodistas y líderes de opinión sin los filtros que imponen los medios convencionales y un seguimiento más eficaz de los lectores/usuarios, tanto a nivel cualitativo como cuantitativo.

I think that the public relations industry can benefit from several opportunities in the blogosphere. I have mentioned some of them in my previous answer: easy to use, immediate access to thousands of persons and cost reduction. There are also more such as syndicated content among journalists and opinion leaders without the filters that conventional media impose and a more effective follow-up of the readers/users, on both qualitative and quantitative levels.

What do you hope to see come out of this event? - ¿Qué esperas ver como resultado de este evento?

GLOBAL PR BLOG WEEK me interesa por ver qué utilidades se obtienen de la blogósfera para las rrpp en mercados más avanzados. De esta manera, podré trasladar su experiencia y conocimientos en las actividades de consultoría que ofrezco a mis clientes y en las labores de divulgación que realizo en medios especializados de países como España, Portugal, México, Brasil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, entre otros.

I am interested in GLOBAL PR BLOG WEEK for seeing what is useful in the blogosphere for the PR industry on more advanced markets. Therefore, I will be able to use the experience and knowledge for the consulting activities that I offer to my clients, as well as for the articles that I publish in specialized media in countries as Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, among others.

What issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why? - ¿En qué temas te enfocaras en tu contribución y por qué?

Las posibilidades de la blogósfera para las RRPP en los países hispanohablantes.
Creo que es fundamental hacer una comparación para saber cuáles son las experiencias de éxito en algunos mercados, para saber si es posible adaptarlas a la realidad de otros países.

Possibilities of the blogosphere for the PR industry in Spanish-speaking countries.
I believe that it is fundamental to do a comparison to understand the experiences of success in some markets to know if it is possible to adapt them into the reality of other countries.

Author: Octavio Rojas | Jul 2, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Octavio Rojas | Participants' thoughts

PR Ethics

My contribution to the Global PR Blog Week will look at Ethics in PR Practice, based on detailed research in the North East of England. Here's a chance to compare some of the results with views of Blog Week visitors. If you want to join in, please follow this link (it is aimed at practitioners rather than other visitors).

Author: Philip Young | Jul 2, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Philip Young | Announcements

Trevor Cook

Why do you blog?

Blogging has quickly becomes part of the way I interact with the world – the way I learn, voice my opinion, meet new people and stay in contact. It's particularly useful for people who need a deeper appreciation of what is happening in their areas of interest than can be found in mainstream media.

Why is blogging important for PR?

Blogging gives people another channel. It reduces the gatekeeper role of the media and the power of journalists and editors to decide the course of public debates. Blogging will, in particular, replace or supplement many of the traditional ways we have used to influence and by-pass the media. For instance, newsletters will become less useful as blogging grows. Internally, I think blogging can lighten the email burden and help with knowledge management. Externally, it will make for a more seamless and expansive news cycle. A good blog allows its author to participate on a continuous basis. Internally and externally, blogs encourage freshness and authenticity, and the capacity and obligation to respond to feedback will be much greater. All these developments are both challenges and opportunities for PR professionals.

What do you hope to see come out of this event? (ie outcomes)

I'd like to see a lot more people starting their own blogs. And I'd like to see plenty of quality discussions across the impressive array of subjects we have on the program. The quality of those discussions will have a lasting impact, I think.

What issue(s) will you be focusing on in your contribution and why?

My main focus will be on PR in a participatory age. When there are main more voices in the mix, how does that impact on the way we do PR? Can we still sit back, decide some core messages and put them out there through traditional media – with a little blogging to flesh out the mix. Or will we have to re-think PR more fundamentally?

Author: Trevor Cook | Jul 2, 04 | Permalink | 3 comments
Category: @ Trevor Cook | Participants' thoughts

Let us know who you are

July 01, 2004

I've had a few people email me and tell me they will be watching with interest and commenting during the "Week". If you are one of these very welcome visitors, why not put a comment on this post and let us know who you are and your PR interests. Leave your blog or website address, if you have one, I'm sure many other participants will be interested in having a look. It's a good way of getting better known in the 'PR blogosphere'.

Author: Trevor Cook | Jul 1, 04 | Permalink | 6 comments
Category: @ Trevor Cook | Announcements

The Value of Corporate Blogging

Last September I started my blog PR Communications with several goals in mind. One big goal was to understand the value of blogs. How did a corporate blog help a company to get a good return on investment for its marketing dollar? Blogs don’t actually cost very much to set up and maintain. $50/year if you are using a simple to use but complex tool such as Typepad. The cost to a company comes from the soft dollars expended in having to post on a regular basis. For a company I usually recommend posting at least 5 times a week, more if possible.

What then is the real value of blogging to a company? A question I’ve attempted to answer all year by blogging about PR, Marketing and the Internet. I’ve discovered some interesting thing along the way. But only really understood some of the real benefits of blogging when I started my corporate blogging survey in May. I don’t have very many respondents but the people who have answered have been very forthcoming with information. Though the survey I’ve learnt one big thing about the value of corporate blogging. Blogs are excellent communications tools for companies. Blogs are a fast and easy way for many people to post content. I’ve learnt a few other things, and I will be sharing them with you when you attend the Global PR Wiki week in mid July.

I will leave you with some thoughts about the definition of corporate blogging, or blogs themselves. Really a blog is a content management driven website. Non-technical people have the power to easily post content. Typically you enter your text into a simple large form field and press the submit button. These content management systems are often simpler to use than MicroSoft Word. Go and try setting one up, its easy. The difference between a corporate website and a blog comes from what is a culturally acceptable to do with corporate websites and blogs. You can talk about your cat and vacation on a blog. As well as announce a product and debate that such and such is the best speaker at a corporate conference. With blogs we cross the barrier from the corporate and the personal and blend them into one.

I think this cultural crossing has been happening for some time in our culture. Blogs are an expression of that change in our culture. Greg Jarboe from SEO-PR.com recently made the point to me teenagers are very capable at gathering, and interpreting multiple points of information at the same time. Watching TV, sitting at a computer instant messaging six people at once and carrying on a cell phone conversation with one other person. Yet when asked what they are doing, “Dad, I am doing my homework”. Blogs and associated technologies allow people to manage and understand more information at the same time. Do you feel overwhelmed? Is there just too much information out there to comprehend? Well the next generation is equipping themselves to cope. And you are playing a part in building the infrastructure.

Author: John Cass | Jul 1, 04 | Permalink | 6 comments
Category: @ John Cass | Participants' thoughts

Women and Global PR Blog Week

There is a misunderstanding brewing over at Misbehaving.net and here in the comments that the Global PR Blog Week is an invitation-only event. This is far from the case! Any PR/marketing person located anywhere in the world, is welcome to participate. All you have to do is sign up on our wiki, The New PR.

We are certainly not excluding women, and would love to see more of you participating! For that matter, I'd also like to see more people blogging in their native languages, joining the Spanish and Hungarian folks who are already here.

There are many resources on blogging over at the wiki for those of you who want to get started. I am happy to give my advice as well.

Commenting here is a great way to begin! I hope the conversations will be lively.

Author: Elizabeth Albrycht | Jul 1, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: @ Elizabeth Albrycht | Announcements

New participants

I'm happy to welcome two new participants:

Anita Campbell (Small Business Trends) who will present a case study on using a blog as a tool to spot trends and forecast market behavior

Octavio Rojas who will write (in Spanish and English) about the possibilities of the blogosphere for the PR industry in the Spanish-speaking countries.

The list of participants is open. If you want to contribute, please add your name to the program's draft, hosted by The New PR wiki, or send an e-mail to Trevor Cook.

Author: Constantin Basturea | Jul 1, 04 | Permalink | 0 comments
Category: Announcements

About

The Global PR Blog Week 1.0 is an online event that will engage PR, marketing and business bloggers from around the globe in a discussion about blogging and communications. The event is scheduled for July 12 - 16, 2004.

Links

The New PR Wiki

Recent Entries

Site Statistics and Trends

A participant’s final thoughts

Traditional PR is dead - Long Live DIY PR

Quiet is the new loud

Day 5: Emergence of Ideas

Recent Comments

William Luu on Site Statistics and Trends

Jeremy Pepper on A participant’s final thoughts

Roland Tanglao on Traditional PR is dead - Long Live DIY PR

Hans Kullin on Quiet is the new loud

Dan Forbush on The New PR - A Call to Action

George Mc Quade on The Battle Over PR

Trevor Cook on On the use of puppets

MARIO on PR: our role of facilitating the learning

Tara Hall - Weber Shandwick - Web Relations on Tomorrow's PR Today

David St Lawrence on The Seth Godin Interview

B.L. Ochman on The PR Lessons of A Clueless Blog Pitch

Tom Murphy on The State of PR - A Tale of Two Professions

Neville Hobson, ABC on Royal Charter or spiv's charter?

Kevin Dugan on The Martha Stewart Crisis

Bernie Goldbach on Day 4 Stats

Jim Grisanzio on What Could Your Company Do With A Blog?

J. Michael Lenninger, APR on New to the Global PR Blog?

Meryl K. Evans on Interview: Steve Outing on Blogging's Impact

Hoi Poloi on A Conversation with Dan Gillmor

Perry de Havilland on Blogging in a Crisis

Elizabeth Albrycht on Day 3: Lessons Learned

Franz Winner on Developing Interactive PR Strategies

Sue Markgraf on The 5 stupidest PR tactics

Elizabeth Albrycht on Micro Media Measurement

Elizabeth Albrycht on Should CEOs blog the brand?

Elizabeth Albrycht on Peeling back the tech details

Angelo Fernando on Telling Brand Stories

Elizabeth Albrycht on Pitching small business stories

Octavio Rojas on Possibilities of the blogosphere for the PR industry in Spanish-speaking countries

Dan Forbush on Tools for Building Communities

john Cass on Day 2: Emergence of Ideas

Trudy W. Schuett on Day 2 Stats

Tara Hall - Weber Shandwick Web Relations on Corporate Blogging

Morten Jacobsen on Getting blog postings into search engines

Jeff Martin on Response to External Comments

John Mudd on Blogging For More Sales, To Influence the Media and Show Your Expertise

Kevin O'Keefe on How to launch a corporate blog for a professional services organization

spocko on Constructive Bridges

Evelyn Rodriguez on Thought Leadership, Evangelism in Blogs

Alice Marshall on Blogs Are Corporate Brand Threats

Rick Barry on A Very Brief Look at Blogging for the Uninitiated Executive

John Cass on Corporate Blogging Survey

Neville Hobson, ABC on MicroSoft Corporate Blogs & Other Stories

Trudy W. Schuett on Blogs for Government

Jon Husband on PR is dead

Trudy W. Schuett on Blogs for Non-Profit Orgs

Philip Young on Are ethics good business?

Duncan Adams on Robert Scoble interviewed on Corporate Blogging

Lois Carter Fay on Participation in Global PR Blog Week

Vadim Derkach on FCC Chairman's Blog Spins Off Message in Age of Participatory Journalism

Ross Mayfield on The New PR: How to Use Your Blog to Get Placements With Key Media Sources

Ryan May on Defining Participatory Journalism

Trevor Cook on The Great Global Conversation Begins

Trevor Cook on Jay Rosen: PR Needs to Stand for Real Transparency

Elizabeth Albrycht on Glancing back to move forward

Rich Teplitsky on Re-thinking PR

Healthcare Interest on Robb Hecht

kirsten on Q&A: Evelyn Rodriguez

Matias Fernandez on A BOOK BY OCTAVIO ROJAS

Elizabeth Albrycht on Trevor Cook

on Let us know who you are

John Cass on The Value of Corporate Blogging