Making Mistakes and Amends in Blogger and Media Relations

In the rapidly shifting era of blogger and media relations, we can expect one thing to occur as we forge ahead, mistakes. It happens to the best and the worst of us.

This isn’t a generic post on how not to make mistakes, or if you do, how to apologize, per se. This is an example of true transparency and public soul searching that will hopefully help and inspire PR practitioners, journalists, and bloggers to learn from the mistakes of others – and hopefully work together when unintentional or harmless mistakes are made.

Let’s talk about transparency for a moment. You hear that word a lot across the socialmediasphere – almost to the point where it may be losing its original value and intent.

Transparency = sharing the bad things as well as the good.

Here’s an example of transparency in action:

I blog passionately and incessantly about how to work with media and bloggers in ways that foster relationships and humanize the process of storytelling. I also run a public relations agency. It cuts deep when one of your own makes a mistake.

Yes, I’m one of the louder voices on media and blogger relations, so there’s a sense of irony here when someone who works with me is the subject of this post. For this to be verbally called out to me, as if I already didn’t make the connection on my own, well, it hurts. But, it’s fair and I’ll take it on the chin.

Nowadays, any mistake made in PR is really an occupational hazard where one wrong move can cause a domino effect that has the potential to eradicate months or even years of hard work.

In (their) defense, this person did not blast a generic media list generated through a PR database, nor did this person send information to someone who doesn’t cover or write about products in the space. This predicament is representative of something many of us haven’t really discussed, but it’s worth exploring – as this is likely to occur industry-wide.

So here’s the question:

Is any form of unsolicited email considered spam even if you’re sharing relevant information to one person or a group of people? Or, would you consider the sharing of related content more along the lines of “Bacn,” and if so, would you react differently knowing that the person reaching out to you at least went through an initial exercise of connecting the dots?



Let’s take a quick look at the differences of each:

Spam is intrusive, shotgun-style blasting that usually favors quantity versus quality – meaning, that it doesn’t take into account your interests or preferences.

Bacn (introduced to me by Chris Brogan) stems from the idea that it is better than spam, but not as good as a personal e-mail. Bacn differs from spam in that the emails are not unsolicited: the recipient has somehow signed up to receive it. Bacn is also not necessarily sent in bulk – Wikipedia.

Tofu (new category – suggested name) is email that is sent individually to people who are pre-qualified or identified as being related to, or interested in, a particular category or topic. Or, they have made their email publicly available on their site, thus intentionally or inadvertently inviting contact. I’m not sure what to call it, but the idea for tofu was inspired by the fact that we can almost make it taste like something else, but at the end of the day, it’s still not the real thing.

The difference between Bacn and Tofu is that these emails are somewhat personalized and related to a particular event or milestone, but are usually unsolicited and sent to multiple people as an update, a request for meeting, or seek other forms of response. It isn’t categorized as spam because it is not an automated process and the lists of people (recipients) are hand-built and individually sent.



There’s a fine line between outreach being categorized as “not unsolicited” and getting aligned with a particular topic (pitch) based on employment, experience and writing history. In this case, one more step of due diligence would have brought the thin line into focus and prevented this issue altogether. That lesson was immediately learned and heartfelt.

But in this case, and I have to imagine it is not unique, this is email aligned more with the definition of Bacn and Tofu versus Spam. Now, at the end of the day, the devastating response and ensuing fallout clearly indicated that the differences didn’t matter. So in a world where perception is 9/10ths of the law, then “personalized," yet unsolicited email is still regarded as Spam. Even if thought and research went into the process, it is still unacceptable – as it should be.

What do we learn from this?

If you’re following the recipe to success in blogger and media relations, then you can’t stop short of following the most important steps of doing things the right way. You can still deviate from the original steps in order to add personal flavor, but cutting corners only ruins the experience and the taste with which we’re ultimately left.

Truth is, many, if not most, PR people still spam. I have an inbox full of examples of real PR spam, with only 10%, at best, showing signs of promise, and maybe another 5%, falling into the Tofu category. The honest answer is that if you’re looking at the process of shifting from automated outreach to one-on-one pitching, then the road from here to there may seem endless and improbable. If you start on the path and decide that 1/2 way is sufficient, then you may want to glance ahead and realize that the right way to do things is just ahead of you. That’s where you need to be.

There are real consequences for not truly engaging with people one-on-one with a real sense of purpose.

The differences, and the answers, are discoverable by reading the work of bloggers and reporters before you reach out instead of simply aligning them with particular topics or industries. This is about building relationships and rising above the fray. If you’re not interested in the industry, product, or service you represent, or what the most influential voices have to say about the subject, then do us all a favor and pursue your dreams elsewhere.

This isn’t about collecting a paycheck. We represent companies as if they’re our own. We’re entrusted with the responsibility of carrying that brand forward and protecting its integrity. And, it’s also about your personal brand too. It’s yours to define. Own it. Shape it. Cultivate it.

I’d like to think that we’re intelligent people, and I truly don’t believe that the only way to learn new things is by burning our hands on a hot stove until we finally figure out that we’re doing it wrong.

We’re all in this together.

When mistakes are made, and no, we’re not perfect, it’s how we address them that define character – on both sides.



Sometimes saying sorry is not enough. However, saying sorry should count for a lot, especially when the intent was genuine. And an apology is the first step in learning a lesson and mending the relationship. We’re only human, and as long as there are real people on both sides of the equation, then an opportunity for understanding, empathy, and advancement should prevail.

As stated earlier, there’s a difference between spam and pre-qualified outreach and it’s all rooted in genuine (albeit partial) intent. Nothing beats homework and real one-on-one conversations that show; 1) You know who you’re talking to and why what you represent matters to them and their readers; 2) You packaged the story specific to their preferences; 3) You are an expert in the field in which you work and you are knowledgeable about the playing field and the players who also define the space; and 4) You disdain the taste of spam, bacn, or tofu – in principle anyway.

I don’t know about you, but I’m always learning and observing each and every day. Today, we learned a lesson the hard way and I’m sharing this experience to help raise the bar industry-wide.

The tolerance for mistakes is razor thin and the attention span of those we wish to reach is even thinner. If the pressure is on you to generate results in bulk, then the onus is on you to also push back and contribute to the resetting of a dying breed of unrealistic expectations and relationship-damaging pressure.

Gone are the days of the boiler room and the blast mentality associated with faceless PR. Now more than ever, relationships count for everything and nothing substitutes for personal experience, wisdom, expertise, and perspective.

The future of PR is personal and conversational. Get used to it.

Additional Resources on PR 2.0:
- In Blogger and Media Relations, You Earn the Relationships You Deserve
- Free ebook: The Art and Science of Blogger Relations
- The New Rules for Breaking News
- The New Rules of Breaking News, Beware of Embargoes
- Building Relationships with Bloggers
- Dear Chris Anderson, an Open Letter to Make Things Right
- PR 2.0 = The Evolution of PR, Nothing Less, Nothing More

Connect with me on Twitter, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Pownce, Plaxo, FriendFeed, or Facebook.

Pr pr+20 pr2.0 brian+solis public+relations media2.0 media+2.0 social+media guru expert social media 2.0 conversations conversational blogger blog press relations relationship marketing publicity communications marcom blogger+relations sorry bacn tofu spam email

Social Media Continues to Rival Traditional Media

As each day passes, we're presented with new information that documents the decline of traditional media in favor of online counterparts and new media competitors. It seems that newspapers are among the hardest hit with circulation and print advertising down - forcing layoffs across the country.

The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) recently released a study showing newspaper Web sites attracted an average of about 66 million unique visitors in the first quarter, up about 12 percent over the same period a year ago.

The problem for publishers has been turning that online traffic growth into revenues. Online advertising at newspapers grew 18.8 percent last year, according to NAA figures, but that wasn’t enough to offset a 9.4 percent decline in print advertising. Total newspaper advertising last year, print and online, declined 7.9 percent.

Is Social Media to blame for the erosion in traditional media consumption and advertising revenues? Is the appeal of participating in news and relevant stories or the prospect of content creation more attractive to the thin attention span of today's Web-savvy consumer?

Facebook vs. Youtube vs. Twitter vs. Blogger vs. New York Times

While we hear often about the rise in traffic and revenue at the more popular social networks such as Facebook, Bebo, LinkedIn, and MySpace, we rarely hear about adoption and engagement metrics associated with the evolution of Social Media.

Theresa Houlihan and Tom Smith of Universal McCann, a division of the Interpublic Group, sent over an interesting global study of how Social Media is challenging traditional media supported by numbers.

The survey features the responses from 17,000 people, between the ages of 16 - 54, in 29 countries. The end result, no surprise, is that social media is moving from the edge to the center of global media consumption

In South Korea – the market that’s leading the world in digital trends – 77% of internet users read blogs each week compared to just 58% reading the mainstream press.

Globally 73% of internet users are reading blogs with 48% including these consumer-generated content in their weekly media diet.

Some of the adoption rates are simply staggering:

- 83% watch video clips, up from 62% in the last study in June 2007
- 78% read blogs, up from 66%
- 57% of internet users are now members of a social network
- RSS consumption is growing rapidly up from 15% to 39%
- Podcasts are now mainstream digital content, listened to by 48%

Social media is a global phenomenon, and the U.S. is not leading the evolution:

- Top markets for blogs – China 70% of Web users write a blog, Philippines 66%, Mexico 60%
- Top markets for social networking – Philippines 83%, Hungary 76% and Poland 76%
- China is the worlds largest blogging market with 42m bloggers versus 26m in the US
- Social media is connecting the world and globalising media consumption

I asked Tom and Theresa about the numbers in user consumption vs. creation.

In terms of creators vs. consumers, they shared two examples, one for blogging and one for video:

Watch Video Clips: 83%
Share Video Clips: 64%
Upload Video Clips: 38%

Read blogs: 70%
Leave comment on a blog: 55%
Create a blog: 38%

Of course, no survey on Social Media would be complete without a review of Social Network usage. Like blogs, Social Networks have been instrumental in driving the popularity of Social Media and user generated content. Members of social networks such as MySpace and Facebook are using these platforms as the hub of their online experience:

- 22% of social network users have installed a widget or applications
- 55% have shared photos
- 22% have shared their videos
- 31% have started a blog
- MySpace is the world’s largest social network with 32% weekly reach, Facebook is second at 23%

The numbers are incredibly revealing and insightful. Social Media will only continue to rise, but traditional media should not be ruled out. There is still a tremendous opportunity to leverage years of resources, expertise, and capabilities when combined with a more socially-aware, and adaptable, business model. With economic boundaries vanishing, business seeking to join conversations must look globally as many of their prospective customers may also be the early adopters that are in and outside of the U.S.

For a copy of WAVE3 Report please visit http://www.universalmccann.com/

Connect with me on Twitter, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Pownce, Plaxo, FriendFeed, or Facebook.

social network media media+2.0 media2.0 social+media socnet facebook myspace socialmedia pr pr2.0 pr+2.0 2.0 advertising decline revenue bebo linedin blogger blog blogging newspaper publishing publisher broadcast media+buy

PR 2.0: Putting the Public Back in Public Relations

Have you ever met someone so energetic, positive and incredibly smart - someone who exudes passion and someone who "gets it" in an inspirational way?

I'm lucky to know one such person, Deirdre Breakenridge, and she has just published a new, must-read book, PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences. I'm honored to have my ideas, philosophies, experiences, and vision shared throughout the book. I'm even more humbled to have been asked to contribute the foreword.

PR 2.0, as I defined it many years ago, is the realization that the Web changed everything, inserting people equally into the process of traditional influence. Suddenly we were presented with the opportunity to not only reach our audiences through gatekeepers, but also use the online channels where they publish and share information to communicate directly and genuinely.

The book includes other thought leaders who are actively shaping the New Media landscape including Jeremiah Owyang, Jane Quigley, Thom Brodeur, Todd Defren, Tom Foremski, Phil Gomes, Chris Heuer, Anne Holland, Shel Holtz, Jeremy Caplan, Jonathan Schwartz, Jimmy Wales, and many more.

Deirdre has graciously allowed me to share the foreword I wrote in its entirety with you here. Thank you again Deirdre and congratulations on publishing a fantastic and incredibly helpful book!

Foreword: The Road from PR to PR 2.0 to Public Relations
by Brian Solis

Welcome to what just may be the greatest evolution in the history of PR. Modern Public Relations was born in the early 1900s, even though history traces the practice back to the 17th century. The term public relations was said to be first documented by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson during his address to Congress in 1807.

It wasn’t until World War I that we started to see the industry crystallize and spark the evolution of PR as an official profession.

Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays are credited with creating and defining the art and science of modern-day PR in the early 1900s. That’s almost 100 years ago; and yet, in what I believe to be PR’s greatest renaissance, many of their early philosophies and contributions can be sourced to further evolve PR today.

Ivy Lee developed the first working press release; you can love him or hate him for it. But, what we can’t overlook is that he believed PR was a “two-way street” where communications professionals were responsible for helping companies listen as well as communicate their messages to the people who were important to them.

Edward Bernays, who is often referred to as the father of PR, was most certainly its first theorist. A very interesting bit of history is that Bernays is a nephew of Sigmund Freud. Freud’s theories about the irrational, unconscious motives that shape human behavior are the inspiration for
how Bernays approached public relations.

What’s absolutely astounding to me is that he viewed public relations as an applied social science influenced by psychology, sociology, and other disciplines to scientifically manage and manipulate the thinking and behavior of an irrational and “herdlike” public.

According to Bernays, “Public Relations is a management function which tabulates public attitudes, defines the policies, procedures and interest of an organization followed by executing a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.”

Why is this astounding to me?

Basically, Bernays is the inspiration for the PR 1.0 publicity and spin machine and the architect of how a majority of companies still approach PR today—even though this is all changing right before our eyes. Many of his thoughts, which fueled his books, Crystallizing Public Opinion, Propaganda, and The Engineering of Consent, were on the cusp of predicting what PR currently is facing in the dawn of Social Media. And, Social Media is reintroducing sociology, anthropology, psychology, and other sciences back into marketing.

If we combined the theories and philosophies of Bernays and Lee with the spirit of the new “social web” aka Social Media, we might have a new outlook on this social science that resembles the new driving principles behind PR 2.0.

But what happened to PR?

It no longer triumphs as a darling among the various marketing disciplines, and in many cases, is regarded as a necessary evil these days. Somewhere along the way, we, as an industry, lost our vision. We got caught up in hype, spin, hyperbole, and buzzwords, and forgot that PR was about Public Relations.

Unfortunately, these days PR is more aligned with theatrics than value.

Enter Social Media and the democratization of the Web.

These are indeed exciting times as Social Media is truly the catalyst for reflection and an opportunity to do PR and amplify value and increase effectiveness in the process.

What is Social Media?

Social Media is anything that uses the Internet to facilitate conversations between people. I say people, because it humanizes the process of communications when you think about conversations instead of companies marketing at audiences.

Social Media refers back to the “two-way” approach of PR that Ivy Lee discussed in his day. It’s about listening and, in turn, engaging people on their level. It forces PR to stop broadcasting and start connecting.

Monologue has given way to dialog.

Now, enter PR 2.0.

Just so you understand, it’s not a trendy term meant to capitalize on the current trend of “everything 2.0.” Honestly, it’s already ten years in the making, but Social Media is truly advancing the adoption of a new, more significant role for PR.

Here’s how I defined it in the 90s (it’s dated, but it is still relevant today):

PR 2.0 was born through the analysis of how the Web and multimedia was redefining PR and marketing communications, while also building the toolkit to reinvent how companies communicate with influencers and directly with people.

It is a chance to not only work with traditional journalists, but also engage directly with a new set of accidental influencers, and, it is also our ability to talk with customers directly (through online forums, groups, communities, BBS, etc.)

No BS. No hype. It’s an understanding of markets, the needs of people, and how to reach them at the street level—without insulting everyone along the way. PR will become a hybrid of communications, evangelism, and Web marketing.

PR 2.0 was actually inspired by Web 1.0 and the new channel for the distribution of information it represented. It changed everything. It forced traditional media to evolve. It created an entirely new set of influencers with a completely different mechanism for collecting and sharing information while also reforming the daily routines of how people searched for news.

PR 2.0 is a philosophy and practice to improve the quality of work, change the game, and participate with people in a more informed and intelligent way. It’s not about the new Web tools at all. They are merely tools used to facilitate conversations…but everything, especially intent,
knowledge, and enthusiasm, are unique to YOU.

You are the key to new PR.

To be direct, the truth is that PR 2.0 is really what PR should have been all along. Now with the democratization of media, people are becoming the new influencers, complementing the existence of experts and traditional journalists, but still regarded as a source and resource for customers equally.

Understanding new PR to reinvent it is the goal of this book. Deirdre Breakenridge has poured her life’s experiences and passion into these pages to inspire and empower you with the ability to change, and ultimately, participate in new media. In doing so, you will learn today’s communication methods that will help you engage in meaningful conversations and build
stronger trusting relationships—both personally and professionally—with customers, influencers, experts, and traditional media alike.

PR 2.0 is about putting the “public” back in Public Relations.

Other relevant stories on PR 2.0:
- PR 2.0 = The Evolution of PR, Nothing Less, Nothing More
- The Value of Online Conversations
- Distributed Conversations and Fragmented Attention
- The Art of Listening and Engagement
- The Social Media Manifesto
- Will the Real Social Media Expert Please Stand Up

Buy Deirdre's book on Amazon.com

Connect with me on Twitter, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Pownce, Plaxo, FriendFeed, or Facebook.

social media social+media culture sociology anthropology expert guru science social+science socialmedia media2.0 media+2.0 brian+solis pr+2.0 pr listening listen art marketing communications public+relations customer+service publicity community conversational conversation people social+network public relations relationship tools darwinism darwin online web2.0 web +2.0 pr2.0

Zude, Where's My Social Network?

One of the more talked about companies at the Web 2.0 Expo is Zude, an interesting example of what's possible in the realm of social computing.

The world maybe doesn't need another social network, but what we sure could use is a platform that allows us to aggregate social elements from all over the web into one place - how we want, when we want.

Zude officially announced in beta and allows users to grab elements from any social networking site and integrate them into their own Zude page. It makes it easy for you to create, consolidate, communicate, and share "your" Web.

This concept takes the premise behind the Data Portability Workgroup and OpenSocial standard and empowers people to pull items, content, and contact, from other places to create their own online domain, quickly and easily. Using the company's SocialMix technology anyone can automatically mashup (zudify) key elements from leading social networks including MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, and honestly from any Web page, to integrate directly into their Zude page.

Hayden Panettiere

It's much more scalable, customizable, and well, fun, than Ning, which is a customizable DIY social network builder. Essentially, Zude itself is a mashup of a WSIWYG Web site builder, DIY social network, and social media aggregator, strung together with drag and drop functionality. It is a digital/social canvas to build a customized one-page portal or profile, or if you're creative and ambitious enough, you can create a multi-page, fully assembled Web destination that features your online brand or create a site dedicated to anything you find interesting. And, sites, pages, and individual components can also feature RSS feeds for visitors to subscribe to the content that specifically matters to them.

Sites can be simple, complex, and/or rich, limited only by your imagination. A full library of ready-to-go widgets are also available within Zude to help provide a compelling kick start to add everything from contact lists, self-contained content from popular networks, application widgets, video and image players, feeds, maps and a wildly long list of other options.

I see Zude earning tremendous traction from consumer-focused brands and products. Businesses looking to appeal to mass audiences and also specific market demographics, niche communities within the Long Tail, can use Zude to create a variety of destination portals that are mainstream and also highly targeted and personalized.

Anna Nalick

Zude is a deceptively powerful social computing platform that provides developers with almost unimaginable power, freedom and flexibility. And, here's the most important part, visitors can also remix these pages to interact with your brand or content, their way. Since almost anything can be dragged and dropped, they can move or even add new objects to further customize the experience - or use it to build their own fan or related topic site.

Zude has just provided us with the ability to create highly engaging and interactive online destinations and communities that truly socialized media, amplifies and extends user generated content, and empowers users with true data portability.

Other relevant stories on PR 2.0:
- The Value of Online Conversations
- Distributed Conversations and Fragmented Attention
- The Art of Listening and Engagement
- The Social Media Manifesto
- Will the Real Social Media Expert Please Stand Up

Connect with me on Twitter, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Pownce, Plaxo, FriendFeed, or Facebook.

zude identity brand online community social social+media media media+2.0 media2.0 brian+solis social+network network pr public+relations advertising marketing pr+2.0 pr2.0 2.0 Web2Expo web+2.0 web portal

In Blogger and Media Relations, You Earn the Relationships You Deserve

Every now and again a reporter or blogger decides to shake up the PR industry by showcasing how we FAIL, flop, or simply when we do things wrong. Some do so out of anger, others are genuine in their desire to help, while some are simply tired and do so out of spite.

This time around however, Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb has started a conversation that proactively helps PR and communications professionals learn how to more effectively work with influential writers for future stories and maybe, just maybe, forge and cultivate ongoing relationships. In his post, “Five Wrong Ways to Pitch RWW and One Great Way,” Kirkpatrick gives us a glimpse into his daily routine for receiving and reporting on news and trends.

Wrong #1 - Email the wrong email address
Wrong #2 – Phone Calls
Wrong #3 – Twitter, Especially DM
Wrong #4 – Facebook
Wrong #5 – IM

Great Way #1 – RSS



He summarizes what you should do this way, “PR people, please send us the RSS feeds of your clients' blogs and news release. The full fire-hose of company news and updates for us to pick out what's interesting, someplace outside of our email inboxes, free of dreadful press release rhetoric (skip to the second paragraph where details usually are, then skip past any executive quotes and hope there are readable details somewhere) - that sounds like a dream come true. I know that's where I get most of the stories I write about, not from email pitches. Send both, but company feeds are likely to be looked at more closely.”

We’ll talk more about whether this is all you need to do to help get your story out there, but at the very least, what Marshall is shouting, is what he wants and how he wants it. He’s not alone in his requests to receive information in a specific format and process.



Stowe Boyd, a technology and thought leader who is helping to define the social web, recently created an account on Twitter specifically for PR pitching.

He shared his rationale in a recent post, “I can't believe what a pain in the ass it still is to do something as basic as trying to schedule meetings with startups at a conference. But in order to make things simple for me, I am hereby posting a schedule of the times that I will make available for meetings with companies at the Web 2.0 Expo, and I am not going to accept email-based proposals to meet, only Twitpitches. All companies who would like to have a meeting with me, need to send me a Twittered description of the product. Yes, please Twitter it to me at www.twitter.com/stoweboyd. Yes, one tweet, 140 characters less the eleven used for ‘@stoweboyd’.”



Adam Ostrow of Mashable, a popular blog covering the world of social networks, also shared tips for increasing the chances of getting coverage in their post, “12 Things Not to Do When Pitching a Story to Mashable.”

Here’s your Top 12:
1. Don’t Send an Invite from Your App
2. Don’t Reference Your Media Coverage on Mashable Competitors X, Y, and Z
3. Don’t Private Message on Social Network
4. Don’t Try a Backdoor
5. Don’t Contact Pete
6. Don’t Make Unsolicited Phone Calls
7. Don’t USE ALL CAPS
8. Don’t Misspell Their Names
9. Don’t Try to Setup a Lunch
10. Include a URL
11. Offer a Preview of Your Private Beta
12. Don’t Pitch Old News



In January 2008, Tom Foremski advised PR to leverage Facebook when running story ideas by him, “After some thought I decided that I would like my PR pitches through FaceBook and not through email or phone. I will only look at pitches that come from my FaceBook "friends." I will give those priority over all other communications channels except for face-to-face, which trumps all other channels.”



Robert Scoble, last year, reported that he preferred receiving pitches through his Facebook Wall, “PR people pay attention. I don’t answer email anymore. Too much of it. But there’s one thing that gets passed to my Nokia phone: Facebook wall messages.”


Photo Credit: Scott Beale, Laughing Squid

Merlin Mann, who publishes the popular productivity site 43folders, has made it crystal clear on his stance for PR. Don't contact him any other way except by suggesting links to him via del.icio.us. Tag = "for:43folders"




Allen Stern, publisher of CenterNetworks, shared his reviews in a recent post, "Your Pitch Title Does Not Matter To Me."

In his post he shares his advice for getting stories not just on his blog, but others as well, "If you are a PR person, you should must ask every blogger you contact how he or she would like to be pitched. By spending a few minutes doing this, you have a MUCH greater chance of being covered by that blog. It's the same as knowing I like milk in my coffee, Arrington takes it black, Ostrow takes 2 sugars, Om would rather have tea and Eric only drinks Pepsi. I don't care that much about the subject and if you use the contact form, the subject is pre-defined. I personally look at every single email we get (about 300-400 a day) and no matter the subject I still scan the email. The key is to capture my attention in the first moments of the email, not in the subject."

--

So, what is everyone saying to you?

Do your homework! They’re only helping you.

Listen, I know that it’s a huge amount of work to shift from a blast mentality to a one-on-one pitch regiment that requires you first to read before you reach out. But, I think your alternatives may be running dry. Yes, it takes longer. Yes, it requires more work. And, yes, the results, and your reputation, will benefit from the diligence.

Reporters and bloggers are asking you to work with them. So why wouldn’t you?

I’m pretty sure the only reason you wouldn’t is because you’ve either been instructed otherwise, or just didn’t know. However, neither are defensible any longer. Either way, it’s time to change things up. Make the time to invest in relationships with those who can help you tell your story.

Telling Your Story

Let’s keep in mind that news is news and stories are stories depending on how and when and how you tell them. While RSS and OPML feeds are nice, they don’t help you secure stories with newsmakers before it’s official news. Once you publish your story on your blog, it’s OLD NEWS!

Allowing journalists and bloggers adequate time to prepare advance is critical. Determine those reporters and bloggers who should be part of the initial news discussions, meaning, don’t hit everyone for the sake of quantity. Just find the people that would be interested in what you’re working on as determined by their previous work and coverage.

Writing a press release that doesn’t suck is essential. Really, it just needs the important elements up front, what it is, why it’s important, where they can get it, and to whom it matters. Making your release relevant and compelling is much different than injecting hyperbole and BS quotes that mean very little to those outside of the company.

Summarize the news with a couple of statements and bullets to quickly showcase why anyone should care. Package the story differently for each person you’re hoping to reach and make sure it matches their preference for being contacted. If you’re not sure, it doesn’t hurt to send a note asking for their direction (before you go live).

Take the time to pull relevant screen shots, create user accounts for each person if necessary, customize video demos and screen casts, and anything else someone may need to write a story instead of making them spend their limited time doing your work for you. Yes, it’s time consuming. But this is about relationships and not about broadcasting spam.

Bloggers, Help Us Help You!

It’s easy to be sarcastic, snide, or condescending…let’s face it, PR as an industry has earned this reputation for a reason. However, you help us, and yourself, by spending a few minutes spelling out explicitly what you’re looking for instead of relying on PR to ascertain this information subjectively based on your writing patterns (yes, in a perfect world, we could all do this.)

While many reporters and journalists are sharing their methods of contact, most haven’t. You can’t complain about PR if you’re not going to provide them with a set of instructions on how and when to contact you. Bloggers should (or already do) have a “contact” link and journalists should have readily available online profiles/bios. Add a small section that spells out what you’re looking for and how to contact you with that information (packaged however you prefer.) Make it clear and even include it in your email signature and social network profiles.

If the majority of writers could share this detail, we may start to teach PR how to switch from a blast mentality to a one-to-one relationship strategy. If PR still doesn’t get it, then they determine their own fate and unfortunately hurt the companies they represent in the long run.

This is about relationships and creating a value cycle from PR to bloggers, journalists and ultimately to the people we want to reach with our news. Relationships are cultivated and should be mutually beneficial because of the extra time we take to personalize our contact. Think about it this way, if someone were to ask a reporter or blogger about you, how would you want them to remember you and what would you want them to say?”

Perception is everything. Do the legwork and the outreach that contributes to the reputation you wish to earn and maintain. Anything less, takes away from it.

Additional Resources on PR 2.0:
- New ebook: The Art and Science of Blogger Relations
- The New Rules for Breaking News
- The New Rules of Breaking News, Beware of Embargoes
- Building Relationships with Bloggers
- Dear Chris Anderson, an Open Letter to Make Things Right
- Robert Scoble Asks, "Is Facebook the New Press Release?"
- PR 2.0 = The Evolution of PR, Nothing Less, Nothing More

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Encyclopedia Britannica Socializes Content, Takes on Wikipedia

Encyclopedia Britannica ran its business for almost 250 without disruption, until of course, Social Media democratized content and new user-generated resources such as Wikipedia changed everything.

Up until recently, if you wanted to utilize Britannica's services you could purchase the 32 volume Britannica, which has 65,000 articles, for just $1,400. Or, you can access it on the web for $70 per year.

Britannica has just shifted the game back into its favor with the release of a clever and powerful new program, Britannica WebShare. If you're a web publisher, which is defined as someone who publishes with some regularity on the Internet, be they bloggers, webmasters, or writers, you can now access Britannica for free.

The application process is short and sweet. It took me about five minutes to apply and I was authorized a few hours later.

I can now research and share information from Britannica on the Web, whereas, until now, I've used Wikipedia for such services.

For example, here's a link to the topic of "social psychology" and also an embeddable widget for information on U.S. Presidents.



Britannica has also integrated other portable services to distribute content across the social web such as Delicious, DIGG, FURL, Reddit, among others. Viewers can follow links to read the specific articles at Britannica, but they can’t navigate to other parts of the site.

While some make a case that Britannica needs to open up its content for free, I won't disagree, I'll only say that Britannica is on the right path to ensure that its legacy and intellectual assets remain relevant.

Just to give you perspective however, Comscore reports that for every page viewed on Brittanica.com, there are 184 pages are viewed on Wikipedia (3.8 billion v. 21 million pave views per month). In Britannica's defense, the content is indisputable and much more reliable than many of the topics I've struggled with over at Wikipedia. This has everything to do with editorial infrastructure and generations of review and evolution versus a few years.

Either way, no matter what industry you're in, the new Britannica Webshare program is a tremendous resource.

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Local Broadcast News Goes Social

I received a note from Andrew Finlayson, Vice President and News Director for Fox News Chicago - WFLD Television - myFoxChicago.com

Finlayson is part of a small, but dedicated and innovative team of journalists in Chicago who are reinventing how we view broadcast news. Think of it as cable news TV meets Twitter meets uStream, meets Friendfeed. LiveNewsCameras.com is an online portal that lets people watch news as it happens anywhere in the world by aggregating the video feeds from participating networks. Driven by their motto, “Veritas odit moras,” from line 850 of Seneca’s version of Oedipus, “Truth hates delay,” the team has has aggregated live news feeds from journalists and stations. There are over 150 channels of live, 24/7 streaming video from major markets across the county and the globe - with more added daily.

LiveNewsCameras.com started on Super Tuesday with only a couple of feeds focusing on the Republican and Democratic candidates. What started as a humble newsroom experiment has earned the participation of ABC, CBS and NBC stations.

Using Mogulus, the site also features a livecasting moderator who helps us navigate through the available and upcoming content. And media isn't truly social if it's not portable. You can also embed "the moderator" on your site, blog or social network profile and also interact them them and other views in real time.

It's a unique destination as it mostly publishes raw, unedited video. For example they've been streaming the presidential candidates live every day, sometimes two or three times each day as they tour the country. No one else is doing that.

They're also working on providing live video of the Pope’s visit to America funneled from several different television stations. Again, they're the only source to obtain raw feeds of the Pope’s travels at every possible opportunity.

What this really means, is that as in any form of social media, LiveNewsCameras can take a local voice or view and create an international audience for any story.

I spoke with Andrew to learn a bit about the future of LiveNewsCameras, "We believe that 'live on the scene on any screen' is the future of news coverage. The team at LiveNewsCameras is seeing a dramatic surge in the number of newsrooms that are using new technology to stream video live. This trend is only going to accelerate with mobiles that can stream video. Soon everyone will be able to stream live video and LiveNewsCameras.com is going to be the one place that helps you find it while it is happening."

As the site adds additional major markets, LiveNewsCameras.com becomes more pervasive and definitive in how news is broadcast and viewed - but this time, the world is watching, on the Web and not in the living room.

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