For the new hires starting blogs, you’ll enjoy Patrick Evans’ blog, Flacker.net. There may be more authors on the way. Patrick shares that the site is “An online weblog written by a young public relations practitioner and his friends to explore the use of online tools in communication.” (Emphasis mine.)

He offers some good insight. I like reading the thoughts of those just entering the field. If for no other reason, I begin to realize how attitudes and views of the field are changing. Not always for the better, but these new hires are our future, so I better keep up.

For instance, Patrick thinks the term flack is appropriate. Well, I don’t. Call me a flack and I’ll hit you back. Seriously, I’ll rip you a new one, quick – or, just dismiss (and ignore) you as an ignorant goober. It is a derogatory term, yet newbies (and some oldsters) seem to think it is cute. ~sigh~ But, we can agree to disagree amicably.

Patrick’s intentions are sincere, I believe.

I merely want to share my thoughts and create discussion about online communications. As we speak, public relations and advertising folks are in a WWE-style cage match to claim their piece of the digital marketing pie. As a public relations practitioner, I believe that the public relations industry is in prime position to take advantage of the current digital landscape and the industry can provide further value to our clients through online communication with key audiences.

In one recent post, Patrick takes on the press release topic. I find myself agreeing and then sometimes cringing, depending upon the sentence I’m reading. So, here’s my response rather than leaving a long comment.

In response to It’s Time to Retire The Press Release.

Good blog, Patrick. Glad to find your home online.

Your thoughts on releases carry some sound insight. Still, it isn’t dead, or even on the way out. The release is evolving. My response below isn’t necessarily aimed at you, Patrick, but the broader “Gee Whiz” focus on new release tactics I’ve seen for too long.

There are, and likely will be for some time, instances where a release still serves a positive purpose. In fact, there are a lot of them. One thought, show me any crisis situation that did not involve releases. Show me a broad instance of those required (by law – SarBox, school releases, local/state government, etc.) releases that can be solely delivered online – not in the traditional release format, then I’ll buy the ‘releases are dead’ meme. Those instances have to be in the context of a long and successful (i.e., accepted by the traditional press) ongoing process. Problem is, you can’t show me those instances in a broad spectrum of PR practice. The whole world of online is still too young. Yes, there are anecdotal successes, but no broad accepted use.

Sure, you might be able to show me some success in a niche area like Tech PR. But, remember – PR practice is so broad. Tech PR, heck – even agency PR practitioners are outnumbered by many other sectors. Myopia is a dangerous thing.

Your post’s title, It’s Time to Retire The Press Release, does not necessarily represent the essence of your post. Now, if that were the case for a release, would you keep it … or toss it? Thought so.

I hope you see where I’m going. Social media is another aspect, not the answer to all ills. It is not a panacea.

The social media release is great, but show me 100 (or even better, 1,000) successful implementations. I’ll even leave it to you and others to define success. Then, and only then, will I begin to consider buying into the concept in broad use. Let’s remember that blogs are less than 10 years old and still not the path for a wide variety of markets and issues.

Yes, relationships rule. So does moderation and perspective. All things in moderation, even moderation. PR is such a broad practice. Let’s not get caught up in the new shiny things, while failing to remember the basics.

All that being said, I like your blog. I think you’ll add some great new ideas and perspectives that we may all learn from about PR and how it is changing. Best of luck.

[Hattip to Todd Defren on the link to the blog.]