infOpinions?

Fall 2009 Digital Resumes and Portfolios :: Auburn University

Robert — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:27:38 +0000

For the umpteenth semester (I’ve lost count), we offer up the latest batch of student digital resumes and portfolios.

A good group of students, in a couple of classes from Spring semester 2009, created these as their final project.

Hope you enjoy their work. Please feel free to hire them. Good students & people!

Cross-posted at PRProspects.com and the future home of that site, too.

Sigh. Another Lame Link Bait Meme … This Time, It Is HubSpot

Robert — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:32:01 +0000

The short story? I tire of those that write about public relations, claiming they understand it. Then, when you read their post it is clear that they do not understand the depth and breadth of PR practice. Or, they are just lazy and chose to generalize using popular misconceptions. Either way, the post I reference today failed in a big way.

My preference is to ignore these things. But, every once in awhile I feel compelled to respond.

This one, I actually couldn’t help following while on a business call. I know. I should just ignore it, right? But, if we always ignore these silly claims the myths can become accepted truths. That bothers me. So, I respond.

HubSpot, pulled out the something is dead meme, in a sad effort to drum up interest in a book, Web site and Web TV program.

I left a comment on their post. Michelle Honald (@my_chelle), of The University of Ohio, followed up with an excellent comment, too. You should read Michelle’s comment. It’s great.

I also commented on Twitter.

I had such high hopes for @hubspot … but this post is, IMO, the “Single most clueless post I’ve read in awhile. ” http://bit.ly/cumSe
@hubspot thinks of PR as primarily media relations … nope, and it hasn’t been for years! Also, they fail to realize that most PR is local.

After all that, there is an attempt by others at HubSpot to clarify their stance. You’ll find it at about 22:45 of their HubSpot.tv podcast for October 9th. No, their clarification does not do the trick. They are still too quick with broad generalizations. They are still in their own walled garden of SEO, etc. beliefs. They seem solely focused on broad national and global brands, yet suggest (as best practices) ideas that do not serve the best interests of many PR practitioners – even today.

Tiffany Sellers, from Clemson (Web and Twitter), posted a request that I write about my feelings on the topic. She writes, “@rdfrench Would you consider a follow-up post to explain your position? As a PR student, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.”

So, in the spirit of PROpenMic and PR higher education, I’m sharing some new and old thoughts. This meme has reared its ugly head before, so I have posts about it already here on infOpinions.

My problems with Brian Halligan’s post on HubSpot are as follows.

Link bait memes are not good content. That phrase, good content, is the clarion call of HubSpot. They repeat it over and over. What a shame, they don’t follow their own advice.
The lead in of Halligan’s post belies either a lazy author (unwilling to spend the time to be specific) or someone with merely a pedestrian knowledge of the breadth and depth of PR practice.
The practice of PR is so broad that most people, in my experience, do not grasp just how broadly it is practiced.
Most PR is relatively invisible. It is mostly local. It is that local reality that makes so much of what HubSpot and other self-proclaimed gurus dole out as sound advice actually serve no good purpose for client or practitioner.

Certainly, you will want some attempt at evidence to make the above claims worthy of debate. So, here is a bit from some previous posts.

First, I offer this rewrite of a comment I made responding to a reader on previous post.

Too often, people tend to use the universal “PR” tag to describe a practice they clearly do not understand. (Remember the CBS lawyer on the CBS Sunday Morning program?) Why don’t they take the time to do some research and speak with at least a tiny bit of knowledge.

Using O’Dwyer’s list of the top 192 PR firms, we learn that a reported total of $129,9885,316 in revenues is generated by only 8,361 PR practitioners. (That’s, of course, provided these self-reported numbers are correct.)

It is most often these 192 firms (actually, the top 20 or 30) that people associate with PR. Why? Because popular media has rather firmly implanted that belief via news and even entertainment programming. Think about national news coverage and how often they use PR to describe everything from lobbying to marketing. I’m beginning to think they get it wrong more often than they get it right.

The 192 agencies referred to above are the ones that get mentioned and covered in such dust ups as Rachel Madow’s slam against Burson-Marstellar and other controversies. Repeatedly, these people tend to show their cluelessness with regard to the scope of PR practice and the number of different types of PR practice going on in the US, let alone the world.

Guess what? Those 8,361 large/medium/boutique agency practitioners represent a mere sliver of the overall PR practitioners in the US, alone. Oh, they rake in some pretty major dollars, but they are not – repeat NOT – the best representation of who and what PR people and PR practice are today. Anyone that would just take 20 or 30 minutes to do research would understand this. But, it rarely happens.

A previous post of mine points out how there are easily 100,000 PA (public affairs) officers in the US, as they are required to comply with the 30,000+ public disclosure laws, among other things.

Now, that pretty much assures that the large agency PR practitioner population is dwarfed by (many/most) all? the other types of PR practitioners in the US, alone. People just don’t take the time to research and think before they speak, sometimes. Madow’s rant is a perfect example.

Some feel they must use that broad brush. It is sad to watch.

Another bit of rant on the topic comes from this post back in 2007. The numbers are still probably close, IMO.

I took some students to a geek dinner with Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson, a few years ago. The following re-write of what we discussed further defines PR’s broad practice by a myriad of people in local, county, state and national/global markets.

As we discussed at the dinner, there are some tasks that cannot, as of yet, be replaced solely with a blog or any form of social media/network.

A lot of them, actually.

One area is the many public notice laws that business and government must comply with in daily practice. This is beyond the usual SEC Reg FD example often referenced.

At the dinner, I shared that “there are more than 30,000 public notice laws in the U.S. that require the distribution of a news release” or some form of public notification. Some of them are represented at the Public Notice Resource Center, “founded in 2003 by American Court and Commercial Newspapers, Inc.(ACCN). ACCN is the professional organization of court, legal and commercial newspapers.” (Source) I do not know anything about the organization, but I can easily imagine all sorts of public notice laws – particularly stating that the notice is required to be in a newspaper, on TV or radio, and be shared in a specific format.

Other examples? There are “18,000 state and local police agencies” that have specific reporting standards. Do we expect them to use a blog to issue crime reports and statistics updates? How about BOLO warnings and Amber alerts? No, I mean do we realistically expect them to use a blog – all of them? OK, perhaps you get my point.

Yes, I know that some are using content management systems, Twitter and more to share information. But, the number is so low – so inconsequential in this debate about social media efficacy – that I believe rational minds will see how it doesn’t work for all.

How about the approximately 20,000 “incorporated places” in the United States? See, I used a politically correct blog-speak term. Those places (not mediums) are places where people still rely upon print and broadcast. Those are cities, towns … and that doesn’t even count the counties and parrishes. Just imagine the health departments, school districts, planning commissions, and all the other entities that must make public notice of various types. Now are you getting an idea for the vast amount of information that must be shared with newspapers and other media outlets – often in specific manner prescribed by law?

Yes, I know internet use and availability has grown in the past few years. See Pew and Pew and Pew for details.

It still doesn’t fulfill requirements to inform the public when we realize that “56% of adult Americans have accessed the internet by wireless means” and “in the interior of the country, especially in the Midwest and the South, Internet use lags greatly behind the national average.” Online is not the answer for all communities. Period. Even today. This Pew report highlights some instances where government use of online communication fails.

Remember. Most PR is local. Most PR is informational in nature, not necessarily persuasive in intent. Look at the whole world, please. Anecdotal references may cause you to be myopic in your beliefs about the power and reach of social media.

So, I’m all for social media. I’m all for the discussion and debate. But, until you get those laws changed to address the use of social media for public notice purposes, I’m not going suggest that they be used. Remember, many of those laws state – specifically – the manner and target audiences for these notices, or releases. They don’t mention blogs. They mention newspapers, television and radio. And, those “audiences” aren’t always people. They can be software and computers. Think search engines, link rank, page rank and more. Now those might find blogs useful.

This isn’t to say I don’t read and embrace all the conversations about social media I can find. An interesting post, from way back in 2005, can be found at Creating Passionate Users, regarding the Koolaid point. Kathy Sierra wrote, “You don’t really have passionate users until someone starts accusing them of ‘drinking the koolaid.’”

OK. I can see some clarity in her views. But, I’m one of the passionate ones speaking up for social media. Too often, I see detractors of the total buy-in to social media explained away as antagonists that – “just don’t get it.” Oh, how that phrase has become such a lame cop-out for those that seem unable to provide clarity, and practical explanations, for their dogma.

OK. Rant off. I feel better. Do you?

So, that’s my ongoing mission to (one day) get people to stop and think. I want them to understand the breadth and depth of PR practice. I want them to stop and think before they use the lazy broad brush illustrations about what is, and is not, PR practice.

Yep, I keep writing it … and it keeps coming up. Go figure. You surprised? I’m not.

Students Launch Auburn Family Social Network

Robert — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:37:23 +0000

Auburn University has launched a social network focused upon potential new students, their parents, Auburn alumni and friends of Auburn. Visit family.auburn.edu.

The site, hosted on the Ning platform, has been up for three weeks. You’ll note that the site is residing on the university’s domain. We have only found a few other college/university social networks. Auburn’s is the only one we can find that is totally open to the public.

Coverage has been pretty good. The Associated Press and several state newspapers and TV stations have covered the site’s launch.

Students in PRCM 4020, PR Messages in Style & Design, are managing the site. Each student has complete administrator status. Every week, one group of students write features and create videos for the site.

As of this writing, Auburn Family has 1,324 members. Here’s a breakdown so far: 680 students (Auburn & high school), 78 parents, 453 alumni, 20 faculty, 58 staff, and 110 Friends of Auburn. Please note: the numbers overlap because now you may pick more than one designation. Also, answering this question was not required for half of the signups. So, we know – for example – that we have more than 78 parents. Many of the alumni, for instance, are also parents of students.

Here are three of the stories in state newspapers so far:

Opelika-Auburn News, Huntsville Times and the Columbus (GA) Ledger Enquirer.

Why did I want to do this? It is the ultimate experiential learning experience. Well, one of them, at least. Considering that the university bought into all of our work over the past several years, I feel it serves to give a bit of validity to our classroom activities. The students are now getting to run a site for the university.

It isn’t hard to get the students excited about the exercise. They love their school and want to put their own best foot forward. It is content ripe for a student’s digital portfolio. Showing future employers that they have experience running a social network for such a large institution has its benefits, too.

I’m happy with the site’s progress. Looking forward to how it advances in the weeks to come.

Spring 2009 Student Digital Resumes and Portfolios

Robert — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:13:55 +0000

Spring 2009 brings us this great group of students.Check out their digital portfolios & resumes. Hire them!Good people, all the way around.

PROpenMic Reflections :: One Year Old, and Growing

Robert — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:00:12 +0000

Today marks our one year anniversary. I’m feeling pretty good about it. I’ll greatly appreciate your opinions and suggestions below.

So, what have we accomplished? Your thoughts? Here are some observations.

Out of 4,135 members (as of this writing), we have:

Yes, I know that adds up to 4,289. Well, that’s because we have some people selecting two options (practitioners that teach, for instance).

Numbers are ok, but I’m happier about the diversity of those numbers. We’re about 50/50 academic and practicing pros.

Add to that, the realization that the latest scouring of our member date reveals that PROpenMic has members from over 50 countries and over 300 colleges and universities around the world. Imagine the possibilities with that kind of membership! We even have two members that have actually done PR work on, or for, Antarctica. No kidding. So, we have PR people representing all 7 continents. I find that to be both funny and cool.

I fear thanking individuals, because I know I’ll leave someone out. That said, I do want to at least acknowledge and thank a group of people that have helped me both behind the scenes and actively on the site.

We have a volunteer group of site administrators that both watch the site and allow me to bounce ideas off of them throughout the year. I am very grateful for their kindness, patience and wisdom. I owe them a great deal. The site does, too. (God help me if I leave anyone off. It’s 3 a.m. and I’m sort of spinning now.)

They are, in no particular order: Phil Gomes, SVP Edelman Digital; Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu, Clemson University; Dr. Karen Russell and Dr. Kaye Sweetser, University of Georgia; Dr. Barbara Nixon, Georgia Southern University; Professor Kelli Matthews and Dr. Tiffany Derville Gallicano, University of Oregon; Dr. Ginger Carter Miller, Georgia College and State University; and Dr. Corinne Weisgerber, St. Edwards University.

Dr.s Miller and Weisgerber are our most recent volunteer administrator/advisors. I’ve been bad about getting back to them, by the way. My apologies for that. I do appreciate what all of you have done for me and PROpenMic. I already respected each of these educators a great deal. Having now been able to interact with them more, that respect and appreciation has only grown. They are remarkable people. Thank you!

Also, I want to thank just a sampling of people that have taken it upon themselves to help the site by contributing via blog posts, forum topics, videos and more.

Phil Gomes’ “A Minute with Phil” is the largest group devoted to such content. Peter Shankman hosts his video series, “What’s Hot on HARO” and “Buy Peter a Sandwich”, on PROpenMic. They have brought great attention to the network. In fact, Peter has likely brought in more new members (maybe 500!) than any other supporter of the site, too.

There are many others that have contributed over time. Leo Bottary has shared 31 blog posts. Anna Osgoodby has posted the most photos, 39. Students from Leeds Metropolitan University and Bournemouth University have likely been our most active and prolific contributors from Europe. The list goes on … I will try to add to it later today. Please comment below with the glaring omissions I’m sure I’ve made.

We have a Facebook and LinkedIn group, too. We’re on Twitter. PROpenMic has a presence.

Have we realized our full potential? No, of course not. As a volunteer social network with an organic focus (let the network be what it wants to be), we’ve really just watched the site grow and adapt. I actually like the aspect of creating the site, then letting it go where it wants to go. Yes, I’ve tried to provide some guidance, but really … as a volunteer endeavour, not that much.

Aside from a brief experiment, for class purposes, using ads in Facebook, we really have not done any organized promotion or advertising. This semester, for example, is the first time all year that I’ll really let the students take it over for about three weeks and do that “social network management” function. I want that to be an ongoing aspect of the site, and even want to involve students from other students around the world.

The organic (put the site up, watch it and see what happens) kind of philosophy has worked for PROpenMic. This one year activity report shows that PROpenMic either comes close to, equaled or surpassed (in traffic and ranking) sites like MyRagan.com, Communitelligence.com, PRSSA.org, and HolmesReport.com. We even come very close to O’Dwyer’s PR/Marcom news site.

By the way, I don’t mean to pick on those sites. I merely tried to find similar sites (at least dealing with public relations) that had similar traffic numbers and search ranking. Trust me, no one was as surprised as I was to realize that we were so comparable to those sites. It stunned me, really. They are, in some instances, part of million dollar businesses. Hello? And we’re matching their traffic/activity/rank numbers?

Admittedly, some months those sites beat us. I’ve noted that our activity seems to follow college terms. When students are in school, we’re quite busy. When they’re out of school, not so much. However, over the breadth of a year, we’re equal to or better than the other sites’ traffic/rank performance.

What does this all mean?

I take it to be an indicator that niche social networks can work, even without a budget. Imagine what we could do if we had the budgets of those for-profit commercial sites.

I’ve seen more and more schools begin to embrace the idea of a private internal social network for their own students and alumni. We started one at Auburn University this summer. Georgia Southern is launching one now, too. Others have privately mentioned it to me, as well.

I believe that, with effort, PROpenMic and other niche social networks can become positive additions to classes in college PR programs around the world. In fact, an international PR class could be taught using the resources to be found in PROpenMic.

Here is just a small recap of activity on the site. Hope it helps you get a feel for how active we’ve been.

There are 4154 members on PROpenMic
164 new members joined during the past week
euzinha_lindinha … is the most popular photo to date
There are 629 photos on PROpenMic
Minneapolis Mayor… is the most popular video to date
There are 262 videos on PROpenMic
The Hobson and Holtz Report, For Immediate Release, is the most popular audio/podcast to date (see the frong page audio player)
There are 323 audio files on PROpenMic
Digital Dirt is the most popular forum post to date
There are 438 forum topics on PROpenMic
There are 56 events on PROpenMic
Want People to Find Your Blog .. is the most popular blog post to date. And, since I’ve been so bad about keeping up that list, I’m grateful to Adam Lewis for his new Wiki of Student Bloggers.
There are 872 blog posts on PROpenMic
There are 60 groups on PROpenMic

Well, that’s the best I can do, so far. I hope this helps you get a feel for what’s happened throughout the year.

Thank you all for your interest, patience and contributions. Here’s looking at a second year!

So, what are your thoughts about the network and where would you like for it to go in the future?

SNCR NewComm Forum 2009

Robert — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:44:11 +0000

The 5th Annual New Communications Forum is slated for April 27th – 29th, 2009. Hosted at the Marriott Hotel at 4th & Mission in San Francisco, CA.

http://www.newcommforum.com/2009/

REGISTER NOW WITH DISCOUNT CODE SNCRFRIEND & SAVE $100. PARTICIPATE IN THE ENTIRE THREE-DAY CONFERENCE FOR JUST $695 OR JUST ONE DAY FOR JUST $395

Now celebrating its fifth year, NewComm Forum is the premier conference that brings together thought leaders and decision makers to discuss the impact of social media and emerging communication tools, technologies, and models on PR and corporate communications, marketing and advertising, media and journalism, business, culture and society The Forum provides an in-depth exploration of the future of communications. In its five year history, it has come to be known as one of the world’s leading conferences focusing on the latest trends in new emerging media and communications platforms.

NewComm Forum is a focused conference specifically designed to teach communications professionals the strategy and tactics to effectively utilize the power of social media and new communications tools and trends. NewComm Forum will feature real-world, award-winning case studies from leading companies, best practices and lessons learned for:

Social media & innovation
How to build brand ambassadors
Blogger & influencer relations
Online community management & development
Collaboration & co-creation strategies
Organizational transformation
Social media program management
Online reputation management
Social media metrics & measurement
Social interaction design
Crowdsourcing
Micro-communications tools like Twitter
Global trends in mobile media
New media and journalism models
Emerging business and organizational models
Social media and the gift economy
Social media and philanthropy
‘New economy’ issues and developments
… and more!

Register at www.newcommforum.com/2009/ with discount code SNCRFRIEND and save $100.

PROpenMic.org Traffic :: One Year Anniversary

Robert — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:06:45 +0000

Our PR social network has been in action for one year, as of April 1st. I thought you might like to know how we’re doing. I’d also appreciate your feedback on the network. We can’t get better without hearing from your members (and those that haven’t joined, yet, too).

Here’s an update on PROpenMic’s traffic over the first year. Only April ‘08 through February ‘09 (11 months) are available.

I’ve used publicly available information from Compete.com and Alexa.com. They are services used by media buyers to determine rates for ad buys, for instance.

I’ve chosen a selection of sites for comparison that are considered by many to be staples (of sorts) in the online communication, marketing and public relations professions. All are niche. All, but PROpenMic, are actually organizations or businesses with budgets. We don’t have one of those ‘budget’ things at PROpenMic. ;o) More on that, later.

The reality is that we are the only social network site soley focused on bringing together students, faculty and professionals. So, it is kind of hard to make strong comparisons.

We do (IMO) seem to be performing pretty well when stacked up against these larger organizations. Does this mean that for social networks, it is what the members make of it?

Read my thoughts, or go straight to the stats.

For example, you’ll see that if PROpenMic accepted ads (we don’t, and never will) our network would likely be more appealing to advertisers than all but O’DwyerPR.com (and we’re pretty close to them, too). Does this mean that low budget / no budget social networks can be monetized?

I believe it is important to note that all of the other sites in this comparison have staff and budgets. PROpenMic is a voluntary and organic social network. By organic, I mean that the site perpetuates itself. The growth of the site, and the content posted in the site, is all determined by the membership. We are all volunteers. Even me.

Our audiences are somewhat similar. All five of the other sites either charge subscription, membership fees – or, they are using their sites to drive interest in their enrollment, seminars and conferences. PROpenMic isn’t doing any of that (for profit). Sure, some people promote their events in our Events group, but it is hardly the same.

All of the other sites have staff devoted to their sites (and budgets) in order to populate, promote and maintain their sites (and/or organizations). In some instances, they have paid authors/writers creating the content for their sites. Each of the others sites (aside from PRSSA, I imagine) produces, on average, more promotional emails to their members than PROpenMic.

Overall, I’d say PROpenMic.org is a success. Depending upon the metric you look at, we seem to be performing close to, equal to, or better than all the other sites – except O’Dwyer’s … again, we’re awfully close to them, too.

Look, none of us are buring up the internet in Top 1,000 site traffic, but that’s not the goal. We’re all niche. We want to reach those relatively small audiences (that’s small in a world view of Internet traffic). So, how do we perform in comparison to one another?

Here is the breakdown…

For the graphs below, click on them and they will enlarge.

Compete.com stats…

Unique Visitors: (average per month)

propenmic.org 7,312
odwyerpr.com 8,668
myragan.com 6,225
prssa.org 5,258
communitelligence.com 3,068
holmesreport.com 2,078

Rank: (the lower the number, the better your rank)

propenmic.org 199,336
odwyerpr.com 172,873
myragan.com 227,762
communitelligence.com 410,099
prssa.org 262,202
holmesreport.com 566,512

Total Visits: (monthly average)

propenmic.org 22,918
odwyerpr.com 11,530
prssa.org 9,221
myragan.com 6,704
communitelligence.com 4,030
holmesreport.com 2,563

Page visits/views: (monthly average of per visit pageviews)

myragan.com 12.1
propenmic.org 7.5
odwyerpr.com 6.3
communitelligence.com 5.8
prssa.org 3.2
holmesreport.com 2.6

Alexa.com stats…

Note: In Alexa.com stats the lower the number, the better your site ranks.

odwyerpr.com has a traffic rank of: 232,877
propenmic.org has a traffic rank of: 291,090
myragan.com has a traffic rank of: 508,609
communitelligence.com has a traffic rank of: 550,729
prssa.org has a traffic rank of: 644,172
holmesreport.com has a traffic rank of: 670,656

Averaging the rank of both Compete & Alexa stats:

Note, again … the lower the number, the better your site ranks.

PROpenMic: 245,213 compared to…

ODwyerPR: 202,875
MyRagan: 368,185
PRSSA: 453,187
Communitelligence: 480,414
HolmesReport: 618,584

Please let us hear from you. I’d love to know what you think, one way or the other.

Thank you to all that have made PROpenMic what it is! I’ll do another post on the anniversary day (April 1st) thanking some very kind people that have helped along the way.

Robert Scoble as J.J. Hunsecker? Wine Me & Dine Me

Robert — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:06:00 +0000

Robert Scoble doesn’t like PR or journalism.

Robert Scoble: A Citizen Journalist Contradiction

Wine Me & Dine Me (or, I’ll whine about bad PR)

Alice Marshall has a post about Robert Scoble’s recent audio blip heard round the block.

“Last Thursday’s edition of For Immediate Release contained a very troubling rant by Robert Scoble about the clueless PR pitches he has received. Scoble prefers to be pitched over dinner…” (Source) Listen for yourself. (The complete podcast is on ForImmediateRelease.biz.)

I think Alice is on to something here.

Update: George Snell notes, in comments on Alice’s blog, “Scoble should not be preaching to PR people about best practices considering that he just received thousands of dollars from Cisco to cover their news – giving Cisco full editorial control over his content. (Source) More info here.”

Robert, we PR people actually do have codes for best practice. I know you’ll be suprised to learn that most people actually pay attention to them. Remember now, Robert, your tech PR experiences aren’t necessarily representative of all PR practice.

Preserve the free flow of unprejudiced information when giving or receiving gifts by ensuring that gifts are nominal, legal, and infrequent.

Examples of Improper Conduct Under this Provision:

A member representing a ski manufacturer gives a pair of expensive racing skis to a sports magazine columnist, to influence the columnist to write favorable articles about the product.

A member entertains a government official beyond legal limits and/or in violation of government reporting requirements. (Source)

To recap, Robert Scoble wants PR to return to the wining & dining days that brought such an unsavory reputation to the practice, years ago. Well, not exactly. But, if you want Robert Scoble’s attention … oh yeah, baby!

Oh, Scoble tried to wiggle out in a comment, but Alice was having none of that. Hey, they were your words, Robert.

Is Robert Scoble becoming J.J. Hunsecker? May I paraphrase the the tagline, please…

They know him – and they shiver – the big names of technology, venture capital and (shudder) … blogs. They know Scobleizer – the world-famed columnist whose tech gossip is gospel to seventy-four thousand Twits, thirteen thousand FriendFeeders and who knows how many Facebookers! They know the venom that Flickrs in those eyes behind the glasses – and they fawn – like (insert a sheep’s name here), the kid who wanted “in” so much, he’d make a nice dinner to stand up there with Scobleizer, sucking in the sweet smell of success! This is Scobleizer’s story – but not the way he would have liked it told!

Strange thing is, Robert Scoble told the story himself. Hey, he made the audio recording and shared it.

Surely, every practitioner should know his/her audience. Scoble’s right about that. Build a relationship.

Christopher Locke, of Cluetrain Manifesto fame wrote a similar refrain (absent the “serve me dinner” option):

So instead of pitching the product, I started talking to journalists about stuff like that. I figured I’d just pretend to be working until I got fired for goofing off. But something amazing happened. As soon as I stopped strategizing how to “get ink” for the company that was paying my salary, as soon as I stopped seeing journalists as a source of free advertising for my employer, I started having genuine conversations with genuinely interesting people.

I’d call up editors and reporters without a thought in my head — no agenda, no objective — and we’d talk. We talked about manufacturing and how it evolved, about shop rats and managers, command and control. We talked about language and literature, about literacy. We talked about software too of course — what it could and couldn’t do. We talked about the foibles of the industry itself, laughed about empty buzzwords and pompous posturing, swapped war stories about trade shows and writing on deadline. We talked about our own work. But these conversations weren’t work. They were interesting and engaging. They were exciting. They were fun. I couldn’t wait to get back to work on Monday morning.

I imagine Scoble likes that point of view.

If you know that the only way to reach Robert Scoble is to invite him to dinner and court his friendship, then you have a chance to gain his attention. OK, but this dredges up some rather ugly images of media placement from years ago.

Let’s face it, Robert Scoble has expressed his disdain for PR many times. What’s so funny to me is that his area of interest, the technology scene – primarily in California, is such a small bubble in the broader world of PR practice. Don’t expect Scoble to acknowledge that, however. He’s perfectly happy to say “how PR is being practiced” rather than accepting that it is the smaller tech PR sector that is letting him down.

Yes, Scoble was an early adopter. Yes, he has had some great ideas and done some remarkable things. But, it is beginning to seem like he was really just getting a head start on building his fame. I can’t help but wonder if he’s becoming to technology what J.J. Hunsecker was to gossip. Wait, is what Scoble does simply tech product gossip? Oh, my god! Well, if he can get all chummy with you and get invited to your parties, maybe so.

Scoble has also expressed disdain for his own journalism degree. Not surprising, since those journalism classes likely emphasized not taking dinners for your attention (especially for coverage). Back in 2005, Scoble left a comment for one of my students, “I have a journalism degree. It isn’t worth that much, believe me. If you want to get paid there are a lot better things to do with your time in school.”

Robert Scoble, I think you’re on some rather shaky ground here.

I know I’ll be pounded by your loyal followers. I don’t mean it to sound bad, but this idea you have of schmoozing for your attention … well, it’s a bad practice. I hope you wake up before the credits roll.

All I would like to see is for Robert Scoble to, with regard to his PR rants, just once, stop staring at his own tree and look at the forest. Your walled garden has a gate, Robert. Walk out of it and see the entire PR world, please.

Miiko Mentz :: Her Unpunched Cluetrain Ticket

Robert — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:16:27 +0000

A recent post by PinkMoxie, Miiko Mentz (see MiikoMentz.com and FutureWorks PR and Bub.bilicio.us), addressed a post by Jeremy Pepper in his Tumblr blog, Embargoed Release from Mindtouch.

Miiko “is the senior director of New Media & PR at FutureWorks, a social media strategy and PR firm. She also contributes, as a video producer, to Bubblicious, a blog that covers the Social Economy.”

One would think that a director of social media would be unafraid of a discussion, particularly one she started. Well, I posted on her blog in response to Miiko Mentz’s views about good practice and how to behave in social media.

My comment, I believe, was reasonable (even polite) while also being contrary to Miiko’s views. The comment has been deleted. Hmm? A post about how others should behave online denies contrary opinions?

So, I thought I’d share that comment here. I don’t know that I have the ‘exact’ wording of my comment, but I do tend to write things out before I share them. Then, I’ll paste the text into the comment area on the blog I’m addressing. The following is a draft I saved before posting in Miiko’s blog.

By the way, I wrote to Miiko (yesterday) asking why the comment was deleted. She has since approved other comments on that post since I shared mine. She has also not yet replied to my email (her choice, of course). Others saw the comment before it was deleted.

Look, I don’t really care if my comment gets posted in her blog. The real point here is simply Miiko’s choice to call someone out and now it seems Miiko is averse to, afraid of, contrary views.

My point, simply put: if you have a blog and receive a comment that does not offend any stated comment policy, why would you delete it? If you are the “senior director of New Media & PR,” is this path a good practice of social media? I have tracked back to her post. Let’s see how it goes.

Here’s the comment, you may decide for yourself. Remember to read Miiko’s post and all the comments first, as that’s the only way to take this in the proper context.

Comment:

Well, goodness. This has certainly spawned many tangents. I’ll avoid those distractions and address the initial issue.

What was the original reason/rationale for Jeremy’s post? Sure, he accepts all pitches … but, do you (your colleague) know enough about him (and his usual blog topics & tone) to understand why he accepts them? I’m guessing the answer is no. Sorry.

I’ve read his blog for a long time. I can’t imagine Jeremy Pepper writing about this pitch’s topic in a positive manner. Seriously. Never.

That’s what I’m betting first got his attention. But, to really get Jeremy to write, you have to give him more. Your colleague did not disappoint.

There were three pretty crucial errors that followed the primary 101 best practice failures and, I believe, they likely set off Jeremy’s ‘post’ trigger.

The pitch preceded the development of a relationship and understanding with Jeremy. Next. the pitch shared pretty much the whole story prior without gaining that embargo agreement. Finally, your colleague didn’t know and understand her target audience – Jeremy Pepper. It’s really pretty simple.

The worst, most egregious error, may well have been calling Jeremy a “guru” in the pitch. Yikes! Shudder! He doesn’t like that term.

Next, Jeremy uses the Web 2.0 phrase, but he uses it mostly as a term of derision.

Finally, Jeremy rarely (if ever) writes about apps. He’s about as big a fan of SMRs as you are of the the “good ole boys” network.

Again, if you and your colleague knew Jeremy, you’d realize that he is *not* a member of that club. He’s the chief thorn in their side. ;o)

A mentor, Jeremy is. I can attest to that, as can my students and many others. Now, his tone may have an effect upon people. But, again, you’d know that if you knew Jeremy and/or his blog.

Funny thing is, Jeremy was actually mentoring with his Tumblr post. Seriously. Be happy he posted in the Tumblr blog, not Pop PR Jots at blogspot. (The reason? It would have received a great deal more attention.)

I imagine you won’t see it this way, but Jeremy actually did you, your colleague, and your firm … a favor.

Rachel Maddow Slices & Dices :: Burson-Marsteller

Robert — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:16:27 +0000

Under the title, “AIG’s Image Problem,” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow crafts a rant against AIG and Burson-Marsteller.

In her 3:44 minute rant, Maddow calls Burson-Marsteller the PR agency “from Hell.”

This is a slice & dice unlike any I’ve seen before. Yes, TV talking heads have ranted against PR and firms for eons.

I’m not here to defend or destroy either Burson-Marsteller or Maddow. I do think this particular rant is a good example of creating a selective argument.

Maddow, in her rant, notes that Burson-Marsteller was involved in representing corporations in some of the most high profile crisis events in recent history. From Bhopal to Three Mile Island … date rape drug on toys and faulty breast, and more, Maddow notes that B-M was one of the firms involved in post-event PR. She neglects to note that there were likely many PR agencies involved in those cases. She implies that B-M was the only firm.

Further, Maddow states, “When Evil needs public relations. Evil has Burson-Marsteller on speed dial.” She then points out that Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton’s pollster and chief strategist, is the CEO of Burson-Marsteller.

Almost all of the B-M clients/cases Madow refers to are those that we teach as case studies to learn the pros and cons of both corporation practice and PR practice. To me, this was interesting to watch.

My questions? Was Maddow fair or has she begun to embrace, on occasion, the MSNBC/CNBC “Howard Beale” mentality of commentary? Your thoughts in comments, please.

Here’s the video and an update. Maddow replies to a leaked internal memo by Mark Penn offering a rebuttal to Maddow’s first commentary.

Part I	Part II