Podcasting for PR?

If you’re a slightly hyper-technological PR practitioner, you’ve probably immersed yourself in the worlds of blogging and RSS (see August 9, 2004 From the Frontlines). You’re reading more news content more quickly, and you’re skipping the junk. You’re keeping up with chatter about your industry and organization. Maybe you’re even getting your own news to journalists via RSS. You’re probably pretty darn proud of yourself. I certainly was.

Then I was told that plain-old RSS is “so 2004.”

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Nooked Launches Corporate Feed Search Beta

Nooked, a company based in Dublin that touts RSS and blog management to PR firms and internal communications departments, launched its "Nooked Directory" in Beta today - aimed at providing a directory of all corporate blogs and RSS feeds. It's got a good number of blogs but definitely isn't at all comprehensive yet. But it has a 'submit' option, so I'd imagine the database will grow quickly.

Thanks to Richard Koman at SiliconValleyWatcher.com who passed along a heads-up he got from the company yesterday on the directory's impending arrival.



Technorati tags: PR, public relations, search

MTV show on Grubman to Set PR Profession Back?

On March 10th, MTV will debut its new reality show, "PoweR Girls," about Lizzie Grubman and her band of publicists.

On the MTV site, you can check out Lizzie's team, all of whom happen to look like models for Teen Magazine. Their bios read more like those of centerfolds than of PR pros. Ali wants us to know that she calls her boyfriend "muffin" and "almost died" when Mick Jagger touched her hand. Rachel likes going to "fabulous parties" and Millie says, "Whether it's wearing the new trendy Scoop item and pairing it with vintage Chanel, there's always something about my outfit that stands out."

PR pub Ragan's Media Relations is looking for comment from PR pros whether it will attract more young people to our industry and whether it will make PR folk look like 'airheads.'

Uh - like, totally.

Technorati tags: PR, public relations, publicists

Been meaning to share/point out/illuminate...

I have been meaning for awhile to pass along a neat tool I've used often in the past for writing, at http://www.visualthesaurus.com

It's a thesaurus that not only provides synonyms, but also creates a graphical representation of the word queried that visually separates out the various synonyms by their meanings. It's difficult to explain in words but it's perfect for when it's difficult to explain things in words. (Eat your heart out, Yogi.)

Just give it a shot - you'll understand its value right away. I think it's especially useful for branding brainstorms and the like.

PR NEWS Leads With Blogs

PR NEWS' latest issue includes a special focus on PR's role in the blogosphere. This week, the lead story has been posted online for non-subscribers - a new wrinkle for the weekly publication.

The story includes thoughts from my colleague Morgan McLintic, who also writes a blog that has quickly become a destination on nearly every PR blogger's A-list of links. Morg's an English Flack in Silicon Valley, which by my estimation is only slightly less formidable than an American Werewolf in London. But decide for yourself - either way, you'll get the perspective of someone who truly knows what works in PR around the world.

"Influentials" don't get their news from TV

(subscription required for link)

According to the the findings of a new Mediamark Research Survey of the American Consumer by NOP World, print media are more effective than TV for reaching influential Americans˜the critical 10% of the population who drive what the others do and buy.

Percent of Influentials Who Are Heavy Users of Each Media:

NEWSPAPERS.........41%
MAGAZINES..........33%
RADIO..............20%
TV.................14%

My only question is - what's the criteria for 'influential?'

Ads invading blogs

Interesting article from Chicago Tribune's Mike Hughlett about commercials invading the blogosphere. Mentions initiatives from Starcom MediaVest Group (Publicis) , TracyLocke (Omnicom), as well as Google's AdSense program.

Again raises the question - does blogging as a channel become more or less powerful once big business advertising dollars fly through it? Does it become more or less an opportunity for PR folk?

And/or do mechanisms like AdSense make it more likely that it will become as crowded a channel as email?

Hi. I'm a "salivating moron."

BBC article on the ongoing battle between mainstream media and bloggers.

Quoted in the article is Steve Lovelady, managing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, who spits, "The salivating morons who make up the lynch mob prevail."

Bill Press condemned bloggers as people "with no credentials, no sources, no rules, no editors and no accountability."

And these are the liberals.

Jay Rosen, New York University journalism professor, was a bit more open-minded as the blogger behind PressThink, telling the BBC some of the failures are simply down to journalists' lack of understanding of the web.

"If (CBS and Eason Jordan) had been literate at all in the internet, they would have saved themselves a lot of trouble," he said.

Meanwhile, I better go get some credentials of some sort. .. or at least some tissues to catch the saliva.

Bloggers vs. Media: The Political Cartoon

Pat Oliphant portrayed the relationship between "mainstream media" and bloggers -perhaps inspired by the WSJ editorial by Peggy Noonan...

Blogging for Internal Comms

Interesting use of blogs as facilitator of internal communications.

ThinkEquity Gets Press for New Blog

A stream of coverage poured forth for the boutique San Francisco investment bank just for creating their blog, including an article from New York Times' Jenny Anderson. The bank created the blog to attract anyone interested in talking about growth investing (analysts, bankers, VCs, etc.) to help the company get ideas...

I wonder how long the launch of a blog will remain news. Makes me think back to the days people were announcing the launch of their websites.