Taking a Break
First of all, I’d like to apologize to anyone who posted a comment that wasn’t approved. I believe I’ve gotten to them all now.
I’ve been away from this blog for a little while, and just want to note that I intend to stay away from it for the time being. I left because of a death in the family, followed by another personal crisis. I took some of that time to re-evaluate some things in my work and life, and decided that, as much as I enjoy this blog, I just can’t justify the time and energy right now.
Actually, to be more blunt, I suppose I’ve come to the realization that I just don’t care that much anymore about the constant stupidity in PR on the Web. Very little has changed on that front in the last year, and frankly, the energy is wasted with the same old crap being talked about over and over again.
Watching a certain blogger go from hypocritically grumbling about negative blog posts to the epitome of the whiny little bitch on the Web; watching that same certain blogger resort to censorship instead of accepting criticism and participating more actively in that lovely “conversation” on the Web PR bloggers are always talking about; watching people debate the neverending issue of marketing vs. PR; watching the cliquiest of PR blog cliquemates exposing themselves through their denials without actually being accused of anything personally… it’s all been so damn funny for the last couple of weeks. Funny just isn’t good enough at the moment for me unfortunately.
Instead, I’m going to be focusing on finishing up my book proposal, finally getting to a report on SEO for PR professionals that I’ve been meaning to tackle for a while, and of course clients and my other Web publishing projects. So as of today, I’m instituting a strict anti-bullshit policy. It’s a shame much of the PR blogosphere doesn’t amount to much more.
How Far Should We Really Go to Please Bloggers?
I was contacted the other night by Joe Beaulaurier of PRweb. He sent me a link to a post on BL Ochman’s blog. Ochman’s post was basically a critique of PRweb’s editorial guidelines, saying they should be more flexible in allowing more casual and promotional releases to be published through the service, because that’s the kind of content bloggers want. Being critical of various PRweb policies in the past, I was asked for my feedback on the suggestions made in the post.
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Blog Buzz on PR: February 11, 2008
I’ve been intentionally avoiding the PR segment of the blogosphere recently - frankly, at times it sucks the life right out of me, and being busy with real work, house-hunting, and trying to enjoy a bit of life, I just haven’t had the patience for it.
I suppose that means it’s time to dig around looking for anything even remotely worthwhile in the realm of PR blogging again. This time we’ll do things a bit differently. While we’ll still have a mix of the good and the utterly ridiculous, I’m actually going to tell you which I feel is which for a change (with blog bytes thrown in just for fun):
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Where Does IM End and Online PR Begin?
I was talking to a friend with an SEO / Internet Marketing firm today about online press release distribution. Their company (and many like them) offer press release writing and distribution services basically only for the purposes of building backlinks and getting direct traffic. I won’t get into my usual rant tonight about how poor the quality tends to be of the majority of backlinks and traffic when releases are used only for those purposes, but it did bring up an issue I used to think a lot about:
Where does Internet marketing end and online PR begin… at least to you?
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The Social Media Grinch
Sometimes that’s what I feel like people think I am: the social media grinch. It couldn’t be further from the truth though.
Here are a few things I’ve had people accuse me of or imply over the last few months at various times:
- That I hate all things social media
- That I hate all things PR 2.0
- That I have some sort of secret agenda in writing controversial blog posts
- That I’m new to blogging
- That I’m anti-conversation or anti-”joining”
Now, for shits and giggles, let’s get the facts straight. If nothing else, maybe it will put future rants into better perspective (although I hope the speculation doesn’t stop completely… it really is funny at times):
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Frequency in Blogging for PR
There are plenty of people blogging for different reasons, whether that be to market a company, service, or product, earn directly from blogging through ad revenue or other means, or blogging for PR value for a person, organization, or business.
One thing that all of these blogging models or motivations have in common is the fact that they can all benefit from more traffic, visitors, readers, or whatever you prefer to call them. More traffic equals more potential customers, more potential ad revenue, more exposure, larger audiences, etc.
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What Exactly is Public Relations?
Don’t worry. I’m not going to bore you with definitions and evaluations over what we should and shouldn’t be doing as PR professionals. Instead, I’m going to bore you by talking about myself… something I don’t do all that often here.
I got into PR in perhaps an unusual way. Frankly, I didn’t even understand what PR was until shortly before I switched to a Public Relations major in college.
Let’s backtrack:
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Why I Won’t Join Your PR Blog Party
I hate PR blog cliques. I find them to be pathetically juvenile. You know the bloggers I mean: the ones that constantly link within their little circles; the ones that feel the need to shower their buddies with praise and thanks for even mentioning them; the ones that can’t post an original thought without being assured that their clique-mates will back them up if anyone dares to speak out against them or their opinions.
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Stupid PR Quote of the Week: January 21, 2008
I see so many stupid things posted about PR on the Web each week that it’s not even funny. (OK, so maybe sometimes it’s funny.) I’ve decided that each week I should highlight the most ridiculous comment regarding PR issues that I happen across. This week’s:
“Now politely referred to as ‘Public Relations’ I prefer to call it as it is, was, and always will be, propaganda. The official definition or function rather of PR is to “Adjust an organization to its environment, and more specifically [as my professor chuckles] to adjust an environment to its organization”.” - Portland Independent Media Center
Apparently this is from an article originally written in 2005, that was just recently updated. Tip to author: update your damned definition. The definition of PR has been discussed and debated for about as long as PR has existed. Yet I doubt you’ll find one reputable PR professional who would tell you that definition is spot on. Get with it, or get off it.
Blog Buzz on PR: January 18, 2008
See what’s been buzzing in the PR blog party recently. You’ll find some interesting Public Relations reads. Then again, you’ll also find some total crap. Judge for yourself:
- Digital Communications is Challenging Search Engine Optimisation - Chris Norton
- How to Get a Tech Journalist’s Attention - ExtremeTech
- Are the PR Basics Still Relevant - Public Relations Rogue
- 2007 PR Disaster Winners Announced - PR Disasters
- Convergence, Changing Media, and Public Relations - Ant’s World
- A Look Behind the Scenes at Canada’s Major Public Relations Firms - Pro PR
- Who Needs the PR Overhead? - Murphy’s Law
- Target PR Misses the Mark - Marketing Edge
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