The Good, The Bad, The Spin

A while back I touted the virtues of Gmail for public relations uses. To recap, Gmail offers the ability to tag (label) messages with multiple tags. This, as opposed to MS Outlook which uses folders, allows PR pros to apply multiple labels to their emails. In short, the ability to store and retrieve messages by keywords allows us to better manage our online conversations. Also, other email accounts can be forwarded to Gmail without others knowing you’re using Gmail as your primary email interface.

Google offers far more than just Gmail. There are four other important features Google offers that give us increased potential to enhance our effectiveness for public relations. (more…)

Blogs inundate the Internet and it’s questionable to assume the technology is ultimately the best way to get one’s message across. It’s wise to be guarded about trends, especially in public relations. Conversely, it’s wise to follow communications trends to be aware of where, and how, people will get their information.

Consider blogs the independent media of the day. When I was in journalism school, I took part in what was then being called the ‘zine revolution, wherein independent publishers printed booklets, journals, newspapers, magazines on shoestring budgets. The impact was similar to how blogs break stories today. (more…)

I recently converted to Gmail and it wasn’t exactly painless. It was a move based on principle. SBC Yahoo announced, in a somewhat Draconian manner, that it was going to be displaying ads on the Yahoo Mail interface. I was never keen on the Yahoo interface and used this news as a springboard to switch to Gmail. I had two Gmail accounts already and figured that since Gmail is free (with its text advertisements) and Yahoo’s DSL email, which I pay for, displays full graphic ads, it was time for change. Plus I needed to better separate business and personal email accounts. (more…)