The Good, The Bad, The Spin

The following was written the pro pr blogger blog. I outline some tips for PR pros in relating to bloggers.

1. As a PR person, consider your intentions for approaching bloggers. Typically, trying to just score mentions or links is readily transparent and frowned upon. Genuinely participating in the blog, or relating to the blogger, will go much further. While bloggers are (part of) the new media, they are often not reporters in the traditional sense, so spamming them with news releases can cause a negative reaction, including your own public embarrassment, as the PR world has seen recently.

2. Target appropriately. This should go without saying–too often, however, the pitch-to-outlet attempts are often so disconnected as to be embarrassing. The blog, as with a traditional media outlet, should be relevant to what you want publicity for; in other  words, it should be a good match. If not, do better homework. It’s better to selectively target and pitch conservatively if you’re unsure of the appropriateness of media outlets or blogs than it is to be publicly embarrassed for to spam them on behalf of your clients or organization (see above).

3. Bloggers can be far more influential than the traditional news media. This can be both good and bad for you. Bloggers don’t play by the same rules, which is both a curse and a blessing.

4. Be mindful of your client’s or organization’s needs. If something hits your radar screen that is relevant to your PR work, by all means jump on it. I’ve personally contributed to niche blogs that just happened to mention something related to one of my organization’s entities and ended up engaging in an email conversation with the blogger–with positive, public results.

5. Do your own blog. Unlike with the traditional news media, being a blogger puts you in the same playing field as other bloggers; whereas, being a PR person is not the same as being a news reporter. By doing your own blog, it is easier to link to other blog content, engage in blog conversations, learn blog etiquette, learn how to deal with obnoxious readers and so on.

6. Finally, blogger relations is not a science. There are no right ways to relate to bloggers. I find being helpful, transparent, honest and genuine goes much further than trying to ‘pitch’ or sell something. Most people relate better to the former rather than the latter.

I’ve never been a fan. People who are quick to thrust themselves into the limelight at moment’s notice tend to, after awhile, raise suspicion as to true motives. Like most who publicly introduce others’ faults to the world with a high-level of shame, Jesse Jackson’s legacy of moralistic preaching is coming back to slap him in the face.

My father introduced me to the term “professional agitator,” a term that has since been seared into my head to describe those quick to jump into the social justice fray while accepting a paycheck for doing so. Jackson exemplifies this description. I don’t doubt his sincerity—at the same time, I don’t think his publicly expressed passion tells the complete story.

There have been a number of stories portraying Jackson as a self-interested empire builder, which is probably true and which adds to Jackson’s more complete portrait. (more…)

It’s near impossible to know the exact machinations at work in the Viacom/Google lawsuit, but Google’s and Viacom’s comments about the recent order to turn over data underscore an important point: Both entities, in attempting to iron out copyright infringement of commercial videos posted Youtube, appear to be adamant about protecting the identity, and therefore privacy, of individual Youtube users.

This exchange comes from the New York Times:

In a letter sent Thursday, Google’s lawyers pressed their counterparts at Viacom to accept a more limited set of data. “We request that plaintiffs agree that YouTube may redact user names and I.P. addresses from the viewing data in the interests of protecting user privacy,” wrote David H. Kramer, a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

In a response, a Viacom lawyer wrote that Viacom was “committed to working with Google” on the privacy issue.

Interestingly, Google has rejected demands by privacy groups for more stringent protections for I.P. address records, saying that in most cases the addresses cannot be used to identify users. Yet Google argued that YouTube viewing data should be kept from Viacom, in part, to protect the privacy of its users.

It is the judge in the case who is disagreeing with Google. Again, from the Times:

Judge Louis L. Stanton of the Southern District of New York, who is presiding over Viacom’s lawsuit against Google and YouTube, referenced Google’s past statements on I.P. addresses to conclude that its “privacy concerns are speculative.”