Cheers to RealWire in the UK for putting together this fantastic video outlining the dangers of PR Spam: http://inconvenientprtruth.com/animation/.
My fellow developers and users of MatchPoint agree that the old way of sending out PR Spam via media directory is not only harmful to a PR practitioner’s reputation, but also is an ineffective way to pitch!
.
In anticipation of the next big Apple media event this Wednesday, everyone is guessing that the big announcement is the launch of Apple’s Tablet.
Well, it’s no longer really guessing due to Apple’s well-planned PR “leaks”. Check out the latest on Mashable. So, surely the Tablets are on the agenda. But I’m hoping for these two announcements:
1. Ending of exclusivity with AT&T
2. Change of name for the iPhone. Seriously! Is anyone using the phone anymore?!?
My suggested new name is the “iText-iSearch-iUseApps”. No? Yeah, too clunky. Okay, let’s stick with iPhone.
I’m hoping there is a Verizon or other carrier deal announcement coming soon. Because with AT&T’s coverage in several places I need to go, it’s an iPaperweight.
.
PR Pros: Are you playing Farmville? C’mon…admit it!
Farmville has taken over many Facebook users’ Facebook time and has spread throughout my friend list, my firm, and my house.
I have had a hard time understanding the appeal. To me, a requirement of a good video game is that I get to annihilate Nazis, aliens, or Brett Favre. But I’m obviously missing out on something as several people who I think are sane and intelligent have gotten neck deep in it. So now I’m fascinated with this phenomenon.
I would like to ask for feedback about Farmville particularly from PR pros, journalists, bloggers, and any anyone working in or around the media.
Note: this is purely academic and for my own interest. I am not working for Farmville or any competitor.
Please comment here or if you prefer to do so privately, please email me your thoughts at jmonson@enr-corp.com or DM me at @jackmonson
Thanks PR Farmers!
I am pleased to pass along the good news that MatchPoint has been nominated for The PRWeek PR Innovation of the Year Award!
Full disclosure: I’m a member of the development team for MatchPoint. Additional disclosure: I am freakin’ thrilled about this!
A tip of the hat to all nominees:
Edelman and American Thoracic Society The TB Advocacy Toolkit
Ketchum The Ketchum Media Optimizer: Adding Discipline to the PR Discipline
Ketchum Virtual Meeting Mashups – Reinventing Online Events
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide What’s on Your Mind? Now Anyone Can Decipher Twitter Discussion with the Help of twendz!
eNR Services, Inc. and MatchPoint MatchPoint for PR
Saying it’s an honor just to be nominated along with these top global PR agencies is not just an old cliché in this case. I cannot think of a previous year where any non-agency PR application, software, or service was nominated for PR Innovation of the Year.
See you at the PRWeek Awards on March 11 in NYC!
The PR and Media Relations industry is made up of people who are chronically busy. But…are they really?
We all have those people in our lives who take every occasion to tell you how busy they are. These are same individuals who can’t make a deadline or return a call promptly. But, they have plenty of time to update their Facebook status with how busy they are, how they are longing for the weekend, or what they’re having for lunch. Lunch?!? Hmmm, I thought you were really busy…
If you’re one of these offenders: Stop! Do yourself a favor and stop!
When you tell people – especially business associates – that you’re “so busy,” you’re really telling them that:
•You are a poor time manager
•You cannot handle your current workload, and therefore…
•You could not take on more tasks and so could not be of much help to anyone else
Face it, you’re no more busy, stressed, or under pressure than ANY of your peers, co-workers, or clients. If you truly believe you are, then it’s time for a change! The New Year is a perfect time to make that change – or suck it up.
I’ve seen many lists over the past two weeks of buzz words for PR pros to avoid in 2010. Let’s make “busy” one of them!
A new free online tool was added to your PR Workbench this month: Pitch with Me.
We have seen many new media relations tools and apps launched this year claiming to be more useful than the rest. Most of these are just more of the same: new ways to blast out PR Spam, SEO “experts” who think they know more about Google than you do, and Social Media monitoring tools that actually do nothing but look cool.
Pitch With Me rises above this PR app jam not with a glitzier app, but with a new concept in media relations. Or rather, a time-tested and proven concept put into an online form.
The idea of teaming up two or more clients for a story pitch has worked inside large agencies for decades. Agencies not only created a more attractive package, but also created efficiencies with resources and time. But smaller firms and independent practitioners often saw an industry peer as a competitor rather than a symbiotic friend.
Journalists will use what they need and toss the rest anyway, so why not offer more to potentially use? And you never know when your partner’s a story may be what grabs someone’s attention.
Kudos to Heather Whaling for creating this online bullpen of potential collaborators! You can check out co-pitching opportunities on the site or by following @pitchwithme. If anyone has used Pitch With Me already, please share your comments here.
In 2010 there will be no universally-watched media entity in the US that can influence everything citizens do. No, I’m not referring to Oprah’s recent decision to end her show. I’m saying that my favorite films and other media of the 1980s got it wrong!
Throughout the Eighties and into the Nineties, films – particularly in the action genre – portrayed life 25 or so years in the future (that would be NOW) as dystopian societies where a single media outlet controlled everything. Often times, it controlled the government and military.
My favorite example is The Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Cue the Don LaFontaine deep voice-over: In a world where Arnold is accused of crime he didn’t commit, he must play a deadly game live on the world’s most popular TV game show hosted by the evil and scene-stealing Killian (Richard Dawson). It’s a great view of an oppressed society obsessed with media. We see criminals executed live on TV for big ratings and gems like “court-appointed publicity agents”. I love that last part!
These films were supposed to take place in the future but sure still looked like the 80s as far as synthesizer music, clothes, and smoking habits.
Fast forward to the present or our past’s future, and we have moved in the opposite direction! Media today has been completely fragmented and splintered into millions of TV channels, online sites, blogs, audio programs, and more. Today’s citizen journalist has the same opportunity to reach an audience as “Killian” did in The Running Man. Better yet, that citizen does more than just broadcast to an audience; he can actually engage with the consumer.
Let’s not be too hard on the screen writers of the 70s and 80s; the Cold War and the rise of certain media outlets along with the distrust of big government would be hard themes not to tackle. We would not have paid to see a movie about the future with someone updating their Facebook page.
Several years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Gordon Jump, aka Arthur “Big Guy” Carlson of WKRP in Cincinnati. He was passing through town on a PR tour for Maytag (he was the Maytag Repairman in the commercial campaign at the time) and did a live studio interview at the radio station I was programming.
What a pro! Mr. Jump was a PR person’s AND a media outlet’s perfect interviewee: he promoted the Maytag event for which he was the guest, but also was open to reminiscing about his WKRP glory days. It was near Thanksgiving, so he gave us his best on-air recreation of his classic quote from the WKRP turkey massacre episode. He was thankful to have had such a good run and to still be acting and portraying fun characters.
In honor of the late Mr. Jump’s spirit of thankfulness for lasting in his chosen industry, here’s my list of just a few of the PR industry folks who I am thankful for having worked with on some level recently:
@gail_nelson
Thanks Tweeps!
-Jack
Oh the humanity!
-Les Nessman, WKRP news
There are several Tweetups planned during the PRSA Conference in San Diego. The links below will take you to the RSVP site for each. They are all great opportunities to network and engage others in the industry!
Shonali’s Tweetup
Basic
410 10th Ave
Saturday Nov 7, 5-7pm
http://twtvite.com/okxl1p
San Diego Media & PR Tweetup
Vin de Syrah
901 5th Ave
Sunday Nov 8, 6-9pm
http://twtvite.com/chjl0t/1
PRSA Tweetup
Tin Fish
170 6th Ave
Monday Nov 9, 7:30-8:30pm
http://tweetvite.com/event/PRSA09Tweetup
Hosted by PRSA Tech Section!
Monday Night Tweetup
Basic
410 10th Ave
Monday Nov 9, 8-10pm
http://twtvite.com/38n3yy
Sponsored by Mashable, PitchEngine, Technorati, and Comet Branding
.
I’ll add to this list as more are organized. Please email me at jmonson@enr-corp.com or Tweet me @jackmonson if you have any to add!
Heading to The PRSA 2009 Conference this weekend? 
Here are a few things to remember to bring:
•Hand sanitizer. Seriously. It should be a new conference and trade show rule that everyone has to carry a bottle. The only thing I want to bring home is some new ideas.
•Business cards – whatever number you were planning to bring, double it.
•You don’t have your @twitter handle printed on your cards yet? Take 20 minutes this week and write it on the back of a couple of dozen. Because at the show, no, I don’t have a pen!
Remember, if you can’t make it to the conference, please check back here throughout the week. I’ll be blogging throughout each day with conference notes, updates, interviews, and photos.
Social Geek Blog 