We are the sleepy mob

I'm taking part in a flash mob to raise awareness of Byte Night, NCH (the charity behind it) and its role in supporting young people coping with life after care or facing homelessness.

When: 8.45am, Thursday, September 6
Where: Potters Field (off Tooley Street), London

There's a Facebook event page here with all the details.

If you can't make the flash mob or Byte Night itself, there is always Byte Night Local.

October... I can't think of a better time to sleep in your garden for charity.

Just saw Drew's letter in PR Week

Edit that, Benvie.

I honestly had no idea this was Joey

Well done Innocent Drinks for putting interesting links in a newsletter about fruit juice.

Tom Coates and the PRostitutes

I've been following the saga of Tom Coates and his reaction, and subsequent clarification, of his feelings about being pitched to by PR people.

I shall summarise for your reading pleasure (as I know you appreciate it):

1. Tom Coates' blog gets popular.
2. Stephen Davies points out to the PR community that Tom Coates' blog is popular.
3. Some PR people target Tom Coates' popular blog by sending him stuff.
   
4. Tom Coates is unhappy.

The fallout has been interesting to watch. Stephen Davies has approached the situation with his usual enthusiasm - from comments on Tom's blog, to special posts, to a reworking of the original list of popular blogs, complete with warning to hapless PR folk about daring to send any of them an email.

Following Tom's initial rant, there was a wave of reaction. Renaissance Chambara spotted it, then Drew joined in. Stuart Bruce had something to say, as did Stowe Boyd. Simon Collister added his two penneth. Journalists like Jemima Kiss and Sally Whittle and Chris Edwards chimed in too. Most people agreed with his sentiments.

I'm amazed at the discussion. I really am. For two main reasons.

One.

A blogger complaining about being so popular that they have become the target of PR campaigns is like Britney Spears complaining about being followed around by the paparazzi. You can't prance around in your bra, draped in a python while singing about being a 'Slave 4 U' that was 'Born To Make You Happy' then decide you don't want to have your picture taken. (Yes, I know too many Britney songs but you get my point.) With fame comes the trappings - be it massive wealth, a dedicated web following or people trying to influence you. There are boundaries, of course. I wouldn't approve of putting cameras in Britney's toilet or rifling through her rubbish. But does she complain when she gets sent free t-shirts? I doubt it. The real discussion here should be what constitutes a degrading or exploitative action. In Tom's case, it isn't sending him a press release. Sorry, but it isn't.

Two.

What on EARTH do the PR people targeting Tom think they're doing? There is a way to relate to the public via blogs. Contact with bloggers has got to be direct, considered and personal. If not, you run the risk of sparking a debate that just ends up creating negative PR. And negative PR via a blog is not like negative PR from a legitimate news source. Bloggers don't have a standard set of ethics that say they can't call someone a ****. It's going to hurt. Any PR types that are targeting Tom haven't done anything wrong - but his reaction suggests they've gone about it in a terribly wrong way. He obviously wasn't expecting to hear from them. Perhaps he didn't know them. Maybe he only likes to receive information when delivered by owl - I don't know. And the problem is neither did they.

I hope this episode, and others like it, doesn't scare PR people off using popular blogs as a new channel in the media mix. After all, it's an exciting way to connect with the public in a world of declining print readership.

Many bloggers are thrilled to be thought of as journalists. And those that are treated like them should learn to balance the advantages (large readerships, public influence, free stuff) with the inconvenience of receiving the odd press release that doesn't interest them.

At the same time, PR types need to realise that bloggers that aren't journalists don't act like journalists.

Things you wish you'd thought of

Carlberg's latest PR stunt cost them £5,000. And it's probably one of the best ever...



Via B3TA.

Second funniest thing I've heard all day

"Grease is Star Wars for girls."

It was a comment on Movies' Greatest Cars on Sky Three tonight. Some comedian I've never heard of said it.

Don't ask me what the funniest thing I've heard all day was. I couldn't tell you.

Five becomes ten

I like lists of five things. And Rubel's list in Wired on How To Run A Corporate Blog isn't bad.

But despite my penchant for lists of five things (honestly, ask anyone. I can't write lists of four things), his left me wanting.

Perhaps a list of ten would've been better. (Multiples of five are OK...)

Here's five more to make up the rest:

6. Reflect your brand.
Tone, style, design, strategy. Your blog is not a forum for uncontrolled ranting or blatant libel about how rubbish your competitors are. At the same time, it's not a platform for peddling bland messaging. Work out what you brand values are and champion them via your blog.

7. Have a plan for every outcome.
Blogs are a useful crisis management tool, but they could also fan the flames of any potential media fallout. Do you have a plan that kicks in should a crisis occur? A blog could be critical in getting your message out fast - make sure it's by-the-book.

8. Try out new stuff.
Blogs are quick and easy to update. Plug in Twitter and play with it. If that doesn't work, unplug it and try something else. Your IT team won't let you do this on your corporate website. Blogs are a testbed for new tech - embrace the opportunity.

9. Bring power to the people
The most interesting person to write a blog is not the CEO. The people that have direct engagement with the customer have the most colourful stories. A CEO blog is a great thing, but balance it out with a blog written by a collection of sales people or your R&D team.

10. Track, track, track.
Are you being linked to? What's your blog traffic and is it growing? How much of your website traffic is referrals from your blog? Who is commenting? Does anyone really care? Social media technology is pretty good at helping you work all of this out. Measure it, record it, and track it back to the reasons why you launched the frickin' blog in the first place.

How social media saved the press release

We've just done some research with independent researcher (and company whose name makes me feel slightly queasy) BrainJuicer of 150 CEOs.

The results are posted on LEWIS 360, but the fact that 117 of them said PR was an 'integral business function' while the majority of PR budgets are on the up (two thirds of them said they've increased their PR budget this year) can only be a good thing.

I'm interested in social media's place in changing perceptions. Following the 'death of the press release', many people said the advent of social media meant the humble press release was over. After all, if people were happy to make up their own minds via peer-to-peer online conversations, who needs PR?

But, according to the results of the survey, 'almost two thirds' (not sure what that means but will ask the marketing team for the actual result) think web 2.0 has made PR a 'more visible process'.

I suppose we can extrapolate the fact that this has lead to the fact that CEOs - who like measurable, transparent process and benefits - are therefore happier to spend money on it?

Hang on a minute... Has social media saved the press release?

#81 and #95

Press play, then read this post. It will help.

Paul Hardcastle – The Wizard

The Friendly Ghost's August PowerPR Index sees my old blog clogger sliding 20 places to 81. Copypunk is a new entry, entering the chart at 95. And there's been no change at the top, with Micro Persuasion a non-mover, holding on to the number one slot for another month.

I love charts. Bring back Top of the Pops, I say.

Righteous additions to the vault

PR Blogger aka Righteous Brentano aka Social Media Manager at webitpr aka Stephen Davies has been busy.

Not only has he scrubbed up nicely to appear in this new PR vault video...



But he's also been bullying - sorry 'encouraging' - colleagues to start blogging... The result? t'Internet PR & Advertising2.0.

(Good luck Giles, and welcome. Although you should try and keep weekend blogging in check in case it takes over your... Oh.)