Mathew's comments - Latest Comments in PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

Dino — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:33:02 -0000

I can't believe I missed "rocket surgery"

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

mathewi — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:46:03 -0000

Thanks for the comment, John. I like a paragraph or so summing up
what the point of the release is, and then some facts. More or less
the same way someone would write a news story.

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

John Bell — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:42:21 -0000

We first used the SMPR over two years ago. But you are right - it hasn't caught on and it's a shame. I see two aspects of the SMPR that are important: making it is more useful for any "media" (traditional or non-traditional journalists) to use. That means adding links and multimedia whenever possible. We should be trying to make content as easy as possible to use and that means content formats - text plus video plus pictures. The other is the "social" part or the conversation surrounding content. I wish more clients were ready for this. But they don't have to enable a comment flow in their online media room to make the SMPR useful.

As for spin vs. facts? I say - tell me why this is important and relevant then give me the facts and content types to run with. But you are the journalist. What makes sense to you?

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

mathewi — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:26:02 -0000

Well said, Mike. Unfortunately, some things have to be repeated
before certain people get the message :-)

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

mjkeliher — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:15:27 -0000

If I may be so brash as to simply share something I wrote more than one year ago:

http://www.unjournalism.com...

My, how so little has changed.

Thanks for the post, Matt.

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

mathewi — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:53:05 -0000

damn. i knew i should have registered that -- that and "pizza.com"

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

David Jones — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:35:22 -0000

It's probably these guys we have to worry about...they've got the domain:

http://www.rocketsurgery.com/

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

mathewi — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:29:11 -0000

I think you're right, David -- there are lots of tools, and provided they serve to connect journalists or readers or bloggers or customers to something, then I think that's great, whether it's a blog page or delicious links or a YouTube video, or all three put together.

As for the rocket surgery thing, I promise not to file a claim against you for trademark infringement if you promise not to do likewise :-)

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

David Jones — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:24:16 -0000

Mat, good post. As a PR guy and blog nut, I like the SMPR in theory. I've used them before and they're fine. But I've also sent emails to guys like you to pitch stories and used links to del.icio.us pages and youtube pages that have been set up expressly to make it easy for bloggers/media to find what they need to do the story.

Use your blog if you have a blog, use an SMPR if you've got the time/money, re-do your corporate online newsroom and include embed codes for pics and video, etc., or just do what you suggest and use links in an e-mail.

This isn't that hard. Learn news judgment, be a resource, don't waste journos time. After all, you can put lipstick on a pig...but it's still a pig.

BTW, I always thought I invented the witty mis-use of "rocket surgery."

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

kevinbriody — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:46:55 -0000

I'm glad someone else noticed this line. I love it - visions of a spaghetti mass of wires sticking out with an engineer yelling "soldering iron stat!"

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

mathewi — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:23:10 -0000

I would agree with you there, Mike. Doing that can pretty quickly
tell you whether what you're writing about is of interest to anyone.

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

MikeH — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:16:44 -0000

The idea of making a real blog post is more what I favor. REAL content that is also PR. Serves TWO purposes. It provides information to the press and the organic traffic of people approaching it from their interest validates it as newsworthy.

-M

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

mathewi — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:47:05 -0000

Thanks, Todd.

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

Todd Defren — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:45:57 -0000

As one of the "forward-thinking PR practitioners and agencies (that) came up with the idea of an SMPR" (thanks!) I can say only one thing to this post, Mathew:

AMEN!

Thank you for your advocacy and blunt talk. ;)

p.s. - FWIW I track reactions to the SMPR at http://del.icio.us/SHIFT.Co.... Check out tags like SHIFTtemplate and SocialMediaRelease, if interested.

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

John Furrier — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:25:11 -0000

Social media needs to be social...putting links is is key but that ain't the end game...

I have a big opinion on this puppy - almost all social media fails because PR isn't funding in their companies to do it right. Links is the minimum starting point. To do is right is like building a rocket ;-) A marketing rocket

http://furrier.org/2008/04/...

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

GearsofWar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:42:02 -0000

I love it!

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

n8k99 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:17:38 -0000

at least we're not talking about "nuclear rocket surgery!"

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

Paul Kedrosky — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:52:03 -0000

I'm a big fan of Spoonerisms, so you're delong with a pro here.

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

mathewi — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:22:03 -0000

Yeah, you like that one? My own invention :-) It's surprising how
few people notice.

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

Paul Kedrosky — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:27:55 -0000

"Rocket surgery"?

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

SoftwareSweatshop — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:56:36 -0000

Word up!

Engage, engage, engage. Pique interest, give people something thought provoking. Stop talking about how great you are and provide something of value. They'll naturally follow you.

Raza Imam
http://SoftwareSweatshop.com

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

mathewi — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:40:02 -0000

Good point, Simon. I don't much see the difference either, really.
I've read lots of blog posts (and news stories, for that matter) that
just read like a rewritten press release -- I don't see why a
well-written press release shouldn't get just as much prominence.

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

Simon Owens — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:37:17 -0000

He seemed to show some apprehension that PR people are sometimes able to bypass bloggers or journalists all together, but I really have no problem with this if the PR release really is a worthy piece of news. I mean, what's the major difference between a press release and a company blog? Nothing, really? So what's so bad about directly linking to a press release?