billsledzik’s posterous

One of my Facebook friendz asked me this question, and since only my friendz can see my response, I’ve decided to post it here as well.

Question: ARE PRESS RELEASES DEAD? Planning a blog post: would love your opinion :-) Would be AWESOME to include a quote from you!

Answer: I first read about the death of the news release in 1979, the same year I last attended a Grateful Dead concert. The prognosticators were wrong then, and they're wrong now.

The press release, done correctly and professionally, is a perfectly serviceable tool. I would also point out that the SEC especially likes releases as a compliance tool. Unfortunately, a news release in the hands of an amateur is ineffective and sometimes offensive. Of course, the same is true of blogs, website, and even tweets. As folks untrained in the effective use of news releases have invaded the ranks of PR, we've seen an explosion of bad practice and bad writing.

I lay the blame for shoddy media relations practices squarely on the marketers, who have yet to fully understand the nuances of public relations. They are starting to come around now -- so much so that they want to own "PR."

The social-media evangelists who predict the death of the press release generally don't understand how to use them them effectively. I would add that many of them don't write well, either. Just check their blogs.

The press release has changed its form over time, and that evolution will continue. But to paraphrase Mr. Clemens, reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.

I’ll be coming to you from San Diego tomorrow — maybe. I’ve learned that the PRSA national conference at the Marriott can’t offer wifi in the Marriott Hotel & Marina. Too costly, they tell me. And since I’m one of those folks who considers the Blackberry to be the devil’s work...well, I’m gonna be a tad disconnected for much of the conference.

As a blogger covering the event, I’ll have access to the Internet in the media center. And that’s good enough for me. Hell, it’s not like I’m reporting a breaking story, eh? If something important happens, I’ll find a way to write about it.

BTW, there is wifi for hotel guests (it works in the rooms and the lobby). But the Marriott wants $246 for a room, and that’s the convention rate! The nearby Hilton Bayfront gave me a room of $109 — but I don’t get an ocean view. That was $20 more, and I'm too cheap to go for it!

Am I the only one who finds it weird that the garage where I get my oil changed has free wifi, but a major conference hotel can’t do it without charging you a small fortune? Hey, what do I know?

Read two blog posts today that call into question the judgment of Edelman PR. Seems the folks at the world’s largest independent firm are tapping the social-media savvy of younger employees and trying a little reverse mentoring. Smart move, I’d say. And the folks at the Chicago Trib who wrote about it seem to agree. A very positive story resulted.

But in social media, we all get our two cents worth, and these two posts clearly show. You’ll find my thoughts in a comments section of “The Lost Jacket.” Edelman deserves better.

The Lost Jacket Blog
ValleyWag 

For the past decade, the white-tailed deer has been the target of most wildlife management programs in the East and Midwest. And debate has been heated as sharpshooters kill thousands of critters that most folks perceive as no threat to their lives.

Is that about to change? By now, you’ve heard this disturbing story of Canadian musician Taylor Mitchell, killed by two coyotes while hiking in a park in Nova Scotia. Link: http://news.aol.com/article/coyotes-kill-musician-taylor-mitchell-in/741093  OK. It’s Nova Scotia, which means it’s a tad more wild than Akron, Ohio, or Peoria, Illinois. But I gotta tell you, the coyotes are everywhere — and it’s only a matter of time before this type of incident hits closer to home.

I’m not an expert on coyotes, but I know they are pack animals that attack and kill for food. But seldom have humans been the target of these attacks. But as coyotes have moved back into residential areas, you hear reports of cats and dogs gone missing (and I’ presuming eaten).  So far — at least in my region — small children and larger domestic animals have been spared. But for how long?

It’s an interesting dilemma for those of us who treasure the balance of nature. I love tracking emerging issues, especially those involving God’s creatures. As I’ve been known to say, I love God’s creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes. Sadly, varmint control only becomes a critical issue when something really tragic happens. Like it did here.

Ah, the good old days.

It was Oct., 12, 2006, and my first month as a blogger when I came across this story in Business Week. It involved Jim and Laura and the fake blog called “WalMarting Across America.” The story became instant folklore in the 2.0 digital world of PR and marketing. I wrote about it here -- three years ago yesterday.

The story caused quite blow-up in the blogosphere, not to mention great embarrassment to the blog’s creators, Edelman Public Relations.  Prior to “WalMarting,” Edelman had been the leading proponents of social media in PR. And thanks to a swift response to this crisis, the firm has maintained that leadership position.

The “Walmarting” case is now in the ethics textbooks, and we all have a chance to learn from it. My students read about it just today.

But speaking objectively, was the case really all that high-profile? Ask anyone outside the 2.0 echo chamber about Walmart’s fake blog and you’ll likely get a blank stare. Sometimes what happens here isn’t nearly as important as we think it is.

Regardless, it's been a great case for my students to learn the importance of transparency and authenticity — two things I fear the 2.0 world will never achieve.

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I cross posted this at my "real" blog. If I start to make this a habit, I promise to shut one of them down. 

Following President Obama’s speech at the HRC event last Friday, lots of folks are talking again about U.S. policy regarding homosexuals in the military. I’m hoping someone raises this issue in my Ethics class tomorrow, because there is nothing here to debate. Nothing.

Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell is discriminatory. It treats one group of people differently from another. That’s patently unfair, ergo, it is patently unethical.

Don’t Ask — Don’t Tell is dishonest and hypocritical. On the one hand it says we can’t have gays in the military; on the other hand it says (wink, wink), it’s OK if you keep your mouth shut and kill the enemy. We say one thing and condone another.

Don’t Ask — Don’t Tell is an embarrassment to the nation, and could be changed by executive order. The President will take some heat from homophobes and religious zealots, but none of them is president, are they?

Which leads me to one of the core lessons of any ethics lesson: Ethics requires courage.

For the record, I don’t blog about political issues. But this one transcends politics. May I suggest we do it before 11/11, to honor our many gay veterans who served their country honorably and, sadly, from the closet. Let’s finally make it right.

...and you’re sittin’ on top of the world.

The Beach Boys, 1963

The online world is all abuzz about Google Wave. Did you get your invitation? Me neither. And I may never get one, because I’m just not geeky enough.

Seems that Google wants to create a mystique around its new Wave by only letting the cool people sample it. ...you know, the way Steve "With-Two-L’s" Rubell did with Studio 54 in New York.

So if you aren’t an online insider, you are simply not worthy. But you knew that, didn’t you?

I won’t be losing any sleep over this new product, as I don’t really know what it is. Google’s website tell us that Wave will enable us “communicate and collaborate in real time.” I already have all the real-time I need, at least for now. Besides, I like the brief delays that email and Twitter afford me. Give me time to think and respond intelligently. (DON’T say it!)

Those who’ve tried Wave say it it has potential, but like every new tech toy, the early version is clunky and full of bugs — sort of like my last spring canoe trip when the water was low. I don’t mind waiting for the streamlined version. Meantime, I’ll take some surfing lessons. "Don't be afraid to try the greatest sport around...catch a wave, catch a wave...:

Photo Credit: William-Adolphe Bouguereau - The Wave (1896)

Don’t look for Rupert Murdoch to get a lot of sympathy in social media circles this week. As you probably know, the mass-media potentate is threatening war on the Internet, insisting that the practice of giving away free news content will end. Check out this less-than-objective article from Vanity Fair.

It’s a little late to be chasing the digital cows back to the barn, but Murdoch has a point. Without the mainstream media providing in-depth reporting and content, our democracy will be in grave danger. Wait, wait. It already is. Without MSM sources, those of us who blog and and tweet would have nothing to talk about, since me most often link to mainstream-media stories.

Thanks to the loss of ad revenues and tanking readership, news organizations have cut their operations to the bone. And it’s getting worse.

I’m no fan of Murdoch’s brand of journalism (We distort, you abide), but serious news content costs money to produce — big money. And I’ve yet to see a blog or website that can get it done without borrowing heavily from the MSM content. Murdoch may be pissing in the wind on this one. But like I said, he’s got a point.

We all know Monday isn’t the best day to find useful business news in the mainstream media. But you’d think the Cleveland Plain Dealer would try just a little harder.

Examples #1: If my students ever wrote a lead like this one, I’d tell ‘em to find another major. It reads like an ugle press release that never passed an editor’s eye:

Honors PolyOne Corp. of Avon Lake received Frost & Sullivan's 2009 North American Plastics in Medical Tubing & Catheters Product Line Strategy of the Year Award for innovations that provide sustainable solutions for the medical industry.  Full story here.

Example #2: This interview with Cleveland Cliffs exec Joe Carrabba is pure fluff. I’m sure his family (and a handful of shareholders) will love it, but it shows you why most folks don’t bother to read the Monday business page. Not sure why I did.

Is blogging dead? Have platforms like this one — plus Twitter and Facebook — made “real” blogs irrelevant?

We don’t think so. Here’s a little shameless promotion for the student bloggers at Kent State semester. Maybe I can drive a little traffic their way.

 Check it out here.