Make the Jump: The Case for PR, Elements of Style, Addictive RSS

The Case for PR – It’s been a tough week+ for the public relations profession (Toyota). Heck, if you are a member of PRSA it seems they believe it has been a tough year/decade. It inspired the industry organization to launch the initiative ‘The Business Case for PR’ with the goal of driving  industry recognition and growth by helping professionals in the field educate key audiences about public relations’ roles and outcomes, demonstrate its strategic value and enhance its reputation.

I find myself defending my profession daily. Ironically, about as much as I found myself defending my previous profession of journalism. Whether it is because of bad apples in our industry (like all industries, we have them), or misunderstanding of the role of public relations – especially in the constantly evolving communication realm. And now it is defense against the comparison between PR spam and STDs (yes – they went there in An Inconvenient PR Truth)

What’s been heartening to see is the rallying of professionals around each other – and their livelihood – and self-policing in a way to keep the integrity of our industry. The latest effort is by PR Practitioner Jules Zunich, who does a fabulous job on her blog showcasing other so-called ‘PR rescue efforts’ as she launches her own initiative – the PR Road Show. Check out her blog for some though-provoking posts and join the LinkedIn group.

10 Elements of Style for Blog Writing – My Strunk&White still sits on my bookshelf, although I gravitate towards my AP Stylebook quite a bit more. Nonetheless, writing guidelines are living documents and as such must be updated with the times. Thanks to Marko Saric for being inspired by Strunk and White to create the 10 Elements of Style for Blog Writing. (The mantra of omitting needless words will be in my head!)

RSS Distractions I could be kept distracted all day by the RSS feeds from ReadWriteWeb, Mashable and Download Squad - but I’m trying to wean my addiction. I’ll keep my Make the Jump recommendations to a minimum!

Via ReadWriteWeb an updated list of leading topic tracking tools for the web. Relevancy is key in our field and the ability to track trends and issues is paramount. I’ve only utilized a few on this list from each category but look forward to kicking the tires on a few more. If you have any feedback on any of them share the love.

A new option to break out of the silo via the constantly probing minds at Download Squad. SiloBreaker – which pulls from news sources, blogs, and multimedia sites to put together a hub of related posts and articles for any given story…. in categories such as Global Issues, Technology, Science, Business, Energy, and World. If real-time search has your head spinning and your industry is concerned with any of the above issues – SiloBreaker may be worth checking out.

Via Mashable the latest move by the growing force that is FourSquare. Admittedly like my relationship with Twitter, it took a bit to get on board (joined Twitter Spring ‘08, FourSquare Winter ‘10). But I’m intrigued by the location-based social app and it’s potential impact on travel/tourism/economic development/media, etc. It’s becoming a major player in many markets and a game changer for how people experience destinations and their home town. (And somehow it doesn’t feel as ’stalker tool-like’ as BrightKite)

- Jess

The iPad Echo Chamber

Don’t worry, this isn’t a post pontificating on the wonders of the iPad, or delving into the intricacies of the technology. (Heck, it took me 2 years to get an iPhone – I’m not a first generation tech bandwagoner)

But with the plethora of posts and the echo chamber of conversation I had to post a few of my favorite articles, posts and comments from the past 24 hours.

What’d I Miss? If you are in PR – you might have been thinking ‘If I had some bad news to drop nationally this might be the day – what with that whole iPad furor and the SOTU.’ Gawker has you covered on what you may have missed in the maelstrom with their ‘Tablet Day News Dump’ Verizon laid off 13,000? Really, it was Holocaust Remembrance Day? And you think the presidential candidate who made so many personal missteps actually planned the roll-out of this one?

It’s Called What? The name. Oh god the name! This just confirms my belief that there is a serious issue with certain groups (ahem, men) naming products or companies – especially in the tech world. Maybe it is the influence of my un-p.c. other half. But putting ‘pad’ into the name of the latest object of desire from the Apple cult might not have been the best step – and A LOT of people’s minds went there. There are lots of voices out there backing up this thought – but having the venerable Wall Street Journal weigh in doesn’t hurt. And from the NYTimes Blog - ‘When Apple announced the name of its tablet computer today — the iPad — my mind immediately went to the feminine hygiene aisle of the drugstore. It turns out I wasn’t alone.’

Too. Much. Noise So with the millions of posts (1500 tweets/minute?) – where to turn for what you need to know about the new widget/gadget/kool-aid drinking device? Mashable of course with Apple iPad: A Comprehensive Guide

Wish I Was There And for those into the spectacle of the unveil itself, a link to watch Steve Jobs’ keynote

- Jess

Pay for Access – in New York and Boise

As media outlets continue to grapple with how to commoditize their online content – a Boise-based publication is jumping into the pay for access pool.  The Idaho Business Review launched a new site today (UPDATE: take a moment to read an updated post from 1/28 that details what is offered to subscribers vs. online browsers.) that along with featuring a new look, will have a new price tag:

‘For readers, the most significant change is that most online original content will now be reserved for registered subscribers to the Idaho Business Review. Online registration and subscription information is available at the top of the home page of the new Web site by clicking on the “Manage Acct” or “Subscribe” links. Customers may also call 1-800-451-9998 or e-mail subscriptions@dolanmedia.com for more information. Idaho Business Review e-mail news updates will continue to be delivered daily, free to all. Breaking news, online polls, stock information, a networking calendar and blogs will be prominently featured on the new site.’

The pay for access discussion turns my stomach. In that way where it doesn’t feel right, although I empathize with the situation online versions of traditional subscription-based media find themselves in. Their business model is changing and to pay the people who report and create the content they need to find ways to maintain or increase revenues. But information is everywhere – and restricting what’s already been let out of the bag when people can just find it elsewhere, or those who are paying for access can share it freely, doesn’t seem to work.

From what I’ve seen (correct me if you have positive examples) no one has figured out how to make it work yet. The current situation at Newsday – “Only 35 users have signed up to access Newday’s web site since they put up their $5 a week paywall three months ago. 35 people — “as in a decent-sized elementary-school class,” John Koblin at the New York Observer reports.”

They New York Times is taking a slightly different approach – committing to going to a ‘metered model’ in January 2011 with users charged a fee after a certain amount of page views a month on the site. With how technology in media seem to change in nano-seconds it will be interesting to see the state of the universe one year from now. And if allowing a small bite will entice a someone to go for a larger piece of the cake.

Will the IBR strategy work? I don’t know. Either way, I feel it will be a blow to my home media market where great business coverage is becoming more difficult to find as budgets shrink, reporters focused on business and tech are let go and not replaced, and generalists abound. It’s a product of our new landscape – both the economy and how we consume the fire hose of information at our fingertips. I am a subscriber to the IBR and frequently post links and share content because they are a great resource. So I’ll have full access still (I assume!) But what I believe will suffer is their role as a leader in this community in business coverage. Eyeballs to their site by non-subscribers will most likely decrease. And with it will be their position as a daily resource keeping tabs on the business landscape – driving online conversations – and influencing opinion and discussions of what is relevant.

- Jess