Tom Murphy – Murphy's Law

A couple of people have commented to me over the past few days that my posting recently has been, how do I say this, grumpy?

A cursory browse down this page does present evidence to support this assertion. But then my blogging style has always been grumpy

If anything is likely to set me off on a rant, it’s one of the ‘blue sky’ crowd going on about the subject of PR without ever having licked postage stamps for press release envelopes – or the digital equivalent – it’s been a while since I was in an agency – maybe it’s assembling digital clippings?

Anyhow I digress. 

I’m delighted to report that today something from the slogosphere has put a smile on my face.

Anyone who has spent time on the agency side can remember clients who couldn’t understand why journalists wouldn’t be interested in widget X. This was the painful end of the job and required education and understanding.

I thought it was incredibly insightful to see this post [Hat tip to Stuart, Phil] from blog supremo Robert Scoble.

For those too lazy to click, (really brief summary) Robert bemoans the fact that people, sites, “publications” failed to link to a video he produced… which according to him:

But the news of my videos isn’t WHAT was discussed in them, but rather the TOUR itself. I expect at least a few of Engadget’s readers would love to see the place where the chips inside many of their gadgets are made and hear from the people who make those chips directly instead of reading just something that sounds like a press release rewrite. Maybe that’s just me?

Spot the uneducated client?

A man who feels completely qualified to comment on social media releases, doesn’t understand PR lesson 101 – that the value of “media” is not that they publish what you say is newsworthy - their value is that they provide editorial process on all the “news” that’s taking place - as a service to their readers.

Just because you think something you’ve done is cool or newsworthy doesn’t mean it is, or that I have to bother my backside linking to it for that matter*.

Maybe now Robert will realize that there’s more to PR than sending a press release. Maybe he’ll tell his friends, and maybe they’ll stop acting like bold children.

Robert here’s some free advice: go talk to one of those silly PR people and get some advice. If blogs have to link to other blog posts just because people ask, there ain’t no value.

It made me smile anyhow… so for that we’re all grateful.

*I obviously realize that it’s unlikely that Mr. Scoble or his peers would want a link for this blog, so I use this example only for the purposes of illustration.