Day: August 23, 2002

Dan Gillmor, Phil Gomes and the blog as the corporate communications medium

Interesting piece in Dan Gillmor’s blog on PR and blogging. In the piece, which highlight’s Phil Gomes and his recent article on blogging, Mr. Gillmor recommends that companies look at encouraging CEO’s to undertake blogs – as he points out that corporate web sites rarely provide the information he and his colleagues are looking for in putting together a story.

So he suggests blogs as a means of letting people know what’s new at the company and on the website. Good advice.

So what are the chances of your CEO writing a blog? Minute? So how about you as the corporate communicator managing the blog? Or for you as the consultant offering it as a service? Think through that one.

On Mr. Gillmor’s comment on Web site press rooms, the best advice I have heard on the design goals for an online press room is that is should: “Provide everything a journalist needs to write a feature on your company without contacting you.”

How many of us can claim that? [Comments?]

Mmmm…I see from your CV…
The PR profession draws from every walk to life. The varied nature of the different industries we represent creates opportunities for very different people to succeed in this profession and that diversity is a real strength.

Yesterday, the British Guardian carried a story about a PR practitioner who has been accused (only accused) of insider trading. My first reaction was that given our profession’s access to sensitive information prior to public disclosure we have a remarkably good record at behaving ethically. It’s rare to hear of a PR person being accused of insider trading, in fact I can’t recall an instance.

But the story has even more color than I first thought, the PR professional in question, Tim Blackstone, has a coloful personal and professional past. He is the brother of the British arts minister, Lady Blackstone and he started as a PR consultant following a career in financial journalism and prior to that was a soft porn actor.

Don’t you love the diversity of this business?

Further coverage at the BBC.