Murphy's Law

• Kelly Papinchak has started a new blog for PR students and newbies entitled ‘Beginning a Career in Public Relations’. [Thanks to John Wagner for the link]
• Eric Tatro has a new blog called Nerve Center covering “high technology, communication and public relations”.
• Ragan Communications have created a blog for their corporate communications conference which takes place in Las Vegas this week.

John Cass has published some preliminary results from his corporate blogging survey and they make for interesting reading.

Of the respondents to date, the top reasons for publishing a corporate blog were:

• Another way to publish content and ideas
• Build a community
• Promote ‘though leadership

The bottom three were:

• Respond to negative comments
• A way to get interview requests from journalsts
• Crisis communications

OK, enough already with the navel gazing on whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of full or partial RSS feeds.

Who cares? Not me.

RSS feeds deliver headlines into my reader. I browser the headlines and for subjects that interest me, I read on. I do it in the newsreader or if I have to click, I click.

If people spent more time evangelizing the benefits of RSS (there are loads) rather than bickering about something that doesn’t matter we’d all be happier.

Furthermore, if people think I’ll be tinkering with my RSS feed settings to cater for the preferred RSS format they are mistaken. Most people configure their RSS at the outset and never venture near it again.

People, let’s focus on the big issues not get stuck in the weeds…. please no more “discussion” on the matter. Make up your own mind and do what you prefer…

No single topic causes as much fear, panic and argument among the PR profession as measurement. From my own experience, discussions with other practitioners and the previous PR Opinions surveys [2005 | 2004] there’s a lot of confusion, and no little denial surrounding the best means of measuring Public Relations.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the argument that you can’t measure the full impact of a PR campaign. Unfortunately in today’s business environment where metrics are central to investment decisions, that just doesn’t cut the mustard.

The UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations has released a number of papers over the past year on the subject of measurement. Their latest, a policy document [PDF] on the subject, presents seven statements on measurement. To summarize:

• PR is subject to the same measurement requirements as other business disciplines (whether you like it or not)
• Measurement is difficult across the board not just in PR
  You can simplify the PR measurement issue by paying close attention to planning and objectives from the outset
• PR can be measured
• Available measurement models – if used correctly – provide sufficient measurement for decision making
• There are a wide variety of different areas to measure – be aware of them
• Measurement is essential in the training and education of practitioners

The policy document also includes a wealth of references and resources on measuring PR. It’s a recommended download.

• I’m delighted to report a new Irish PR blogger. Piaras Kelly is writing a blog that specifically looks at Irish issues in relation to Public Relations. Piaras is a working with Drury Communications [website] one of the larger Irish PR firms.
• Mark Rose has kicked off a brand new shiny PR blog called PR Future.

• Jeremy Pepper‘s latest PR Face2Face interview is with Clive Armitage, head honcho over at Bite [website] and home of the Bite blog.

I know Clive from way back in the mists of time when I was a wet-behind-the-ears PR intern. We both worked at Text 100 before he went of to discover fame and fortune with Bite. It’s a great interview with some interesting observations.

Jeremy also has an excellent post on the art and science of PR team building and he reports on John Battelle‘s keynote at the OMMA West Conference.

• Ken Kerrigan has a thoughful post on the importance of effective internal communications.
• Keith Jackson writes on a report by Ronald Hanser of Pinnacle Worldwide on a survey of future PR trends.
• Richard Edelman believes that PR is finally getting some respect…
• I’ve been meaning to link to the New Communications blogzine for ages. It’s mission is to:
  New Communications Blogzine is a bi-monthly online publication is dedicated to exploring new communications tools, technologies and emerging modes of communication, (including blogs, wikis, RSS, podcasts, search marketing, etc.), the growing phenomena of participatory communications and their effect on traditional media, professional communications, business, politics and society at large.
  
  Issue 8 is just out and is focussing on blogging and women. It’s definetely worth a read and there’s some great stuff in the back issues.
• It looks like the 49’ers video snafu is set to run….
• An interesting profile of Pat Corfman who looks after PR and Marketing at Michigan’s Bishop Airport.

• The latest installment of Shel and Neville’s ‘For Immediate Release’ podcast (#38) is now online.
• The former Fleishman-Hillard vice president at the center of the ongoing row with the City of Los Angeles has been charged. He’s pleaded not guilty and claims he’s been made a scapegoat.
• Interesting bit of positive self-publicity for Ketchum on their 300-strong alumni meeting in Pittsburgh.
• UK PR impressario Max Clifford has extended his client roster. He’s just been retained to manage the publicity for a British man who is to be freed after eighteen years on death row in Ohio.
• Todd Defren bemoans the analyst relations circuit and recommends that people think about the audience they’re trying to reach rather than just going through the motions. He’s right, however the reality is that if your client is selling enterprise software, the analysts remain a major influence on the buying process (and the media).

It’s often said that you shouldn’t put anything in an e-mail that you wouldn’t like being read in a court of law or published on the front page of a newspaper. It would appear that the same applies to internal training videos. You have probably by now read, and possibly seen, the San Francisco 49’ers contentious media training video.

That introduction is a feeble attempt on my behalf to create a segue to the rest of this post which is completely off-topic.

PR is clearly becoming a more important element of professional sport. It’s importance isn’t just for a specific team or player, but good and bad PR reflects the sport as a whole.

This weekend the British & Irish Lions kick-off their much anticipated tour of New Zealand. The Lions are a rugby team (for the unitiated rugby has similarities with American Football but doesn’t have all the advertising breaks or the safety equipment) drawn from the best players from Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. Every four years, since 1888, these players come together to play a series of matches against New Zealand, Australia or South Africa.

This year’s tour is to the home of world rugby, Andy Lark’s beloved New Zealand.

Rugby only turned professional (officially) twelve years ago and the fear was that traditions such as the Lions would be lost in a climate of professionalism. What’s happened is the opposite, the Lions tour has turned into a massive sporting and commerical event. For example, the Lions jersey is now globally the second best selling replica jersey for Addidas (only second to the Real Madrid soccer team).

They are taking their PR seriously as well. After a number of major faux-pas on the last tour to Australia four years ago, they have brought in arguably one of the best known PR people in Europe, none other than Tony Blair’s beloved Alastair Campbell.

The Lions are a great example of nations putting their differences aside to create a team that mixes different nationalities for a common cause. They travel more in hope than expectation but in the words of former English captain John Pullin:

“We may not be very good, but at least we turn up.”

C’mon the Lions…

• You’ve most probably already seen this by now, however Yahoo has released their blog guidelines [PDF][Thanks to Andy Lark]
• Jim Horton points to an article in Editor and Publisher that looks at how publishers could incorporate a citizen editor into the newsroom.
  

  “What exactly is a “citizen editor”? “In a lot of ways, it’s unlike any other job in the newsroom,” says Rich Gordon, chair of Newspapers and New Media at Northwestern University’s Medill School and the faculty advisor for GoSkokie.com, an experimental student-run citizen-journalism website set up to serve the city of Skokie, Ill. “The job isn’t to find stuff out and package it; it’s to solicit other people to provide information and encourage interactivity among your [online] users.””

• David Parmet highlights the increasing overlap between journalism and blogging. Jeremy Wagstaff was having problems reviewing a Tablet PC and posted them on his blog. Inevitably Robert Scoble comes to the rescue.

Jeremy reviewed his initial post after reading Steve Rubel‘s take.

[Of course it should be pointed out that while all this cross-posting is going on, some poor PR person is probably getting caned for following standard review processes….]

Jeremy also provides links to some interesting PR-related posts:

Do’s and Don’ts of dealing with media online

PR Pitches and the foibles of memory

How (Not) to Pitch a Blogger

Another PR Mis-step

• If you, like me, still hold a fascination for the excesses of the Dot Bomb era then Deborah Branscum has the perfect link for you. The Business Plan Archive is building a repositiory of the business plans of failed start-ups from the period. It’s fantastic!
• Meanwhile John Byrne, Editor of Fast Company has come out shooting after reports on the possible demise of the magazine.
• The Online Journalism Review‘s Mark Glaser has written a very good article on how companies are manipulating search engine rankings. [Thanks to BL Ochman for the link.]

• Jeremy Pepper has published an interview with Harris Diamond, CEO of Weber Shandwick.
  

  “I’m chair of the Council of PR Firms, and I wouldn’t say public relations is under fire. There have been one or two issues that have been raised. The Annenberg Study that has just been released shows that the relationship with the C-level suite for public relations is better than it has ever been.

  As a business, public relations is in very good shape, it is continuing to grow, and we will see more opportunities.

  There are issues, but these are no different than other issues that have come up. I don’t buy into it that there are more problems today than before. There are always spin doctor issues, issues about how PR works – it’s only natural. It’s similar with advertising and other marketing practices. Public relations is in the best shape it’s been in since 2001.”

• Kerry at the McClenahan Bruer blog highlights a press release issued by American Business Media re-affirming the publishers’ commitment to the division of editorial and advertising. They deserve great credit for coming out at this point.

The recent moves by Morgan Stanley and BP make me sick. They are a last desperate attempt at controlling the media. How do they fit their heavy-handed advertorial policies with their Corporate Social Responsibility objectives? I’m sure both organizations have a 300 page manual on how they work with the community – unfortunately these attempts at manipulating the media through advertising dollars show exactly just how committed these institutions are to society.

• Richard Bailey has some very insightful analysis on why PR students and new practitioners should and shouldn’t blog. It’s a recommended read for anyone considering getting a blog up and running.

• Off topic: Here’s a research report that was published ten years ago, that in my opinion, never got the publicity it deserved. It analyses one of the most oft-used conversational show stoppers of all time. Comparing Apple and Oranges. [Thanks to Nick Gall for the link]