Chip Griffin: Pardon the Disruption

Should We Throw Out the Social Media Rulebook?

That's what I argue in a commentary today on Media Bullseye.  It has sparked a bit of discussion already, with Amanda Chapel weighing in to laud my views, which can only mean that it's a polarizing piece!

Jim Turner sums up when many others seem to be thinking: "                              This post is somewhat like a shotgun blast.  Some of the pellets hit there mark and some not so much..."

Or Doug Haslam who noted, "The best rule is that rules are made to be broken.  Should I agree with every little thing you said? I know better than that."

Read my commentary and tell me what YOU think.

PR Pros Enthusiastic About Social Media

PRSA's Technology Section and its New York Chapter put on a great event in NYC yesterday at the T3 Conference.  I spoke on a panel moderated by Don Bates accompanied by David Parmet of Marketing Begins at Home and Tony Sapienza of Topaz Partners.  Tony gave on overview of the tools in social media relevant to PR pros, including wikis, podcasts, blogs, social networks, and more.  David discussed SNCR's best practices for corporate blogging.  And I talked about 7 sins in 7 minutes.

What struck me most was the sea change that has occurred since last year's event by the same sponsors.  A significant percentage of people in the audience are now writing blogs and virtually all read them regularly.  That's a far cry from the last one where "what's a blog?" was a common question.

It was a great opportunity to meet new people and also catch up with some old faces.  For instance, I finally met Constantin Basturea in person and saw Steve Rubel for the first time in many months.  Speaking of those two, they were on a lively panel discussing the future of PR moderated by Richard Laermer.

(Photo of me here taken by David Parmet with his Nikon D80.  Check out more of his photos from the event on Flickr.)

Technorati tags: PRSA, public relations, T3, David Parmet, Tony Sapienza, Constantin Basturea, Steve Rubel, Topaz Partners, Marketing Begins at Home, Nikon D80, Don Bates, Richard Laermer

Should a Startup Entrepreneur Choose DIY PR or an Agency?

Guy Kawasaki today has a guest post from Glenn Kelman, the CEO of Redfin, arguing that startup entrepreneurs should follow the DIY PR route

Nobody knows if Charlemagne could read because an advisor always read aloud for him. It was considered humbling for the king to do anything himself. The same fears drive the most captivating, articulate entrepreneurs to hire publicists. Who wants to risk looking like a fool? As a result, hardly anyone in technology ever tries to talk to a journalist by herself—except Guy, of course.

That’s too bad. Just the other day a newspaper’s technology editor told me, “It’s just so hard to meet entrepreneurs these days. You always get their PR people.” A dozen entrepreneurs sprang to mind who would kill to tell their stories. All have agencies. So what I am recommending is not howto manage an agency, but something more radical: not hiring an agency at all.

Kelman goes on to offer 10 reasons why and does a lot to take the mystery out of startup PR.  There's no question in my mind that agencies and sole practitioners offer real value.  The question for the startup entrepreneur really becomes when is it appropriate to spend precious dollars on PR versus the DIY approach? 

It's a constant battle for entrepreneurs to make these types of decisions -- when do you hire a bookkeeper or someone to do payroll?  What functions should you outsource and which ones should you keep in-house?  When does the dollar spent on a vendor provide more value than the time spent internally?  Like Justice Potter Stewart said of obscenity (paraphrasing), "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it."  Ultimately, many decisions for the startup entrepreneur are gut calls based on the best information, advice, and experience available.

Certainly, however, entrepreneurs shouldn't be afraid to do PR on their own, especially in the early stages.  If the choice is between investing in the product or investing in PR, it's a no-brainer.

I'd be interested to hear what the "wizard" (Dick Costolo of FeedBurner) thinks since he does Q&A for founders on his blog.  For that matter, Ask the VC might take this on as well to see what Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson think from the VC perspective.  And, of course, thoughts from Shel Holtz, Shel Israel, or others who have helped provide PR to entrepreneurs in the past would be interesting as well.

UPDATE: Shel Israel weighs in on this topic. Speaking of Kelman's post, he writes: "In my opinion, it's the best piece yet written on the subject."

Technorati tags: DIY PR, public relations, PR agency, PR consultant, Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, Dick Costolo, Guy Kawasaki, Glenn Kelman

Come Learn About Social Media

On May 15, Doug Haslam of Topaz Partners and I will present a Social Media Skills Workshop for the PRSA Yankee Chapter.  The event will be held at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH from 1-5 PM.  Cost is $35 for PRSA Yankee Chapter members and $45 for non-members.

This will be an information packed afternoon with time for hands-on learning. Below is the official description, or you can download the event flyer with tentative agenda and registration form in PDF format.  If you're interested in learning more about blogs, podcasts, and other forms of social media, I encourage you to register now. 

SOCIAL MEDIA SKILLS WORKSHOP
presented by Yankee Chapter/PRSA and sponsored by Southern NH University

Spend a half-day (1-5pm) learning all about social media, including blogs and podcasts.  By the end of this seminar, you will have learned how to:

• Pitch your company or client successfully!
• Build relationships through commenting on blogs and podcasts!
• Communicate your message unfiltered through your own blog or podcast!
• Assess your social media coverage using free or paid services! 

In addition, part of the workshop will include hands-on training where you will actually help create a simple blog and podcast.

Technorati tags: PRSA Yankee, PRSA, social media, professional development, public relations

Church of the Absurd

I was stunned this morning when I read Shel Holtz's post about Ben McConnell of the Church of the Customer blog arguing that PR pros should "stop pitching bloggers you don't know." 

Ben and sidekick Jackie Huba are smart people.  They're also very influential in the online marketing realm and have an increased profile of late as they tour to promote their Citizen Marketers book (which they've managed to get me to cite in two posts already today!).  To see one of them make such an absurd argument is startling to say the least.

Not all of what Ben says is bad advice.  He does argue that you shouldn't add bloggers to your latest blast email touting your announcement.  That's absolutely correct.  But as Shel points out in his post and as I do in my 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers white paper, there are good ways to reach out to bloggers you don't already know.

Sticking your head in the sand and dealing only with friends in the blogosphere makes no sense. In this case, the Church of the Customer seems to be worshiping a false prophet.

Technorati tags: Ben McConnell, blogger outreach, Shel Holtz, blog pitching

Online Engagement

Jim Horton has written a thoughtful paper on "engagement" in the blogosphere.  No, not the precursor to marital bliss, this is an analysis of what the term means for blogosphere bliss for PR practitioners and marketers.  He includes descriptions of the ranges of people involved in writing and reading blogs (Engaged, Information Seekers, Aware, and Uninvolved).  In some respects, his descriptions are similar to what Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell discuss in Citizen Marketers.

He includes tips on how companies should get involved in the blogosphere along with suggestions for specific techniques to join the conversation.  Worth a read for anyone interested in thinking about this issue.

Technorati tags: Jim Horton, engagement, Citizen Marketers, blogs, online marketing, public relations

Boston Area PR Scholarship Available

Mark McClennan of PRSA Boston asked me to mention a scholarship they're offering, and I'm more than happy to do so.  If you're an "undergraduate or graduate college student studying in the Boston area" and interested in PR, you should check out this $2,000 scholarship. 

Technorati tags: PRSA Boston, PRSA, Mark McClennan, scholarship, Boston

You Can Go from Hell to Heaven with a Blogger

Good news for anyone who has crossed swords with a blogger.  It is possible to recover.  In a week in which we see Chris Locke and Kathy Sierra smiling and laughing together just days after serious accusations, including death threats, got tossed around, we now see Jeff Jarvis making nice with Dell.

I'm not sure which one is harder to believe, but I do know it is the latter that really interests me. 

For those unfamiliar, here's the short version from Jeff:

I had a rather infamous run-in with Dell here at Buzzmachine when I complained about a bad machine and service. They ignored me, but thousands of similarly frustrated customers did not.

This became known as "Dell Hell" and generated massively bad publicity for the company.  In recent months, however, Michael Dell has reasserted control over the company.  Dell has now gone to great lengths to join the online conversation, including starting a blog as well as an online suggestion site that has drawn incredible community interest.

Indeed, Dell is now going to offer Linux based computers because of the results of this online outreach.  For a company that resisted this sort of offering in the past, this is a major about-face.

Just as big was the outreach the company did to Jarvis recently:

When I blogged that I was headed down to Austin and the University of Texas last week, I got email out of the blue from Dell’s chief blogger, Lionel Menchaca, inviting me to meet him and his colleagues over drinks or out at Dell HQ. I said I hadn’t been planning to pack my flak jacket and he replied, “Even though it is Texas, there will be no guns involved.”

The meeting went so well that Jeff now says he wants to go back and talk with the company some more to learn about their transformation.  And rather than lambasting the company as a bunch of people who don't understand their customers, he now writes:

And so it was a delight to sit down with three guys from Dell and look at the new world from the same side. These guys get it.

This story clearly demonstrates that if a company gets in hot water in the blogosphere, all hope is not lost.  By changing practices and -- more importantly -- communicating more effectively with the social media community, reputations can be recovered.  It's not a slow process, and for Dell it clearly isn't over (for many in the blogosphere, they will likely remain, at a minimum, on probation for quite some time). 

In the past I have lamented the fact that the Blog Mob style of justice often used throughout the blogosphere scares companies away from joining the online conversation.  As bloggers and podcasters, we want those companies here with us, not on the outside looking in.  Hopefully the Jeff Jarvis and Dell story will now become a case study in how to recover, and not merely how to do things wrong.

Technorati tags: Jeff Jarvis, Dell Hell, Dell, social media, reputation, blog mob

7 Deadly Sins Featured in Bulldog Reporter's Daily Dog

Bulldog Reporter ran a column from me today that details my 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers that I have written about in this space before. 

• Download the complete white paper for free
• Listen to a special 15 minute podcast version of the 7 Deadly Sins

Technorati tags: PR, Bulldog Reporter, pitching bloggers, 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers, Chip Griffin

Wired, Microsoft, Waggener Edstrom, and the Ethics of Interview Prep

I was prepared to write up a post today disputing the criticism of Microsoft and Waggener Edstrom for their preparation for an interview with Wired. But Joseph Thornley beat me to it and did a better job than I would have.  Go read his post instead.

Technorati tags: Wired, Microsoft, Waggener Edstrom, PR, ethics