Recently, ClickZ editor Pamela Parker and I participated in a webinar on the impact of blogs and participatory journalism on PR. The event, attended by over 300 professionals, was organized by the technology chapter of the PRSA and graciously sponsored by Microsoft Live Meeting.
Since then I have received several requests for copies of my presentation, so I thought it would easier if I just made it available online here with the full narration. Pamela’s presentation is also online here. Be sure to download it to gain a journalist’s perspective on how blogs help them do their jobs. The full Webinar with audio is archived here.
Welcome! Thanks for having me here. This is an exciting time. The dawn is breaking. The public relations industry is entering the second major wave of change of the Internet era. I applaud you for taking the time to learn more. Please ask as many questions as time allows or email me anytime if I don’t get to your query.
[Solemnly] Before I begin I'd like to ask everyone to bow their heads in a moment of silence as we remember “Ye Olde Mass Media Ecoystem.” May she rest in peace. Yes, the old media ecosystem – the one we know and love; the one that feeds us; the one that dates back to the days of Gutenberg – is dead!
In the Golden Age, “Ye Olde Media Ecosystem” was incredibly powerful. Outlets consolidated into Big Media behemoths that essentially would tell audiences: "Hey, consume this! We’re the big gatekeepers. We know what’s best for you.”
Here’s a look at what this ecosystem looked like until fairly recently. The media provided the consumers with a constant flow of high value news and information and we gladly lapped it up. Yum-my!
Unfortunately, as you can see from the schematic above, until recently there were limited feedback opportunities for us to talk back when we wanted to say "Waiter, there’s a fly in my media!" Letters to the editor and editorial advisory boards were a start. Eventually these mutated into emails to the editor and threaded discussions, but they still remained fairly tucked away behind the curtain.
As Big Media flourished, it was a grand time for public relations industry. PR consultants who figured out how to crack the code and get passed the gatekeepers became very successful. These skills are still invaluable, but now there are changes afoot and PR pros need to add new ones.
A tectonic shift is now underway. The consumers of news - the folks who for years had very few ways to talk back to the press – now are generating news of their own! This was driven by a spiraling decrease in costs for bandwidth and storage as well as an array of cheap, new social media tools and wireless devices. The impact on PR here is significant. The whole definition of media has changed. We need to adapt – as we have in the past – or risk disintermediation.
In the New Media Ecosystem there are now two spheres of influence – the mediasphere and the blogosphere – and frequent conversations taking place between them!
Here’s a look at the new world we live in. There’s a constant flow of feedback between all of these groups. Blogs influence audiences and the media. The media feed the bloggers and continue to remain very powerful with audiences. Finally, audiences now have the means to provide feedback to the media and the bloggers. Oy, what a mess!
Bloggers are the leading force of change here. A blog is basically a web site owned by an individual or group that’s written with a human voice. They are easily discovered, usually organized chronologically, and written by people you can reach out and touch. It’s this last point – the social nature of blogs – that differentiates them from more staid corporate web sites.
So you’re probably saying “that’s all really nice Mr. Steve, but how big is blogging really?” Well, Technorati is tracking 4 million of them. What’s more notable than the sheer numbers is the landmark news events that were born in blogosphere. Bill Clinton, Dan Rather, Trent Lott and the Kryptonite bike lock company all learned not to dismiss the bloggers. The nut here is that bloggers may not have massive audiences right now, but they certainly do shape opinions! Even if you feel the blog audiences are too small to bother with, I suggest you reconsider merely because the media are reading them. That should be all you need to evangelize this in your companies/agencies.
So who’s blogging? Well, who isn’t! As you call tell from this list there are folks from all walks of life who are using their weblogs to not just blog about their cats but to actually write thoughtfully on issues they care about. I assure you they break news and shape opinions.
Blogs are also giving rise to something called “participatory journalism.” Ordinary citizens – whether on their own or as part of a larger community – are now amateur “reporters.” Take OhMyNews for example. The open source Korean news site – which is entirely written/edited by citizens sans gatekeepers - is extremely popular and influential. When the new president of South Korea was elected, OhMyNews snagged the first interview with him. Similar efforts are sprouting up in the US, such as Metafilter.
What’s even more interesting is that big media is getting into the game here as well. For example, many of the 30 newspaper web sites that make up the Advance Internet group are recruiting vocal local yokels to blog right on the newspaper sites. They’re saying, “Hey, we can’t be at every school board meeting. Help us help you!” That’s very smart thinking coming from a genius named Jeff Jarvis. Just think about the potential impact on PR. It’s not conceivable that in the near future we may begin pitching our next door neighbors to write about our clients!
I realize there’s a lot to take in here. The key thing is to get started. Before you run to launch blog, first take the time to listen and study. Begin with tools like PubSub that will help you monitor in real-time what the bloggers are saying about your clients/products/brands. (Disclaimer – PubSub is has engaged my employer, CooperKatz & Company, as their agency of record.)
The next step is to reach out to the bloggers that look important. (See yesterday’s post on how to find these folks.) Talk to them, but not at them – resist the urge to pitch them. Treat them like humans and engage them in a conversation. Show them you’re listening and that you care. Show them that you want to have a relationship, not just another clip to pile onto your report. Treat them like the pros – except keep in mind they may not have the same standards. Any email you send them can be turned around and published in minutes. Be nice, even if they’re hostile. (On this frame is a review of WeatherBug, my client, that was written by a blogger my team got to know.)
The final step is to participate. Become part of the conversation. Put your clients/staff at eye level with audiences by launching blogs championed by real humans. Have these people engage the broader world in a transparent conversation that’s available for anyone to read. Also, carefully post comments on other blogs – but do it as you. Keep it real. Here’s a screen grab of a blog CooperKatz launched for WeatherBug earlier this year. We’ve had several successful blogging projects since.
Before I conclude I thought I would give you a real example of all of this in action. Another CK client is the Association of National Advertisers, a major trade association. We helped their President and CEO, Bob Liodice, launch a weblog that is a venue for him to have a voice on key issues. We sent the link to reporters and they began to subscribe to the site’s feed. Once in awhile they publish entire stories based on what Bob posts on the blog. No pitches, press releases or interviews were utilized in the making of this film.
Like I said before, there’s a lot to learn here, but it’s worth it. My suggestion: read what some of the old-timers who have been out there long before me are saying; people like what Jeff Jarvis, Steve Outing, Chris Willis/Shayne Bowman, Tom Murphy, Dave Winer and Robert Scoble. Read Dan Gillmor’s We the Media, which is available free online. Of course, I’d be very appreciative if you check out the archives over on my blog, Micro Persuasion. I have lots of stuff you can read, but don’t feel obligated!
Thank you for your time. Again, if you have any questions about what’s here or anything that isn’t, please email me.
