Risky Business, a C-SPAN Coup, and Other PR Blog Jots

Risky Business(blogs)

Communications Overtones

Kami Huyse lists her top ten risks of starting a corporate blog, assigning each possibility a rating in terms of the likelihood the risk will become a factor for the blogging company.  Some of the risks, such as loss of control over the message (a big corporate fear), she deems as extremely likely, while others, such as legal liabilities, are deemed unlikely to be an issue.  One of the biggest risks, as noted by the panelists of the PRSA Boston event I attended last night, is one that may not immediately come to mind but can be a major problem. “Neglect. Starting a blog and letting it languish might is a risk of blogging. The time needed to maintain a blog isn’t insignificant.”

PR 2.0 and Web 2.0 Not Necessarily the Same

PR 2.0

In a long yet thoughtful post, Brian Solis argues that ‘PR 2.0’ was actually created as a result of the first web revolution of the mid-90’s, not in conjunction with the recent surge in Web 2.0 technology.  Solis worries that marketers and PR and marketing professionals are attempting to sell services relating to PR 2.0 without first fully grasping its true nature.  He further argues that social media and Web 2.0 have become impossibly blurred, when they are in fact two different phenomenons. “But, PR 2.0 isn’t Social Media. And Social Media isn’t Web 2.0. These are also distinct movements that can complement and inspire each other. PR 2.0 does, however, can incorporate the tools that enable the socialization of media, providing smart folks with the ability to reach folks directly.  Social Media frames “media” in a socialized context, but it doesn’t invite PR (as it exists today) to market through (or to) it. However, worthy individuals can participate in conversations.”

A C-SPAN Coup?

Buzz Machine

C-SPAN (interestingly enough considering their programming is almost entirely made up of events and meetings open to the general public) is one of the fiercest protectors of copyrighted material.  Jeff Jarvis notes they even went so far as to demand that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remove their footage of her floor speeches from her blog.  Jarvis calls for a citizen revolution of sorts, wondering why citizen journalists, public radio and other groups don’t take to videotaping government proceedings on their own and broadcasting them online.  “Unleash an army of us with audio and video recorders to capture public meetings and then host what we come up with and give us the tools to edit these recordings down to their essence. The next time you go to your school board meeting, take along a video camera and put it up on YouTube. And watch how your elected representatives behave then.”