CustomScoop's PR Blog Jots

CustomScoop's PR PodJots

Welcome to CustomScoop’s PR Podjots, a weekly rundown of PR podcasts.

We are hoping to continue expanding our universe of podcasts, please leave any and all suggestions in the comments section, and enjoy!

It’s “Podcasters Across Borders” week here in the PodJots, as all three of our highlighted podcasts discuss this year’s conference. For those of you who miss it, I recommend tuning in and hearing all about it.

Six Pixels of Separation - June 25, 2007 – Mitch Joel on the Information Overload

Mitch Joel of Twist Image calls for more technology simplicity as a way to combat information overload. He uses the example of the Nintendo Wii, a far simpler and enjoyable (to him) gaming system than its more complex counterparts such as the Xbox and Playstation systems.

The complex gaming systems, he argues, can be too overwhelming for users, just as the overabundance of technological advances may be overwhelming to those trying to break into the game. As someone who has recently tried out the Wii myself, I cannot agree more. Mitch is convinced that there will one day be a time when social media and new technology will be simplified and brought together into one convenient location.

The information overload is a continuing theme in many PR-related podcasts and blogs. Until a way to simplify our information intake is developed, many may shun the latest advances altogether.

Also discussed:

• New Facebook Group – Six Pixels of Separation Podcast Society
• Marketing Toolkit with Christopher S. Penn.
• Hugh McGuire - How Podcasting Will Save The World.
• Julien Smith - Getting Your Podcast Seen (As Well As Heard).
• Bryan Person - Managing Your Social Media.
• Neil Gorman – Comicology - Broken Toasters, William Shatner and Podcast Burnout. I’ll be in conversation with Neil next week.
• Six Points of Separation – Six Future Marketing Channels To Watch:
  1. Mobile Social Networking.
  2. Social Shopping.
  3. Many-to-Many Conversations.
  4. Personal Branding.
  5. Hyper-local.
  6. Mobile content.

Inside PR - June 26, 2007 – What a PR Education Doesn’t Tell You

This week on Inside PR, David and Terry take inspiration for a spirited discussion based on a comment from a PR student, who points out that some of what’s entailed in the practice of PR isn’t actually taught in university PR programs.

More specifically, the comment is about the “soft skill” of always remembering names and faces, as well as the ability to schmooze—that is, to network and engage others, members of the media in particular. Terry thinks this skill is somewhat underrated, and is something that’s important for PR professionals to cultivate. While the importance of interpersonal and communications skills can be underscored while in university, he argues, they arne’t really something that can be specifically taught.

David thinks PR pros can help themselves, at least with media members, by doing their homework—read up on what journalists have worked on or written, try to remember their names and faces at events, and speak to them in a way that may stroke their ego. He also reminds professionals that an overabundance of confidence can be just as off-putting as a lack thereof.

It’s an interesting discussion, especailly in this age when so much emphasis is placed on practices that leave the PR pro alone behind a computer.

Also discussed:

• Terry discusses Podcasters Across Borders 2007.
• Inside PRoper English: tortuous and torturous (hint: tortuous means “twisting,” while torturous means “relating to torture”)
• Fans of Inside PR group on Facebook

New Comm Road - June 27, 2007 – Stepping Outside Podcasting Echo Chamber

Bryan Person discusses what he calls the “Podcasting Echo Chamber” and mix up your audience and social media network. He notes that he bumped into a young student on his trip home to Boston, and she had not actually heard of podcasting. How do we reach out those people who may be interested, but are unaware that podcasting even exists?

Bryan recommends networking within your community’s (be it online or in person) various groups and organizations. This can include churches, schools and colleges, municipal offices, and even your own family. Spreading the word about podcasting, even to people who are unfamiliar with the technology, is invaluable to escaping the echo chamber.

Discussions such as these continue to be important in the new media age, as it is easy for the early adopters to forget that the vast majority, even those in the PR industry, may not be familiar with all that is out there. Bryan points out that there are even still folks who believe that it is actually necessary to own an iPod to listen to a podcast.

Also discussed:

• Recap of Podcasters Across Borders.
• Meeting with podcasters Mitch Joel, from the Six Pixels of Separation, the Twist Image Podcast; Donna Papacosta, from the Trafcom News Podcast; and Terry Fallis, from the Inside PR Podcast.
• Organized by Mark Blevis and Bob Goyetche from the Canadian Podcast Buffet.
• My talk on “Managing Your Social Media

Around the PR Podcast horn:

Other PR podcasts this week:

For Immediate Release – Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson also take on the social networking overload, and discuss Facebook marketing options, branding opportunities a the 2008 Olympics, and many other topics.

Trafcom News Podcast – In her most recent episode, Donna Papcosta discusses podcasting FAQs; a section on speechwriting with John Watkis, and another Podcasters Across Borders wrap-up.

Marketing Over Coffee – John Wall and Christopher Penn discuss Christopher’s visit to Podcasters Across Borders, the sale of Business.com, and th

Three Clichés (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Actions Speak Louder than Words
The Flack

Peter Himler links to a recent column from New York Times author Thomas Friedman, who discusses the impact of citizen journalism on reputation management in a time when “everyone is a publisher.” Peter notes the difficulty of keeping up decent public appearances when anyone now has the ability to take a public figure or corporate interest down a notch or two. He uses JetBlue CEO David Neeleman, who did his best to communicate in every way possible following the airline’s disastrous Valentine’s Day—but ultimately did not take enough action. “So what does this mean for those of us charged with (and who charge for) managing reputations? Plenty. Command of the language is fine, but actions are redeeming. Leveraging the mainstream media filter can work, but the newly empowered ‘media mass’ dictates our fates. And, ultimately the ‘crowd’ will determine the net effect of even the most well-intentioned actions.”

Beauty is Only Skin Deep

Strategic Public Relations

Kevin Dugan notes that both USA Today and the Wall Street Journal are opting to include magazine-style sections with glossy paper in their daily issues, in an effort to promote higher sales and bigger advertising clients. Kevin dismisses the idea, noting the current bleakness of the print media business and questioning whether prettier paper is really enough to save it. ‘More paper? Glossy paper stock may make advertisers happy -- initially. But will it reverse the hemorrhage of readers moving to an online only news diet? That better be some pretty amazing paper.”

The Road to You-Know-Where is Paved with Good Intentions

Simonsays

Discussing the recent kerfuffle over a Federated Media campaign which paid A-list bloggers to write on behalf of a client, Simon Collister attempts to define transparency; he notes that simply admitting your tricks isn’t enough to qualify.  While honesty is always best in dealing with social media, we can’t expect protection when the nature of the activities we own up to still doesn’t jive with the conversational nature of the medium. “The important point here is: FM thought that by admitting what they were doing, they were being transparent. They weren't. They were being open about their activities, but ultimately masking their intentions. It's where transparency as a genuine value meets transparency as a corporate platitude. The former is vital for holding real conversations and building real relationships. The latter is the cross-over point where conversations meet marketing.”

Personal vs. Professional (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Nothing Personal...
Young PR
Paull Young posts on the dilemma many young communications professionals are facing when it comes to social networking: how do we keep our personal and professional lives separate? Formerly, Paull kept his friends on MySpace and his professional network on LinkedIn, but friends and colleagues alike embracing Facebook, where is the younger generation of professionals to draw the line in blending personal with professional—and would we really want colleagues included in our personal social networks? “An up and coming PR pro in their 20’s is not going to be thinking about where photos from the pub at 3am will turn up. But as their professional network expands they’ll need to start thinking about it, less they make an arse of themselves in front of those they need to prove their maturity to."

iPhone Mania
Tech PR Gems
Todd Van Hoosear went to a local at&t store recently to hear about what plans would be offered with the launch of the much-hyped Apple iPhone, only to discover the sales team woefully under informed. He points out that while keeping the general public in suspense over such a highly anticipated new gadget may be normal, but why not at least share some details with the teams responsible for selling it? Although in this case, it seems the public may be better informed than the sales team after all.  “While the hype around this is astounding, as a PR pro, I wondered one thing. Is this the norm? Maybe for Apple it is, last week and this week they keep making pre-announcements on battery life, rate plans, you name it. I wonder if those guys working in the store even know this.”

Newspapers Evolving with the Times?
Communications Overtones
Newspapers have been making strides towards incorporation of social media, including user-generated content and reporter blogs. Kami Huyse reports they are also beginning to join the online video game, with the New York Times and Washington Post (following an earlier similar announcement from the Wall Street Journal) announcing they will be sharing embeds for their online video content. Kami thinks this may be part of the iPhone effect, as the Times uses video to post an entertaining review of the new device. “As for television, Fox has inked a deal with Brightcove to become its online video platform. Overall, television (protecting its assets I am sure) has been slow on the uptake of sharing content.  For newspapers this is a value-added proposition, and as I have said before, I believe newspapers, and ultimately television, will adapt to the new realities facing them.”

TMZ vs. Celeb Flacks (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Hollywood vs The Blogosphere?

The Flack

Peter Himler outlines the diminished influence of celebrity publicists in the era of countless blogs and websites devoted to celebrity gossip. The publicist’s former role of controlling the media attention received by their clients is heavily incapacitated by the influx of social media in Hollywood. Peter quotes today’s New York Times, which interviewed a celebrity publicist about working with 2.0 citizen journalists, like those behind TMZ. “'If you have something you know they will like, you tip them to it,' the publicist said. 'It’s kind of the old way you dealt with the old-time gossip columnists. You have to occasionally feed them an item. You have to be in the game with them. If you’re a publicist and the only time you call up is to complain about an item, they’ll laugh at you.'"

New PR Tools Reach a Tipping Point?

Common Sense PR

In an interesting post outlining the various steps social media has taken to become recognized as legitimate, particularly in the public relations industry, Eric Eggerston argues that the medium has finally reached the tipping point and entered the mainstream in PR shops. “So feel free to get off the fence, if you’re still waiting to see if this fad will pass. Use new tools, don’t use new tools. It’s your choice. Just don’t be afraid to jump in because blogging and content sharing is only for the geeky enthusiasts. If the Ragans, the IABCs and the Melcrums of the world are spreading the gospel, social media has long ago moved past a fad.”

Facebook Bubble?

Paul Gillin

Quoting another post on the topic from Rick Skrenta, Paul Gillin wonders about the prospects for longevity of Facebook’s recent surge of popularity. While MySpace has suffered recently, perhaps as a backlash to its earlier popularity, or its bad press about sex offenders, or its banning of the widgets, Facebook is thriving. Paul wonders how long it will be until a new contender comes along to throw another hat into the social networking ring. “But who's to say that will last? As Skrenta notes, the cost of switching services is pretty low and people are inclined to run toward whichever network has shiniest new toy, at least for now. If Facebook doesn't continually out-innovate new competitors, its success could be short-lived.”

Social Media Tips and Tricks (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Selling Social Media

Tech PR Gems

Building on a discussion from last week’s Boston Social Media Club event, Todd Van Hoosear lists the reasons most often cited by clients wary of joining in on the social media fray—and the counter arguments that may change their minds. A great post for anyone experiencing pushback from timid clients or executives unsure about where to begin. Some of the common arguments are that companies can handle blog monitoring on their own. “’We monitor social media ourselves, so why should we pay for it?’ Are you confident you're catching everything? More importantly, can you measure how influential any one particular online conversation is?”

More Tips for Getting Started

Media Orchard

In another useful post for reluctant among us, Scott Baradell lists a few tips for getting started in social media, “without scaring the CEO.” He recommends starting an internal company blog for communicating with employees, implementing a few social media tags into company news releases, and beginning careful distribution of releases over RSS and to bloggers (with caution, of course). “These steps amount to little more than putting a toe in the water -- but there's no reason why any communications department can't begin doing them today.”

Avoiding Social Media Overload

Pro PR

Joseph Thornley lists some tips from Bryan Person for managing an overload of social media, a new task we all must develop as demands on our time increase. Bryan recommends, among other things, that we all delete all the feeds in our readers, that way we will only re-subscribe to the pages that are truly important to us. He also recommends checking each of your tools (email, readers, Twitter, etc.) in a specific, organized order each day. “Trust your network for recommendations. You don’t need to subscribe to or read everything. If one of your friends spot something that he or she thinks is important, they’ll pass it along to you. Finally, be prepared to step away. Turn your computer off. Enjoy life. Then you can come back to the computer refreshed.”

iPhone Buzz Reaches Crescendo, AT&T Benefits

The Buzz Bin

Geoff Livingston praises AT&T for their efforts in capitalizing on the unbelievable buzz surrounding the iPhone, which launches this weekend. He notes the ease with which the company has managed to cash in on the hype behind the latest iTechnology from Apple to promote the AT&T brand, and that the company’s competitors look weaker by comparison. “The hype is already reaching a frenzied state. [H]Enthusiast notes that the hype will only get louder as the phone launches. Just more proof that Apple and AT&T have pulled a major marketing coup. I get the feeling that this product launch will be one for the books.”

PR PodJots

Welcome to CustomScoop’s latest running feature, a weekly rundown of some of the more interesting PR podcasts (first edition available here).

We are continuing to work our way through Shel and Neville's “Podroll” over at “For Immediate Release,” but feel free to suggest other new or interesting PR podcasts as you come across them.

Despite the fact that we led off with FIR last week, I feel compelled to include it again, as they marked their milestone 250^th episode:

For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report – June 18, 2007 – 250^th podcast celebration

Shel and Neville reached a milestone this past Monday, namely they celebrated their 250^th podcast.  In a montage of brief audio clips provided by fellow podcasters, industry experts, and friends extolling their personal experiences and congratulations, it’s easy to realize the positive effect and influence that the bi-weekly podcast has had on the industry. 

Carmen Van Kerckhove from the Addicted to Race podcast shared two lessons she learned from the duo.  She thanked them for helping her understand that PR strategy is more than just media relations.  While the media plays a role in PR, the concept is also about “shaping the conversation, about advocacy, and it really envelopes all kinds of communication about your company.”  Van Kerckhove also expressed appreciation for learning the value of authenticity and speaking like a real person on her podcast, opposed to being overly academic and unapproachable.

CustomScoop's own Chip Griffin of the Disruptive Dialogue podcast also gave accolades to the pair for their successful podcast.  Griffin revealed that FIR was the first podcast that he listened to and that it inspired him to learn more about the industry, which eventually led to him starting his own podcast.  Griffin noted that in honor of FIR’s landmark podcast, CustomScoop would be offering a 25 percent discount to customers who mention the show and sign up for a free trial before July 1^st.

Additional featured listeners who shared congratulatory messages and thoughts include:

Luke Armour http://armourpr.wordpress.com
Doug Haslam http://topazpartners.blogspot.com
Francis Wooby http://www.wooby.tk
Rob Safuto http://www.awakenedvoice.com
Sallie Goetsch http://www.podcastasylum.com
Terry Fallis & David Jones http://www.insidepr.ca
Anna Farmery http://theengagingbrand.typepad.com
David Phillips http://leverwealth.blogspot.com
C.C. Chapman http://www.managingthegray.com
John Wall http://www.themshow.com
Karin Hoegh http://www.podblog.dk
Michael Bellina http://www.theadvertisinglunatic.com
Donna Papacosta http://www.trafcomnewspodcast.com
Dan York http://www.disruptiveconversations.com
Mitch Joel http://www.twistimage.com
Lee Hopkins http://www.leehopkins.net

On the Record with Eric Schwartzman - June 14, 2007 – NYT Columnist David Carr Weighs in on Social Media

David Carr joins Eric Schwartzman to discuss how the Web has changed journalism, blogs and the influence of social media. Of note, Eric points out that Carr was the first blogger at the NYT, and wonders if “The Grey Lady” loses credibility as it joins the blogosphere. Carr hasn’t found that blogging has tarnished the Times’ reputation, as the journalists blogging maintain the same journalistic standards to their posts as they would to officially filed articles.

I find it interesting that he applies that standard, as the debate continues regarding the application of journalistic ethics to citizen journalism. He notes that there are also standards of decency applied to journalist blogs, and they might nix a link to an innocuous site because of its affiliation with another site that doesn’t belong “in a family newspaper.”

Carr makes another highly notable quote: “Influence is the only metric where blogs come up roses.” He argues that certain blogs can move the needle even more than traditional media, mentioning Gawker as an example of a blog that can influence large MSM outlets.

Also in the discussion (from the show notes):

• The importance of “scoops” in the age of the blog.
• The business of newspapers and how the audience has changed and continues to change.
• How newspapers battle to keep their share holders happy, the departments staffed and the community well-served.
• Carr on Rupert Murdoch's controversial bid to purchase the Wall Street Journal.

Public Relations/Public Affairs Ideas - June 18, 2007 – Corporate Reputation – Where’s your “Sustainability Sweet Spot?”

Andrew W. Savitz, author of “The Triple Bottom Line,” joins Ernie Landante of Novita Issue Communications to discuss sustainable business practices and corporate reputation.

Savitz discusses the “sustainability sweet spot,” the balance between a company’s business interests and corporate social responsibility. He defines sustainability as “the intersection of what you need to do for your business, and what society tells you you need to do,” using the Toyota Prius as a prime example. Traditionally, corporations participate in philanthropy to fulfill their CSR, but by changing the business model, Savitz believes companies can improve their bottom lines while still helping improve society.

“Philanthropy is about giving money away, sustainability is about growing, running, and protecting your business.” It’s an interesting concept. Why shouldn’t a company work both to help society and continue to promote and sell their products? And is this bad for PR? (That is, does it make a company look too self-serving?)

Also discussed:

• “Strategic philanthropy”
• Mapping profitability and impact on society
• GE and Pepsi’s sustainability culture
• Dupont’s move from chemistry to biology
• Companies that get sustainability wrong

Allow Myself to Introduce...Myself (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Me, me, me, meeee

Wordwise

As a big fan of Dan Santow’s writing blog Wordwise, I am compelled to include his latest post as a must-read. It is well documented that poor writing is not only unprofessional, but can cast a pall over even a good public relations campaign. Dan’s post covers a common grammatical bugaboo for many of us, even word-nerds (myself included), with a great tip for correcting errors before they begin. Me, myself, or I? “We’d never say or write, ‘Be sure to call I at home tonight,’ yet the minute another person is involved we go all wobbly because we’re not sure if it’s ‘Be sure to call Aida and I at home tonight’ or ‘Be sure to call Aida and me at home tonight.’ Here’s what to do: Just remove the other person or thing from the sentence.”

Enterprise 2.0 Jots

Pro PR

After a week of interesting and informative posts detailing his activities at the Enterprise 2.0 conference in  Boston, Joseph Thornley links to several other bloggers posting about their Enterprise experience. They cover the gamut from social tagging to interesting dinner discussions, to live blogs from some of the panels. Definitely worth perusing for those of us who missed the event. “Jason Woodrow gives a great overview of the Launch Pad 2007 session at which four startups - Collanos, Clarizon, LiquidTalk and KnowNow - showed their stuff. Sandy Kemsley reports on Michael Vander Wal’s presentation on social tagging. Sandy Kemsley (again) liveblogs a panel of heavyweights discussing Group Intelligence.”

Time Has Come Today

Murphy’s Law

Following the “attention meme” that seems to be spreading lately, Tom Murphy discusses the values of time management in an era when more and more of our valuable time is taken up by seemingly endless social media sites and platforms springing up almost daily. “There’s more and more “stuff”. In addition, much of this “stuff” doesn’t replace what we already have, instead its an adjunct. My problem is that there’s a hard limit on how much more I can do.  There are only a limited number of minutes in the day.  I have a day job and a family.”

The Possibility of Myhoo (and Other PR Blog Jots)

"Myhoo"?

BuzzMachine

Jeff Jarvis reports on the speculation of merger between MySpace and Yahoo, in which MySpace would be sold to Yahoo for 25 percent of the latter. Jarvis thinks this may be a brilliant tactical move on Rupert Murdoch’s part, as he could unload MySpace for many times what he paid for it at a time when Facebook is beginning to breathe down its neck. “For Yahoo, this would focus them, I believe, as a social media company. They’d be out of the search business. They’d still have services — email, Flickr, Del.icio.us, chat, personalization, rss — but those should become aps in a larger social world of MySpace and beyond. Their content could also become modules to be distributed socially.”

Grassroots Blog Challenge

PR Squared

Referencing an article calling out AT&T for refusing to market or promote their new $10 subscription plan (a product of their merger with Bellsouth last year), Todd Defren issues a call for the blogosphere to take up the cause themselves. He hopes that other bloggers will point consumers in the right direction towards the cheaper plan, which he argues is far too difficult for them to find on their own if they are unaware it exists in the first place. “I wonder what would happen if the blogging community noisily took up the case: if the blogosphere demanded that AT&T adhere to the spirit of the FCC decree, not just to the letter of the law.  Anyone up for a meme?  I suggest ATT$10 as a T’rati tag.”

Citizen Journalism and Election '08

The Flack

Peter Himler discusses the “Off the Bus” program, sponsored by The Huffington Post, which seeks to send citizen journalists out on the campaign trail with presidential candidates. Peter is thrilled that the media coverage is being thrown open to the public in this manner, but wonders whether it is necessarily appropriate to give press credentials to any blogger who wants them. Where do the media directors of the campaigns draw the line? “From a PR perspective, however, I wonder about the scalability of the credentialing process, and more specifically, who gets them and who doesn't. By laying down the gauntlet early, do Jay and Arianna hope their now-branded band of bloggers will be given access to the hallowed halls traversed by campaign insiders? (The bet is they don't need it.)”

Seize the Blog (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Carpe 2.0?

Bulldog Reporter Daily Dog

In the Bulldog Reporter’s “Barks and Bytes” feature, Jim Sinkinson celebrates the opportunity facing PR practitioners today to “seize the day” and take control of the new tools and technology available, and to revolutionize the industry. He laments that the main tool of online corporate communications, the corporate website, has been lost to IT departments when it ought to be in the PR department’s purview. He points out that we really may just be at the beginning of a new Internet age that will change the way we do business. “I encourage you to consider that this is a new beginning, and we're in the middle of it. Blogging, search engine optimization, social media, online video, viral marketing, wikis, virtual worlds—these are the new tools we've been gifted. This is our chance to take hold of history and to make history.”

Blog Building Blocks

PR Communications

Quoting from a recent panel at Enterprise 2.0, John Cass examines the role of blogs and social media in corporations.  A panelist asked what it is we use blogs for, and Joseph Thornley suggested that blogs are like hammers; tools used to build anything you need, whether it’s to put a human face on your company or start a conversation with the consumer. “I think the hammer analogy is appropriate; a blog is a tool, one that can be used to build a wealth of content and/or community. What's interesting with a blog is that the development of content is not just on your own blog but by interacting with other people in your community.”

How Not to Handle the Blogosphere

Paul Gillin

Paul Gillin breaks down the recent kerfuffle between Dell and popular consumer blog Consumerist, wherein a corporate lawyer for Dell attempted to get the blog to remove a list of tips from a former Dell employee detailing how to get the best deals on laptops. Paul notes that in attempting to remove the post, they only increased the interest in the situation with their legal maneuvering, and wonders who at the company thought this was a good idea. The issue has since been resolved with a mea culpa on Dell’s blog. “You have to wonder what kind of troglodyte at Dell thought it was a good idea to sic the corporate lawyer on Consumerist. In the professional media world, these kinds of disputes take place in the background and outside of the view of the reader. There is no such discretion in the blogosphere; in fact, many bloggers actually rejoice in tweaking the noses of those whom they offend.”

Forget the Real Estate Bubble (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Watch Out for the Attention Bubble
Brand Flakes for Breakfast
Darryl Orht links to a recent post in which Steve Rubel wonders if we’re heading for an “attention crash,” due to the myriad social media networks, tools and blogs at our disposal. Darryl agrees that there may eventually not be enough time in the day to take it all in. “Even with RSS and the techwonderous tools at my fingertips, there just aren't enough hours in the day to take it all in. And, there's that job thing people keep expecting me to do too...a coworker and I were just discussing the desire to be able to eliminate sleep. So many things to read, to watch, to do. So little time. Crash is coming...”

More Print Media Woes
Paul Gillin
Making the rounds in several PR blogs this morning is the news that CMP has laid off 20 percent of its workforce in a mass reorganization, which includes the axing of publications Optimize and Network Computing. Paul isn’t surprised by the latter development, as he points out that tech publications have been declining for years, despite an earlier surge that had required publications like Computer World to produce child magazines to accommodate the demand for ad space. Finding the silver lining, perhaps, Paul notes that the web has changed—for the better—the way writers and editors relate to their audience and come up with interesting content. “The Web is liberating in that way. In removing constraints of space and time, it frees the writer to focus on content and the reader to make choices based upon what they want to read rather than what the publisher chooses to give them. I think that, in the long run, we’ll realize that this was a great liberator and a step forward both for the craft of journalism and the service that publications deliver to their readers.”

Pay-Per-Post Not Always Bad
Mike’s Thoughts
Responding to a Google policy that seeks to prevent websites from “buying” higher page ranks in search results, Mike Driehorst wonders why the Web seems to want to punish such activity, such as bloggers participating in Pay-Per-Post. He points out that if a blog is well written, interesting and (most importantly) transparent, why should a paid post now and then hurt anyone? He argues that penalizing bloggers who earn extra cash in this manner is not worthwhile, so long as they are open about their participation. “As long as there is up-front and easily-seen disclosure that a blogger is being paid to promote a product or service, so what?! I’m not stupid. You’re not stupid. We know ads and slanted posts when we read them. Michael Brooks/HistoryMike is a great example. He has a very insightful, and worth-reading blog about current events (international, national and Toledo-area), book reviews . . . and even PPP posts.”