I need to preface this some. For those readers not necessarily familiar with Strumpette, I am NOT a big fan of the PR Blogger elite. There seems to be a central hypocrisy to what they evangelize. Money is at its core. Actually, I find that the majority of them are self-promoting numb nuts with little to add considering that amount of our oxygen they seem to consume. But on the other hand, there are people like Mike Manuel.

Mike manages Social Media Services for Voce Communications, a boutique PR firm located in Palo Alto. He is currently an Advisory Board Member and the Best Practices Chairman for the Society of New Communications Research. He is also a regular contributor to WebProNews and the Corante Network where he writes about PR, new media and marketing trends. His blog Media Guerrilla was twice voted "Best PR Blog" by Marketing Sherpa and the Business Blog Awards. Mike also has received honorable mention honors for the 2005 Technorati/AlwaysOn Open Media 100 List.

In a sentence... Mike's the real deal. That's a fact. As I am also one to deep discount PR credentials, per se, I focus on words and especially where one's words align with action. Actions speak louder than.

Rollout of Professional Collectables Planned

CHICAGO -- Strumpette, one of the leading weblogs covering the public relations industry, today announced that it has signed a merchandising agreement with one of the world's leading promotion fulfillment companies, Tchotchke Unlimited, Inc.

As part of the agreement, TUI will design, manufacture and distribute custom collectables such as tee shirts, posters, baseball caps, mugs, panties and mouse pads. Under the agreement, TUI will receive "lead vendor" status for all of Strumpette's merchandising needs.

Amanda Chapel, managing editor of Strumpette said, "We've gotten a deluge of requests from our readers. Tchotchke has a broad reputation for its ability to quickly ramp and go to market. The company is also widely recognized as having one the broadest distribution networks for professional knickknacks in the world. We're thrilled with the prospects of this partnership."

The first rollout of collectables will feature the artwork from one of the most popular stories on Strumpette to date, "Championship PR Midget Toss Sets Record."

"Edelman PR's 'Flying Gnome' so captures the abject silliness of this whole 'Me2Revolution,'" said Chapel. "Recent studies show that 95 percent of the Fortune 1000 finds the whole idea similarly goofy. We think this is a whimsical but powerful way to capture that for them."

The collection is scheduled to be available by mid June. For more information write info@strumpette.com .