Was Web 2.0 the Result of a Suicidal Virus?Posted by Brian Connolly Ever wonder why the Hell it appears that some of your most respected, knowledgeable and intellectually capable colleagues have completely lost their minds in all this Web 2.0 stuff? I mean, perfectly sensible people totally abandoning all logic and critical thinking, and gleefully hopping on the Cluetrain to nowhere. Well, recently Edelman's Steve Rubel helped bring the answer more into focus (rather ironic coming from the head of the Me2Revolution, one of PR's loudest Web evangelists). A few weeks ago Steve said, "I am a recovering Web 2.0-aholic;" and added: "Let's face it, we're skunk drunk and it's because of money. It's almost like we all need to enter Betty Ford Clinic 2.0 together." Poignant. Something is askew for sure. But sobriety isn't the issue. Of all the countless wacky things PR 2.0 cultists have proclaimed in the last few years, there's been little juice actually, i.e. there's been lots of conferences but little in the way of revenue. Take Kami Huyse and "friendz," for instance; these folks are more God-fearing tea-totaling Heaven's-Gate-like anorexic sorority geeks than fat drunkards. Turns out, the cause could be a virus. Watch this: Bookmark This
 An Open Letter Apology to PR's Web 2.0 "Leaders"Posted by Mark Abrams
On behalf of everyone here, we’d like to say we’re sorry. We’ve been AWFULLY hard on you folks. For over a year now we’ve characterized you as a band of self-important nincompoops and, well, snake-oil salesmen. Turns out, our negative characterization may have been misguided. Certain information has been brought to our attention that now throws our conclusions into question. First, for the record, here's what we were thinking: Throughout the 19th century salesmen/showmen roamed the U.S., going from town to town, peddling “cures to what ailed ya.” As depicted in Western folklore, a hawker would set up stage and boast the efficacy of his particular elixir. This was typically aided by a shill in the audience who would, at the appropriate moment, call out that it had cured his particular ailments. Later, after the unsuspecting public had purchased all the con artists' product, both would quickly "light out" of the area before the townspeople discovered the worthlessness of their claims. This is how “snake oil” became synonymous with fraud. Today, as you are aware, it still refers to something worthless and fake. Bookmark This
What’s wrong with PR Today; The Forgotten ArtPosted by Amanda Chapel Do you know Loren Feldman? You should. We love ‘em. He's not always correct, not always poignant, not even in PR. But he’s TOTALLY authentic. President of 1938 Media, he’s a Web-video guy with a New Yorker edge who every so often hits one out of the park and into our backyard. Here’s one. F-bombs notwithstanding, this one happens to really hit a nerve. It absolutely indicts us and underscores THE central issue of what’s wrong with PR today. We’ve been seduced by technology and forgot our business is an art. To repeat Loren’s mantra, “It’s not the equipment; it’s the athlete.” Get the Flash Player to see this video. ADDENDUM We've taken Loren's warning to heart. We too intend to take a shot at making video; but we approach it humbly. We did our homework and are all set with tech, system and workflow. But now we wait for a visit from our muse. She has been very good to us in the past but we do not take grace for granted. We're hopeful. We’ll see. Bookmark This
STRUMPETTE VS. RUBEL: Take the Pepsi ChallengePosted by Amanda Chapel Alright, we've had it! We're ready for a throw down. Yesterday was that last straw. Yesterday, we were informally presenting a concept to a major studio and one of their juniors compared us to Steve Rubel. Arrrrgh. Okay, enough. With all due respect to the folks over at Ad Age, we do NOT think Rubel's geeky blog should even be listed in the Power 150, let alone rank at the top of online PR. So... inspired by the Pepsi Challenge, we’ve decided to turn this into a little bit of a taste test. We’d like to hear from you our viewers as to your preferences. Full bodied or artificial; Great taste or less filling. Take the blog poll and pick one.
SURVEY RESULTS 9/21 We’ve now closed the voting and here are the results:
ANALYSIS Well, there are a number of ways to interpret the findings: 1) It appears that 3 out of 4 PR practitioners now prefer Strumpette over Micro Persuasion. Certainly, it appears that what scientists were saying was nearly immeasurable less than two years ago, the capacity for critical thinking in PR is increasing significantly. 2) Alternatively, one could make the argument that Peter Pan-like sexually ambiguous SEO geeks have infiltrated the business and now account for a little more than a quarter of the body politic. If that trend continues, within five years the PR industry could be reduced almost entirely to podcasting virtual fashion shows in Second Life. Bookmark This
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This is an open letter to: Constantin Basturea, Richard Becker, Todd Defren, Mike Driehorst, Eric Eggertson, Rick Murray, Robert French, Susan Getgood, Chris Heuer, Peter Himler, Neville Hobson, Kami Huyse, Shel Israel, Joe Jaffe, Jeff Livingston, Brian Oberkirch, B.L. Ochman, Jeremy Pepper, Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble, and least but not last, Phil Gomes.
