Blogs Are Rising as a Public Relations Tool

The Star Tribune this morning had a nice piece on bloggers and the value-added communications tool they can be for enterprising companies. Reporter Mai Hoang articulates the importance of tapping into the blogging market now to get publicity for your business.

Now is the time for a shameless promotion of this site: Traffic to this site has been increasing on a daily basis, so if you have news that you would like posted here you can e-mail me your story ideas to . It is a simple way to get your company's story in the news and viewed by hundreds of people in the pr industry.

Don't Call Me, I'll Call You

In a blow to telemarketers nationwide, a national do-not-call list was started on Friday. According to the Business Journal, the site received more the 370,000 visits in the first few hours.

The Federal Trade Commission is administering the new system in an effort to protect consumers from unwanted telephone calls.

Strib Hires New Assistant Managing Editor

The Business Journal reported yesterday that the Minneapolis Star Tribune has hired Joe Williams from the Boston Globe as their new assistant managing editor. According to today's Star Tribune report Williams "will be in charge of local and state news coverage and oversee the work of more than 80 reporters and editors in the Minneapolis and St. Paul newsrooms and the State Capitol."

Lovely APR

The Minnesota chapter, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) announced Thursday, the accreditation of PRSA member Anna White Lovely, a public relations consultant for Plymouth, Minn.-based Select Comfort. To get more info on APR accreditation, check out my posting on June 5, 2003.

Vacation All I Ever Wanted...

Yeah, I think the Go-Go's said it best. But unfortunately, I am not going on vacation, rather I am going to be travelling on business and might not have access to a computer. I will be out of town from 6/20-6/25. Hang in there, I know there are a few extremely bored souls that live to read the words on this page--even if they are occasionally misspelled. Don't worry though, as Arnold said, "I'll be back."

Blogging, Public Relations and the "Second Superpower"

The debate continues as to whether or not blogging is "real" journalism. An article posted a week ago in journalism.co.uk says that the big media players are starting to pay attention to bloggers.

As an example The New York Times recently had an editorial written by Geoffrey Nunberg complaining about bloggers and junk on the Internet. Nunberg states that Internet search engines (specifically Google), "mirror the interests of the groups that aggregate around particular topics: the bloggers, experts, hobbyists and, often, the crackpots." If he was trying to catagorize people into groups let me just say I am not a blogger, expert or hobbyist.

Online PR

Think you are making the most of your Internet use when it comes to PR? Well maybe, but it never hurts to explore some new ideas. Online-PR is an excellent resource for some useful info and FREE media lists.

Phony

Everybody hates a phony---unless they don't know the difference. According to ABC News "counterfeiting accounts for about 5 to 7 percent of world trade every year, which equates to a figure of approximately $350 billion." If you think that perfume you just bought from the shop down the street is real, you need to read this article.

As PR pros it is often frustrating to see cheap knock-offs of our products on the market, but sometimes these .

Big Brother is Watching Twin Cities!

It seems like everything we do these days is on camera! I guess I always depended on journalists to uncover when our privacy is at risk, but now newspapers like the Star Tribune are participating in this invasive behavior by publishing photos from their "street cam" on the web. In fact anyone can do it. Yikes!

Minnesota PRSA Monthly Meeting

University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Director Al TimsAl Tims will present Using Research to Improve Your Work Results at this months Minnesota PRSA Monthly Meeting - June 19, 2003.

Hittin' 80? Time for a DQ Treat!

My favorite part about warm weather is working up a sweat doing something fun and then heading straight to Dairy Queen for something cold. Well, it is getting hot this weekend and the Star Tribune reported this morning that Dairy Queen is expanding their horizons by opening a new format restaurant called Grill & Chill. Get the story here.

MMM...SPAM, Not Spam

Yup, it is official the world has gone mad. Hormel Foods announced yesterday in the Business Journal that "the company that provided the world with the edible kind of SPAM has hired a California firm to make sure that the electronic variety doesn't invade its computers."

According to the Business Journal report, Hormel Foods Corp. of Austin, Minn., has signed a contract with Postini in Redwood, Calif., to block the rising tide of junk e-mail that threatens to overwhelm its employees and computers. YIKES, so how many computers does it take to make a can of SPAM?

Tartan Marketing Hires New Account Supervisor

Tony Neuman joined in June as an account supervisor, working closely with clients to plan and execute effective strategic marketing plans to drive sales and build brands.

The is a brand-centric marketing communications agency focused on helping business-to-business clients form effective brand strategies.

Does edgy sell?

Have you ever seen an advertisement that you felt bad laughing at because it was so irreverent? The Star Tribune reported today that restaurant ads are stirring up controversy for their tacky billboards around town. Some are calling the ads racist and are calling for a boycott. Get the full story.

E-Mail Marketing Set to Explode

According to The Business Journal companies are starting to rely more heavily on e-mail marketing to reach their customers, while some consumers remain sceptical it certainly seems e-mail marketing will be the wave of the future. As a PR professional you might be considering e-mailing all of your press releases? If so, you need to read The Care and Feeding of The Press.

Friday Humor

While the New York Times trys to work its way through the filth of the Jayson Blair saga, the LA Times reports, comedians are rolling in the jokes at the expense of journalist and pr professionals alike. Here is a sample from Jay Leno: "The former Iraqi minister of information has gotten a new job. He's the new fact checker for the New York Times." Get more here.

What is Accreditation?

What is accreditation? Well, in the PR world it is PRSA's voluntary certification program. IABC has a similar program as well, but the focus of both these certification programs is to assess an individuals level of knowledge in the communication/pr industry.

This year , that is intended to be harder and a better gauge of PR knowledge. Looking for a study partner or more info? Check this site out!!

Calling All PR Pros (on my cell phone)

It seems just about everything you look at these days has a public relations effort behind it! Well, your cell phone is no exception. Groups like the National Motorist Association fight to ensure that the nut-case in the car next to you can call his hair dresser, cell phone companies are on the front lines of public relations. While, New York U.S. Senator Senator Charles Schumer called wireless companies an "industry out of control" on June 1, 2003 as he spoke on his analysis of wireless services in repect to their expensive hidden fees. Ahh...the life of PR pro.

FCC, Media Ownership and Public Relations

Will the easing of FCC restrictions make it easier or more difficult for public relations professionals to pitch to local/national media? IWantMedia.com offers links to some discussion on the matter. But, if you listen to groups like the Media Reform Information Center it may be too late to have this discussion.

According to The Center, in 1983 fifty media groups controlled the majority of news - today it is more like six groups. Has public relations as a profession already lost the ability to impact the media?

Research and PR an Inseparable Team

At Minnesota PRSA's monthly meeting June 19, Al Tims, director of the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication, will teach guests to understand how and when to use research to help you achieve public relations excellence and reduce your risk of failure. Get more details here.