Piaras Kelly PR – Public Relations in Ireland

One.

It takes the rest of them to talk about it.

While Irish bloggers are busy waffling about a cease and desist letter. PR bloggers created their own storm in a tea cup last week about the launch of the Social Media press release by Shift Communications.

I agree that the press release is evolving, but I think it’s due to the fact that the way we digest information is evolving. The Social Media press release isn’t suddenly going to do away with puff copy. It does show some signs though of where we should be headed.

For starters, one man’s spam is another man’s treasure. I’ve pitched a story to two journalists before and I was shot down in flames by one, but given a nice feature by the other. In much the same way, when I issue a press release generally I don’t expect every single journalist in the world to write about it.

Everyone has their own viewpoint and their own opinions. I believe that Shift Communications are closer to the money with the inclusion of a link to ongoing coverage, industry news and reaction.

I’m a big fan of Cnet‘s ‘The Big Picture’ feature whereby news readers can click on the option to put the story into context by showing a diagram which illustrates how it is related to other stories. (Example – Story and The Big Picture)

If press releases are going to start to evolve though, the media are also going to have to make the same leaps and bounds. Too many outlets are taking the walled garden approach when it comes to their online news sections. As a story develops, the article should provide links to relevant milestones in the overall story.

The Internet has enabled press releases to become a much richer experience, providing journalists with related stories, putting them into context and showing current trends. How they evolve will be interesting to watch, but the Social Media press release is only a step in the right direction, not the destination.

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