Albert Maruggi › Likes

http://www.economist.com/blogs... - J Wynia

It caught my eye because I keep hearing people say things like, "the average family has $5000/$8000/etc in credit card debt" with no context. - J Wynia

Which you didn't go to. :-) - Louis Gray

The PR machine is unrelenting, but it's there job. Just like you have to fill a certain quota for FastCompany, PR peeps only have so much to work with to communicate to the public. So, it sure might seem like spam, and in some ways it might be pretty spammy, but the fact that so many people are trying to make an impression on you is exactly the argument you make about Twitter, and the following metric. Being a high-profile public figure is going to draw lots of PR. It's just a matter of common sense. - Andrew Dobrow

So write the blog post - you know that there are many people who would listen to you weighing in on this matter - just as many of them picked up on it when you twittered. Your words do hold weight where it matters - so get them out there before people start deciding what you *meant* to say. - Lucretia Pruitt

Louis: yes, but I was seriously tempted. I just had other things I needed to do that day and I can't do everything cool. - Robert Scoble

Like I said on Twitter Robert - yeah, we get it, you guys get too much email, a lot of the email you get is terrible, you dont want press releases, we knowwww. But you guys are major influencers, you write about a product or company and they get sales, so those companies want you to know about them. These people are CEOs and boot strapping entrepreneurs that dont have time to pitch... more... - Lisa

Though I'm sure there are PR guys that go way beyond their call of duty, to the point of abuse. And that is what I think Trapani's wiki is perfect for. But not for the PR trying to get their word in, because that's just their job. - Andrew Dobrow

I disagree. Being a high-profile person is going to draw a lot of ATTENTION but it won't draw PR if the people doing the PR know what they're doing and can find a hook that will speak to an audience. I don't care what Robert Scoble is doing UNLESS it relates to my life - business or personal - in some way that's truly relevant. Otherwise the releases and tweets and events and manufactured noise is just that, static I can do without. - Jeff Cutler

Andrew I've been in PR for 25 years. It's changed and I understand the email which in part I believe is fostered by emails in databases like Bacons, at least for journalists, and open emails without policies on blogs. So part of the issue is being clear about how to pitch a particular blogger. Now let's take the Twitpitch, that sounds great until the folks who don't understand twitter... more... - Albert Maruggi

Albert: That's the great thing about Twitter is that it's a total voluntary action to follow someone who is "spamming" or Twitpitching. I agree with Robert how e-mail PR can get a little rough sometimes, especially when you're such a high-regarded figure as Scoble, but that's just the price you have to pay I guess, since being well-regarded is not as voluntary as Twitter. - Andrew Dobrow

I'm weighing in as a journalist and a blogger (not the same thing) and I don't have an ax to grind with PR people, but I do expect them to follow certain rules. First, think like a reporter. If there's news there, then get the fact to me (or my editor) and we'll do the work we're paid to do. But don't take the two paths that infuriate most journalists...1. spoon-feeding us a slanted story that only serves you and your client. 2. treat us to a story that isn't news or anything that our readers care about. - Jeff Cutler

PR people are under a lot of pressure to show ROI for everything they do. Working for a public company, you still need to do the wire release and ensure your disclosure obligations are being met - there is no way around that for most market-moving announcements. With that said, that doesn't give PR people free license to spam the media and blogosphere. The pre-pitching and follow-up... more... - Rachel Polish

Shhh, don't tell any of those clueless PR people that I'm subscribing to everyone on this thread except for @Prokofy. - Robert Scoble

I get more krud every day and the good stuff (usually little emerging developers) are getting really hard to find. I don't necessarily agree with some of the names mentioned by it's usually an individual developer or small team that really comes up with something fascinating ... so here's the top secret e-mail ... Naah ... not here :) Honestly think Louis and Robert have it right on this. If you REALLY want to, or need to get to the 'meat', publish your cell number?? - Charlie Anzman

? I'm not even in this thread, down boy. - Prokofy Neva

It's nearly time to take a little nap until morning, so I'll leave you with one more thought. Robert is spot on with his complaint/comment/feeling that he's constantly being pulled in many directions. When the grappling hooks from companies, PR pro's and journalists get so demanding that he has to make a decision, try to think where you (in his shoes) would focus your energy. I know I would block the companies and the PR folks and go with the writers who genuinely see a story and are going after it. - Jeff Cutler

I'm not arguing that PR can become a bummer when it's in such massive numbers, but I do think there is a bright side to the madness. The bright side being that, if you're receiving hundreds and hundreds of e-mails from PR people, you have MADE it! Haha, you know? It's a real marker of your status, almost to the point that it should be regarded with gratefulness. - Andrew Dobrow

PS: Seriously don't think calling out people one-by-one will do anything at all (filters? :) - Charlie Anzman

social media has become all about filtering. Problem is too much time is spent filtering now... scoble and others don't want to spend that much time filtering PR pitches to find the ones that are actually valuable. PR people don't want to spend the time filtering through blogs to find ones that matter to them. and now, average joe doesn't want to have to filter through the our back and forth on this topic on twitter, so here we all are on FF... I need a second brain for all this filtering. - adam christensen

The "create interesting experiences" concept definitely hits home, but it takes more resources than most have. Sun can get Neil Young, I can use some tricks to get A or B or C, but for the little guy it should be about persistence and creativity. - Andrew Feinberg

The problem is bad pr firms and others that send mass mailout to every possible email address for a given domain, the best way to deal with those is to firewall the offending ISP or offending country. Small well targeted email runs atleast don't become a nightmare for ISP's. - paul

the problem is the email platform is being abused so much that it is almost impossible for it to be taken seriously, anyone should ignore any email from any company that ask you for your personal details or login information. - paul

So my post was more of a rant than I was hoping for and I never really got to my point which is, cant we please give this a rest on the weekend, I dont want to have to avoid Twitter and the computer in order to not have to feel like me and my profession are getting kicked in the teeth again. I just want to be on to have some good conversations, and this isnt one of them - the PR bashing is exhausting, and it takes a toll every time I see another Tweet come across about it. - Lisa