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Holtz Communications + Technology

Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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Blogs vs. PR

Trevor Cook reports that The Economist, that most venerable of news magazines, features an interview with A-list Microsoft blogger Robert Scoble in which the publication speculates about the possibility that blogs will replace traditional PR. From where I sit, this suggestion—even coming from the economist—represents a woeful lack of understanding about what PR agencies do. I imagine most people envision PR people cranking out press releases and spinning bad news—another reason the profession needs to do something about its own image.

While blogs will certainly change much of PR, and even replace some aspects of it, such roles as issues identification, crisis planning, and relationship building will continue to have value when managed by professionals with education and experience. When you look at such engagements as v-Fluence’s brilliant work on behalf of the US cattle industry during the mad cow story, you realize that blogs alone can’t produce those kinds of results. It requires the expertise of someone who knows what he’s doing. And that’s just one example of category of the kind of value talented PR people bring to their clients.

02/11/05 | 0 Comments | Blogs vs. PR

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