Holtz Communications + Technology

Hewlett-Packard started a blog experiment on November 8 as a channel for communicating with the technical community. According to a PCWorld story, HP was low-key about the introduction of the blogs. Says David Gee, VP of marketing for the company’s management software division, “We buried it in the developer section by design because we want to get our feet wet.”

Thanks to Allan Jenkins for the link to this PRWeek article on measurement of public relations efforts.…

Most of the PR blogs have noted Dan Forbush’s upcoming PR Wiki Day. If you missed it elsewhere, here’s the scoop: Forbush will set up a wiki to “establish areas of consensus among 30 PR bloggers with respect to the proliferation of micro media five, ten and 20 years into the future.” It looks like it’ll happen on January 27.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer offers a pretty good overview of Merck’s public relations efforts in the wake of the VIOXX recall. The article addresses the current advertising efforts and the need for outside experts to come to Merck’s defense.

Torrance, California-based PR agency Power PR has issued a call for performance-based metrics for the public relations profession. In a press release posted to eMediaWire, the agency proclaims, “The day is over when a client can enlist a marketing publicity PR firm for a year, and then be confronted with an immeasurable result for his investment. Progress should be measurable…

In case you mised “The Persuaders,” the 90-minute documentary on marketing tactics that aired on PBS as part of the Frontline series, KQED is making it available in two streaming video segments on its Web site. Thanks to the PR Studies blog for the link.