Focusing on the shift in media consumption patterns, Internet content strategist Sally Falkow offers 11 steps for PR people to take in order to revitalize the profession. Citing statistics that indicate key demographic groups now go online to get news and information, Falow writes, “To ignore these changes and keep on doing PR the same old way doesn’t make any sense to me. Of course people still read print, but not like they used to. The Cluetrain has left the station. It is a fact that your audiences have shifted. They are online.”

Some of Falkow’s advice (e.g., “Find out who your audiences really are”) should be part of any practitioner’s efforts, traditional or not. Some is simply wrong. I’ve already written about the idea of writing press releases for non-media audiences, which is Falkow’s fourth recommendation: “Realize that with online news sites such as Yahoo News, Google News or Topix, you reach your audience directly. Your release doesn’t have to get the attention of a reporter or an editor. Write your release like a news story that the end user will read and respond to.” I think it makes more sense to include a link in the boilerplace to the consumer version of the news and continue focusing press releases on the press.

That said, most of Falkow’s recommendations are spot on. She advises, for instance, reading influential blogs in your industry, offering RSS feeds for the press releases on your website, monitoring your online footprint, and starting a blog that deals with news and issues instead of using it simply to pitch your company.