Search results for the tag, "Press Releases"
April 11th, 2012
In February 2010, I wrote a blog post called “Google News.” In November 2010, I revised it. Yet it took almost another year and a half to finish the damn thing, which appeared last week on Mashable. Since the text from 2012 doesn’t include the text from 2010, I figure I should publish the original for posterity.
Google’s announcement earlier this year threatening to pull its business from China stirred the proverbial hornet’s nest. Leaving aside the merits of what the company did, consider the way in which it broke this news.
As the Wall Street Journal reported, “Google’s vice president of public policy and communications, Rachel Whetstone, began crafting and revising a number of versions of a possible statement the company planned to release publicly.”
Pretty standard fare, right? There’s nothing special about your PR person drafting a statement. But this wasn’t your usual corporate spin. In fact, the statement wasn’t a statement; in its eventual form, it was a blog post.
A blog post to announce above-the-fold, A1 news? Indeed, for the world’s leading search engine, with a market cap of almost $200 billion, it wasn’t the first time.
The reasons and rewards are many:
Why indeed. Instead, why not write blog posts instead of press releases.
To be sure, this tactic works best for a company that already has a well-established blog, like Google, Zappos, and Twitter. For Joe’s Life Insurance in Mobile, Alabama, blasting a release to 50 reporters may not only be simpler but also more effective.
Where does that leave a small business that’s neither a mom-and-pop nor a Fortune 500? (According to the Small Business Administration, such firms employ half of all private-sector employees in the United States.) On one hand lies the LinkedIn-Netflix model: issue the release as usual, then rewrite it in a blog-friendly way and publish it as a post.
On the other hand, if you don’t have a blog, and aren’t ready for one, you may want to write your releases as if they were blog posts. Instead of manufacturing a quote from an executive we all know never actually spoke those words, free the individual(s) who managed the project to narrate its evolution.
Ultimately, the migration from traditional media to social media is inevitable. Whether you cannonball or dip your toes in, the key metric is making a splash: are you attracting attention and thus sales?
When was the last time your press release made a splash?
Enjoy this post? There’s more where this came from on Twitter, where I test out ideas 140 characters at a time before fleshing them out into 500-word blog posts.
April 6th, 2012
A version of this blog post appeared on Mashable on April 6, 2012.
Like an old shoe, the press release has been around forever. Every year seems to bring another proclamation that it’s on its last legs. While the rumors are exaggerated, they emerge from a stubborn truth: the press release is being eclipsed by digital alternatives that are more flexible, more interesting, and more relevant.
A milestone was reached in 2010, when Google made a major announcement not by press release but by blog post. Five years earlier, a company of Google’s stature would have issued a boilerplate statement on a newswire. Now, a Google executive was crafting a more thoughtful, even heartfelt narrative that was published on the Official Google Blog.
This shift in medium and message represented a new era in corporate communications. No longer does a traditional press release suffice to make news. News now needs to be conveyed in an empathetic tone and delivered in a user-friendly format.
Google isn’t the only exemplar of this strategy. Using a conversational voice, Dell breaks news on its blog. When Netflix has something to say, it complements its release with a first-person post. Southwest Airlines takes the prize for a blog that whips CNN-type announcements into HBO-like celebrations.
But what about businesses outside the Fortune 500 and Silicon Valley elites, which don’t have deep resources and a vast, engaged audience at the ready? How are they keeping pace with the changing nature of news distribution?
The same way the big boys are—and often as effectively. A variety of you-wouldn’t-think-so companies are making creative use of blogs as a vehicle for public relations. Here are four examples.
Click here to continue reading.
Enjoy this post? There’s more where this came from on Twitter, where I turn stale and stoic press releases into succinct and spirited tweets.
July 7th, 2009
A version of this blog post appeared on K Street Cafe (July 7, 2009) and TechRepublican (July 8, 2009).
The staple of public relations is the press release. It’s been around forever; follows generally agreed guidelines for format, content, and length; and still succeeds in its objective to publicize the item in question.
And yet, bound by stale conventions that suffocate originality and don’t play well with multimedia, the press release has become obsolete. It’s not that there’s no longer a need to announce big news formally. It’s that there’s a better way to do it than drafting 400 words of boilerplate.
Indeed, as Claire Cain Miller reported in a much-discussed article last week, the pr agency representing Flickr never issued a release on its behalf—not even when Yahoo acquired the photo-sharing Web site. Similarly, when Google has exciting news to share, it does not use a wire service.
Rather, both companies self-publish blog posts. They do so, I suspect, not because blogs are hipper, but because they’re more genuine, more personal, and more flexible than their old media counterparts. Instead of a flack ghostwriting quotes for a CEO, the individual(s) who managed the project can craft a first-person narrative recounting the project’s past, present and future with pictures and videos and links. Then, as other bloggers pick up the post, “two days later, BusinessWeek calls,” as Donna Sokolsky Burke, of Spark PR, puts it.
When you visit Google’s online “press center,” the first thing listed is not press releases. It’s blog posts. If you think this is accidental, think again.
The press release is dead. Long live the press release.
Addendum (9/29/2009): Google recently celebrated its 11th birthday. To honor the occasion, the Next Web dug up Google’s first release, dated June 7, 1999.
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September 28th, 2006
A version of this blog post appeared as a press release from the American Conservative Union.
Taxing capital gains amounts to double taxation
ALEXANDRIA, VA— The American Conservative Union, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative lobbying organization, announced its strong support for HR 6057, which would change the way the Treasury Department taxes capital gains, so that only real gains, not gains plus inflation, are subject to taxation.
Since 1913, the Treasury Department has ignored the effects of inflation in calculating the amount that the government collects when an investor sells an asset that has appreciated. For example, if you purchased a stock for $10 a share in 1952 and sold it for $20 a share in 2002, you would be forced to pay capital gains on the transaction—even though the investment was a loss once inflation is factored in.
“In other words, even if after selling an asset with a nominal gain, your investment is a loss in real terms, you still owe cap gains taxes,” said J. William Lauderback, ACU’s executive vice president.
“For this reason, the capital gains tax is actually two taxes,” continued Lauderback. “First, it is a tax on the increase in the value of your assets when sold—a disincentive to investing that is the bedrock of our capitalist economy. Second, it is a tax on the inflationary increase in the value of your assets. The latter—known as the inflation tax—amounts to double taxation, and is thus one of the most unfair and economically destructive taxes the federal government has concocted.”
Thankfully, H.R. 6057, sponsored by Congressmen Mike Pence (R-IN) and Eric Cantor (R-VA), would rectify this charade by repealing the inflation tax. Beginning in 2007, the bill would change the way capital gains are taxed by adjusting for inflation the cost basis of an asset one has owned for more than three years.
As many analysts have noted, the passage of this legislation would significantly strengthen the U.S. economy: by eliminating taxation on inflation-generated gains, the bill would promote long-term investment, a vital part of a robust economy; taxpayers would finally be able to realize their true gains and build wealth for their families; and the heavy burden of taxation would be relaxed.
“ACU strongly supports the full repeal of the economically stifling capital gains tax. In the absence of the votes necessary to accomplish this goal, we applaud the 80-plus congressmen who have cosponsored HR 6057,” said Lauderback.
June 19th, 2006
A version of this blog post appeared as a press release from the American Conservative Union.
Free the judge from congressional purgatory
ALEXANDRIA, VA— The American Conservative Union, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative lobbying organization, today urged Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) to schedule a vote on Judge Terrence Boyle, a decision that has been disgracefully delayed for more than a decade.
In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated Judge Boyle for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Democrats and their liberal allies forcefully opposed the nomination, which consequently languished for 10 years. In 2001, President George W. Bush re-nominated Judge Boyle. But, again, the left kicked into hysterical overdrive and, for another four years, prevented the senate from simply voting on the nominee.
“Today—16 years later—Judge Terrence Boyle remains in congressional purgatory, wedged between those, like Senator John Edwards, who oppose cloture for unrelated personal reasons, and those, like Senator Frist, who repeatedly postpone cloture,” said ACU executive vice president J. William Lauderback.
“What makes this delay even more offensive,” Lauderback continued, “is that of the 11 people President Bush nominated to the federal bench in 2001, Judge Boyle is the only one who remains unvoted on. He has handled this quagmire with patience and professionalism, as befits a man of his sterling judgment and unimpeachable credentials. Indeed, those who disagree with Judge Boyle, like those with whom he disagreed from the bench, nevertheless respect his reasoning and fairness.”
“To perpetuate this charade signals weakness and resignation,” said Lauderback. “After all, justice delayed is justice denied.”
Since the senate unanimously confirmed him in 1984, Judge Boyle has sat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. For seven of these years, from 1997 to 2004, he served as the chief judge of this court; for five of these years, as appointed by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, he served on the Judicial Resources Committee; and since 1999, again appointed by Chief Justice Rehnquist, he has served on the Judicial Branch Committee.
June 5th, 2006
A version of this blog post appeared as a press release from the American Conservative Union.
In New London, CT, a man’s home is the city’s castle
ALEXANDRIA, VA— The American Conservative Union, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative lobbying organization, today expressed outrage at the inconceivable decision by the city council of New London, CT, to evict and impose back fees and rent on homeowners Susette Kelo and the Cristofaro family.
One year ago, in a stunning interpretation of the Constitution’s eminent domain clause, the Supreme Court ruled that the government can seize the homes of law-abiding citizens if some bureaucrat believes that other tenants (namely, wealthy developers) can generate more tax revenue. Despite the backlash the case prompted—scores of states have created legislation restricting the use of eminent domain; the House overwhelmingly passed the Private Property Rights Protection Act; even Ralph Nader condemned the verdict—the New London city council continues to defy both common sense and common decency.
“This is a flagrant abuse of eminent domain, morally and politically,” said ACU chairman David A. Keene. “The right to private property—to keep the fruits of one’s labor—is an essential part of the human experience and an essential ingredient for prosperity. Our homes are more than just wood and bricks to be condemned, commandeered and sold to the most politically connected bidder.”
Keene continued: “Susette Kelo and the Cristofaros are the heroic victims of seven people in the so-called Constitution State who do not understand that the constitution limits government power, not expands it. Today, a man’s home is no longer his castle. Today, a man’s home is the city’s castle.”
In February, Susette Kelo received the 2006 Ronald Reagan Award from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a project of the American Conservative Union Foundation. Her acceptance speech is available here.
April 25th, 2006
A version of this blog post appeared as a press release from the American Conservative Union.
No emergency left behind
ALEXANDRIA, VA— The American Conservative Union, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative lobbying organization, today joined with five sister groups—the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens against Government Waste, the Club for Growth, the Heritage Foundation and Americans for Tax Reform—to urge Congress to purge all pork and unrelated spending from the 2006 supplemental appropriations bill.
Last week, President Bush asked Congress for $92 billion for HR 4939, the 2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery. Whereas the House complied with this budget, the Senate is demanding an additional $14 billion.
“Senate appropriators are using tragedy to blackmail the president into signing off on tens of billions of dollars above and irrelevant to his request,” explained David A. Keene, chairman of ACU. “In the Senate Appropriations Committee, wars and hurricanes are apparently golden opportunities to rationalize pet projects. Need a highway in Kauai, Hawaii? Then deem it ‘urgent,’ concoct a connection to the Gulf reconstruction, and stuff its funding into a $100 billion bill. Call it the No Emergency Left Behind Act.”
In recent years, Congress has increasingly abused the supplemental appropriations process to ram through pork-barrel spending that cannot stand on its own merits, financially or politically. Today, the congressional definition of an “emergency” encompasses such dire needs as subsidizing profitable agribusinesses, to the tune of an additional $4 billion, on top of an annual $25 billion; rerouting a recently repaired and completely functional railroad in Mississippi, at a cost of $700 million, to benefit coastal developers and the casino industry; and a $1.5 million grant to the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies.
“How large does the Republican majority need to be before Republicans start acting like the responsible stewards of taxpayers’ money we thought we were electing?” asked Keene. “Indeed, it’s an open question whether Republicans today would exercise greater fiscal responsibility as the minority rather than the majority.”
Posted by Jonathan Rick in 
Before entering the digital space…
I flacked for the American Conservative Union and the Cato Institute, and reported for Time magazine and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.