For all the headaches and challenges that blogging represents, it has at the same time brought a new level of enthusiasm and interest in the corporate communications process that’s unlike anything I personally have ever seen before.
Maybe it’s just something unique to the Valley right now, perhaps an entertaining distraction from the reality of a seven figure mortgage for a two bedroom box, but my gut tells me it’s bigger and broader than this.
In fact, I look around at my colleagues and my clients and I see a genuine interest in really understanding this new medium and quite frankly, I see a renewed passion in PR careers.
And it doesn’t stop there. I see people from all corners of an organization showing a heightened interest in the communications process – especially the execs. The PR question du jour is no longer, “Did we get in the Journal?” No, now it’s “How is the blogosphere responding?” or “What’s our ranking on Daypop?”
In fact, I’ve watched CEOs turn absolutely giddy over blog posts and volley them across corporate intranets as if they actually were Journal stories.
And it keeps going. I see employees really beginning to understand that they can (and do) play an integral part in corporate communications, and that their voices and opinions can carry a tremendous amount of influence when it comes to shaping public perception.
This feeling of investment – for better or worse – is what’s driving the adoption of employee blogs and while that scares the crap out of some PR folks, you have to appreciate and respect the energy, enthusiasm and spirit that blogging has engendered.
It’s a challenging time to be in PR, no question about it, but man, it’s a fun time to be doing it too.
Mike Manuel is the founder of the award winning Media Guerrilla blog. Media Guerrilla is an insiders take on the practice of technology public relations with a focus on the issues, tactics and trends that are specific to the tech industry.
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