There’s been a ton of ‘wither the press release’ discussion here and elsewhere and I won’t even bother to recount it. Safe to say that some folks, like Todd Defren at SHIFT and Tom Foremski have taken the lead in defining not only the problem but the solution.
So, what’s the next step?
Chris Heuer has stepped forward and is asking for those of us who care about this issue to join in the effort to redefine the press release for the social media era.
I have a lot of ideas on how we can move this discussion forward but am still really in a “discuss and decide” mode on most issues – the most important of which are how do we get broader community involvement and how do we avoid the political wrangling that has killed so many other well-intentioned standards efforts in the past.
Chris has started a Google Group to get the discussion going. I’m signed up.
If you like what you read, please share:
Finally someone with the chutzpah to walk the social media walk. After all the ‘is the release dead’ BS, SHIFT Communications has unveiled the social media press release. Todd Defren has the details on his blog and is tracking the conversation here.
The press release itself could use a make-over, social media or not. The format is tired and for most purposes it’s outlived its usefulness. What SHIFT is doing is nothing short of a full scale desconstruction. And just to prove they’re putting their money where their mouth is, they’re announcing it in the new format.
Bonus links: thoughts on the matter from Shel Holtz, Kami Huyse and Stuart Bruce.
Update: Susan Getgood agrees but also points out that crappy fluffy news releases will still be crappy fluffy news releases.
Worthless announcements will still be worthless, even in a new format. The root problem isn’t the format of the press release, however odd. It is the use of the press release for stupid stuff (edited — the first version of this post used stronger language).
But the award for best response has to go to the Media Guerrilla himself, “Crazy” Mike Manuel.
Update 2: Brian Oberkirch gives the news a “Meh.”
If you like what you read, please share:
Follow Me: