A fair amount of recent PR ‘blogosphere’ discussions question the value of blogs to companies, and, to a lesser degree, the public at large. Other discussions center around the value of the blogger. But the bottom line is in the bigger picture – blogs are ultimately about the act of personal communication to the masses, no matter who the audience is, the skill level of that communication, or who it comes from. This goes beyond just PR blogs. This goes beyond using grammar correctly.
This is about the need for people to tell a story. Their story.
Blogs offer people the chance to express views and emotions globally that no other form can. These views represent us no matter where we come from. Because if blogs don’t matter, then in effect, we don’t matter. And like Reese Witherspoon said as she accepted her Oscar, “I’m just tryin' to matter.”
There are two examples to illustrate that point and hopefully, also raise the value of blogs. After reading the passages, someone in the blogs-don’t-matter camp needs to explain why these don’t.
Iraqi soldier brought in off patrol, bleeding from entry and exit wounds in the stomach and back, very lucky to be alive, possible spinal damage as the high velocity 7.62 bullet tore huge holes into his body. The Navy medical staff seems to bring some type of order to the whole thing, cleans him up and bandages him, but it still sucks to look at this poor guy laying on the cot with nothing going for him but a lot of courage.
That’s from Chairborne Stranger, story of a solider in Iraq. Don’t tell him blogs don’t matter. No matter where you come out on the war, these men and women deserve respect and support for doing the toughest job there is right now. Reaching out from halfway around the world deserves your attention. Stop by and give some when you have a second. The reason we so-called ‘expert’ bloggers can chill out and rant from the safety of our PCs is because of soldiers like that. And because of his blog, we know now what he’s going through and can let him know almost as soon as he posts.
...Someone just reported in yelling about needing to sift through the debris and there have been several calls of “signal 25,” meaning dead bodies. Someone just called asking if a rescue team was needed.
It sounds pretty bad out there.
If you are reading this outside of the coastal counties of Mississippi and are considering coming back, just hold on. They probably won't let you through.
Mark, the Reuters photog who camped out last night, just came back from a scouting mission.
He said there is no city of Gulfport anymore.
That was from Dancing With Katrina. The reporters Mike Keller and Josh Norman won a Pulitzer Prize for that blog. What started out as ‘just another story’ about ‘just another hurricane’ became something else. People asking them about missing family members. People asking about their homes. Where else would people find out info that the networks don’t have time to, or that regular websites just can’t cover.
Blogs matter.
Technorati tags: PR, Public Relations, Marketing, Iraq War, Katrina
8 comments:
As a former journlist and Capitol Hill flac, uh, I mean, PR professional, and a current blogger, I want to echo your comment that blogs. Matter. Go to Technorati and look through the New Orleans tagged blogs. I can see with some confidence that we are days, sometimes weeks ahead of the main stream media. I suspect that, in some cases, they are pulling story ideas right out of the blogsophere. (I know of several former colleauges at the New Orleans Times-Picayune who read the blogs, partly as a result of reading mine).
In terms of your general article, I think you need to consider third party bloggers (not tied to the client or to the mainstream media) as a new outlet in the communication mix. The politial world (particularly the conservative communications beheamoth) knows that on-line publications--including blogs--are a perfect place to trial lines of communication, and should be included in your general mix of targets.
Preach it, brother! Finally, an art director who can write. ;-)
I agree with that growing third-party segment Markus. I think Katrina (and to a lesser degree the Asian Tsunami), might do for blog growth what Gulf War I did for CNN's popularity.
Thanks Mack. Some of us AD's can write gooder when we need to.
;-p
Wonderfully put, Bill. Despite blogs' growing prominence during the last few years, there are still those who question the value of blogs. While I'm not suggesting that blogs are a panacea, examples such as those you mention will prove, in the long run, that blogs have a rightful and necessary place in the communications spectrum.
I don't see how anyone can claim blogs don't matter. At the barest objective minimum they are (through technorati type data) a way to learn the mood and concerns of the populace on a daily, even hourly basis. I'm not sure what kind of profile you get from only bloggers, but I'd bet it's not as far off an everyman as some might suspect.
Obviously, the significance of blogging can go well beyond that, but I don't want to step into that medium is the message thing and get my waders stuck.
" I don't see how anyone can claim blogs don't matter. At the barest objective minimum they are (through techn"
"that blogs have a rightful and necessary place in the communications spectrum."
Good points anon and Andrea - The ones saying that seem to be looking at blogs from a strictly business POV and whether any measurable ROI has been reached by blog owners.
Seems like if someone can't make money from their blog, the purpose of it is quesioned.
Sorry. Marketing speak. Got carried away.
I completely agree that blogs matter. However, I must clear up some confusion about the Dancing with Katrina blog. I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and have several friends at The Sun Herald. It seems these two reporters would have people believe they alone won the Pulitzer Prize. That isn't true. The entire newspaper won it, and it wasn't for the blog.
Thanks anon for the clarification. My understanding after reading it though was that they used the blog to report their stories, and then published that content in the paper.
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