De-trended

In a previous post, I relayed the story of a prominent CEO client of mine whose name was unceremoniously commandeered on today’s popular microblogging platform. (Is there any other?)I was asked by my client to try to put the kibash on the rogue Twitter handle. I appealed directly to two of Twitter’s three co-founders and…they…… Continue reading De-trended

20-Nothings

In following all those forward-thinking PR and media types on Twitter, I often lose sight of the profession’s various other dimensions. Information technology has created so many positive industry benefits to help us advance our clients’ communications objectives, we have a tendency to get lost in the digital sauce. Just consider:How Ford’s social media chief…… Continue reading 20-Nothings

Hocus Vocus

I have nothing personal against Vocus. It’s all professional. First, I should say that I’m not a subscriber to this media database management, distribution and monitoring company. I have been known to disseminate a release or two via PR Web, which happens to be owned by Vocus.I should also disclose that I co-developed with a…… Continue reading Hocus Vocus

WH Press Office: thanks, but no thanks

Michael Wolff’s gonna think I’m stalking him. After attending and posting on his tete à tete last week with Bloomberg’s Andy Lack, I stumbled across his piece in the July issue of Vanity Fair in which he extols the virtues of the White House press operation (another favorite subject of this blog).In the piece, “The…… Continue reading WH Press Office: thanks, but no thanks

Gaming the PR Job Game

When newly minted college grads inquire how to break into the PR biz, I usually respond by asking them “what’s your passion” or “what really turns you on?” Answers almost always include: “I’m a people person” or “I like to run parties and events.” Groan.My question is designed to elicit something along the lines of…… Continue reading Gaming the PR Job Game

Maximize Your Gobbledygook

My friend and occasional collaborator Mark Fortier pinged me about his client David Meerman Scott’s newest initiative Gobbledygook Grader from HubSpot.It’s an online tool that hopes to solve the other issue around which Holtz and Scoble locked horns this week: poorly written pitches (as if misguided pitches were not bad enough).In his post, Meerman Scott…… Continue reading Maximize Your Gobbledygook

Oh THAT Cigar!

Geez Louise. I had thought (and hoped) that this relatively minor, yet most consequential chapter in our nation’s history had closed. I was wrong.Last week, HBO announced it will begin production on a Dennis Quaid/Julianne Moore/Charlie Sheen-starrer called “Special Relationship,” a movie ostensibly about the relationship between British PM Tony Blair and Bill Clinton.But wait.…… Continue reading Oh THAT Cigar!

All I Ever Wanted to Be Was a…

The current issue of IDD magazine online explores the public relations quagmire currently confronting the investment banking industry. In a piece titled “Occupational Hazard,” some of our industry’s bold-faced names share their advice on just how to rebuild IB’s sullied reputation.(President Obama’s quip on Leno last night suggesting that our best & brightest forgo careers…… Continue reading All I Ever Wanted to Be Was a…

Hooray for the Consultants

As the proprietor of a somewhat successful New York PR consultancy, after years of toiling in the big agency world, I read with more than a passing interest Tom Foremski’s assessment of our industry in Silicon Valley Watcher.Its title: “PR Watch: The Disruption Of The PR Industry AndWhy Everyone Has Become A Consultant.” Foremski not…… Continue reading Hooray for the Consultants