Dave Fleet posted an item last week that took PR Web to task for allegedly “taking the social out” of the social media news release (SMR).
Apparently, PR Web has changed the submission parameters, something Dave learned after his SMR was kicked back with the following explanation:
“Please review the following editorial explanation describing why your press release was put on editorial hold:
PRWeb no longer distributes news releases with an excessive amount of links. Please limit your link count to 1 per 100 words. This policy is in place to protect the value of the links that you include in your release and the value of links within the PRWeb network.
The reviewing editor has also made these additional comments:
Your release also lacks an introductory paragraph in the body text that clearly outlines your news. Please insert one. Thanks!”
Separately, who hasn’t received the breathless email exhortations from Marketwire for its new SMR product?
“Dear Peter: I thought you’d be interested in a significant announcement today from Marketwire today — the introduction of Social Media 2.0, the industry’s most comprehensive social media newswire product.”
Or
“Social Media is Driving a News Evolution. Has Your News Evolved?”
Now Todd Defren and the gang at Shift (who got us into this mess in the first place) have produced a handy chart (pictured above) comparing the SMR offerings from a selection of the paid wire services.
And, as expected from the wikified PR blogging echo chamber, Brian Solis weighs in on the subject with his “definitive,” if not expansive post in which, among other things, he poses (then answers) the following questions:
1. Should we include sentences or is it supposed to be bullets?
2. Are we designing SMRs for “the wire†or the “web?â€
3. Are SMRs created for journalists and bloggers and is it what they want?
4. Do SMRs need to spark and host conversations?
5. Can they, and should they, bypass influencers to reach people directly?
It’s nice to see someone take the time to elucidate on this still evolving art/science. Kudos to Brian, and Todd/Chris, for keeping the SMR flame burning brightly.