Post 111: I am not alone

October 31, 2007 in Freelance life, P-aaaaargh!, Worst practise

Wired’s Editor in chief has started blacklisting PR people who send him unsolicited material.
His post explaining his position is here.
Of late, this blog has not named names. Kelly has gone so far as to list the email addresses he has blacklisted in the post, knowing full well that they will  be harvested by spammers.

Post 110: Feedback

October 29, 2007 in Freelance life, P-aaaaargh!, Vendors I have met, Work, Worst Pitch Ever?

A couple of weeks ago, I attended an event at which, as things wrapped up, the visiting V(i)P said he hoped the session had been valuable and looked forward to the feedback he felt sure local PR would organise.
That caused a lot of blank stares from the journos around the table, because none of us [...]

Post 109: Image vs. reality

October 25, 2007 in P-aaaaargh!, Politics

A lot of what I feel about PR is encapsulated in this story.
If you can’t be arsed clicking on the link, here’s the meat:
“Bacon, an Australian who heads the Oxford Leadership Academy in Britain, told the audience an instructive story about the time he introduced the incoming president of McDonald’s, Charlie Bell, to the world’s [...]

Post 108: More reasons I hate this election

October 25, 2007 in Politics

It occurred to me today that this election is largely about measurable outcomes.
We’re being asked who will ‘keep inflation low’ or ‘keep interest rates low’. ‘Making housing affordable’ gets kicked around a bit.
But while there are measurable outcomes, there is no way to predict those outcomes.
Makes me wonder.
I also wonder why everything is about outcomes [...]

Post 107: A nice exchange

October 23, 2007 in Work

A PR I quite like has a new job and today sent me the compulsory “I’ve landed” email.
Here’s the exchange, neutered slightly to protect the identities of the innocent:
PR:  I’ve landed at company X. If you have any inquiries about company X, don’t hesitate to get in touch
Me: (hoping and expecting it will be taken [...]

Post 106: Hating the election campaign

October 23, 2007 in P-aaaaargh!, Politics

I’m hating this election campaign, for the same reasons that PR gets up my nose so much.
I have long felt that PR is a corrosive influence on society because its stifles debate. By teaching people who encounter the media to stay within a narrow band of content without appearing totally disingenuous, it restricts the amount [...]

Post 105: Live from HCMC

October 19, 2007 in Freelance life, Vendors I have met, Web 2.0, Worst Pitch Ever?

Here I am in Saigon Ho Chi Minh City. My plane is running late, which I think is about to really mess up my Saturday.
The past few days have been illuminating. You’d think that in our webified world that flying 150 journos into one city to speak with the top tier of a vendor’s executive [...]

Post 104: Ignorance

October 15, 2007 in Freelance life, Work, Worst Pitch Ever?

Today’s whacky phone call …
PR: Simon, I see you are writing a feature on software development ‘Methodology X’. My client has a customer and we could probably get you in touch with them.
Me: Erm … does the customer practice ‘Methodology X’
PR: Oh yes … the customer uses my client’s software to develop [...]

Post 103: RFI for a story about Charity

October 14, 2007 in RFI, Work

Next has commissioned me to write a story about how charities use the net.
Are you involved with a group that does things like Movember (click the image above) or MS with the Gongride?
(Oh and feel free to click on the link or the image to sponsor me in either or both)
Drop me a line and [...]

Post 102: Maybe I don’t have it so bad …

October 11, 2007 in Uncategorized

Not when things like this are going on!