Over the past week, theres been a caged match about the Social Media Press Release (SMPR). Folks have been fighting both pro and against it as a viable tool for communication that could bridge both the traditional and new social media tools for corporations.
Still on the fence about the Social Media Press Release till I get more info
For the most part, I stayed out of it, I see some of the faults, but I also see some of the benefits. I dont have enough information and havent seen it deployed successfully to validate if its something I would recommend to clients. Im still wondering if the SMPR is a tool primarily for the press and media
Street fight in the hood
The first jab started from Stowe, a haymaker from Scoble. The defending team Chris extended a defensive parry blast, and Brians sidekick supported the SMPR. Oberkirch throws a haymaker, Shel throws a chicken, followed by Jeremy with a flying drop kick, Chris double blocks back, of course, Hugh McCloud grabs his spray cans and paints the alley with yet more graffiti.
Things turned into quite the brawl, and you can see the full effect on TechMeme a conversation tracker.
Case study: Seagate integrates Social Media into an Announcement
Ive started to pay more attention to press releases, and how they integrate with Social Media. A few days ago, Seagate announced their financials, and they did something interesting. In addition to the regular ways of telling the world via normal announcements, they had podcasting personality John Furrier (my boss) interview the CEO of Seagate and upload quickly on this podcast.
For some time now Seagate has links to Social Media directly in their press release, linking directly to the Seagate Channel on PodTech.net.
This is an interesting for a few reasons:
1) Seagate has integrated social media into the announcement
2) Seagate has integrated social media into the press release.
3) Seagate has not suffered from message decay (one of the primary reasons for the SMPR)
Can Social Media integrate with a Press Release? Do we need a Social Media Press Release?
As Linda Furrier points out in Jeremys comments, there is room for both, it will be some type of hybrid. Maybe we do need a SMPR, its possible its not for the general consumer or community, but for the press.
Related Observations:
Im proud that our Industry openly debates issues
During the debate, I sent an email to those that were deeply involved, at how our industry can debate topics in public, figure out what works and rebuild better and stronger. Its a collective and global debate in the web industry, and its what makes us unique.
Applause for Brian Solis and Chris Heuer
Id especially like to recognize Brian and Chris for really following Business Blogging best practices. They followed the conversation wherever it went (including a Google Group that I am part of) and defended their stance. They left comments, responded via their blogs, very professionally, they really kept their presence active and I applaud them for standing by for what they believe in and defending it. I wish I was a fly on the wall at the office on Monday, as you know Stow and Chris share office space.
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2007/01/25/watc...