#PRFail

Just a look at what comes in our inbox

[terriblepr]

Dusting off this tumblr

I really hoped that I could let #terriblePR die, but I’ve just had a string of really painful interactions recently. Since I can’t vent to anyone specific, I will just rant on this tumblr. Stay tuned.

[terriblepr]

Rant: Spelling/Word Usage Matters!

Journalism is a business of words, (unless you are "broadcast") so I hold journalists to a pretty high standard when it comes to spelling. The whole their/they're/there mix-up annoys me when people do it, but I get disgusted when journalists make elementary mistakes like that. Clarity in communication is essential!

I expect PR professionals to get spelling right - especially since they are also trying to communicate their ideas to the journalists. Don't know the word? Use a different one.

Today's press release nugget consists of the following:

a marquis set of enterprise customers

I read a lot of romance novels. (A LOT) So my brain immediately picked up on that and thought, ooh, a marquis? in a tech piece? What's going on?

Great hook, no?

Actually, it took me a few tries before I realized the piece meant a "marquee" set of customers (still an awkward construction but that's a different post for later). Clearly there was no proof-reading happening at this agency, since it was a press release, and even more distressing, no one there appears to know the difference between a marquis and a marquee.

I apply several pieces of criteria to cull out pitches and releases I won't read (misspelled name, no relevance to my beat, etc). I just added incorrect word usage to the list.

[terriblepr]

This one needs no explanation

The Man. The Myth. The Legend of Sales.

Grant Cardone.

  Hi [REDACTED],

  New York Times best-selling author and international sales expert, Grant Cardone has turned around hundreds of thousands of people’s businesses, incomes, and lives.

  His latest appearance on Fox & Friends educated the country on the five steps to a better business, and now he is educating America on the every-day changing business world. Speaking to as many as 150 audiences per year, Grant has proven to the country that his initiatives work.

  Starting at McDonalds and moving his way to becoming the Founder & CEO of three multi-million dollar businesses, Grant is available to comment on:

  ·         The US Postal Service closing offices and why they deserve to shrink,

·         If it’s finally a good time to buy a house again,

·         When you should buy a hybrid,

·         Why resumes don’t work,

·         The reasons why Borders and Circuit City are going out of business,

·         Why ATMs are taking over, and much more.

    More info below

  Best,

[terriblepr]

Pitching A Story That Doesn't Exist

We complain amongst ourselves about PR professionals who pitch stories and then pull a switch-a-roo at the last minute. It's quite frustrating to suddenly be diverted from a story we had in mind to something we couldn't care less about.

But it's even worse being lied to.

A report came out yesterday, with one of those "top" lists. It's an interesting list, and one with a lot of nuggets that can be mined for potential stories.

Then I got the following query:

Would you be interested in hearing from XXX about what is surprising in this list and what this means for larger cyber-security issues?"

I perked up, since hey, surprises are always good. Was something missing? Should something not have been included? Was the ranking incorrect?

I wrote back to make my intentions clear:

I would like to center it around talking about the actual list. I assume, because you pitched it, that there were surprises on what showed up (or didn’t) on the list? If there weren’t any surprises, there’s no story…

And got the following reply:

Yes, we can set up a call for tomorrow to talk about what stands out in this report

I've laid the ground rules, and clearly specified what story I was after. Imagine my shock when the person I have the briefing with this morning tells me there were no surprises, and that everything on the list was consistent with everything he had been seeing. "No changes," was the exact quote.

I ended the interview immediately. The PR person tried to salvage the situation, but what was there to talk about?

I was annoyed enough to mentally compose the little note, below. Too bad I am not ever going to send it.

I am a little perplexed that you confirmed there was a story about there being surprises in the released list when there apparently wasn’t. Please don’t pitch non-existent stories just to get me on the phone.

It's a good thing I hadn't pitched the idea at the editorial meeting this morning.

[terriblepr]

If It Looks Like Spam, I Won't Click On It

It's that simple. PR folks trying to get my attention should at least try to not look like a scam. That's not asking for a lot.

I got the following "pitch" today with the subject line: "News Tip." It's very short and to the point.

Hi

It would be great if you could post news about our new service that helps cell phone users trace anonymous calls.

News Feed: http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20110622/bs_prweb/prweb8591834_7

Thanks so much!

The links look legit - a lot of press releases get posted on Yahoo! News. But the From: header made me pause.

From: [email protected] on behalf of RSRESELLER ltd. ([email protected])

Really? RSRESELLER looks like a real store based on some Web searches, and there are plenty of news posted under PRWeb on that URL. It doesn't seem to be the standard press release URL, though.

If it's from a real company, I apologize, but I refuse to click on an e-mail from n00b.at@gmail - I pride myself on not being a newbie. And if it's spam, it's a little surprising  that spammers are specifically targeting journalists now. Even more noise to sift through each morning...

[terriblepr]

Did I Just Get Chastised for Not Calling?

I get a lot of e-mails offering expert resources for future stories, and I keep them all in a handy folder in Outlook marked "sources." When I am looking for some expert commentary, that's the folder I look at. Perhaps I am reading too much into the following note, but I definitely got the "What's wrong with you, why didn't you call us?" vibe.

How are you? I just wanted to remind you of NAME as an expert resource. I saw the newsletter today had your story on TOPIC with two other experts cited.  NAME has been predicting, with accuracy, how the hackers would use PREVIOUS EVENT to go after financial and gov’t targets.

It's that "I saw you used other people" bit that rubs me the wrong way. Yes, I talk to other people. Tough. The last line mollified me a tad bit. But, still. Isn't it the rule of PR that you are just one of many?

If you’re interested in sourcing him on the motivations and profiles of the attacker and how that’s evolving I look forward to hearing from you.

[terriblepr]

Rant: Who Invented Read Receipts in E-Mail?

I am sure there's a good reason for why the receipt system was invented in e-mail. I don't don't know why.

We have delivery confirmation for the good old United States Postal Service, but it stops at delivery. The USPS doesn't force me to acknowledge I've read my mail. So why do e-mail senders feel entitled to try to figure out the exact moment we've read their messages?

I can see why people worry whether or not their messages are being read, but my annoyance trumps my understanding.

I use Outlook at work and I have preview pane open to make it easier to see what messages are in my Inbox. When I am quickly scrolling through the messages that came in and suddenly get dinged with a "The sender has requested a read notification...blah blah message," I am forced to stop.

Now, I am trying to figure out if there's anything urgent I have to address before I get back towork, so I haven't read the entire pitch. Perhaps just the subject line, and maybe the first two sentences. So the answer is No, right? But it is right now read in my Inbox, and who knows when I will go back and read it? (I will, at some point. Just not sure whether that's in the next hour or next week) So is that a 'Yes'?

And then there's the curmudgeon in me. What if I did read your pitch, but I don't feel like letting you know that? I freely admit it. Regardless of whether or not I've read the message, I am more likely to say No when prompted.

[terriblepr]

As Threats Go, That Wasn't Very Effective...

At least, I think it was a threat. Or a prodding mechanism.

I wrote a story discussing data and network security recently, and got a pitch asking me if I would like to do a follow-up to the piece. I fully accept that there are certain tricks to use to get the journalist to respond promptly. I am just not sure this particular tactic is the most effective:

If you'd like to write an amazing and potentially potent story on the issue lets talk.   If not, we're going to be publishing it ourselves soon.

Huh? Giving the story to any one of our competitors would have made more sense than that. What's that mean? The blog? A press release?

[terriblepr]

I didn't know toilet plungers were so inspirational...

We are a business technology magazine. I have also somehow made it onto Utah Senator Orin Hatch's press list. Yet, this was in my Inbox this morning:

Everybody dreams of striking it rich, but not everyone looks at a toilet plunger to make it happen.  Meet Adam Jay, a Long Island roofing contractor by day and infomercial guru by night. 

Of course I kept reading.

Always considering himself a pretty typical, ordinary guy, Adam grew tired of seeing clever products and kicking himself, while saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?”  Adam’s predecessors in the infomercial world often had great success, but some of their products, as popular as they were -- the Chia Pet, the Flowbee, Big Mouth Billy Bass -- weren’t always practical.

This is what he made:

The Spill Daddy – A patented lid that snaps on paint cans and eliminates spills. (Useful, Maybe?)

The Presto Plunger –  This completely self-cleaning bathroom plunger has a special coating that causes anything it comes in contact with to slide off immediately. (Will it remove unwanted exes?)

The Pocket Chair –  Tired of never having a place to sit?  This portable chair folds to tiny size, yet can support up to 250 pounds. (Tiny. For the large.)

Anything it comes in contact with with slide off immediately, people!

[terriblepr]

Calif. Horniest State - Did I Need To Know That?

The headline first, just to get it out of the way:

AEBN LAUNCHES THE FIRST VOD TREND REPORT AND...NO SURPRISE HERE... CALIFORNIA IS THE "HORNIEST" STATE WHEN IT COMES TO PORN DEMAND

I am a technology journalist. At first, I thought VOD meant Video On Demand.

Apparently so, but this has nothing to do with what I write about. I think? I admit I hit delete after the first paragraph.

Straight viewers in California watched far more pornographic  films via VOD (video on demand) streaming during April than people in any other state, according to Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN), the leading online distributor of adult movies. And, according to the network's first VOD Trend Report, these viewers definitely had a taste for kinky sexual practices.

I don't even know how I got on these folks' radar.