ZDNet’s David Berlind gives some well-deserved credit to Scalix founder Julie Hanna Farris for her willingness to engage in “public conversation that includes all of her constituents (the press, potential customers, casual onlookers, and even competitors).” I’m in agreement with Berlind on this.
He goes on to say:
“Public relations personnel cringe at the idea of executives diving into the blogosphere and mixing it up with the press and end users. Maybe that’s because of how the blogosphere prevents them from interceding when an executive is about to say something that shouldn’t be said. Personally, I think it makes both the executives and the company seem more open and approachable. When a vendor executive lays it on the line like that, he or she knows that the blogosphere is probably going to respond with brutal honesty. Just that sort of open invitation says something about a person’s belief in what they are saying and willingess to engage–unfortunately, it’s a rarity in our business.” (emphasis his)
Right on.
And then, Berlind’s first sentence in the pull quote seems especially prescient after reading the followup from Steve, who writes
“Let your executives have fun if they want to, ok? But guide them on what works/doesn’t. That’s our role as PR professionals.”
Whoa. Did I misread that? Please tell me I misread that. Steve…”have fun?” As if this is some kind of game? If one was a cynic, one could interpret that as a wink and a nudge…”we’ll let those dotty executives go and play in the blog-box, but we’ll be there to hold their hands in case they get off-message and, heaven forbid, communicate what’s actually on their minds.”
:soapbox:
It’s not about the veneer.
It’s not about a sanitized, perfectly-crafted, and ultimately synthetic message.
It’s about reality, warts and all.
It’s about real people, interacting with other real people.
:soapbox: