LOVE what Chris Anderson did with his post Sorry PR people: you’re blocked!

Here’s why: It’s making people think – and talk – and it’s about time someone started this conversation.

If you are involved in the media industry and you only have rudimentary Web skills, you better learn fast, because most of the conversation is happening online, and if you’re not participating, you might as well toss your computer out the window; you are missing out on vital stuff.

In his post, Chris published a massive list of e-mail addresses, those he decided to block from contacting him, and BOOM – complaints started pouring in; apologies started pouring in, and all I can think is Go Chris!  This guy was getting 300 e-mails a day; all of them wanting something from him.  What’s a bet no one thought about offering up something for him?

Seth, in his post  PR and the first amendment and keeping your job, points out:

So, the smart PR folks (the successful ones) struggle to make their lists smaller and smaller.

You really should listen.  By making your list smaller, you are creating your own niche network of people that you trust, and who trust you.  The online world is a place where people help each other, not annoy each other; it’s worth thinking about.  Incidentally, if you haven’t read Unleashing the Ideavirus, now would be a good time.

The bottom line is, if you’re trying to influence the influencers, you better know exactly how they like to be approached, otherwise that great press release/photo/article/video you spent weeks working on, will go directly to junk mail.

Regardless of whether you want to send your press release to mainstream media or the blogosphere, try to find the person that would most likely be interested in your news; then send it to him or her.  Unfortunately, as with all research, it takes time. 

Work smart - and hard - forget buying that e-mail list, and start creating your own.

Interesting posts around the Web that talk about the etiquette of Social Media:

What PR people should know about social media, at Like it Matters

The proper way to stalk a journalist, from John Jantsch, author, Duct Tape Marketing

How to influence powerful social media users for traffic and attention by Maki Maki

How to pitch bloggers by ProBlogger, Darren Rowse

Guidelines and Contacts - at least read them…

How to pitch to Cnet

Wall Street Journal Contact Details

The New York Times contact details

Guidelines for submissions to the San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Chronicle Address Book

The Effective Emailer – how to email Guy Kawasaki

How to send a press release to San Jose Mercury News

Oh, and if you really are interested in how Chris likes to be contacted, try reading his interview on PRNewser: My tastes are arcane and geeky.

I leave my comments open if people want to approach me, and I do my best to answer each.  What about you?

How do you like to be approached? 

Recently, American Express credit cards wrote to me, explaining I had been pre-selected to obtain one of their cards.  All I had to do is go to their website and fill in the form. 

Brilliant!

Quick detour:

My family is still new to the United States so our credit rating here is almost non existent.  To fix this, we thought we should begin by applying for several cards, paying in time, and build the rating… Amex was on the list.

I spend 15 minutes gathering information, another 20  filling in forms on the site, and hit submit:

“Server down, try again later”

Really, really wanted to smack someone…

How hard is it for the programmers to build in a contingency for this?  Not hard.  Why don’t they do it? 

Because the people that make decisions about changes to the site (marketers and CEO’s), are so busy working out how to get more people to the site, how to optimize their site, how to promote their product; they forget about making the site great for their visitors.

A couple of months ago, Eric Sink wrote about his experience with Citibank and described the dramas of dealing with large corporations in his post, Absurd Customer Relations post.  I’m starting to wonder whether quality of service is directly proportional to size of the organization.

In the offline world, small businesses tend to have more expensive product, they have fewer items for customers to choose from, they don’t have the funds to spend on advertising, so what do they do?  Focus on really great personalized service!

But - what about experiences in the online world? 

The Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility show that 75% of web users admit to making judgments about the credibility of an organization - based on the design of its web site. 

I’m not going back to Amex, Mr. Sink has cancelled his Citibank card, and I’m fairly confident we’re not the only two people in the world to be frustrated with customer service and website design.

So, what then, are business owners – small and big – waiting for? 

Do they think it will be easier to fix once they’ve lost all their happy customers - or is it they just don’t know what to do right now?
 
If you belong in the first group – good luck; if you’re part of the second, start reading.

Books:

Web Design for ROI: Lance Loveday and Sandra Niehaus

Lance and Sandra have over 20 years of online experience between them, and their new book Web Design for ROI shows you why it is so important to start treating your web site as a business.  Expect to increase 10 – 50% of web sales by switching focus: make your site usable - good for your visitors - instead of worrying about traffic - good (you think) for you.

Business of Software: Eric Sink

Eric Sink led the team that developed the Spyglass browser, (now known as Internet Explorer).  His book Business of Software is indispensable if you’re thinking of starting a development firm or joining a startup in a very early phase; the business principles can be applied across all fields.

Eyetracking Web Usability: Jackob Nielsen and Kara Pernice

Eyetracking Web Usability, (available December 2007) demonstrates what can be learned from tracking user’s eye paths – where users go on your site, how they react to design elements – and leaves you with practical and effective information about how best to design your site.

The Art of the Start: Guy Kawasaki

If you listen to only 10% of Guy’s advice then you’ll probably double your success.  His book, The Art of the Start will give you the essential steps to launch great products, services, and companies as well as show you how to unleash entrepreneurial thinking at established companies, helping you stay ahead of the pack.

The digital revolution has leveled the commercial playing field, and for the first time in history, small business owners and enterprising individuals are able to compete against the big guys and have a fair shot at winning.

Innovations in technology have given us cheaper, yet more efficient software and hardware, Web 2.0, and its user generated content has opened the door for anyone to easily create an inexpensive online presence, and the virtual business model has enabled any enterprising individual to start a business with very little up front capital, and minimal on-going operating costs.

So, costs are down, opportunity is up; it’s a win-win situation, yet increasingly, businesses, in their haste to have the designer inspired, award winning, fully optimized, whiz bang, I-can-do-anything-for-you Website, are forgetting the core reason for their existence: customers.

Read more »

I am just about done with mainstream media.

Forbes.com has decided to continue humiliating Yale senior student Aleksey Vayner, after the aspiring investment banker applied for a job on Wall Street. Vayner, trying to be innovative in his application, sent a video along with his resume to financial giant UBS, a wealth management company who describes itself as a “Global financial firm with the heart and soul of a two-person organization.”

Well, turns out they thought the application was great. They passed Vayner’s clip on, and on, and on - until it got to YouTube. Terrific you think. Yes, but for the tag: “Wall Street’s Laughingstock.”

Forbes.com noticed the story and decided they too will make a video. “How not to apply for a job, worst resume ever” is their story, and they tell it well. Forbes.com include a 95-second excerpt from the original video with a smiling Annalisa Burgos telling the world, “YouTube pulled the video off,” but adds, “You’re in luck as Forbes.com has it.” Go Annalisa, kudos to those clever citizen media types, ok, Google, but what exactly does it say about Forbes?

Forbes is a privately held publishing company that has been around since 1917 and has an online division called Forbes.com. Forbes.com claim to be the No. 1 business site, as well as one of the most trusted resources for business executives. Obviously, they want to give execs a giggle, and perhaps warn them off hiring this joke they call Vayner; all in the name of professional journalism. Way to go Forbes.

Citizen media is getting so much flack from the big guns, yet paradoxically, it seems the problem with mainstream media is mainstream media itself. The audience is a little tired of listening to what “professional” journalists have to say, and have taken matters into their own hands. Voila News V2.0! Perhaps, if they paid attention to what Dan Gillmor has been saying all along “My readersknow more than I do,” they wouldn’t have this problem. They could - shock horror - listen to their audience and win back some public confidence. My guess is, they are still too busy patting themselves on the back for a job well done to care