In Defense of Public Relations

It’s raining DUDES! Literally. If this were a sociological experiment, I will have to conclude that men are a lot less bashful than women in promoting themselves. The sheer volume of self-promotional pitches I received from PR Dudes for this list versus the 10 Hottest PR Chicks list is about 3 to 1.

Thankfully, I had help from the PR Dudes Selection Team, which is composed of trusted PR dudes and dudettes. With their assistance, I was able to trim down the number to ten. Again, this is  purely a subjective selection process and there’s no science behind it. But judging from last year’s inaugural list, and seeing what all of them have accomplished over the past year, there may be some merit to how I choose the PR dudes on this list.

Basically, there were two requirements that I followed.  First, the dude MUST be in PR.  If the selection team and I can’t determine immediately from the dude’s Twitter profile and tweets if they’re in PR, they’re disqualified.

Second, we disqualified any self-proclaimed gurus, experts, rock stars and cyborgs (that means you @thePRguycom). So don’t complain if you don’t find the Brian Solises of the world on this list. Besides, how many of you really get a reply from someone with that many followers? And honestly, they could care less about some cheeky list of PR dudes.

There are obviously other factors that were considered for being a PR dude with the smoothest moves and I’m not talking about their lack of body hair. And in the interest of full disclosure, there are a couple of dudes on this list whom I’ve met in real life. Whether they know my true ID or not, I can’t say. And no, my “real” self isn’t on this list either, that would be what I call a douchebag move. For the record though, many of you follow me as me on Twitter.

So without further delay, here are this year’s 10 PR Dudes with the Smoothest Moves on Twitter & Real Life (in alphabetical order):

1. His real name alone is smooth. L.A. Jones is a seasoned PR veteran whose helping Detroit get back to its former glory by supporting the PR for the Detroit Chamber of Commerce.  He worked on a statewide project called Intern in Michigan, which connected Michigan companies with college students. He’s managed major press events and has strong media relations skills. Currently based in Detroit, L.A. came from Baltimore and worked at Engagement Marketing, an African-American focused PR and advertising agency. (That sentence alone had three major U.S. cities in it). Recent smooth move tweet.

2. Chris Hayes (not be confused with this Chris Hayes) is one of two dudes on this list I’ve met in real life.  He doesn’t tweet much about PR, but if you meet him in real life, you know he’s got the goods. He’s the quintessential PR Dude since he rather give his clients all the glory and stay behind the scenes. He’s done PR for big brands (P&G products) and entertainment companies (Miramax). Just discovered from his new Twitter profile that he’s planning on learning everything he can about the NHL. Trust me, in a year’s time he’ll know everything about it. Btw, he’s also Mr. NBA and loves golf. Recent smooth move tweet.

3. He goes by the handle @EvilPRGuy and yes, he is evil, but not in a satanic way. In fact, he’s been generous to non-profits that help veterans.  Rumored to have gotten into a bar room brawl and putting away a bottle of the finest scotch at the same time, and showing up the next day for a major client presentation sharp as a tact. Tremors were felt in California a few weeks ago as soon as he stepped out of the plane. The dude says his “bad news” and my guess is that’s the kind of pitches he dishes out. Don’t mess with him though or your might find yourself in the prison museum his brother runs in Philly. His name is Michael Dolan, but I’ll always call him the EvilPRGuy. Recent smooth move tweet.

4. Eric Berto is @geekgiant. He may be a giant (I think he’s about 6’5 and that’s when he’s sitting down ) but he’s no geek (in the definition Anthony Michael Hall portrayed in 16 candles.) although this tweet he sent out today might change your mind about his ‘geekiness’ level. [C'mon people help him find a softball team to join.] Eric is no stranger to PR, he’s represented a large technology company out of Redmond, Wash. Oh and congratulate him, he and his better half are expecting. I’m not sure why this hasn’t been national news since the baby is already tweeting while still in the womb. Recent smooth move tweet.

5. I’ve just been recently introduced to Jason Mollica’s tweets and blog recently.  All I can say is he’s “ballsy” for questioning the wisdom of PR industry hall of famer Peter Shankman in a blog post. I respect any dude who’s passionate about his opinions on PR and I’m guessing Shankman feels the same. Besides, I’m not sure if there were some behind the scenes campaigning going on to get Jas on this list since he received the most nominations from dudes and dudettes or he might just be that popular. Besides, the entire selection team thought Jas is a pretty smooth name. Recent smooth move tweet.

6. The second Jason on this list. Jason Chupick would’ve made last year’s list if he were working in PR not just blogging about it. You know him as the dude that founded and blogs on PR Newser, but from what I’ve gathered he’s now also working at PR maven Dorothy Crenshaw‘s newly established agency, Crenshaw Communications. He carries the title Media Director and oversees the media strategy at the firm according to his bio. But his Twitter profile says he’s a freelance PR consultant so I apologize to Jason for any inaccuracies here. Recent smooth move tweet.

7. Jeff Espo is the PR dude behind Vistaprint. Half of those reading this likely had some printing job done from there. I know we’ve used Vistaprint at our firm and PR Dudette even had her business cards printed there.  Jeff’s a beer connoisseur and even brews beer at home. That hobby alone gets him on this list. I’ve also enjoyed his recent blog posts about Tiger Woods. He’s one of a few dudes on this list that I engage with on a regular basis about a variety of topics. Recent smooth move tweet.

8. The PR dudettes on the selection team voted Mike Schaffer the cutie of the group. It’s that sparkling smile, that boyish look, that angelic face that can do no wrong. Hey, I didn’t say that, they did.  Why he changed his avatar with Capt. Awesome‘s T-Shirt only he knows.  Besides being named on this list, his other major accomplishment was coming in second in FishbowlDC’s “Hottest Publicist” contest.  Besides his looks, he’s got a heart to help other PR pros get a job in this economy. He’s been active promoting HAPPO (Help a PR Pro Out).  Recent smooth move tweet.

9. This dude needs no introduction and the only other dude on the list I’ve met in real life. You could even say he inspired me to get on Twitter, but he didn’t know that. You see this dude on CNN and other major news networks talking about PR issues from the Toyota recall to Tiger Woods’ image.  If you’re in PR and don’t know @skydiver, you’re living under a rock or might not be in PR at all. In my intro, I said there are no self-proclaimed gurus, experts, rock stars, etc. on this list, and Peter Shankman is NOT one of those. He’s the most popular of the dudes on here (if you go by the number of Twitter followers), but unlike others of the same caliber, Peter actually showed interest in being on this list. He actually sent an email and requested politely and humorously to be considered. Something I totally wasn’t expecting. In any case, I don’t have to run through Peter’s accomplishments. We all know HARO (Help A Reporter Out), which actually inspired HAPPO (mentioned above) and founder of Geek Factory. Recent smooth move tweet.

10. John Sternal is another one I exchange tweets with on a regular basis. Rumored to be working on his golf game to get in the PGA Tour in the future. He’s based out of South Florida so he can play golf year round. He’s also a generous dude. I heard he gave a free ticket to the Masters to Arik Hanson.  Known for co-creating #smbizchat, John has one of the nicest Twitter personalities. His focus is to help small businesses get the media attention they deserve and he even shares some trade secrets like how to get an editorial in the newspaper. But we won’t take that against him. Besides, we all know “newspapers are dead.” I’m quoting. Who said that? Most recent smooth move tweet.

So there you have it. This year’s list of PR Dudes with the Smoothest Moves on Twitter and Real Life. For the PR dudes who didn’t make it on this year’s list, there’s always next year. I appreciate the pitches and follow-ups. It’s fun to play reporter once a year. It’s an empowering position to be in, but would never trade places. I LOVE PR!