In Defense of Public Relations

I’ve been to countless new business pitches in my lifetime and I have to say I’ve seen a pattern on the types of potential clients you’ll be presenting to during a new business pitch.  Here are my five faves:

1) The Skeptic — This dude usually has a solid marketing background, but is only somewhat familiar with PR. He thinks PR is an expense not an investment and can’t justify spending on programs that will gain attention within the communities they serve resulting in earned media coverage.  It’s a tough sell to this dude, but open to being persuaded so make sure you have a PR101 slide and case studies of top-tier media coverage that had an impact on the bottom line.

2) Tradzilla — This dude basically hates anything new. New ideas, new technologies, new electronics, new jersey…Content with buying radio, cable, print ads, FSI’s and the dreaded direct mail. It will take a ton of convincing to get this guy on board so you may want to convince everyone else around him in the room. He’s the type to succumb to peer pressure. There must be someone in the room who believes in PR since you are in there presenting.

3) The Accountant — This dude lives for numbers. He sleeps, eats and drinks figures and I’m not talking about the ones you find at Hooters.  Make sure all your media coverage examples cite the ad equivalency. I know it’s so 1980′s to correlate media placements with advertising dollars, but this is the only language this dude will understand.  Besides, the 80′s are making comeback so be retro.

4) The Marketer Who Thinks He’s A PR Dude — This dude loves publicity and somewhat gets PR, but thinks every little thing that his company rolls out is newsworthy. The type to expect  a ton of media coverage for launching version 3.0 of an obscure iPhone app or cutting 25% off on regular prices during Black Friday. He loves to debate the merits of issuing a news release for every action his company takes. A great dude to be on your side during a new biz pitch, but be wary when you win the biz because he expects media coverage every day. Manage expectations swiftly.

5) The American Idol Fan — This dude is a big fan of PR. I love this dude on a new biz pitch because no matter what you say he supports. He’s likely had experience in PR or have seen firsthand the value that PR brings to a business. Like a loyal American Idol fan, he’ll be calling you at least 3x a day giving you a vote of confidence that you’re doing an awesome job. Keep this dude happy and make sure he becomes a friend. He’s they dude who’ll provide you new business references in the future.

I’m sure there are more out there that you can share so please feel free to send me your thoughts. Life snowflakes, no client or potential client are alike.  Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

Summer is officially over today and thought I’d premiere a new blog post in honor of  TV premiere week. Do people still watch network TV? [I know Gleeks can't wait for tonight's season opener.]

I think it’s just appropriate that I explain why I have neglected this blog over the summer. So here’s my ten excuses (real and fake) for not blogging (and defending) PR:

10. I was dabbling with witchcraft.

9. I was hiking on the Iran-Iraq border.

8. I was auditioning for Jersey Shore.

7. I was moving out of the Garden State.

6. No one reads this dumb blog anyway.

5. I won the Powerball.

4. I was launching my own PR agency.

3. I was working on Tiger Woods’ swing.

2. I was interviewing for a PR position at BP and Toyota.

1. I was lazy.

Some of these excuses are true. Some aren’t. No need to elaborate further. Just hoping to continue blogging more regularly now that summer is over. No promises. More excuses.

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!

Oh how time flies! It’s been a year since I posted the inaugural list of the ten hottest PR chick pics on twitter and I guess with this second edition, the list now becomes a tradition unlike any other.

I did make a few adjustments to the selection process. Instead of me being the sole judge on who makes the hot list, I brought in a committee of PR experts dudes to assist in the selection. For their own safety, they shall remain anonymous although a couple of them probably wouldn’t mind getting whipped by the ladies who didn’t make the cut.  In addition, a number of the sizzling yet smart PR ladies here made it because they pitched themselves and their pitches were on fire.

Unlike last year, this year’s crop of smokiness included a review of their last 10 tweets at the time of this writing (hey, it’s a top ten list) and whether those tweets brought some value to the PR profession. Of course, all of these ladies have engaged me on Twitter, which helped dwindle down the list. And none, I hope, know my true ID.  Yes, it’s still a subjective process, but just like PR, I never claimed this to be an exact science. I’ve also excluded those that were on the list last year not because they lost their sizzle, but because there are many PR chicks on Twitter.

Before you proceed to scroll down this post to see who’s in, I’d like all of you to know that I  have the highest respect for the women on this list. Our industry is composed of a majority of women and many whom I’ve worked with and currently work with are smart, creative, and dare I say it, attractive. I don’t believe anyone working in PR should be judged by their looks and/or physical attributes, but by what value they add to the table. But let’s be honest, there are those who have both (unfortunately, not me–you’ve all seen my pic).  On another note, I don’t refer to any woman as “chick” and never tell them their “hot” unless I’m referring to the weather.

So without further drivel from me, whether you love it or hate it (do let me know in the comments section), here’s this year’s prdude’s list of The Ten Hottest PR Chicks Based on Their Pics and Tweets (not in any order):

1. Julie Perry is the Social Media Director for BLASTMediaPR and has a very interesting background. Yes, she has thousands of followers on Twitter and she’s also the author of the book, “The Insiders’ Guide to Becoming a Yacht Stewardess Confessions from My Years Afloat with the Rich and Famous.” Not sure if she rubbed elbows with the likes of Robin Leach or has ever been on, God forbid, Tiger Woods’ yacht, Privacy. And even though she’s an Android fan [check out her bio here] and what looks to be a typo in the title of her book (shouldn’t the apostrophe be before the ‘s’ if it’s a one insider’s perspective?], Perry makes the list for being “Little Miss Chaterer.” Blast-est tweet from the last ten here.

2. If the movie, Miss Congeniality, had a prequel, Kate Ottavio would be a shoo-in to play the young Sandra Bullock. Her road to PR included years in beauty pageantry as a contestant, and from what I gather from her tweets, as an adviser today for young ladies who want to compete in a beauty (and brains) competition.  She’d also win the Miss Patient prize if there is one in a beauty pageant because she should’ve been on last year’s list. See what a year of waiting does. She’s accomplished so much in that time frame, the least of which is being one of the founding members of the hottest PR blog today, PR Breakfast Club. Beautiful-’est’ tweet from the last ten here.

3. Stephanie Smirnov is probably the most powerful PR chick on this list. She heads up one of the most successful consumer PR firms in the country. If you haven’t heard of DeVries (pronounced De-Vrees not to be confused with DeVry), you haven’t been in PR long enough or you’re not in PR at all. She’s proud of her Russian heritage and sources say she may have been rooting for the Russian hockey team during the last Winter Olympics. She’s proudest being e a mom. Combining her PR profession and mommy duties, an interesting and entertaining hybrid blog was born, check out PR Mama. Mammochka tweet from the last ten here.

4. Don’t let the pink fool you…according to the first slide on J Public Relations’ web site. The only agency to make it on this list. Why? Well, because this and this. I’m sure JPR supports the Susan G. Komen Foundation too, not just because of its company colors, but because its entire team is female. Of course, it also made the list because the agency boasts that it  has won many awards. The fact that the firm has someone named Jamie Lynn Sigler and Sarah Evans [no, not that Sarah Evans who was on last year's list] managing the firm had nothing to do with it. I do wonder how an entertainment reporter reacts when getting a call that starts like this, “Hi, this is Jamie Lynn Sigler, I’m calling for…” Pink-est tweet from the last ten here.

5. Gail Sideman is the consummate publicist with a strong background in sports.  She’s been seen hanging out with some famous folks like James Brown, not the Godfather of Soul, but the CBS Sports broadcaster. She stays on the SIDElines and gives all her clients the glory. She engages everyone on Twitter that’s why a majority of her tweets from my observation are @replies. She’s creative at how she uses the SIDE part of her name (check out her web site). It’s SIDE this, and SIDE that. From this SIDE, it all works seamlessly together. She’s obviously no SIDE dish. SIDE-tweet from the last ten here.

6. Katherine Barna describes herself as “just a city girl figuring it out as I go.” Well, whatever ‘IT’ is, she’s got plenty of ‘IT.’ Kath, as she’s called by friends on Twitter, has found a little space to fill. She may have a little space to herself, but she’s got a big  job working as a publicist for Newsweek.  Yes that news magazine that we, PR dudes and dudettes, want to get our client in at least once in our career even if circulation has been cut in half (more on this here). I’m sure with Kath’s PR skills, she’s helped get circulation back up if that falls under her responsibility.  Space-filled tweet from the last ten here.

7. A Minnesotan that recently graduated at Florida Gulf Coast University who is now working in New York City, Abby Schoffman is hungry to learn more about PR (based on her tweets) and calls herself a social media enthusiast. Thank goodness, she didn’t write guru or expert. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have made this list no matter how hot she is on her pic or in real life.  I don’t know much about her except that selection committee members who’ve met her are adamant she be on this list. I hope to get to know her more on Twitter in the future. Tweet why she belongs on list from last ten here.

8. Yes, Kellye is spelled with a ‘y’ and ‘e.’ Not spelled with an ‘i’ or just ‘y.’ Now that I’ve cleared up that it isn’t a typo, KellyE Crane has single-handedly changed the lives of solo PR pros for the better with #solopr and Solo PR Linked In group. One of the challenges faced by solo PR pros is not having a team to brainstorm ideas or share resources with.  Thanks to Kellye, they are now able to do so.  The Solo-ist tweet from the last ten here.

9. I have a lot of faith in Jessica Randazza who has taken on the task of changing the world, not just the PR world, but the entire planet. That’s a thousand times more challenging than what I’m trying to do [check this blog's tagline].  Her blog is a mishmash of all things PR, branding, social media and life. Based from what I’ve read, she likely hails from Seattle, where Starbucks is headquartered, but is a lover of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, which is not available in Seattle. Thankfully, she’s now in New York City, where there’s Dunkin’ Donuts every few blocks.

10. The PR Tweeter crowd has spoken. Filling in the 10th and final slot is Tiffany Winbush. It was a close race between her and @SashaHalima to the end. Both are amazing young ladies who’ve accomplished so much at such a young age (not that I know how old they are–just taking an educated guess here) so kudos to them and their loyal followers. I’m sure none of them voted multiple times (hey, we live in the American Idol age).  Tiffany, who received 50 percent of the vote, has amazing credentials  (based on her Linked In profile) and runs a blog, Women Making Moves, that is devoted to the accomplishments of women. I’m thinking she should feature herself on her blog since she is one woman who is making moves (dudes, in your dreams, get your minds out of the gutter).  Tweet that moved the needle here.

The fabulous final five also included @missusP @rochelleveturis @FLASHrelations. All five were nominated among many to become on of the Ten Hottest PR Chicks Based on Their Pics and Tweets (2nd Ed.)  Final results here.

Calling all PR Dudes on Twitter: If you think you’re a PR Dude with the Smoothest Moves (on Twitter), feel free to pitch yourself as long as you weren’t on the last year’s list. Please send pitches to prdude@indefenseofpr.com.  Post slated for Friday, April 30.

Disclaimer: Any similarities of descriptions to anyone living or dead is not intended and must be taken with a large dose of humor.

[From original post: 10.]Don’t act so surprised.  Haven’t you heard crowdsourcing is the ‘hot’ buzzword of the season?!?  We live in a social media world so the last, but not least PR chick to grace this list, will be your choice. Simply send your suggestions in the comments section of this post or tweet me @prdude.  The PR Dudes selection committee will collect and select five of the ‘hottest’ PR chicks you suggest, then we’ll open the floor for a vote. There are only two rules to follow when nominating: 1) Nominee must be a woman or at least looks like a woman working in PR and 2) She must have a Twitter handle.

Please stop. No applause, congratulations or happy birthday songs today. I’m enjoying writing this post in my birthday suit anyway. Yes, it’s been a  year today, okay not exactly today (for my official twitter date of birth, check here), but it’s definitely been close to a year so please hang with me.

This is a milestone event for me and couldn’t have done it without all of my followers. [If I sound like Taylor Swift's do-over speech, please Kanye me].  So thank you for clicking on that follow button, I’m hoping none of you have regretted it.  Thank you too for clicking on the url on my profile, many of my hits (which will be sold on itunes soon) come from Twitter.  You’re part of a very smart group of hundreds of thousands that visit this blog regularly.

Second, I have a super hero complex (check out this blog’s tagline), which stems from being forced to wear super hero pajamas as a child. Have I told you I jumped from the roof once when I was about five years old using a blanket as a cape? Didn’t break any bones, thank goodness, probably since the roof of the doghouse was barely two feet high.  Sorry, I digress, but being anonymous is kinda like being Spider-Man. While prdude gets the adulation (yes, really) of many wonderful followers and readers, the real me is behind the scenes working my magic giving all the glory to my not-so demanding clients (no, not really).

Finally, if you are one of the select few who’ve outed me (there’s a handful of you), you’re in a fine group that includes Jack and Suzy Welch. Just remember that the confidentiality agreement you signed is iron-clad and I’ll sic all the bad-ass lawyers on you if you reveal my true ID. Just kidding. Thanks for keeping my secret safe.

If I haven’t bored you to death let me explain why I joined Twitter. THERAPY. Yes, if you’re working at the insane asylum I work for, you’ll need a lot of it.  Thanks to Twitter, I haven’t been committed yet though many here should be. Best of all, it’s free.

Here are a few milestones from the past year (not in any order):

- My first follower was @ctmichaels who’ve gone on to bigger and greater things like being a regular contributor for The PR Breakfast Club.

- I got a couple of hits for myself check ‘em out here and here.

- I became the accidental host of masquertweet even though it was really @PRCog‘s show.

- @PRCog, @aerocles and I were planning an out-of-town coffee run to Maine, but when we were all packed and ready to go, this happened.

- I posted the 10 Hottest PR Chick Pics on Twitter and the Ten PR Dudes with the Smoothest Moves on Twitter.

- The ‘dear boss’ and ‘dear firmprez’ tweets spurred questions about whether the firm I work for truly exists, which inspired me to write this post.

- I am a Twitter Addict so I created a 12-tweet program and started tweeting, You Might Be a #Twitteraddict if…, obviously inspired by redneck comedian Jeff Foxworthy.  Try this. You might be a #Twitteraddict if you click this.

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. If you know when your Twitter Date of Birth is, share it here.

When you hold a shell to your ear, you hear the ocean.  But not from this kind of Shel.  If you listen to this Shel, you’ll hear some really smart insights.  I especially enjoyed Shel’s post on why we can’t have celebu-bimbo Kim Kardashian represent the PR industry.  I can’t believe I’m giving self-proclaimed booty queen, K-Kard this much space on my blog, not that she’d care what an unknown anonymous PR blogger thinks. Frankly, like her, I don’t care.

PR Queen: No Booty Queen: Yes

In truth, I’m a fan of some reality shows even if we all know that they’re as real as the tooth fairy.  The problem is a majority of the average (IQ) viewer still believes reality shows are as real as the couch they sit on.  I remember when Lizzie Grubman’s Power Girls premiered on MTV and every non-PR friend I knew gave me an amused look saying, so that’s what you do.  I already had a hard time explaining what I did, and here comes Lizzie with her so-called PR gal pals making it look like the P in PR stood for Pimp.

P stands for Public not Pimping

So what do we do as PR folks when this reality show debuts with the two PR boys (I mean ‘gurus’) from Command Public Relations.  (I’m thinking they named it that because they both go ‘commando’ from the break of dawn into the night. See commando definition here.)  I’d like to think we’ll all heed Shel’s call to action.  Maybe even go on a campaign to petition the show off.  Though, I’m sure many of us will be glued to the TV to see how this firm operates and whether it’s like the agency you work for.  Not surprisingly, it may just be.  As the great PR mind, Josh Sternberg, succinctly replied to me in a tweet.

Sorry for being the bearer of bad news, but summer is about to end.  This usually means students will be going back to school inching themselves closer to a diploma and possibly a career of their choosing like flipping burgers at McDonald’s.

This is the right time for experienced PR pros to think about how they mentor the younger PR executives and/or interns at their shop.  As we all know, school doesn’t even come close to duplicating what goes on in the real world of public relations.

So it begs the question. Are you a Mentor or a Monster? Take the simple quiz below and find out what you are or better yet, who you are.  (Disclaimer: not responsible for any self-realization or epiphany you may or may not experience.)

1. So your Intern/AC/AAE forgot a couple of punctuation marks and missed spelling errors in the activity report, pitch letter, press release, internal email to you, etc.  Do you fly off the handle and go medieval on junior’s a$$ for typos?

A) Yes  B) No

2. When you call a team meeting and one of your team members (say an Account Supervisor) comes up with a brilliant idea, do you present the idea to the client as your own?

A) Yes  B) No

3. Let’s say you present the brilliant idea to the client, but the client reacts by saying, “that was the dumbest thing you’ve ever suggested,” do you now backtrack and say the idea came from someone else?

A) Yes  B) No

4. Do you expect to learn from the most junior person on your PR team even if this person answers to the name “stupid or moron?”

A) Yes  B) No

5. Have you ever told someone on your team to LIE to a client about a media opportunity or a missed deadline you were responsible for?

A) Yes  B) No

6. Have you ever requested any one on your team who has thousands of Twitter followers to give you a #followfriday shout out or re-tweet your incoherent blog post?

A) Yes  B) No

7. When you read PRCog’s recent post, This is a Call (Out), did you feel sympathetic to the type of douchebag-ery Cog was addressing on his post because you had asked someone from your team to do the same?

A) Yes  B) No

8. When someone on your team secures an awesome media placement, do you ask “where are the rest of the hits?”

A) Yes  B) No

9. When you call a brainstorm session, do you end up dishing out all the ideas and not let others weigh in?

A) Yes  B) No

10. Do you call yourself a mentor in public when in reality everyone calls you monster behind your back?

A) Yes  B) No

I guess it’s obvious that if you answered YES to most of the questions, you’re not a mentor.  This doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t get the job done or you’re a bad PR professional, but chances are you don’t and you’re bad at what you do.  This also means that you define PR as phony relations.

So take this post as a reminder that you were once a young impressionable PR pro and that the folks who report to you could someday head their own agencies or work in-house and become potential clients.  Also, if there are enough people who wish you get hit by a bus, it may just happen.  I know I sleep better at night knowing I didn’t bring anyone to the dark side, or at least, that’s what I believe.

(Questions are based on real-life experiences at the insane asylum I call the firm)

Dashing (possibly). Debonair (maybe). Delicious (I wouldn’t want to know).

There were two things I learned when selecting the dudes that appear (using ‘grace’ just wouldn’t be appropriate) on the list below. First, for a brief yet fleeting moment, I understood how reporters feel when they get pitched.  It feels GOOD.  Now I get it, no wonder they  (reporters) seem to wield so much power over PR people. Receiving pitches can make one drunk with power.  For the record, I didn’t receive any pitches that would’ve landed in the Bad Pitch Blog, and even if I did, I would’ve just simply deleted it from my inbox and not make a big stink about it like some of my fellow media (coff) colleagues.

Second, I realized the true meaning of Star Trek’s famous opening line, “to boldly go where no man has gone before.” No, I’m not talking about venturing into outer space.  In this case, it’s getting in touch with my feminine side to select these PR dudes with the smoothest moves (on Twitter).  It is an exercise I never want to repeat. Torture comes to mind. Seriously, evaluating men is just not my expertise. Like any list published though, you can’t let it die after one, so I expect to have another one written in the future (the 22nd century perhaps).

Please note that there were only two rules I followed in developing this list–1) The dude’s gotta be on Twitter and 2) he must be in PR –the rest are based on my dark side, oops, I mean feminine side’s personal opinion (dudes, we all have one whether you admit it or not).  So please take this as my #followfriday for today.  If you’re a prdude, and you didn’t make the list, blame it on my lack of expertise, or better yet, W.  List not in any order.

@joeprguy — Joe Cockrell is a cancer survivor whose latest venture is to help ordinary folks who have extraordinary stories be in the news.  While going through treatment, he helped raise funds for the family of a cancer-stricken six year old boy whose medical bills were piling up by applying his super PR powers.  His story has been covered in the Phoenix Business Journal. Hmmm…I wonder who pitched that story.  Besides his PR prowess, if you’ve been following him (and the ladies on Twitter surely noticed), the dude’s got great guns.  Sorry girls, he pulled off his old pic recently.  Needless to say, Joe’s the above average Joe.

@keithobrien — He left his editor-in-chief post at PRWeek for a gig to be a flack at Attention! PR. A loss for the editorial side is a gain for the PR industry. A smooth move if I should say so myself especially since he’s likely to be making much more money as a PR pro. I’m sure it’s not about the money.  You can find his excuse for leaving PRWeek here.  If the PR thing doesn’t work out, he can always hit the celebrity look-a-like circuit as Seth Rogen.

@worob — The maverick of the group (no, not the Sen. McCain kind, but this one) as Andrew Worob likes to refer to himself. Also known as the Kid (no, not this one, but the one from Young Guns), he came out guns a-blazing when he started in PR as a new grad from West Virginia. He piled on hit after hit intimidating other publicists around him who were happy to fly under the radar.  Taking over the agency was his master plan, but realized he had a better chance of taking over the Mountaineers’ basketball and football programs.

@prblog and @laermer — The co-founders of the Bad Pitch Blog are smart and savvy, not only with their approach to PR, but to their management of staff as well.  The only dynamic duo to appear on this list, Kevin Dugan and Richard Laermer probably know this, but every PR pro hates that BPB exists.  No self-respecting PR pro (and there are a few left) would ever want to see his/her pitch on their blog.  Policing pitches is a service to the PR industry and I say we need it (as long as none of my pitches get featured there).

@PRCog — The only anonymous twitterer to make the list.  P-Cog is deep inside the PR machine and a keen observer of everything PR. His extaordinary ability to turn his observations into the funniest yet genuine tweets about the industry makes him a target by Danko.  Unfortunately for P-Cog, his ID and mine gets mixed up at times on Twitter. Many have asked if we’re twins or the same person. That’s for you guys to find out at #masquertweet in July so RSVP today.

@Aerocles — A Greek mythology buff (judging by his Twitter handle) and a certified expert of the ABC TV series Lost, David Teicher’s insights were recently included in EW’s Doc Jensen’s weekly dissection of the show.  He is also 1/3 of the designated hosts for  #masquertweet in July.  Formerly, a semi-anonymous twitterer, David is known to tweet even in his sleep. He is a lean mean tweeting machine.

@arikhanson — His bio says he’s a savvy communications professional, and I beg to differ. Arik Hanson is more than that.  If you follow him already, then you know he’s quite the PR analyst. And guess what? He’s not based in NYC though he’s got the pulse of the NY PR and media scenes. Check out his blog, Communications Conversations, if you don’t believe me.  He also makes the list because he’s an avid golfer and writes occasionally for golf publications. How he got that sideline work living in Minneapolis is a mystery I’d like to uncover.

@kevinmercuri — One of two Kevins to be included in this list, Kevin Mercuri lives up to his last name.  He’s as hot as Mercuri.  Forget the fact that he’s the president and founder of Propheta Communications, and that he has extensive experience in all areas of PR, his Twitter pic alone gets him on this list.  How can I not select a man in a tux? Heard through the celebrity gossip pages that while walking the streets of Miami, Kevin was mistaken for Marc Anthony.

@CTMichaels — By virtue of the fact that he was my first follower on Twitter, CTMicheals (his first name is not on his profile) makes it as one of the ten PR Dudes with the Smoothest Moves (on Twitter).  If I were to guess, he does PR for Slim-Fast, Wrigley’s and the tobacco industry, based on his tweets.  The dude is also literally smooth. I hear he shaves all of his body hair.

So there ya go…if you agree/disagree, please feel free to send in your comments.  Please note that I am no longer accepting pitches.

In recent months, Twitter has been getting so much attention and it’s not just because of its cute little blue bird logo that you see below. Actually, that blue bird can be annoying, but it will grow on you if you stare at it for a couple of hours. And that’s exactly how Twitter is.

tweet tweet

Like many, I was completely baffled why anyone would want to share their thoughts, activities, diet, religion, cars they own, work experiences, personal hygiene, sexual preference, pretty much their entire lives (save for trips to the toilet–c’mon tweeps we gotta draw the line somewhere!) to just anyone and everyone in under 140 characters. It’s hard enough to share our lives each day with friends and family, and now to share them with the universe (twitterverse as I eventually found out) is just plain stupid.

Since I’d try anything once, I decided to give Twitter a chance a few months ago even before Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) discovered it.  I signed up anonymously as prdude and just tweeted away mainly about my life at the PR agency (which shall remain nameless) I work at. It took me less than a day to realize that Twitter does provide a unique service.  It is not stupid after all.

Since that twateful day, when I signed up for my anonymous twitter handle, I’ve tried to define Twitter in my own way.  Here’s what I came up with, and yes, it’s an acronym for Twitter. Corny or creative? You tell me. Honest comments are always welcomed here.

T:   THERAPY. I work pretty much work for an agency that could be classifed as an insane asylum.  It’s not bad at first, but after awhile (in my case, years), you’ll realize you’re becoming crazy.  Twitter has been my therapy to help me through the insanity. And of course the weekly counseling and prescription meds help as well.
W:  WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Could also be Whazzup? Twitter’s become a place for me to share with people who care about what I say, do and think.  Seriously, there are many of them that do and they don’t work or belong in the insane asylum.
I:    IMPERSONAL. No matter how many times I exchange tweets with those I follow and those who follow me, the way Twitter is set up doesn’t promote real life friendships that’s why tweet-ups like Masquertweet are gaining popularity. It may also be because I am anonymous.
T:   TIME. It takes a lot of time to make Twitter worthwhile, but it’s definitely worth the investment. Not recommended for those who just don’t get it (that would include firmprez who insists that other firmprezes on Twitter have hired guns to tweet for them).
T: TEXT. It takes a lot of practice to deliver a message in under 140 characters.  I avoid the “continued” tweet, which is tweeting the same idea/topic in the next tweet just because of you run out of characters.  No penalty for violating though, it’s simply a personal choice.
E:   ENTERTAINMENT or EDUCATION. No matter what the tweet is, someone in Twitterverse will find it entertaining or educational.
R:  RETWEET. Tweet and Retweet were on a boat. Tweet jumped off, who was left? RETWEET.  This and #followfriday may very well be the most powerful tools on Twitter.  This is how news, ideas, products, etc. can go viral spread fast.  So please RETWEET this post.

So the PRWeek/PR Newswire Media survey came out yesterday to practically no fanfare. Maybe I was blind or plain crazed yesterday that I didn’t see any PR pro tweet about the findings save for Shel Holtz who challenged technology blogger/editor Robert Scoble to respond to his open query.  Apparently, Shel takes issue with some of Scoble’s attitude towards PR pitches and PR people in general.

Shel got his answer. Scoble ain’t backing down and posted this in response.

My take.  Both have valid points, but as a PR pro, I’ll have to side with Holtz on this one. Yes, there are crappy pitches out there, and it’s in your inbox, so simply click delete. It’s nothing personal. If reporters only knew the kind of pressure PR people are under and the amount of time we have in a day to service clients.  We try to be as smart and strategic as possible, I hope, but do we really have the time to research every reporter’s and/or blogger’s past articles to ensure pitches are targeted? In front of clients, we say YES, but in reality, who’s got the time?

If I had to research every reporter/blogger and figure out whether they’re an appropriate target, I’d be 7/11, that means working 24/7.  No one wants that even in this sad economy.  To put it mildly, be happy we’re pitching you, and the fact that you work in the media means you’re a target.  Just think of yourselves as celebrities, but not as pretty, and PR pros as the paparazzi, but not as sleazy.