InsidEPR

Persistence and Quiet Tenacity

By Becky Frost

In the PR world, certain things are inevitable. A client or reporter’s travel plans will change, interviews will need to be rescheduled, and briefings can fall out of people’s calendars if not for the persistence of the scheduler.

One aspect of PR that I really enjoy is connecting my clients and their customers with the media so they can tell their story. The behind-the-scenes work that goes into each story is a testament to the validity of the message and the ability of PR to flexibly work around schedules. With only two meeting participants (the reporter and client), booking briefings is usually a breeze. With four people, it can get a little harried.

A few months ago, I had a chance to meet two prominent security bloggers at RSA, Alan Shimel and Mitchell Ashley.  Alan’s StillSecure blog regularly features podcasts on compelling security topics. While we’d talked before, the in-person meeting led to an idea about a podcast on data leak prevention with Reconnex and security expert Tom Bowers. 

That’s when the fun began. After a series of schedule changes and technical difficulties the podcast went live this morning, just a few months after the idea germinated. It’s with a special pride that I invite you to take a listen to this interesting podcast on protecting corporate data. I think you’ll like what you hear.

The Power of the Internet

By Becky Caudill

A ton has been written this week about what happened to Kathy Sierra and the fallout from the actions of her online attackers.  Since I do not know Kathy or these other bloggers personally, there’s not a whole lot I can say about their characters or why they did what they did that hasn’t already been covered by folks like Robert Scoble, Doc Searls, Ken Camp, and countless others, including Dan Fost at the San Francisco Chronicle (his article gives a good, neutral overview on what happened).

What I can talk about, however, is the other side of the blogosphere - the one that is often overlooked in the face of controversy and punditry.  This post is not meant to minimize Ms. Sierra’s experiences—they are truly appalling and make my skin crawl—but rather to show that the Internet can be a safe haven for people and the blogosphere need not be a place where people are scared to venture. 

I’ve been participating in online chat rooms, message boards, and the blogosphere for many years now.  In fact, I can remember discovering ICQ (a form of internet chat that I used long before IM) the first day of my freshman year of college.  I’ve had countless interactions with perfectly anonymous strangers, all in the hopes of reaching out and connecting with like-minded individuals.  And you know what?  My life is better for it.

Corporate Blogging Reaching Critical Mass?

By Molly Miller

I recently attended a blogging seminar hosted by Six Apart and I highly recommend it to anyone who is exploring the value of a business blog.   I learned quite a lot about using blogs as a business tool, the mechanics of blogs, blogging style, RSS feeds, blog measurement, and blog promotion.  Sure, some of the speakers had products to sell behind their pitches, but I felt all the information presented was worthwhile.  More than that—I was inspired.  I began to think of new ways to use blogs to improve intra-company communication. 

I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want

By Becky Caudill

In my last post I talked about attending industry events devoted to social media and how to harness the power of blogging for the good of all mankind.  At the end of my post, I said I’d be back to discuss the topics I would be interested in hearing about and the type of event I would gladly attend.  Now, lo and behold, I’ve received an invite from Six Apart - parent company of TypePad (which powers this blog), Live Journal (the tool I use for personal blogging), and a new service called VOX - for a business blogging seminar taking place in San Francisco in a couple of weeks.

Taking Social Media to the Next Level

By Becky Caudill

I’ve been a blogger for a long time, but until this year I hadn’t learned how to apply what I knew to the corporate world.  That changed in March when I attended the New Communications Forum in Palo Alto, where for three days I learned about advances in new media. The event provided me with a solid foundation for exploring new media from a corporate perspective.

Since then, I’ve attended countless Webinars and luncheons devoted to “Social Media: All You Ever Need to Know!” Truthfully, those monikers are a bit misleading, as I feel the panelists are saying the same things I’ve been hearing for the past year. They are not presenting any new ideas or insight.  Maybe I’m not attending the right events, or maybe I’ve mastered the basics of social media.  All I know is that I’m left feeling disappointed and wanting more.

Why Blog?

By Molly Miller

Frequently these days I am asked by clients, "Should we have a blog?"  Well, "should" is a word my grandmother used when talking about chores or brushing teeth.  But I think there are good reasons to blog.

The blogs I read most frequently are written by some of the industry's best reporters and pundits.  Their posts often give me new insights into how these people think, and what they see as important.  Our hope for the Engage PR blog is that it too will show a more complete picture of the agency.  Through InsidEPR, potential employees, client prospects, media, and analysts can get a better view of the culture at EPR, and our work philosophy.  By revealing more of our perspectives, we hope to make collaboration easier and more interesting. 

InsidEPR also gives the broader team at EPR more avenues for sharing their talests and viewpoints with others.  I like it when EPR team dynamics help the agency expand into new directions - like the blogosphere.  Clients who are wondering whether to start blogging don't have to look far to find that their employees already blog.  Providing a corporate blog is an opportunity to harnass that creative energy.

Finally, it's an expected consequence of the Internet that people will continue to find new ways to connect.  The blogosphere is inevitable (until it is supplanted by the next "new communications" medium, that is).

So, welcome to the Engage PR blog.  Here's to a new view.