PCC Panel Helps PR Pundits Baffled by Blogging

MODERATOR

Raschanda Hall
Media Relations Regional Supervisor, Business Wire

PANELISTS

Eric Zorn
Metro Columnist, Chicago Tribune

Elizabeth Berglund
Senior VP, B2B and Technology, Hill & Knowlton

Rick Klau
VP, Business Development, FeedBurner

PROGRAM SUMMARY

PCC December luncheon speakers (from left): Raschanda Hall, moderator; Eric Zorn, Elizabeth Berglund, Rick Klau. Photo by Ted Lacey.

By Sue Masaracchia-Roberts

Podcasts. Blogs. RSS feeds . . . these are all terms that tend to be relatively confusing arenas for those of us in public relations who need to keep pace with the inevitable race between technology and new communications tools. To help decipher all the new terminology and concepts, the December Publicity Club of Chicago meeting invited Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn, Hill & Knowlton’s senior vice president of B2B and technology Elizabeth Berglund and FeedBurner’s vice president of business development Rick Klau to educate attendees on these and other forms of emerging technology, and show how they are changing the face of newsrooms everywhere.

The program’s moderator was PCC’s own Raschanda Hall, Business Wire media relations supervisor, who oversees media handling in 27 states and is increasingly advising clients on blogging and podcasts.

More than 9 million blogs are created daily – amounting to 1.8 blogs launched each second -- making them a formidable communications force.

For those still confused by the terms, according to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia, here some definitions that will give you credibility in discussions of new technologies.

blog – short for weblog -- is a website for which an individual or group generates, text, photos, multimedia files and/or links.

podcast distributes audio and video programs over the Internet. The term was devised to describe the technology used to transfer content from websites to consumers using iPods – thus the term "pod" -- or other devices such as mp3 that support the audio technology.
RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication – an SML format designed for sharing headlines and web content.
Wiki is a group of web pages that, often unrestrictedly, allowing users to add content in a forum and, frequently, edit content.

Rashanda Hall

"The fact that Webster’s dictionary is adding the term "podcast" shows the growth in awareness, whereas in 2004, 23 percent of Americans never heard of a podcast." She posed some questions of the panel as to how podcasts and blogging can best be used.

Eric Zorn

After five years as a feature writer and radio columnist with the Chicago Tribune, Eric Zorn became a columnist, evolving into "Hometowns," a commentary column, before becoming the official Tribune blogger in 2003. In fact, Zorn was one of the nation’s first journalists to recognize the potential of blogging as an interactive medium for his readers.

With the buildup to the war in Iraq, Zorn began writing blogs, passing on information gleaned from his newspaper and radio connections. His blog soon became a five-day-a-week project that required constant updating of his observations.

"News breaks at 9 a.m., and by 10 a.m. comments begin to flow online; by 10:15, readers begin to respond," said Zorn. "It’s more about how we deal with the information we receive."

Newsrooms are operating at levels "leaner and meaner than ever before, mainly because many people are receiving their information online." While his blog was built on the Tribune platform, serving an audience purchasing 500,000 copies daily and having his column printed in the paper, Zorn cautioned the audience that "the average age of newspaper readers is 54. While readership is higher, it is picking up less than ever, leaving the future of newspapers in question."

As for RSS feeds, Zorn believes them to be an easy way to make content available outside of normal view. Technologies like blackberries and cell phones are the most likely arenas for RSS feeds, whereas weblogs create linkable content.

He cautions bloggers that they must send viewers to places they find interesting or they will perceive the blog as a corporate tool or as having no integrity. "Only communicate your real thoughts to me! Comments can engage other readers and become a way to build your own community. However, blogs pose a potential threat as well as opportunities."

Elizabeth Berglund

Elizabeth Berglund’s knowledge of the tech world is extensive. Having started her career as editor of American Printer, then as founder and first publisher of Electronic Publishing and Printing – a magazine for electronic and digital printing professionals, she spent time at Edelman Worldwide as a senior member of their systems, software and services practice before moving to Hill & Knowlton (H & K). She has provided strategic counsel to a variety of clients in telecommunications, the e-marketplace and professional services arenas. While at H & K, Berglund is the leader for the B2B and technology groups. Some of her past and current clients include TransUnion, Motorola and Hewlett Packard.

"A lack of control sums up blogs," said Berglund. "Consumers create them and we have little or no control. This is a huge issue to overcome. They can serve as corporate magnet tools since they represent a huge focus group, but most blogs are short and terse with little content. When they make negative statements, they stand out more. Because they come up high on the search engines, they make the bad situations even worse."

Berglund said the H&K has a policy for internal use of blogs, as does HP, that promotes thought leadership and best practices. However, there is a margin for error. She suggests, to alleviate that margin, an arena must be established with policies about content. Warning people to be careful when blogging, she suggests perhaps even consulting a lawyer, especially if discussing confidential, proprietary or third party information. Some of these areas could be considered trade secrets. She chides bloggers to beware, as "There is a whole list of things NOT to talk about – a lot of nondisclosures. Think twice about saying anything on a blog if you wouldn’t say it in front of the CEO of the company."

She also advises anyone who has a blog, to update it at least three or four times a week, especially if the goal of the blog is to use it as an influencer. For a catalog of blogs, check out www.technorati.com, which has an effect on the industry. She strongly suggests assessing the landscape and monitoring the discussion boards to build relationships and leverage power.

Berglund explained, "Podcasts can be used to build brands." These can be in the form of announcements, product launches, thought leadership, emerging trends, important CEO engagements and general news from human resources to make readers feel like they are part of something. "These can also be used for skills sharing."

Rick Klau, JD

Currently responsible for cultivating and managing relationships with large media companies, entertainment networks, newspapers and a variety of other commercial publishers, Rick Klau had a similar role at the first enterprise social software company, Socialtext, before joining FeedBurner. In addition to being a degreed lawyer and the author of a number of published books and columns on technology, law, e-commerce and online security, he has been extensively interviewed by a wide variety of major media publications including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CIO and InfoWorld. FeedBurner today leverages technology for good – providing content to approximately 100,000 publications around the globe.

Klau said that it was a blog he wrote on what to look for in choosing a law firm that "secured me as an expert on the subject and got press for the company I worked for." He added that, if they are created by someone with opinions who also have expertise, blogs offer a voice and linkable content.

However, Klau warned that since blogging is not monitored, "Sometimes the opportunities outweigh the threats. If you are not listening, someone else is. If you don’t reinforce your message, someone else can influence, if not control it. If you can talk into a telephone, you can do a podcast. The intricacy depends on the degree of sophistication."

He said that even non-tech users can hold live podcasts and that they do not even have to cost anything. All users need is an MP3 file recording and a web server. Software to record phone calls can be purchased.

For RSS feeds, all that is necessary is attaching the audio to the feeds. For under $5 per month, www.audiblog.com offers feeds, making the whole process of downloading an audio file and attaching it to a feed very simple.

He urges those involved in the blogging world not to create a fake blog. "As we get carried away with technology," said Klau, "we frequently find ourselves in over our heads. This conversation [blog] presumes knowledge. The lack of being genuine is the other end spectrum where you don’t want to be. The genuineness of postings are very apparent. He urges companies and individuals to make time to monitor your blogs. Mine your reputation and provide clients with another medium to monitor. This is all part of competitive intelligence."

Based on the Q&A following the presentations, it appears that PR pros need to accelerate their learning about these emerging technologies. As the power of traditional media wanes, blogging, podcasts and RSS feeds will increasingly be areas in which PR professionals will be expected to demonstrate some competency.