Media Bullseye

After all the back and forth this weekend between bloggers, PR pros, and others, Eric Eggertson attempts to answer a pretty valid question that a lot of people likely get wrong: what exactly does a PR professional DO, anyway? Also: Apple and social media, and Google and your reputation.

Donna Papacosta offers some insight into the question of when advertising on your podcast is right for you. Also: Are you Googling yourself? You should be! And a review of Brightkite, the latest social networking site.

While PR traditionally works as a behind-the-scenes entity, Joe Thornley argues that the future of PR is in the spokesperson as the public face of the company, and as a public figure. Social media has forced that into being. Also: Finding an audience in the Tivo era, media databases and PR spam, that blasted Kindle and Zappos on Twitter.

A huge percentage of the blogs in my feed reader were buzzing about the story of Gina Trapani of Lifehacker choosing to publish a wiki of PR pros who have sent bad pitches to her personal email address. So, today's jots are dedicated to some of the reactions to this latest bloggers vs. flacks kerfuffle.

Finding success in social media often involves a confusing or intangible array of attributes, as well as (sometimes) plenty of luck--but Larissa Fair reminds us of one of the most important ways to get what you need from this space: be yourself. Also: Twitter for Disney enthusiasts and the work-life balance.

While social media engagement is a significant portion of many PR pro's jobs, Tom Murphy makes the excellent point that many have plenty of other responsibilities to keep them busy. So is it really the quantity of their engagement (or the number of people they "follow back" on Twitter), or the quality? Also: raise your Twitter profile, communications plan advice, and the evolution of pitching.

In today's Blog Jots, Mitch Joel has thoughts on the idea of citizen journalism, noting that citizen journalists have achieved a level of credibility whether people like it or not. Also in this round, more answers to John Cass' Cluetrain questions, and more proof that customer service is important to PR and marketing.

We all love Twitter, but how often do we consider its usefulness for business purposes? Colin Carmichael of Social Media Group has a great post with four ways that Twitter can help your business. Also: Make your conference rock more, and some thoughts on the echo chamber.

Often times, miscommunication begins immediately between firm and client, setting the relationship up for failure. Joseph Thornley stresses the importance of setting clear expectations for both sides. Also: Louis Vuitton and branding, reporter-flack symbiosis, and Myspace snobbery.

There are two camps on Twitter: those who follow back everyone that follows them, and those who are a bit more choosy. Mitch Joel (and myself, for what it's worth) falls into the second camp. Which one are you? Also: personal branding issues on social networks, and getting blog placements (or not).