The changing voice of PR
BusinessWeek starts a blog by writing a news article that looks like a blog post about blogging. Well, at least they got the self-referencial part.
Fortunately, they got the tone right, too:
Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they’re simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they’re going to shake up just about every business — including yours. It doesn’t matter whether you’re shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They’re a prerequisite.
Note the first person.
A related (although much more in depth) read is Tom Coates’ essay on the mass amateurization of everything:
…flexibility of publishing creates a fluid and living form of self-representation, the ‘homepage (as a place)’ has become the ‘weblog (as a person)’ that can articulate a voice. And when there are a multiplicity of voices in space, then the possibility arises of conversations. And where there is conversation there is the sharing of information. And conversation about what? Well everything from music and movies and animation and medical information. Weblogs are becoming the bridge between the individual and the community in cyberspace …
For PR, that means a serious shift in voice is coming, because PR should be the bridge between the business and the community. And the community is starting to filter out messages that don’t sound how people talk:
Translation From PR-Speak to English of Selected Portions of Adobe’s ‘FAQ’ Regarding Their Acquisition of Macromedia
[QUESTION] Do you anticipate a reduction in force as a result of this transaction?
[ADOBE] When two successful growing companies join together, the result is a combined organization that creates new and exciting opportunities. The combination will lead to powerful new areas of innovation, new products and solutions, and an acceleration of our respective growth agendas. At the same time, there will be some duplication of employee functions between the two companies, and upon the close of the transaction, we anticipate some level of reduction in force. While we anticipate the integration team will identify opportunities for cost savings, the primary motivation for this acquisition is to continue to expand and grow our businesses into new markets.
[TRANSLATION] Yes.
via John Gruber at Daring Fireball
Obviously, a large merger presents some challenges for the PR professional, especially when it comes to talking about job losses. But what if you have an audience that doesn’t want to hear you obfuscate? And what if they react somewhat sarcastically (like John did, or worse) when you do?
It places a much higher burden on the communicator – you have to speak clearly, personally, and honestly or risk offending an audience that has the power to make itself heard (look at who’s linking to John’s PR send-up.)