Bloggers – a new type of press?

Bloggers – a new type of press?

Bloggers are gaining the news every day with various infringements and violations of what we have come to expect of the ‘normal’ press process. As PR professionals we may all need to start honing our strategies to deal with this unexpected new category of press. In a court ruling on Friday March 11th, a California Judge ordered 3 ‘independent online reporters’ (aka Bloggers) to reveal their sources of the confidential information that they published on some products being developed by Apple Computer Inc. (Informationweek: http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=159401693)

“The ruling alarmed speech advocates, who saw the case as a test of whether people who write for Web publications enjoy the same legal protections as reporters for mainstream publications...Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg ruled that no one has the right to publish information that could have been provided only by someone breaking the law.” States the article.

Why do we care?

This is of interest: are bloggers press and should we start treating them as such? There has been a lot of recent activity surrounding the growing presence of bloggers and how the traditional ‘press process’ is being undermined: anything from accidental leaks of trade secrets as in the case above, through to exploitation of public opinion through blogging ‘influencers’ in the presidential elections in 2004. While we hope that these situations will settle down, there are some active approaches PR and marketing people can take to help control them.

Our clients have already been asking how we will differentiate between “true press” and “bloggers” who are talking about their products. If a recognized editor uses a blog technology to publish, does that make him an editor or a blogger? Is an employee of a vendor company who blogs to be considered press or not? Where should the line be drawn?

Identifying your press

Dave Cohn, editor of CADCAMNet, draws his line in the sand as follows: “In my view, if you are earning your main living by writing, whether it is a print publication, email newsletter or blog, you are a member of the press and should be treated as such.”

This distinction seems to hold water. The hope is that if someone relies on their words and opinions as a livelihood, then they will strive to do it well. However, as PR and marketing people, we will have to more actively identify more, and different, kinds of press, with maybe a much more sophisticated approach to dealing with new ‘breeds’ of reporter.

But, should all press be treated equal?

“Blogs are like any other form of journalistic endeavor. There are good blogs, and there are bad blogs,” says Randall Newton, Editor, AECnews. “Robin Capper in New Zealand (http://rcd.typepad.com/rcd/) doesn't consider himself a journalist, but perhaps should. He is insightful, his opinions are based on experience, and his writing is very good. He is a credit to the growing cadre of CAD bloggers.”

According to Newton, though, Capper focuses only on educating people about Autodesk’s Architectural Desktop, which, while valuable, is not comprehensive enough for an industry view. “This is profession versus passion,” states Newton. Readers will need to recognize and identify that when using a source of information.

Further more, he believes there are some blogs that should not be given the time of day because they are so obviously awful. At his request, we didn’t publish the links to these as he felt he didn’t want to give them any credit. Here at Strategic Reach we think that the evolution of blogs is leading to a whole new category of ‘press’ that will require a new set of strategies.

“We are starting to look at people not just as ‘press’ but in categories of ‘influencer’,” stated one contact who asked to remain confidential. “Some blogs will turn out to be important, either from an unbiased reporting stance or as part of our affiliated community. Others will not. We will be looking closely at the agenda and bias of each reporter before we decide what level of information to give. The unbiased, unaffiliated influencer, however, will continue to be the most important to us.”

In terms of categories, so far we have identified the following: ‘Unbiased’ editors – the professional press and analysts who have a pedigree of unbiased reporting and rely on their writing as their livelihood. This can include bloggers that are recognized for having an unbiased agenda.

‘Part time Bloggers’ who do not have a specific agenda but who rely on a livelihood from another source. (These are the kind of people who can afford to take time off from their blog and not suffer consequences on their livelihood.)

‘Affiliated Bloggers’ – a ‘fan’:- someone who works directly for the vendor they are blogging about or else has a specific agenda (such as ensuring that a particular CAD product is being discussed because that’s where their passion is.)

How to handle them

A more sophisticated and disciplined approach to handling the new breeds of press is becoming necessary. It has become obvious given the recent fracas of leaks on blogs, the Apple court case above, and other instances, that vendors are ill-prepared to deal with this new wave of publishing that allows anyone to publish their thoughts.

More discipline needed: The ruling on the Apple case was based on the fact that trade secrets were illegally revealed by employees of Apple. Recent leaks on Ask Jeeves and others were caused by some loose lips at trade shows and lack of attention to details on who, and who had not, signed NDAs and embargoes. Some revelations have been due to overexuberance or lack of knowledge of corporate policy.

Leaks and Loose lips: Many of these aspects can be controlled through better communication throughout a company of the consequences of infringing policy – increasing employees’ understanding of why this is important is key. Informing staff of what occurs when ‘something is said’ during a trade show or public event is a necessity. Education about SEC rules are important when working within a publicly traded company. However, criminal behavior (such as revealing trade secrets) may have occurred through ignorance but more likely was done in full recognition of the law. These situations are less easily avoided simply through education.

Attention to details: Allowing press into meetings where embargoed information will be revealed requires attention and is still not without risk. The professional press are keen to ensure that they keep their agreements to assist with the information process. With that in mind, keep a close eye on who attends that meeting and their obligations therein. Do not let in any Press that have not agreed in writing to the embargo. And keep a close eye on the new press to ensure they understand – and keep - their obligations.

Added sophistication: some of the new breed of blogger may not be unbiased. Keep a close eye on what you understand as their agendas, affiliations and so on. Even those with a bias can be used to advantage, as long as the right information is transmitted to them. Again, people with an agenda that does not relate to yours should not be permitted near confidential meetings or discussions. Being highly disciplined in this approach will help manage what can become an embarrassing or uncontrolled leak of information. The evolution of blogging has the slightly exciting feel that we had in the late 1990’s with the maturation of the Internet. While we don’t know where it will lead, we probably need to step up and deal with the current situation now.

Comments

[H. Edward Goldberg]

Bloggers are interesting, but as a practicing Professional Architect who uses the digital tools available for the profession, and regularly writes the AEC column for CADALYST, I often question their opinions. I have spent 15 years studing this industry on top of 25 years practicing as a licenced AEC proferssional. Have these bloggers invested the time and effort to examine the entire industry, do they have the credentials to back up their opinions, are they un-biased, and have they tied themselves to NDAs (Non-Disclosure agreements) that allows them to get real inside information?

Because bloggers are unpaid, they do not have to answer to their opinions. We who are paid must back up our opinions to our editors. Blogging is no different than normal journalism, except it has no controls.

Ed Goldberg AIA, NCARB
Contributing Editor CADALYST magazine
Author of the Architectural Desktop Books.

[ralph grabowski]

This problem is not new. A decade ago, some trade shows refused to accept the credidentials of journalists who were not paper-based, such as those who ran Web sites and e-newsletters.

Being paper-based meant you had to invest $$$, which proved you were serious. Blogging lowers the barrier to publishing to $0. All it takes is passion.

[Racer X]

Ed's comments are well taken but he stopped short of mentioning the fact that we as readers have to determine ourselves if what we are reading is newsworthy let alone the truth. Sure, we need to look at the credentials of the individual who is posting a blog article. If this individual has no credentials, you should treat the information contained accordingly.

I like this blogging business as you can post what you want without attaching some signature that states, 'the views blah blah are not of the company xyz.'

After all, if not news, a blog posting is an opinion.

Ed, would you write for free? would you write because you feel so strongly about something you want to post a position?

I don't mean to pick a fight, just posting my opinion.

[H. Edward Goldberg]

No insult felt.

I do write for free. I also help interested professionals, students, and interested people for free. I am always available to answer questions freely, and always answer my mail. But, I need to make a living too. Because I am paid for my efforts, I can afford to communicate and visit all venues, and also have more access than the bloggers. I also advise for money -(for those who want to get my attention). - PS I am not run by money, I have everything a person could reasonably want.

I am an entrepreneur who uses the products I recommend for my Architectural practice. The Architectural practice pays most of the bills.

I write for CADALYST because I think they have the best access to information, honesty, and two extremely knowledgeable Editors. It requires money to support that staff, and to attract the most knowledgeable experts.

So, I think there is a trade off - professional is paid, non-professional is not.

I think the bloggers mentioned in this article do a great job, although I have seen some CAD blogs that contained ,in my opinion, some "off the wall" statements.

Hopefully we will all get to give our opinions, have success, and be happy.

Ed Goldberg AIA, NCARB
http://www.hegra.org
The Architectural Desktop books

[racer X]

Hey Ed,

Write On!

How do you deal with Money vs. Morals.

Heck, lets get political. I used to vote Republican, now I'm totally liberal, all because of the US' reactionary move after 9/11. Not that I totally am convinced in Michael Moore's F-911 but it does raise questions. So get this, we complain about Bush, we complain about troop death tolls on CNN, but then when we receive orders from the Defense firms we jump up to shout, 'VICTORY'. Yes, with a 'V'.

So I have to come home to pay for my daughters educaction with what I call, 'blood money'.

Does this make me a virtual liberal or a real capitalist?

Unless you design bunkers for the military, I doubt you know how I feel...

Care to comment?

If you take this thread back to bloggers, what motivates one to post something and call it news? What if the blogger has something against an ADSK or a SWX? What if they move a step away from news or 'what I heard' to 'this will get them where it hurts'...

Have a nice weekend.

Cheers.

[Kent Elrod]

Resistance to change is a constant, whether it is people resisting going from the board to 2D CAD, or resisting going from 2D to 3D, and now resistance going from 3D to BIM. I see the blogger issue in the same light, resistance to change, but blogging has been with us for a while already and like it or not it is here to stay.