A Perfect Example of How Not To Do PR

This is a grumpy post about publicists. Flaks: read this. Everyone else: If you can't stand to read yet another grumpy rant about flaks, just skip this one.

I love getting tips, links, even press releases from readers, and from smart flaks. I get often get news that way.

What I don't like - and what I guarantee you other journalists don't like either - are bullshit pitches from flaks who have no clue about their client's industry or its background, and who would, therefore, tell me that their client is doing somethning "first," "unique" or "only" when in fact there are already a dozen companies doing the same thing.

About a week ago, I got an email with the subject line, "News site for grown ups" from a publicist at S&S Public Relations. Wondering if someone had started a DIGG for porn, I read the email, which had absolutely nothing to do with the subject line. Since then, I've sent several emails trying to determine if there was, in fact, something worth writing about, and ultimately becoming convinced that there wasn't.

Dear Publicists: Bloggers and other journalists won't write about your clients when you send them bullshit pitches and press releases that don't give even the most basic of facts about a company. When you pitch me, tell me:

-who started it
-how's it funded
-what's the business model
-how's it differ from all the others
-why should my readers care

I got this one too. Actually, SSPR sends me a lot of stuff. None of it very relevant to Blogservations.

I get a lot of these because I write a computer column for a local Jewish newspaper. But I don't write about graphics accelerator cards and uninterruptible power supplies. I write about technology that intersects with Jewish topics like Israel, forms of worship, Jewish websites, etc. You'd think they would learn what people write about *before* pitching us.