Consumer PR and blogs
Now I blog, I lead a double life as media owner, editor, writer… the whole shebang and the more forward looking PRs send me press releases and even the odd freebie, which is nice and I get to find out how it feels on the other side of the fence.
Over the weekend I got a press release on behalf of Skinny Myths from Darren at Pop Culture PR aimed at my other blog, which I reproduce below. I reckon that if they reached me, their emailing list must be pretty long, but at time of writing nobody appears to have linked to the story. I’ve obviously just changed that and it will be interesting to hear how Darren feels the campaign has gone (I’m sure he’ll pick up on my link).
All this isn’t to judge, but to flag up how difficult it is to get consumer stories into the blogosphere. Skinny Myth’s Celebu-Diet Myth-o-Meter is not a bad idea for a magazine feature or a filler. But I’ve never published a press release on my blog. While print publications are often crying out for material to fill their pages, bloggers don’t feel that pressure. A blog is elastic, stretching or contracting to fit the content. An editor might think ‘great, a nice little celeb story with a message our readers need to hear’ while a blogger thinks ‘so what? That’s not about me’.
Moreover, there is no culture among bloggers of publishing press releases; I’ve never published one.
This issue is most acute for consumer PRs. Political bloggers love to get press releases, it massages their egos by making them think they’re being taken seriously. Consumer PRs are likely to target blogs that are more personal and their press releases are more likely to be viewed as spam. I reckon the only way in, is to give product away… it works on me!
Subject: news item for ya! Darren
Stephen, I sort of see this as a Consumer item more than anything else, Darren.
Celebu-Diet Myth-o-Meter (May 2008)
Source: Diet Watchdog SkinnyMyths.comCelebu-Diets – plus the myths and lies surrounding them – bounce around the Internet at lightning speed. SkinnyMyths.com, and its Celebu-Diet Myth-o-Meter brainchild, exposes the myths hitting the American digital radar in May – check out http://www.skinnymyths.com/20080606129/News/Latest/Celebu-Diet-Myth-o-Meter-May-2008.html.
While Paris Hilton doesn’t endorse the Red Bull Diet, online buzzsmiths accuse her of lunching only on Red Bull and Water to lose weight. Young women devour the Internet for any celebrity news and become easy prey to these myths – the outcome entirely unhealthy.
The Red Bull Diet tops May’s Myth-o-Meter with Paris Hilton being the celebrity most associated with the diet.
Celebu-Diet Myth-o-Meter May, 2008 (worst-to-best)
1. Red Bull Diet (Paris Hilton)
2. Protein Separation Diet (Maria Carey)
3. Coffee Boost Diet (Olsen Twins)
4. British Facial Analysis Diet (Kate Winslet)
5. Adderall Diet (Britney Spears)
6. White Food Diet (John Cusack)
7. Martha’s Vineyard Detox (Robin Quivers)
8. Boiled Egg Diet (Renee Zellweger)
9. Tea Diet (Rachel Ray)
10. Master Cleanse Diet (Beyonce Knowles)May 2008 Google Media Share x Wellness Score indexed by average of MS x WS
Is Britney Spears on an Adderall diet? What about John Cusack’s White Food Diet? The Olsen Twins have been accused of drinking loads of coffee to stay slim? SkinnyMyths.com doesn’t verify whether or not the celebrities actually use these tactics to stay razor thin on the red carpet, but celebrity popularized diets may inadvertently be keeping America overweight with mythical nutrition.
About the Celebu-Diet Myth-o-Meter
We thought it would be a fun way to help consumers dismiss many of these celebrity-associated diets. Each month, SkinnyMyths.com tracks online buzz about fad diets using online news data, blogosphere data, and a qualitative score of the diet’s quality from our team of nutritional experts, producing the myth-o-meter index. For example, the Red Bull Diet may force somebody to lose weight, and received buzz in one month, but it receives a 1 because it is very unhealthy to build a well-rounded nutrition program around it. Others like the Boiled Egg Diet receive 8 out of 10 because of its more sensible ingredients.
Comments (One comment)
Hi there!
Actually, several celebrity gossip bloggers have picked up on it and I do think it is relevant to quite a few Bloggers’ personal interests (the whole http://www.SkinnyMyths.com site, in fact).
Bloggers tend to pick up on stuff that is pro-consumer — whether they admit it or not, they tend to bias towards the consumer rather than ‘the system’.
In the end, they will likely turn into (and signs already exist) the very ‘new gatekeepers’ they claim to despise.
Many are already taking a sort of ‘high road” approach to discussions, which is what the traditional media have done for decades. Looks like it’s business-as-usual — especially as Bloggers tend not to always generate a lot of revenue and they are typically hungry for convo starters.
Looks like Bloggers are next to inherit the Earth! And, yes, Bloggers may not publish press releases (except for you at the moment), but they certainly don’t mind getting the notices.
I’ve received 90% “thank you” notes from our Blogger friends.
Thanks again for your contribution to the convo!
Darren Shuster
Darren Shuster / June 9th, 2008, 11:40 pm / #
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