PR

There’s long been a divide between techies and non-technical folks who can’t understand new technology. The early success I had in my career came not just from my ability to code, but from my ability to translate between these two groups. That skill was a mainstay throughout the 20+ years I spend in software development.

Our readers had a lot to say about our open letter written from a fictitious B2B agency to a well-meaning fictitious client. A lack of candor often plagues an agency-client relationship after the glow of the kickoff has faded. Our open letter was designed to let agency leaders say what was on their minds.

Last week we published an open letter from a fictitious agency to a fictitious client, urging it to recognize new and daunting realities. We didn’t promote it in last week’s emailer because, frankly, we weren’t sure we should have published it. After all, we analyze tech media for a living. Dispensing business advice to PR agencies isn't something you ask us to do.

AI is it in Silicon Valley these days. But what exactly is it? Is bot coverage a fad? Who are the influencers? And when can I buy a synth? We'll be producing a special report next month on AI edit, an influence map and all the goodies. Meanwhile, based on our conversations, one might want to consider the following...

Currently a freelancer for eWeek and other tech sites, David Needle has reported on tech for more than 30 years. Over that period, he saw quite a few email pitches and became something of an expert on the topic. In a recent email exchange with us, that topic was very much on his mind. Things got started when we sent him this Sept. 29 post in The Atlantic from senior editor James Hamblin.

We learned much in our 15 meetings last week in Chicago and Washington, DC. For example, we learned that some clients live in a time warp. No, Tier 1 reporters don't want to travel to Timbuktu for your press conference or product demo. And only a reporter new to a beat has time for coffee. Also, what's with the quotas and ultimatums?

Many editors love catching PR people doing things wrong. Programmable Web EIC David Berlind this week caught someone doing PR right. A 32-word email from the CEO of JavaScript2img inspired a 729-word article from David. Here's how the hit came to be, from David himself.

Former TechCrunch reporter Jason Kincaid has written a book you'll want to read. Available now as an Amazon e-book and later this month as a paperback, "The Burned-Out Blogger's Guide to PR" was written for startup CEOs looking to hire PR pros, or to do PR themselves because, hey, how hard can it be? 

Under what circumstances should PR converse with reporters on background, and NOT on the record? Tech edit veteran Larry Seltzer, now a busy freelancer, has noticed that PR routinely takes him off the record for even routine responses. He wonders why, and so do we.