PR

TechCrunch editor-at-large John Biggs spoke with us last week about Tech4Reporters, a tool designed to help busy reporters understand the technology they’re writing about. It’s a tool John funded himself and he gives it away. Why? He wants journalists to have access to tech experts who don’t expect positive publicity in return for their insights.

Occasionally a client may ask, "What's the big picture in B2B tech editorial?" If you're lucky, that is. Usually they're waiting for your deliverables. But every now and then it helps the client-agency relationship to go have the proverbial beer and discuss what's happening in B2B edit, in the seams where it's hard to notice.

Used bookstores are fun to visit. Who knew that advertising advice written in 1942 would be useful for tech PR more than 75 years later? “How to Write Advertising” was written by an ad pro, Kenneth M. Goode. Miraculously, it’s still in print and available on Amazon. It’s worth the read.

If you’ve worked less than five years in tech PR, you might not remember Jason Kincaid. The East Bay native was 22 when he walked into founder Michael Arrington’s TechCrunch and onto the tech world stage. Four years later, in 2012, Jason walked away.

TC Currie says: "I’ve cut way back on conferences this fall -- down from eight (!!!) last year.. With dozens, if not hundreds of talks, each conference takes a lot of prep (unpaid time, BTW). I do a lot of pre-planning to ensure I get the maximum output out of each experience (read: articles my editor will pay for)."

I was honored to be asked by an SWMS subscriber to do a valet session on Sharpening Up Media Pitches. Boy was it fun. (I can’t share all of my musings (because the client paid for them, after all), but wanted to share the top three. 

We asked David Strom to respond to the same questions that TC Currie answered last month. David, a regular contributor to SWMS, was the founding editor-in- chief of CMP’s Network Computing, a previous editor-in- chief with Tom’s Hardware, and currently runs the Inside Security email newsletter.

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.