The Dialogue Continues…Reaction to PR Secrets for Startups

The amount of commentary that this particular Techcrunch posting by Brian Solis generated borders on astonishing. For a few days, no matter which platform was your playground- Twitter, Friendfeed, etc. – this was THE topic.

You may recall that in an earlier post I mentioned that while Mr. Solis and Mr. Le Meur (whose commentary PR Secrets? bullshit started this avalanche of commentary) were basically in agreement on the main point, though they diverged on many others. They both believed in the importance of the participatory nature of Web 2.0. They both stressed that a good PR practitioner listens and speaks with people and not at them, be they journalists, bloggers or the all-important service or product user.

Well, it seems that Mr. Solis feels that way too. In a post reacting to the hullabaloo following his original piece on Techcrunch, he stated that

Community, participation, and people are everything. There is no one audience for your message, and, people and influencers are NOT targets. You need to participate directly with individuals in order to listen, learn and also share relevant benefits with them – wherever they are

More than ever it seems that public relations is about building relationships. The means for forging those links may change and become more far-reaching as the technology transforms faster and faster but the fundamental importance of genuine person-to-person connection remains the same.

It’s Not a Secret, It’s a Dialogue

Over the weekend Loic Le Meur and Brian Solis had a fascinating exchange beginning with the latter’s comments on PR Secrets for Startups. Mr. Le Meur’s rapid response to Mr. Solis’s piece was entitled PR Secrets? bullshit.

While they had somewhat divergent views about what is necessary for good PR for startups in the Web 2.0 world, ultimately they shared an underlying message: in this much more participatory and less push-based model of the Web, PR is all about cultivating relationships.

True, Mr. Solis’s piece touched on the need for relationship-building with journalists and bloggers. And that’s a piece of PR wisdom that has been stressed for some time. We all know you can’t just call on the media when you want something from them because they just won’t answer that call.

Mr. Le Meur’s piece was less concerned with new and traditional media. His emphasis was more solidly on relating to the public and connecting to the users of a product or service. He clearly believes strongly in community building.

But Mr. Solis didn’t really disagree with that. He also referenced that need in his piece when he discussed how social media has changed PR. And he also made it one of his particular points, albeit number twelve on the list. He noted the need for public relations practitioners to follow conversations carried out via social networking tools and commented on the need for them to join in on those conversations.

In the end, they both stressed that one of the most important things that a PR professional can do is listen. Not talk, not promote, not push but listen.

Yes, there were points on which the two clearly were not in agreement but what is striking is that they both reiterate what many PR professionals need to take to heart and have not yet: in this age of Web 2.0 that PR is about speaking with and not to those using the product or service in question.

And, to my way of thinking, even niftier is the fact that this discussion between these two key influencers demonstrates once again the very nature of Web 2.0. It was a dialog carried out rapidly and through various channels. It started on blogs and ended, quite civilly, on Twitter with Mr. Solis thanking Mr. Le Meur for his comments.

But that’s just my interpretation. What do you think?