PRspam – we are even hated in cyberspace.

When will we ever learn? In October of last year an editor in the US for Wired magazine blacklisted a bunch of PR flacks from his inbox. In reaction to the thousands of pitches he received from PRs, he published a list of those email addresses from whom he received regular releases which were completely off topic, misguided – in other words spam. The reaction was heated. Now the next step has been from Matt Haughey, a techno-journalist in the States who has employed filters to remove entire PR firms domains from his inbox.

The prspammers list is a blacklist of PR domains which includes a pretty influential bunch of PR outlets as well as some smaller fry. Porter Novelli’s on the list. So is Edelman and Ogilvy PR. Entire public relations agencies are being penalised for the behaviours of their colleagues. The blacklist is a wiki site, so bloggers are encouraged to review the list, and add their own blacklisted domains or they are asked to simply lift the list and blacklist it through gmail.

Is it a thin edge of the wedge?

A bit of a trawl around the web shows that blacklisting of PR domains is not yet catching on here in Australia. I can sense a communal wiping of brows in relief. But how long till it does catch on amongst our own bloggers and media? Could it happen here? Has it already happened? And if so, can we get a glance at the Aussie PR domains and addresses that are on that list?

However what is probably more pertinent is the fact that the numbers game of sending out a blanket announcement or media release is not real public relations – and it never has been. Tailoring a press release, researching the background, seeing it from all angles and then pitching it correctly to a journalist, or producer, editor or blogger remains one of the PR industry’s natural laws.

True PRs know who is interested in their story. That’s what makes them effective. True PRs see the story as the end consumer, not as the advertising firm. True PRs don’t solely rely on the press release – they are working in conjunction with a blogger, a producer, an editor, or a journalist to craft the story content to make sure it is balanced, reasonable, informed – and preferably mentions the name of a specific client.

I must admit it disheartens me to see that the problem journalists faced 10 years ago – a blocked fax machine filled with detritus of release after release – is simply being replayed in blogger’s in-boxes.

A plaintive cry from the blogger requesting a bit of rational thought from flacks is stated clearly by Susan Getgood in her blog. Do your homework before you contact them. How many times have we as PR people heard this request? How many more times do we have to hear it before it sinks in?

Screeds of text have been written about how to engage with bloggers – and how it is different as well as the same as engaging with the media. Maybe it’s time to reference Brian Solis’s book that he brought out at the beginning of the year, as well as point you to the loooong blog he posted when the argument first hit the blogwaves last year.

posted by Justin Flaherty, MD Horizon Communication Group