New Social Capital blog — Worth checking out

A few months ago, I wrote a post about social capital and why college is a perfect place to build your network.

In the post I referenced a very smart blog I had been reading on the subject of social capital and interconnectedness.

Now that blog has spun off into another blog, and even though I truly hope it can survive, I’m still a bit skeptical about the business model of a blog and if it can make money to support its writers.

Penelope Trunk, the “it lady” of modern Gen-Y blogging, left a great comment on Ben Casnocha’s blog regarding book deals, questioning why more people don’t write blogs instead of pursuing a book.

I agree with Penelope, but only to a point. My blog helped me get my current job as an Intern at a national magazine, but editors still want hard clips that have been printed on someone else’s dime.

Not just digital content that lacks an editor and submission process.

So then why do I continue to write a blog you might ask?

For starters, it allows me to voice my opinion on a wide range of topics in an open forum which can accessed anywhere there is an Internet connection.

Secondly, a potential employer who spends more than five minutes on my blog will see I can discuss several high-level issues regarding journalism, technology, economics, photography and others.

Thirdly, it has allowed me to make connections and build relationships with professionals who were not accessible beforehand.

For The Little Red Suit, that is exactly what building social capital is all about.

So as Tiffany Monhollon breaks away and starts another blog, I can only hope her decision to go digital will pay off .

Which is exactly why I think you should take a second and check it out.

Facebook to blogs – How answering a question landed me on PR Squared

Proof that anything you put online can be used in a variety of different ways.

I answered the following question on Todd Defren’s Facebook page. “Is the PR industry starting to make the same mistakes as it did during the Bubble Days?”

My answer: I wonder if PR folks are drinking the Kool-Aid too fast when taking on new startups and then blowing it when pitching the media–who for the most part I don’t think really cares about a new party planning site or way to stalk your neighbors.

Then Todd used the answers he got for a blog post on his widely read PR blog.

Since I answered the question late I was at the top. The amazing thing is that you can simply click on my name and instantly be brought to my Facebook account. Thank God I didn’t put anything too bad on there.

Journalists discuss best ways to be approached

Renee Blodgett, an extremely smart friend of mine who’s taken a bit of her precious time to chat with me personally about life and career development, wrote an interesting post yesterday about the do’s and don’ts of approaching journalists.

Renee commented on a recent panel that included Fred Vogelstein from Wired, John Cook from the Seattle PI, Michael Arrington from TechCrunch, Rebecca Buckman from the WSJ, and Tricia Duryee from the Seattle Times. A video of the panel is also available here.

What struck me most interesting about her roundup was the fact that Rebecca Buckman would rather get a pitch via email than the phone—A concept that has left my stomach turning since I started to work in PR.

To put it mildly, I am a people person. I am able to find common ground usually within seconds. I find a conversation, the two-way kind that includes a high-level of discourse, beats an email any day. But in today’s hyper-connected environment, the ability to get precious face time is a bit like pulling teeth.

Fred Vogelstein from Wired went on to comment that, “Some [Firms] are very well connected to us and a handful of them can invite me to a dinner and because they take their time to choose their clients carefully, I’ll probably go. I get tons of pitches from [PR] firms, most of them come from people who are 23 years old reading from a script. When I ask basic questions, they often can’t answer them.”

I know this to be fact because I was one of those young PR hacks just a short 14 months ago. My first day found myself calling the New York Times, Associated Press and every major newspaper in Florida and New Orleans. In hindsight it was a mistake to put me on the phone—I really didn’t fully understand my client, their space, or their technology—but what I did understand was the aspect of building a relationship and never lying to get yourself out of a hole.

My second phone call ever was o the Associated Press who peppered me with questions. I got through half of them before I had to admit I was new and would need to follow-up. The reporter sounded annoyed, but gave me the chance anyway. I spent the next hour crafting a detailed email answering all his questions, providing a customer reference, trend story angle and several clips that complimented the story, but lacked the ability to tie the entire story togeather. The reporter instantly called me back. He chose not to write the story that day, but it was the beginning of a strong relationship that led him vouching for me to his colleagues, which did turn into a story and mass exposure for my client.

Now just after 14 months, I’ve been able to build an arsenal of reporters who I speak to on a daily basis. We chat mostly about Baseball, mountain biking, beer, kids, vacations and the demise of journalism. When I need to talk about my client they give me the time of day, even if they chose not to write a story, it’s still worth it.

As for the advice of TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, “If the product is great, you’ll likely get written up.” I want to believe this is true, but the problem lies in what is considered great. Journalists, especially tech journalists, are like critics, and if you break that delicate dance between supplier and consumer, journalists will be the first to pounce, and just like a bad review at your favorite restaurant, they can sink your business.