Re: Forrester: Ingres and MySQL Lead Open Source Databases

Public Relations 101:

Identify/create a newsworthy story that will be regarded by one or more
sectors of the media as being of interest to their
readership/viewers/listeners.

Prepare a media release that has the main Œgrab¹ in the first paragraph.
Media releases are hierarchical: Most important paragraph at the top down to
the least important paragraph at the end. Why? Because journalists and
editors are basically lazy. When a story doesn¹t fit, they just cut
sentences off the bottom of the story until it does fit!

Now we¹re on to distribution. And the example I gave of EPR ­ one of the
most respected PR distribution houses ­ helps PR consultants/in-house PR
staff to get their stories to the right journalists at the right
publications. There is no point sending a story about PostgreSQL to Zoo News
­ even if your logo is an elephant! It must be relevant to the readership.
And in large media outlets, targeting the Journalist who has a history of
covering a particular topic adds credibility and increases the likelihood
that a media release will be well received and will run.

Anyway, I think I have said enough on the topic. This started as a
discussion about getting timely media releases prepared. Selena suggested
that it could be done by volunteers. I don¹t think it can. But if there are
people who want to try, I wish them luck. As I wrote earlier. It is bloody
hard work! It¹s not simply a matter of writing a story and expecting
journalists to run it.

On 20/8/09 11:03 PM, "Greg Stark" <gsstark(at)mit(dot)edu> wrote:

> On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Rob Napier<rob(at)doitonce(dot)net(dot)au> wrote:
>> No. Firstly, I have been a customer of theirs, so it is not spam.
>>
>> Secondly, they are a PR distribution house. They maintain a database of
>> contacts for journalists. This is the bread and butter of PR consultants.
>> The ad is simply claiming to offer more targeted mail outs to avoid being
>> seen as a spammer.
>
> Well I don't think we should be spamming no matter how targeted and no
> regardless of how a PR person thinks it should be seen.
>
>
>> And at the risk of suggesting that your response confirms my point, PR is
>> not a simple process. It needs to be done by people who really understand
>> the complexities of getting quality stories placed.
>
> I still don't see how getting stories "placed" leads to good software.
> I would rather believe that good software will lead to stories than
> the other way around.

Regards

Rob Napier