Posts Tagged ‘pr tools’

YouTube Launches Basic Video Editor

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Great news for YouTube lovers — the site now offers an on-site basic video editor.

The video editor is a trial feature that will allow YouTube video creators to edit their videos online without any additional software.

In its initial form, the video editor allows users to:

  • Combine multiple videos to create a longer video
  • Trim the beginning, middle, or end of videos
  • Add soundtracks from YouTube’s AudioSwap library
  • Create new videos online with no upload required

The biggest upside (in our opinion)?  The ability to edit right where you are — no need to go off-site/offline to make the edits or download additional software.

The downside?  It’s all elementary, Dear Watson.  Most of the features in the YouTube editor already existed in Windows Media Editor.  However, the interface is more user-friendly and we have a feeling convenience will count for quite a bit on this one.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in What's Hot | 2 Comments »

HARO v. PRManna – Room in the Sandbox for Two?

Monday, March 1st, 2010

A couple of weeks ago, PRManna, a new service for connecting journalists and bloggers with sources was launched.  The site’s creator, Ryan Waggoner, openly names HARO as the inspiration for PRManna throughout his site.  Things were going seemingly well until last week when Waggoner received a cease and desist (C&D)letter from Peter Shankman’s lawyers.

We’re not legal experts by any means, but it seems C&D letters are more of an unfriendly request − though in this case the request seems to be a bit of bullying.  Waggoner responded to the incident via his blog, citing the following statements and requests from the C&D:

  • … “Remove any mention of Peter Shankman, HelpAReporterOut, HARO, etc. from all my sites (happily done, except for this blog post)
  • Stop using PRManna, PRManna.com, etc.
  • Transfer ownership of PRManna.com to Peter Shankman’s company”

Call us crazy, but doesn’t this seem a bit over the top?  Based on previous statements, it seemed that HARO was all about connecting journalists with sources for free − wouldn’t it be fair to assume the more the merrier?

Let us know what you think − is HARO justified in its approach or do you side with PRManna?

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Daily Gems | 2 Comments »

The Relevancy of Classic PR

Monday, September 14th, 2009



Classic tools such as press releases, media kits, advisories, etc. are becoming classified as “ancient tools” more and more as the way we do PR continues to evolve.  But let’s be honest - even in the advent of social media, these “ancient tools” are still relevant.

As you may remember, Twitter was down for a few days in mid August, and the world had something of a panic attack.  We have become so accustomed to receiving information on the fly, that people were having meltdowns about the Twitter site delay.  Not only did it make major blog headlines and Facebook status updates, but major publications such as The Washington Post, the LA Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle featured the outage as a major front-page news story.  Not down that day?  Print publications, e-mail, and the phone lines.

Social media gives the PR industry an advantage by relaying relevant news fast.  We have to be able to drive clips for our clients, and to do so, we need to get on the ‘Twitter/Facebook/Next Hot Social Networking Site’ bandwagon to be relevant.  But, as we continue to allow the news to find us rather than the other way around, is our reliance on social media corrupting our knowledge and use of classic PR tools and relationships?

Communicating with editors is still one of the main priorities for PR pros.  Even in the 2.0 boom, each editor still has their individual preferences - and while a Twitpitch may be OK with one editor, another may still prefer the classic e-mail pitch.  The classic rule still stands - it’s crucial that you know your editors.  What are they writing?  What are they interested in?  How do they prefer to get there information — through traditional means or through 2.0?

As social media and 2.0/3.0 become an increasingly important part of our daily lives, it’s important not to forget the basic tools of PR; the press release, pitch, and relationship.  Arm yourself with every tool possible to ensure maximum coverage.  And while the opinion that if you can’t say it in 140 characters, you don’t know your story may have some value, isn’t there also value in a journalist knowing your real name?

This video may help explain the importance of the Web in PR today, and the importance to adapt to the “fundamental shift in the way we communicate.”

Agree or disagree - does ‘classic’ PR still matter, or should it move over for 2.0?

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in PR 411 | 2 Comments »