How do you identify the best public relations blogs? From PR to Eternity offers a list of top PR blogs, featuring blogs on the AdAge Power 150 list with PR, Public Relations or Publicity in the title. PRWeek held a blog contest in which personnel selected 16 of its favorite blogs, and asked each of those bloggers to select another blog to nominate for this competition. And of course most of your current favorite blogs include a blog roll with suggestions. But what would that list look like if it was determined by the readers, PR professionals who routinely engage in social media?
At the end of May, Arik Hanson organized and facilitated the first annual PR Reader’s Choice Blog Awards The awards provided a long overdue opportunity to recognize some of today’s best PR blogs. Arik spread the word on Twitter and reached out to a few of his favorite bloggers. Word spread quickly and soon there were more than 50 nominations. Nominations were narrowed down to the top five in each of four categories. 400 votes later, the winners were announced.
“There are so many great PR blogs out there and the only recognition--as far as I could tell--was through the larger, more "corporate" awards like Ad Age,” explains Arik. “There was really nothing reflecting the preferences of the everday blog reader. I wanted to change that.”
What are the common traits among these favorite blogs? “One of the most prominent shared traits I noticed, that might not seem like a big deal, is consistency and longevity,” says Arik.” Many of the blogs (outside the up-and-coming category) have been around for quite a while. There's something to be said for a blog that hangs around longer than a year in this environment. I think another trend I noticed was many of the nominated blogs frequently tackled tough industry-based issues. Look at David Mullen's blog. Perfect example. David's always challenging folks to think differently and stretch their bounds when it comes to the PR industry and communications."
While the nominees included popular favorites such as Todd Defren’s PR Squared , even Arik found some new reading after hearing about the nominees from their devoted fans. “Surprisingly I wasn't following Stuart Foster's The Lost Jacket --at least not as religiously as I should have been. Also, I really like Sasha Halima's Little Pink Book and David Teicher's Legends of Aerocles."
Arik’s own blog, Communications Conversations, was runner up in the “Most Thought Provoking” category. While Arik still considers himself a newbie ( He has been blogging just over a year, professionally on his own since last November), he has mastered the difficult art of attracting and engaging readers. Arik understands the true value in social media is not in broadcasting information or opinions but in building community and developing true conversations. Like his Tweet-a-thon, the PR Reader’s Choice Awards, created a conversation among his audience of public relations professionals and inspired them to get involved, to take action.
Like Arik, the best bloggers understand that the purpose of their social media presence is to enhance the community. Chris Brogan's blog entry today sums it up quite nicely. As one of the pioneers of social media, whose blog is included in the top 10 of the Advertising Age Power150, and in the top 100 on Technorati, Chris has developed a loyal following and large fan base. Today, his post , entitled Why I Deleted my Facebook Fan Page , simply states "Because it’s not about me."
Congratulations to winners Lauren Fernandez, Brian Solis, Danny Brown and Todd Defren, and the rest of the nominees for the 2009 PR Reader's Choice Awards for their insightful, intelligent and creative contributions to the public relations community. What are your favorite public relations blogs and what makes them special?
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Comments
Great article Valerie, I enjoyed reading it :-)
I like all of the blogs that you mention above, and agree that in addition to interesting content, consistency of information and new/challenging ideas are what makes a good PR blog. Lately, I've been following The Practitioner, at www.wunderkindpr.com/blog. I find the wide range of PR topics there to be interesting, particularly about B2B companies and social media.
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