Hello, My name is Jeffrey Treem and I am an analyst with Edelman's Change and Employee Engagement group. I am also an alumnus of the University of Southern California's master's program in strategic public relations.

On October 26, 2006 I had the privilege of speaking for an hour to a Public Relations Writing class at USC. We discussed blog writing.

I am no expert on blog writing (like Richard Bailey, I believe no one is); I have been writing a blog for nearly two years - first a personal journal (now defunct) and more recently a professional-related site.

That is why I turned to the online community to help me decide what to share with these budding public relations practitioners. Like most social media tools, the value of this wiki is dependent upon the content provided by the community.

Below is the outline that developed. My hope is that this wiki will evolve as a resource for PR students and practitioners who are interested in blogs and participatory media. Please add as you see fit. Links are encouraged. Feel free to add pages as you see fit.

Thank you in advance for all of your help, and please email me at jtreem@gmail.com if you have any questions and comments.

(This is a public wiki, but you must register in order to contirbute)

(STUDENT PAGE - for Q and A on blogs)

Discussion Outline

1. Blog posting styles (courtesy of Amy Gahran)

• Short posts (link blogs, brief remarks) - examples: Dave Winer's Scripting News or Steve Rubel's Micro Persuasion

• Medium posts (blurbs, a few paragraphs) - examples: Joseph Jaffe's Jaffe Juice or Seth Godin's Blog

• Lengthy posts (long passages, essays) - Steve Crescenzo's Corporate Hallucinations or Pete Blackshaw's Consumer-Generated Media

2. Related terms

• Blog platform
• Most common platforms - Typepad, Wordpress, Blogger
• Comprehensive List of Blogging Platforms
• Links (a.k.a. hyperlinks)
• Trackback
• Permalink
• Categories
• Tags
• Feeds (RSS)

3. How to get inolved

• First, start reading blogs to learn the ways of the medium
• Commenting--participate on existing blogs. Amy Gahran recommends commenting before you start your own blog.
• The back channel--communicate with bloggers off the blogs
• Personal/professional blogging
• Organizational/business blogging
• Tools for bloggers

 * Blog Search (Technorati, Google Blog Search, IceRocket, BlogPulse)
 * del.icio.us
 * Flickr

4. Ethics

• Norms of blogging--transparency, conversation, linking, attribution
• Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Code of Ethics

5. Implications of blogging for PR

• Reputation monitoring
• Crisis management
• R&D -- what trends are on the horizon? What communities are starting to emerge?
• Clarity of writing
• Better understanding of social networks
• Greater appreciation of "the conversation"

Resources

Digg-like site for PR articles

• How to write a better Weblog by Dennis Mahoney
• Good Blogging by Debbie Weil
• Good Blog Writing Style by Philipp Lenssen
• Better Writing Through Blogging by Wayne Hurlbert
• Robert Scoble's 10 (15) Ways to a Killer Blog courtesy of the Forward blog
• Blog Writing Content by Darren Rowse
• Guidelines for PR student blogs by Richard Bailey
• NewPR Wiki by Constantin Basturea
• Blogging Policies / Guidelines
• PR Industry: Improve Your Writing by Kevin Dugan (with links to other resources)
• Blogging How To and Develop Your Voice - MarcomWiki
• The Eight Traits of a Word of Mouth Influencer - Sean Moffitt, Buzz Canuck
• 11 tips for managing a good blog by Vincent Maher

Recommended Reading - Books

• Naked Conversations, by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel
• The Corporate Blogging Book, by Debbie Weil
• Blogging for Business: Everything You Need to Know and Why You Should Care - by Shel Holtz, Ted Demopoulos
• What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting: Real-Life Advice from 101 People Who Successfully Leverage the Power of the Blogosphere, by Ted Demopoulos

Recommended Reading - Sites

• Small Pieces, Loosely Joined - David Weinberger
• Chapters one and two are online (front page, right column)
• Cluetrain Manifesto - Chris Locke, Doc Searls, David Weinberger
• Entire Book Online

START BLOGGING

This is a free blog hosting service for PR students, educators and practitioners. (This service is run by professor Robert French of Auburn University)