Anatomy of a News Release - ReputationWiki.org
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
"MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.–Habeas Inc., (www.habeas.com) the world leader in email reputation services, today announced the launch of ReputationWiki.org which will serve as a focal point to define and advance the growing field of reputation management."
That, straight from the horses’ mouth, is the lede for today’s news release about a wiki launched to help e-mail marketers get past corporate firewalls.
The subhead for the release aims for the stratosphere of hyperbole and bombast:
Thought Leaders to Address Topics Related to Reputation, Compliance, Deliverability and Policy through First-of-its-Kind Global Community
Apparently there has never, in the storied history of Usenets, discussion forums, Lotus Notes groups, bulletin boards, mail lists, Squidoo lenses, Yahoo Tubes and wikis been anything like this "unique forum," says director of blah-blah Ray Everett-Church.
Given the unprecedented nature of this never-before-seen effort to "advocate the acceleration of knowledge," it’s hard to understand why the New York Times hasn’t picked up the story yet.
A visit to the "collaborative effort like this to help educate and empower strategists and practitioners worldwide" reveals a Wikipedia look-alike that includes about 31 articles and stubs on topics you would expect e-mail marketers to get wet talking about: spam, the Spam Act, the CAN-SPAM Act, Spam Best Practices, Anti-spam Measures, Anti-spam and Privacy Laws in Canada, and a thought-leadership piece called Test Page.
It’s true. The test page is one of a kind. Unique.
But wait, the news release is a Social Media release, complete with shovelfulls of testimonials from various Vice-presidents of Permission-based Spam wanting to join forces in a global group hug "to help B2B email marketers be more effective." Seven companies that are participating as partners in the wiki chime in with breathless quotes that help the uninformed masses understand that "Reputation services are a critical component of an integrated messaging security platform."
Okay, maybe my spam references are unfair, but could Habeas have made their new wiki seem any less revolutionary than by tarting up their announcement with jargon and buzzwords?
Good luck, all you deliverability experts.
May you find your way clear of the Swamps of Bombast and sail clear to the Sea of Clarity. It will be a long voyage for you, including many farewells to old cliches, but I have faith that you can one day issue a news release that doesn’t make me laugh and cry simultaneously.
Tags: social media news release, email marketing, marketers, jargon, business, wiki, habeas, unique, bogus
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POSTED IN: Communication Skills, Humor, News Releases, PR, Reputation Management, Writing
2 opinions for Anatomy of a News Release - ReputationWiki.org
Colijn McKay
Dec 12, 2007 at 7:42 am
Wait! Did someone associate spam and privacy laws in Canada?
To the social media batcave!
;-)
Geoff Livingston
Dec 12, 2007 at 9:27 am
I am glad they considered their stakeholders when they wrote this SPIN gem. Of course, at least every message really is in there, somewhere, some how.
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