One of the more influential bloggers in the field of philanthropy, Sean Stannard-Stockton, makes a great point today in his post Blogs as Public Commons on the site Tactical Philanthropy - the comments you post to other people's blogs may in fact be quoted and used in the media. It's public commentary that never expires.
This can be a great thing for cash strapped non-profits. Staff members, especially those that interact with the media regularly, should be reading blogs that focus on relevant topics daily. News often breaks on blogs before traditional media, and conversations between bloggers and their readers often bring insights that wouldn't otherwise surface.
When reading blog posts, staff should be encouraged to leave comments that are well within clear organization guidelines using appropriate, media-ready, talking points that reflect well on the organization.
These comments may get picked up by larger media outlets and get your organization a mention in a story that would have otherwise passed you by. Or, the comments may lead to a call from a journalist that may have otherwise gone to a different organization.
The key is to get involved, get active, and get noticed. It's a free an easy way to open up your organization's publicity options.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
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4 comments:
I'd love to see funders and nonprofits posting more comments. However, I'd hate to see them all be "media ready" comments. It is critical to realize that you're speaking publicly, but you also need to be authentic. It is a delicate balance, but I'll tell you that people who post "media ready, media seeking" comments on blogs get snubbed by other readers and bloggers.
It is a new world we're navigating. I'm glad you're helping people find their way.
Point taken sean. For the record, by "media ready" I certainly didn't mean trite or contrived. I meant well-written, relevant, constructive, and (last, but certainly not least) spell-checked.
Definitely agree. I'm often amazed that people post comments with spelling and grammar errors that they would never let slip by in an email. Yet email is private and comments live in the public domain forever!
Rather nice blog you've got here. Thanks for it. I like such topics and everything that is connected to them. I definitely want to read a bit more on that blog soon.
Best regards
Darek Wish
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