Happy Birthday www and Thanks for the PR Connections
Last week was the 25th anniversary of the World Wide Web. Time to (unfortunately) date myself but yes, I did live, pre-www. It’s hard to remember actually. I do remember briefly temping after college with a defense contractor. They had all the newest technology so I could access it from my computer. That was my first taste of the Internet. There wasn’t much on there back in the FTP days and definitely no graphics.
Not long after, I interviewed with this new company in the D.C. area, America Online. Maybe you’ve heard of them? They were so new, they didn’t even have offices yet and my interview was at the local Embassy Suites. They offered me $40,000 plus stock options to be an “online content editor”. Keep in mind, this was the early 1990’s. I had no idea what this Internet thing was and what in the world was an “online content editor”? Guess who turned down the job? We still laugh about it today. That’s really all I can do because I would have been in on the ground level and those stock options… well…. you know how that story would have ended up.
Even though I didn’t get it back then, now I am thankful every day for the World Wide Web. I do so much related to my PR on there. Social Media is THE greatest thing ever invented. Five or ten years ago, there was no way you would be able to interact with the media like you can today. I have Today Show Producers following me on Twitter, Top 10 Magazine Editors following my Company Page on LinkedIn and even have an A-list celebrity following me on Pinterest. Behold the power of the World Wide Web. You can connect with ANYONE!
Don’t underestimate the power of your computer or mobile device. Looking for someone in the media? They’re pretty easy to find. Between Twitter, MuckRack, and LinkedIn, you can probably find almost anyone – producers, writers, journalists, reports. In fact, (knock on wood), I’ve been able to find a contact at any media outlet I’ve ever tried using the Internet.
Want my best tip for finding someone in the media? Twitter. Journalists seem to hangout on Twitter. When I shared this tip to a group I was recently speaking to, a New York Times writer said that I had just given away the biggest secret to finding anyone in the media. Search out your top journalists on Twitter. Start following them. Comment on and share their work with your audience. Start building an on-line relationship with your favorite journalists and thanks to the World Wide Web, it’s easy.
Happy Birthday Internet and thank you for all the gifts you’ve given us.
What PR success have you had using the internet? I’d love to hear about it.
