Like hundreds (dare we say thousands?) of PR consultants, I too waded into the debate on PR practices launched by Chris Anderson of Long-Tail fame.

Anderson follows up this week through an interview with Brian Pittman of Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog that’s worth a read.

On being nice :

People who said there was a more generous and nice way to respond, like writing them individually, well … they’re right. That would have been nicer, but also impossible for me to do. More important : It wouldn’t have changed the game. It wouldn’t have focused people on this issue. So, I guess I have to say, « Guilty as charged. » The goal wasn’t to be nice.

Is it my imagination or is Chris talking directly to me? Actually, I wasn’t the only one to suggest that a kinder approach could have been nice, in a good karma kind of way. Albeit time consuming, I give him that. Maybe a template response is the answer. In his case, he could simply reply with a link to his blog posting.

Then again, maybe Anderson is right and a drastic wakeup call is a more effective solution to get us out of our lethargy.

Judging by the attention his post has received I suspect that, unfortunately, he’s onto something.

At the very least, comms profs will be able to hold this article up high in the air to drive home their argument on the value of good research and solid media relations. PR virgins are already nervous about picking up the phone to call their first journalist. If this blog post doesn’t have them quaking in their boots, I don’t know what will.

Hopefully the same conversation is going on in the boardrooms and around the water coolers of PR agencies everywhere.