As you’ve may’ve heard by now, Michael Arrington of the uber-popular blog Techcrunch caused quite a stir earlier this week when he informed all the PR-types out there that from now on, TechCrunch will be breaking their embargoes. All of them. With just a handful of exceptions. And then he augmented the post with a graphic of an extended middle finger.
It seems that Arrington’s patience finally ran out when another outlet broke an embargoed story that TechCruch had honored YET AGAIN. Because this outlet’s actions went essentially unpunished by the PR firm, Arrington declared war. Why should he keep his promises and get scooped time and time again when those who don’t receive a slap on the wrist (if anything) and gobs of traffic to their site?
I understand the frustration. And Arrington does admit he is aware of the pressure PR firms are under to deliver results for their clients in this economic climate. And that it is this pressure that drives some PR practitioners to spam the media with their clients news. He is not entirely unsympathetic, but he is unleashing his wrath anyway, declaring all out war on PR. Hence the latest chapter in the neverending saga: “PR firms vs. Bloggers – Why Can’t we All Just Get Along?“
This post was originally going to be about the value, or lack thereof, of the embargo. And just when it seemed that the embargo was about to fall by the wayside as a PR tactic of yesteryear for the very reasons Arrington cites, Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb responds with his post: “Entrepeneurs: We Will Happily Accept Your Embargoes.” Kirkpatrick writes that embargoes (as opposed to exclusives) are actually quite useful, particularly in the case of technology announcements, as they allow more time for thoughtful research; they produce multiple perspectives on the news from multiple sources and they lead to more coverage for your client. So some bloggers do see the value of an embargo. Good to know. After the Arrington rant, Kirpatrick’s post was like a steaming mug of chamomile tea for the PR professional, offering some reassurance that we aren’t all idiots.
To end this post with a related bang, this week the blogger vs. PR-person wrangle came to quite a climax: check out the “The Poster Child For Everything Wrong With PR” at Techcrunch.