Categories: Articles

Blog Bacon Bits

This is one of the stranger emails I have ever received. It is from Bacon’s Information, which is a database that PR folks use.
Check this out:
“Dear Mr. Mitch Joel
Twist Image
I am writing from Bacon’s Information, a national source of media information for corporations and public relations professionals. We are asking for your help in updating our blog database by completing the following survey. This information will assist us in updating your FREE listing in Bacon’s online media databases and print directories. Feel free to also include any contact preferences you have, including what types of information you would or would not like to receive from public relations professionals. You may reply to this e-mail, fax your updated information to 123-456-789 or contact us at any time at _____@bacons.com. Please contact me with questions or comments.
Thank you.”
It gets better. Here are some of the questions:
– What is the primary reason you blog?
To document my opinions on topics I am interested in
I am a recognized authority in my field
Want to open up dialog with others interested in the same topics
– Would you like product samples from companies in order to evaluate products on your blog?
– When receiving press releases from a Company, PR Firm or Government Agency which message are you likely to find the most reliable?
PR Firm
Company
Government Agency
Most Bloggers love getting press releases. That’s why we do it.
Clueless.
There is a major problem with PR. It’s broken. Very broken. Those who are doing it well are reaping the rewards. The sad fact is, most people are not… and this is what happens. I’m being asked if they can communicate with me via fax.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.