About Beyond the Hype
For nearly 25 years, the stalwart PR pros at our agency, Lois Paul & Partners, have battled against the depiction of PR people as spin-doctors, promulgators of hyperbole and obfuscation, and pitch spam artists. Lately, this includes the view that PR people and agencies are dying a slow death because of social media.
We love using this blog as a vehicle to talk about how to do PR right. That includes integrating all of the communications elements that make up good PR, which very much includes social media, along with media and analyst relations.
Stop by often to hear our views on:
- changing approaches in PR;
- practical and prescriptive guidance on using new digital tools as part of integrated communications strategies;
- thoughts about communications in the markets we focus on -- technology, health care and clean energy;
- and the occasional report card on how a celebrity or well known executive spokesperson handled a tricky interview or presentation.
And please join the discussion. We love comments and conversation. We love all forms of communication -- except hype, of course.
Our primary bloggers are:
Lois Paul -- the agency founder who still thinks of herself as part-journalist from the early days of her career at Computerworld and eWeek and who often carries the torch to defend good PR practitioners when the entire profession is attacked or its demise is prematurely predicted.
Ted Weismann -- who lives and breathes social media at the agency, but has the objectivity and the wide-angle-lens view not to brand himself a social media guru. He's a communications expert with knowledge of open source, cloud computing and many other segments of technology. He skillfully guides the agency and his clients through all of the new social media trends and tools, neatly side-stepping and exploding the hype and providing smart recommendations for how to integrate and use social media effectively as part of your program, not all of your program.
Bill McLaughlin -- an industry and agency veteran who is well respected among his colleagues, clients and influencers for being smart, strategic and telling it like it is while maintaining the fabled McLaughlin charm. He brings great insights into industry moves and trends from his years of experience in marketing and PR and always manages to interlace these with fun pop culture references -- not surprising for the leader of a killer Trivia Team at the agency.
Don Jennings -- our road warrior communicator who always has several channels open and operating 24/7. Whether he is delving into the storage market, where his knowledge and insights rival anyone's on the planet, or pointing out the latest interesting development or trend in communications, which he cares about passionately, he always has an interesting view to share.
Carol Hanko -- in addition to giving us the Austin, Texas view of the industry and the world, she also has a depth of knowledge in the clean energy marketplace, as well as the semiconductor and security industries. A former journalist like Lois, Carol brings a writer's eye to industry events and trends.
