Rick Turoczy Archive

Thanks to Allen for offering up a stage for local ambassadors to share their favorite things about their startup-friendly towns. And thanks to Andrew Hyde for kicking off the series with Why I Love Boulder and for St. Louis, Auckland, and LA piling on, as well. Now, it’s my turn with Portland, Oregon.

Honestly, when it comes right down to it, I can’t say enough nice things about Portland, Oregon. I love this town. And I’d be willing to bet that if you’re interested in living somewhere with a contagious entrepreneurial spirit and a great tech scene, you may just fall in love with Portland, too.

If I had to sum up the Portland tech scene in one word, it would be this: community. Cooperative, collegial, and welcoming, Portland thrives with a bevy of events and gatherings, a collection of user groups and coworking, and an interwoven group of folks who seem to understand that we’re all in this together.

Granted, some classify Portland as a “lifestyle” startup town. One that lacks the competitive killer instinct of other larger metropolitan areas on the West Coast. We’d likely agree. That’s not where Portland excels. Instead, Portland thrives on creativity and bringing ideas to fruition—whether they’re fundable, fungible, or otherwise. Folks here express themselves creatively with technology and help others do the same. We’re a think tank, an R&D shop, and an idea incubator.

Enough pontificating. What’s actually happening in Portland?
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been more than a day since Gnomedex 8.0—the brainchild of Chris Pirillo which has served as a meetup for "the world’s leading bloggers, podcasters, and tech-savvy enthusiasts" for eight years—has come to a close. And I’m still struggling for an analogy to convey what I just experienced.

Was it a more accessible TED? Or maybe a smaller SXSW? Was it in some way akin to stepping into the Weezer "Pork & Beans" video?

I really don’t know.

Whatever the analogy, there are very few words in the English language that can describe it. So I’m just going to settle for "amazing."

From the effort Chris and Ponzi Pirillo put into the event, to the help of family and friends, to the depth of content, to the variety of speakers, to the emotional rollercoaster. Amazing.

And it dawned on me that—while I may utterly fail at describing exactly what the event was like—there was something I took away. Something I learned. And that something was "how to successfully craft an event."

So I thought I would share some of these tips for creating an amazing conference that you can use should you have the opportunity to put one of these things together.

Like Gnomedex 8.0, every conference should:

• Start with photography tips. I am convinced that Kris Krug spending 15 minutes with the crowd at the outset of the conference resulted in one of the most well photographed conferences I’ve ever had the pleasure to attend.
• Have someone from NASA speak. I mean, sure, not everyone is going to have access to the guy who drives the Mars Rover, but still. Having someone from NASA puts an interesting perspective on the applications of technology and your place in the world. (What’s more, he received only the second standing ovation in Gnomedex history.)
• Makes sure you has plenty of teh LOLcats. Even if you can’t get Ben Huh to speak, make sure the speakers are aware of LOLcats for a surefire presentation chuckle. I mean, even the NASA guy used one.
• Do something for the social good. One of the most touching moments of the entire conference was Beth Kanter’s challenge to the crowd to help her raise money for a Cambodian woman’s education before the conference ended. She reached her goal in less than two hours. Every conference should try to accomplish something similar.
• Flirt with controversy. Without question, one of the most anticipated talks of the conference was Sarah Lacy’s. And even though it was dismissed as "something we’ve talked to death," we still kept discussing it—rather heatedly—for an hour. And then we kept talking about it throughout the rest of the conference.
• Throw some Ignite-format presentations into the mix. Long-format presentations are great, but nothing breaks up a series of presentations more than having some folks giving rapid presentations in the Ignite format—20 slides at 15 seconds a slide. The Ignite Seattle and Ignite Portland talks proved that you can convey a great deal of information in 5 minutes.
• Hope that some attendees have a well-publicized road trip. One of the most interesting "road to Gnomedex" stories was the Iterasi school bus that hauled a bunch of Portland and Vancouver people up to the event. If every other Portland person was like me, "did you come up on the bus?" was a common ice-breaker.
• Always make time for attendees to talk. This seems obvious, but it’s overlooked far too often. One of the things that makes Gnomedex so interesting is the conversation that follows the presentations (see "controversy" above). And those conversations always lead to other conversations. And other conversations. And more content, like the podcast that Sarah Lacy and Amber Case planned the very first night of the event.
• Bonus tip: Talk about Cyborgs. If you’ve got a geek conference, any chance to reference SkyNet will definitely drive home a point. And from cyborg inspired art to cyborg anthropology, the undercurrent of cyborg concepts was alive and well at this conference—and sparked some interesting conversations.

So that’s my "what I learned in summer camp" review of Gnomedex, its format, and maybe a glimpse into why it was such a resounding success. If you attended and took something else away, I’d love to hear it. If you didn’t get the chance to attend, I hope to see you there, next year.

Rick Turoczy is one of the CenterNetworks Experts and he writes for the Silicon Florist, a blog covering under-the-RADAR start-ups, blogs, and events in Portland, Oregon, and the Silicon Forest. He can be reached, most readily, via Twitter.

Last time, we talked about getting ready for the embargo process. So now you’re ready. What now?

STEP TWO: Get set

MAKING INTRODUCTIONS

Pitching: Once you’ve confirmed that the blogger is, in fact, a viable candidate for the pitch, write the blogger a short, personal email, as early as possible. The lead time will be appreciated.

Ask if he or she would be interested in receiving information under embargo. Highlight the company releasing the news. Pull in some of the facts or assumptions your research has uncovered about the blogger. Confirm your understanding of the blog and its purpose.

Long story short, you only have one chance to make a first impression.

But you’re also still flirting, so don’t give away the whole release. Provide enough information to make it interesting. But don’t provide so much information that the blogger can connect the dots, reject your embargo request, and go to press anyway.

Blogging: Trusting that the person pitching you has actually taken the time to follow some of the guidance above and that you actually want to participate in embargoes, you should be pretty excited. This is your opportunity to be on the short list of people breaking the news.

A prompt response is key.

Clarify that you are willing to honor the embargo. Provide additional details about your site that may be of use to the people pitching. Answer their questions.

And ask a few questions of your own.

If the topic is especially relevant to your readers, this is a good time to ask about the opportunity for an exclusive and to make an argument for your getting it.

If an exclusive is out of the question, try to determine how many publications will be part of the embargo. Ask if both print and blogs are part of the group.

Get yourself comfortable and prepared to participate.

FORMALIZING THE AGREEMENT

Pitching: Once you have the blogger’s interest and the willingness to participate, confirm that the blogger understands the ramifications of participating in the embargo.

Then, depending on your comfort level, you can begin sharing details. This must include an explicit declaration of the date and time (including timezone!) that the embargo will lift. It may also include things like an early draft of the press release, an offer to interview people associated with the release, a demonstration of the product or service, and other links which may prove useful to the story.

The conversation is underway. Keep the level of respect high, and you’re on your way.

Blogging: You should get a confirmation from the people pitching you that you will be part of the embargoed news recipients. If you don’t get a confirmation, ask for one. If you do get a confirmation, this is a good time to begin setting up appointments for interviews and demos. The closer the release gets, the less likely you’ll be able to get on the calendar. So do it early.

So, now we have you getting ever closer to releasing your embargoed news. What happens as the big day draws near? Come back for part three: Go!

Rick Turoczy is one of the CenterNetworks Experts and he writes for the Silicon Florist, a blog covering under-the-RADAR start-ups, blogs, and events in Portland, Oregon, and the Silicon Forest. He can be reached, most readily, via Twitter.

In my first post about embargoes, I tried to provide some reasoning for why they exist in the first place. In the comments on that post, a number of things jumped out at me. But the most obvious critique of the post was my assertion that embargoes were about "respect."

I still believe the embargo to be about respect. And I think explaining how to manage the embargo process—whether from the pitching side of the desk or the blogging side of the desk—will only help further that argument, illustrating how mutual respect can lead to a much more rewarding embargo program for both parties.

No matter on which side of the desk you fall, always bear in mind that this should be a symbiotic process, not parasitic. The pitcher and the blogger should both have something to gain from the relationship. If one or the other holds the upper hand, then managing that "respect" becomes all the more difficult.

So without further ado, let’s begin the three easy steps to managing the embargo process, whether you’re pitching or blogging. We’ll break this into three parts: Get ready, Get set, and, of course, Go.

STEP ONE: Get ready

Pitching: Before you even finalize the copy in the release, do your due diligence. Create a short list of bloggers—and this is critical—who focus on your intended topic.

At best, spamming every blogger under the sun will get you nowhere in terms of coverage. At worst, it will land your name on a series of vitriolic posts about the inanity of the embargo process.

We’re going for quality not quantity, here.

Spend time with the blogs themselves. Read recent posts and dig into the writer’s comments. Pay particular attention to posts that are similar to your topic. Check Digg, Reddit, del.icio.us, ma.gnolia, Twitter, and any other social media you can think of. Run the feed through AideRSS.

Get your hands dirty. And make sure you understand the blogger. I cannot stress this enough. Performing this filtering upfront will save you a ton of time in the long run.

Blogging: If you want to be part of an embargo, it’s important that you make your position in the market as obvious as possible. I’m asking the people pitching to do their due diligence. You should look to make performing that due diligence as simple as possible.

Make sure your focus is obvious to the audience. If you’re really interested in getting pitches, build a media kit that helps folks understand what you’re hoping to accomplish with your blog.

Numbers are also important. Make sure your metrics—RSS feed subscribers or Web stats—are easily accessible.

Basically, anything that helps you state your case and makes you an attractive target is appropriate. You cannot oversimplify here. Rest assured, your site and its focus are not nearly as obvious to the general public as you assume they are.

I might also note that, if you’re not interested in participating in embargoes, it is in your best interest and the interest of those pitching that you make that known, as well.

So now you’re ready to enter the wonderful world of embargoes. What’s next? Stay tuned for part two: Get set.

Rick Turoczy is one of the CenterNetworks Experts and he writes for the Silicon Florist, a blog covering under-the-RADAR start-ups, blogs, and events in Portland, Oregon, and the Silicon Forest. He can be reached, most readily, via Twitter.

Embargoed press releases—a hold-over from public-relations practices in the world of print—remain a constant source of discussion in the world of online publishing. Should they still be in use? Should they be honored? Is "breaking an embargo" warranted?

Long story short, questions abound. So, I thought it might be helpful—for startups and bloggers alike—to take an objective view of the embargo and how it is used in media relations.

Let’s get really simple.

What is an "embargoed release"?

An embargoed release is a press release or announcement that is shared with the media well in advance of its publishing date. Unlike "off the record" (the source of a-whole-nother post) which is never supposed to see the light of day, embargoed information is meant to be published. But, it is meant to be published sometime in the future. It is akin to "sharing a secret." And, it is shared with the understanding that it is to remain a secret until the publishing date.

Why did this practice even come into being?

Using an embargo on a press release became a popular practice for a number of reasons:

1. Embargoes give journalists fair warning of upcoming news. Allowing them to prepare their stories in advance of news "dropping." They are shared with the hope that, with sufficient lead time, the journalist will provide additional insight that might not be part of a breaking news story.
2. Embargoes help manage the relationship between the journalist and the PR person. Sharing secrets has a tendency to build a relationship. And with time, that relationship becomes a symbiotic one, built on trust.
3. Embargoes enable companies to synchronize the release of news items in a world of asynchronous publishing schedules. Newspapers are generally dailies with tight timelines. Magazines have longer publishing timelines and may actually "go to bed" weeks in advance of actual release. If you want your news to appear in the papers and the magazines at the same time, embargoes are one way of managing that.
4. Embargoes help keep your executives out of orange jumpsuits. When you’re working for a publicly traded company, you live in fear of a journalist publishing something before "full disclosure." For public companies, everyone needs to hear news at the same time or else the SEC comes knocking at your door. Sharing the information early, under embargo, can help prevent these "leaks" from happening.

It’s those "controlling the timing of the information" points that cause the most headaches in the today’s brave new world of online publishing and blogging. If publishing schedules have been reduced to a matter of seconds and publishing scoops that land your site at the top of Techmeme could mean the difference between ridiculous amounts traffic and no traffic, does the embargo still have a place in public relations?

I would argue it does. Perhaps now more than ever.

Embargoes, plain and simple, are about respect. Respect for journalists, be they bloggers or traditional media. Respect for their time and their insight. And, ultimately, the media’s respect for your company and the way you mange public relations.

So, that’s a brief overview of the embargo. Do you think the embargo still serves as a viable means of distributing information? Do you think it’s an archaic practice whose time has ended? I’d love to hear about, because in the next installment, I’ll be addressing how to manage the embargo process.

Rick Turoczy is one of the CenterNetworks Experts and he writes for the Silicon Florist, a blog covering under-the-RADAR start-ups, blogs, and events in Portland, Oregon, and the Silicon Forest. He can be reached, most readily, via Twitter.