Just got (another) email from a PR person asking me to write about a product, without actually giving any link to the company’s website, any real clue as to what the product does or how it works — even any clue as to whether the product even runs on Linux — which is kind of important since the email seems to be geared towards putting the product in my column in Linux Magazine.
No, it’s another email geared to making the PR rep a necessary part of the information chain — thereby increasing my workload and reducing the odds that the program will be covered at all.
Good PR is simple, effective and low-maintenance. Know the reporters, feed them valuable information for their beat (and avoid sending stuff they don’t care about), give everything necessary upfront (if possible) and offer to provide additional information on request, if necessary. Avoid hype, give facts. It’s simple, really.
