It is well-known in the industry that the 5-second headline read is usually the make or break point to pique an editor’s interest. However, it is not as common for PR practitioners to write for the ‘robots’ that pick up press releases and distribute them through RSS feeds, news portals and search engines. In the article, David B. Armon, the president of PR Newswire, discusses the benefits of PR Newswire’s keyword density tool that makes suggestion to add keywords to a press release to help with its rankings. It’s a delicate balance to keep and not turn the press release into an overly repetitive document that seems to have been written for search engines and not for humans.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the use of AP Style as more and more PR people are trying to please the editors and the robots in order to get their news out.

Update: It seems that Gawker wrote a rather eloquent reaction to the above mentioned article, entitled “How to Write a Press Release That Doesn’t Suck.” (For education and entertainment purposes – it’s worth a look.)

This morning I realized what I like about it. Isn’t it a relief to know that even the New York Times makes a silly mistake sometimes?

The next time you make a dumb spelling error in the subject line of an email — or feel your blood pressure rising when a member of your account team does the same — remember that.

Related: In a Changing World of News, an Elegy for Copy Editors (the NYT, of course, via Blogrunner)

In a New Generation of College Students, Many Opt for the Life Examined

“If I were to start again as an undergraduate, I would major in philosophy,” said Matthew Goldstein, the CUNY chancellor, who majored in mathematics and statistics. “I think that subject is really at the core of just about everything we do. If you study humanities or political systems or sciences in general, philosophy is really the mother ship from which all of these disciplines grow.”

[...]

David E. Schrader, executive director of the American Philosophical Association, a professional organization with 11,000 members, said that in an era in which people change careers frequently, philosophy makes sense. “It’s a major that helps them become quick learners and gives them strong skills in writing, analysis and critical thinking,” he said.

Let Computers Compute. It’s the Age of the Right Brain.

Now the master of fine arts, or M.F.A., Mr. Pink says, “is the new M.B.A.”

I sometimes wonder why there aren’t more philosophy majors — or creative writing folks — working in public relations & marketing. Guys: we’re in high demand! Get out there!

If you are a humanities geek who has joined the ranks of agency sell-outs, feel free to defend your decision by leaving a comment. I promise not to open up a can of poststructuralism on you.

The first PR flack who can name the friendly bald man to the left of this text wins the Semiotexte of their choice — or a $10 Starbucks gift card — from me.

The paper’s Technology home page is usually where I start my day at the office. From there, I usually get hooked into a Blogrunner headline or head into the Bits blog.

Today, Saul Hansell posted two really thought-provoking posts on the merger in Bits: An Offer Yahoo Can’t Refuse, and the follow-up, Microsoft is Building a Spaceship out of Spare parts. The latter features one of the best geeky similes I’ve read in a long time:

For Microsoft, trying to build a new Internet portal-search engine-advertising network-cloud computing company will be trying to make a new interplanetary spaceship out of an old Soyuz capsule and Skylab while hurtling through the cosmos. The parts are temperamental; the systems are delicate; and the risk of catastrophic failure is ever-present.

Another New York Times blog, Dealbook, describes How Microsoft Could Go Hostile. They also have a good rundown of previous high-profile tech acquisitions in The Biggest Tech Deal Ever, Sort Of.

I’m really interested to see how this shakes out — and, more importantly, how that benefits (or hurts) both marketers and Microsoft/Yahoo end users. Bits and Dealbook are resources I’ll continue to refer to as the story progresses.

While they’re good for reading up on trends you may have missed — like Left-Hand Turn Elimination, genius! — they are equally good for a gloating over the memes you have already embraced and thrown to the curb. Lite-Brite Fashion? No big surprise to anyone who read the introductory issue of O’Reilly’s spin-off of Make, Craft. In 2006.

There are also typically an entire cast of “winners” at the end of each year. Why? Because marketing & PR pros in virtually every industry know that a bestowing a clever or timely award is great way to create noise for your organization. Those taking advantage of the calendar’s end include:

Oxford Word of the Year: Locavore
Time Magazine Invention of the Year: iPhone
Sys Admin of the Year: Matt Timken
Information Week CIO of the Year: Tim Stanley
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year: Brett Favre

Though I tend to prefer the more intellectual bent the New York Times takes with their 2007 wrap-up, their editorial process is basically identical to how the more broadly appealing awards are selected. Whether we’re talking about the winning memes, or the winning people, it’s still fun to sit around the table making lists such as these. (Just ask your nearest Nick Hornby fan.)

And who knows — maybe 2008 will bring a client whose product speaks to the larger Community Urinalysis conversation. Arm thyself, PR pro!