10 online resources for today’s PR pro

3771946236_8536462b06A friend of mine, Eva Keiser, senior vice president at Risdall McKinney PR who also teaches of at the University of Minnesota, asked me the other day: “What are 10 online resources you’d recommend for today’s PR student?”

Good question.

So, I got to thinking. What do I read regularly? What would I recommend to those just starting out in the industry? What provides value to me on a daily basis? What helps me build my evolving PR/marketing/social media/SEO skills?

Here’s my best shot:

10–#PR20 (Twitter chat, Wed. evenings 7-8 p.m. CST) I have a hard time following this one personally because it coincides with bed time for my kids, but I usually try to browse the transcript later that evening or the next day (thanks Beth!). Beth Harte, community manager for MarketingProfs moderates this weekly discussion. It has also featured various guest moderators including Shel Holtz and Lauren Fernandez.

9—Mashable. Probably goes without saying, but a rich resource for all things social media, Mashable has positioned itself as the Huffington Post of social media blogs/sites. A must visit several times per week.

8—Commentz. A new service courtesy of Sarah Evans and David Teicher, Commentz provides you with a daily email recapping some of the more interesting and insightful posts from the PR/social media blogosphere each day. It’s only been around for about a month, but already it’s become a must-read for me each day.

7—DaveFleet.com. Without a doubt, one of my favorite PR blogs. Why? Because Dave provides thoughtful, well-researched content on a consistent basis. How many PR blogs can you say that about? But above and beyond that, the reason I follow Dave’s blog so closely is he’s not afraid to tell it like it is. Go against the grain. Tackle a controversial topic. Ask tough questions.

6—A Shel of my Former Self. One of the smarter guys in the field—and someone who’s been operating in the PR/communications/social media space longer than just about anyone. Also, highly recommend subscribing to his “For Immediate Release” podcast—a great listen on the way into the office during the week.

5—Ragan.com. I know Ragan is positioned as more of an internal communications/business communicators organization, but lately they’re daily email has been a great resources for new ideas for me. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a frequent contributor to Ragan.com.

4—Alltop. Looking for the top mommy bloggers? What about the most well-read tech blogs? Or, how about political blogs? Alltop has it all. And then some. A great resource for searching all things blogs.

3—Tough Sledding. Had to include one academic PR blog and this one, in my opinion, is far and away the best. Bill Sledzik’s posts are thought-provoking and well thought out. And, much like Mr. Fleet, Bill is not afraid to take on the tough issues. Just recently, he reviewed Brian Solis and Deidre Breakenridge’s new book, “Putting the Public Back in PR.” It wasn’t the most glowing review, but it opened up an honest and frank discussion. Something we need much more of out here.

2—Journchat (Twitter chat and live events). The best way to learn in this profession? Start participating. Almost a year ago, Sarah Evans created Journchat and gave PR pros, bloggers and journalists the opportunity to meet each Monday night at 7 pm CST and discuss issues that impact us all. Over the months, Sarah’s had a number of guest moderators including a number of journalists. And recently, she expanded the concept to live, in-person events in seven markets across the U.S. (including Minneapolis/St. Paul).

1–PR Reader’s Choice Award Blogs. OK, so this is a bit self-promotional, but really, all the blogs that were nominated for these awards are fantastic reads–and they were all nominated by the community at large. Plus, these blogs cover a lot of ground. There are a number of up-and-coming PR bloggers (Lauren Fernandez and Amy Mengel come to mind) as well as more seasoned pros (Todd Defren, David Mullen and Danny Brown). I’d definitely suggest adding these ALL to your Google Reader immediately. 

What would you add to this list?

Note: Photo courtesy of Nate_Williams on FlickR Creative Commons

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23 Responses to “10 online resources for today’s PR pro”

  1. amymengel  on September 8th, 2009

    Thanks for the shout-out, Arik! I’d also encourage PR students to stay up on general business trends and issues by reading sites like Fortune, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal. It’s increasingly important for students to not only be grounded in core PR skills but also understand how their role fits into the business landscape.

  2. Heather Whaling  on September 8th, 2009

    Arik, this is a great list! I think we could add the Media on Twitter database (it’s probably not in the top 10, but it’s a helpful resource if you’re trying to connect with a specific reporter). Also, HARO. For me, it’s a must-read three times a day. Even if you can’t find something that day for your specific client, you can learn a lot about trends in reporting and who is working on what kinds of stories. That knowledge can come in very handy down the road …

    Heather (@prtini)

  3. Aerocles  on September 8th, 2009

    Well First of all – Awesome List!

    There are 3 things that jump out as online must-use resources for a modern PR pro.

    1. Haro – As mentioned by Heather/PRTini (www.helpareporter.com)
    2. Muckrack (Http://www.Muckrack.com) – The online database of journalists and their real time tweeting, organized by outlet and beat
    3. And – If you’re so inclined – Legends of Aerocles – Http://Aerocles.Wordpress.com – My Shameless Self Promotion of the day :)

  4. arik.@hanson@gmail.com  on September 8th, 2009

    HARO! How could I forget HARO! Absolutely, Heather, HARO is a must-read each day for all the reasons you mention above. Thank you for pointing out the failings of my slowly shrinking memory banks ;)

    David, thanks for pointing out Muckrack–I hadn’t heard of that site, but it’s on my radar now.

    Amy, a subscription to the Journal is almost a must in any PR pros budget (wait, I need to make a call…)

    @arikhanson

  5. Dave Fleet  on September 8th, 2009

    Thanks for the shout out, Arik. Great to be listed along with some great resources. I’ve noticed some increasingly useful pieces on Ragan.com recently, too – glad I’m not the only one thinking that.

  6. Beth Harte  on September 8th, 2009

    Hey Arik, thanks for adding The PR 2.0 chat to your list, I appreciate it! Everyone is welcome to join in…especially PR students! A few reasons are because 1) we are most likely having PR discussions that are timely, 2) we focus on thought leadership AND, 3) most of our conversations are about things NOT taught in universities or colleges but are reflective of today’s PR world. ;-)

    As well, because I am biased and think in an integrated fashion (i.e. PR falls under marketing), I would recommned any articles from MarketingProfs.com (our free ones are great & perfect for a student’s budget!) or our blog the Daily Fix (www.mpdailyfix.com). [How's that for being promotional?!?! ;-) ]

    Thanks again!
    Beth Harte
    Community Manager, MarketingProfs
    @bethharte

  7. Valerie Simon  on September 8th, 2009

    Great list Arik… a lot of the resources I frequent! Since the question was aimed toward the PR Student, I’ll have to add #PRStudChat, a monthly twitter chat specifically organized to bring together PR Pro’s and students.

  8. Stuart  on September 8th, 2009

    Great list Arik. Pretty much a must read for anyone trying to break into social media or PR.

    Still amazed at how many people DON’T know about AllTop.

  9. slaliberte  on September 8th, 2009

    I was about to say “HARO” but several people beat me to it! HARO is great and I’m glad it was recognized.

    I would also say a well-constructed RSS feed is vital. I happen to use Netvibes because I like the tabs. Working at an agency, I need to track coverage for several clients and email google alerts, newsletter feeds, etc. just get lost. I set up a tab for each client and it works wonders.

    Thanks for the great list!!!

    Sarah @ GY&K (@gyktweets)

  10. Lauren Fernandez  on September 8th, 2009

    Great list Arik – and thank you for the shout-out. :)

    I would add Twenty Something Bloggers to the list – 20sb.net. A great resource for those to connect and learn about new blogs.

  11. Donna  on September 8th, 2009

    I follow mommy blogs and craft blogs. I have tried alltop and I hate it. It is so sloooow loading their mom blog page. I prefer sites like http://www.mommyblogs.com and http://www.craftgawker.com. Is there a good one for food blogs?

  12. Michael Sebastian  on September 8th, 2009

    Arik,

    On behalf of Ragan, thanks for the mention. Wonderful to be included among the many great resources you listed.

  13. arik.@hanson@gmail.com  on September 8th, 2009

    Beth/Valerie: Funny you should mention PRStudChat and MarketingProfs–both were definitely in my mind as I put this list together. Glad you mentioned both.

    Lauren, thanks for the note about 20sb.net. I would also add your new Young Minds series. I know it’s early, but that concept has the chance to be very interesting–and extremely helpful–for younger PR pros.

    @arikhanson

  14. Danny Brown  on September 8th, 2009

    Nice list of resources, Arik – very well put together. I would have said HARO as well but that’s obviously been covered. So I’d suggest Bad Pitch Blog on lessons how NOT to do PR :)

  15. Candace McCaffery  on September 9th, 2009

    This is a great list (two I was missing that I am adding to Reader today). I would second Bad Pitch Blog – sometimes it makes me cringe, but I think everyone practicing in PR should read it. I also like Journalistics by Jeremy Porter. I don’t always agree with him, but he makes me think, and that’s the point, isn’t it?

  16. trishskram  on September 9th, 2009

    Might as well say Trish Skram’s top 10 list of resources for PR pros!!! I follow every single one of these resources religiously! Wonderful list.

    I’m sure someone has already mentioned these in the blog comments [I haven't been able to read through them all]. I would add HARO, #u30chat, AND PR Week (oldie but goodie).

    Keep on truckin’, @trishskram

  17. Tali Hylen  on September 9th, 2009

    Great post. Ah, to be a PR student now. So much more to embrace and digest.
    What about:
    http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/
    and
    http://www.chrisbrogan.com/
    I also recommend HootSuite for managing multiple Twitter accounts and monitoring of key words!

  18. bum~  on September 9th, 2009

    What can twitter do for you?

  19. Diziette  on September 9th, 2009

    Very usefull. I am saving this as reference

  20. allanschoenberg  on September 9th, 2009

    This is going to be very useful this semester for my class. A great list and I knew about all of them except one as I confessed to you earlier. Thanks for posting.

  21. Germaine Paul  on September 14th, 2009

    As a research tool, I would add delicious. It’s a great start for research and it’s a great secondary source too.

  22. Case Ernsting  on September 15th, 2009

    A little bit off topic, but have you seen those new “Social Media Press Release” template? It leaves more room for buttons and less for relaying the story. Is that the way the industry is going?

  23. thriftgirl62  on October 14th, 2009

    Glad to see Ragan.com – Lawrence Ragan Communications on the list – their FREE Tool Kits have great information. Peter Shankman (HARO) writes and speaks at Ragan Conferences too.

    I hope they NEVER retire Bits N Pieces – I’ve had subscription to that motivational and leadership quotes full of timeless wisdom since 1979 when the publisher was the Economics Press.

    The booklets still arrive by snail mail and in 30 years they have yet to run out of original quotes!! Next time you see Lawrence, tell him I’m still his biggest fan! You too, @skydiver on Twitter!


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