This interview appeared in Bulldog Reporter's Daily Dog. It's well done, but I needed to correct a few points. [My comments and corrections are in bold and in brackets.]:

Blogger and Tech Scribe Foremski Shares Seven Timely Tips for Building Relationships with Influential Bloggers in Your Market

“Because I blog, I am sometimes introduced as a ‘former journalist,’” [I'm a "former FT journalist"] says Tom Foremski, editor, publisher and founder of Silicon Valley Watcher (www.SiliconValleyWatcher.com). “But my advice to PR people is not to distinguish between the two. If something looks like journalism—then it is. There’s no seal of approval,” says Foremski, who used to file columns for The Financial Times[I used to work full-time as a news reporter for the Financial Times before leaving in mid-2004.] “Those distinctions don’t make that much sense these days. For example, a lot of newspapers ask their journalists to be bloggers in addition to their usual assignments.” [So then are they temporarily no longer journalists if they are writing their news blogs at work?]

His point: “The real issue isn’t whether someone is a blogger or not—but whether they’re credible. It doesn’t matter if they write in AP style or grandma style,” he jokes. “What’s important is who they reach and if they’re influential in your market. You can look for reciprocal links to determine that. But links don’t show where conversations are actually started. It’s more complicated than that. There really is no silver bullet other than getting involved.” Foremski offers these blog-savvy tips for doing just that:

1. Start small—simply visit relevant blogs. “You don’t have to launch your own blog to get involved in this,” says Foremski. “Just start by reading blogs in your market. Then move up to leaving your comments on other blogs. The danger with starting a blog is that you have to feed it every day—and that can be stressful [...if you are not a professional journalist--the monster has to be fed and fussed over everyday :-) ] It also might not be the best use of your time.”

2. Treat bloggers like journalists—with these exceptions. “While bloggers shouldn’t be treated that differently, you do have to make the rules more clear,” Foremski says. “That includes being very specific about what you mean by things like ‘off the record,’ ‘on background’ and ‘embargoed.’ Make sure the definitions are very clear on both sides first.”

In addition: “It can be hard to find blogger names and contact information. The only advice I can give is to follow the links. Another difference is that bloggers get really, really upset if they find something in their email inbox that wasn’t requested. The rest of us are used to getting pitches that went to everybody. But bloggers resent it. They will blog about lame PR practitioners. You can become the story in blogs if you’re not careful,” Foremski warns.

3. Help bloggers with fact checking and due diligence. “It’s not a bad idea to consider bloggers without media backgrounds as ‘juvenile’[I said "inexperienced"] journalists,” Foremski continues. “They have that natural ability to reach audiences and write—but might not be familiar with the processes of vetting information and fact checking. That’s because their minds are focused on commenting and responding quickly. In fact, bloggers seem to rely on the mainstream media to do the fact checking for them. To be honest, there’s not a lot of fact checking going on in the mainstream media, either.”

[This is very, very true we trust and use the factual information provided to us by a company and its representatives. We don't trust claims of being the first, or best or anything of that nature.]

His point: “We all assume that the stuff in your press release is 100 percent accurate. So make sure the numbers, spellings and everything is completely vetted. Few newsrooms I know of have fact checkers any more. Some high-end magazines might, but they’re usually just fact checking stories that come in from freelancers.”

4. Play to bloggers’ egos—offer exclusives. “Bloggers like juicy pegs and controversy,” says Foremski. “They like dirt. [I did not say "dirt" although the statement is true for some bloggers.] Any journalist likes exclusivity—but bloggers are especially interested in anything that let’s them say, ‘I know something you don’t know.’ The ego and byline are a big part of why bloggers blog. They want to be on top of the[link] pile.”

His advice: “Understand this when reaching out to bloggers. They are far more competitive. I’ve been in pubs with other blogger journalists and have had to run out and file a story while pretending to go to the bathroom. [I was with other professional journalists who are also bloggers-- journalists love scoops even more.] It’s more personal. We don’t want anybody to beat us. If you understand that, then you offer more things like exclusives or behind-the-scenes information and access.” But, he warns: “Don’t offer an exclusive that isn’t really one. Remember that hell hath no fury like a blogger scorned.”

[You'd better believe it -- I strive to be nicer-than-nice if an honest mistake occurs but niceness is only appreciated if you occasionally demonstrate how unpleasant things could be otherwise...]

5. Revisit the basics and dust off the “old rules.” “The new rules of reaching bloggers are the same as the old rules of reaching the press—just more intense,” Foremski says. “If it was about trust, credibility and building relationships before—it’s more so now. If you had to tailor ideas before—you have to make sure you customize every single pitch for a blogger now. In other words, don’t pitch a blogger without reading him first. It’s all the same media relations as before, except that there are more ‘outlets’ to deal with. That means your job is now focused on doing more of what you should have been doing before. What you weren’t doing right in reaching out to the media will become glaringly obvious reaching out to bloggers.”

[Which means you have a heck of a LOT more work to do. But hey, don't cry too much, PR professionals are rolling in work and are getting 1999-dotcom era salaries. When they signed-on, I'm sure they knew they just sold most of their best hours of their day--their personal life and families get the lower quality hours...]

6. Bring bloggers “into the tent.” “I had breakfast with Richard Edelman recently,” shares Foremski. “He has a term he uses: ‘bringing people into the tent.’ That’s what he did by having breakfast with me. It really works.” [It is also a way for a blogger to get into the tent and get access . . . it works both ways :-) ] His advice: “Don’t leave bloggers out. For example, some bloggers don’t get press passes. Change that. Treat them equally. Also, offer bloggers access to senior-level people. It doesn't matter if it’s not a big business magazine across the table. Embrace these guys. There are millions of blogs out there—but only a few top ones in your sector. It shouldn’t be hard to find them and bring them in.”

[I said that meeting with key bloggers should be a normal part of traditional media relations, as it is with professional journalists. But you cannot make your senior executives available to anybody--there just isn't enough time in the world. It is not just bloggers but journalists from small, or little known publications, that constantly have this problem of access.]

7. Don’t forget freebies—they can open doors (and hearts). “Tchotchkes work with bloggers more than with normal journalists,” says Foremski. “It’s much easier to buy them off in that way,” he jokes. “They love it. Goodies really work—especially tech goodies.”

[I did not say "buy them off" but I did say that bloggers tend to get excited by freebies. Ninety per cent of the time the freebies are not digital but pens or t-shirts--the rest of the time it's a USB flash drive, (I receive and give away a lot of them.]

You can read the original and other good pieces here: http://www.bulldogreporter.com/dailydog/issues/1_1/dailydog_journalists_speak_out/index.html#label%202

Postscript: The article was well put together, covered a lot of good points and because I am a journalist blogger I was able to correct a few points.

BTW, this is a good case study on one way you can handle a similar situation and put the record straight. By using a trackback to the article, or leaving a comment with a link to this post, I can address any issues--at the point of readership--not in a letter to the editor days later.

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Here is my pitch: If you'd like to learn more about how to communicate in the new world and avoid some of the many pitfalls, starting in April I'm setting aside a few days per month to come in and spend half-a-day or so to chat with comms teams at companies and agencies, and set aside more time to speak at conferences.

Please contact Jen McClure, the founder of the non-profit think tank, the Palo-Alto based Society for New Communications Research (of which I am a founding fellow.) Jen's number is 650 387 8590 and we also have a stable of senior fellows with expertise in all areas--from building the technical infrastructure to podcasting and beyond.

There is a consulting fee for commercial organizations, which helps to fund our work with non-profits and educational institutes. But even with commercial organizations I do a lot of free 45-minute-or-so visits (if in Bay Area), and you can ask me anything you'd like :-).