Some simple rules to follow with respect to your online reputation
Louis Freeman, a veteran PR professional is getting an online spanking on Techcrunch. I do feel for bloggers that get bombarded with messages that are off-base, off-target or simply inappropriate. Combing through hundreds of these emails is a waste of productive time and can distract one from real news.
PR people are also increasingly under pressure to deliver coverage, and keep lowering their cost of deliver. The net impact? Stakeholder relationship management practices get sloppy or worse, PR people simply start carpet bombing email lists they pull from Cision without doing any research on a person’s current beat or interest.
In this case, it got very personal and the details of the emails back and forth simply got posted on Techcrunch – the email from Louis is not pretty. She made the mistake of lashing out at someone that gets 5% of daily Internet Traffic.
Regardless of who is write or wrong, there is a key lesson to be learned when it comes to email etiquette…especially, when you are frustrated or angry. Follow these simply rules:
- assume everything you ever write could be on the front page of a large newspaper or a website visited by millions of people;
- if you would be reluctant to say in person, what you have written in your email, chances are, the email is in pour taste and will likely haunt you downstream;
- if sending the email to your mother would make her say hummmm…then think again.
There is a reason Google developed Mail Googles for late night emails to former lover – it forces you to do math in your head, and take your mind out of the emotional zone…hoping it will distract you long enough to reconsider or delete the email altogether.
