Advice to PR Agencies: Try Actually Reading The Blogs You Pitch

Got this in an email this morning from PayPerPost’s PR agency, SS|PR:

PayPerPost, the leading marketplace connecting marketers with bloggers, videographers, photographers, podcasters and social networks, Is announcing the second phase of its full disclosure model, whereby participating Consumer Content Creators are required to disclose their sponsored status. The new Terms of Service will bring greater transparency to the growing Consumer Generated Advertising industry. Since creating the concept of sponsored posting, PayPerPost has allowed and encouraged transparency, enabling marketers and bloggers to disclose word-of-mouth (WOM) or buzz marketing relationships. The company provides bloggers with tools to empower disclosure and has popularized the concept of adopting a Disclosure Policy for all bloggers through http://www.DisclosurePolicy.org. Consistent with WOM industry guidelines, PayPerPost also prohibits marketers who use the PayPerPost marketplace from requesting no disclosure. Today’s announcement builds upon that foundation.

Unfortunately, the folks at SS|PR failed to read my earlier post where I had already commented quite NEGATIVELY on this announcement.

Oops.

I know from my trusty MyBlogLog that folks from PayPerPost visited since I posted those negative comments — but they made no attempt to engage in “conversation” or debate the issue. Just this canned release from some PR folks who still have some hard lessons to learn.