Business Week Online has an interesting story, A VC’s View of Web 2.0.

These two paragraphs confirm my thinking about how Web 2.0 is changing public relations:

What’s going to happen is, employees are going to start podcasting and blogging about what’s really going on in the company…

The reality of how employees feel, and the reality of how customers and partners get information about your company, are going to change in the next five years from standard media and press releases — which are a waste of time now — to these other methods like blogs and wikis and podcasts and videos.

Press releases still have value
Nevertheless, press and news releases have value, especially from an SEO standpoint. Whatever the topic of the news release, disseminating the information puts it out there. You’ve still got the chance that the media may pick up on it, and if that happens (oh, joy!) you’ll get some free publicity.

More importantly, when you post the releases to your Web site, you’re providing search engine fodder, which enhances your site’s search engine optimization. People will find you, when they search on the words in the release. This has great value for the Long Tail.

One point: DO add additional information to your site, as it relates to the press/ news release. Then you can link the press release to this extended information source. I always tell my clients — it’s all about the links; no links, no Web. This doesn’t mean that you should go into a linking frenzy. For long-term value, ensure that you always know WHY you’re linking: all links should enhance your site visitors’ experience.

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