Here’s more evidence that the business world is (slowly) grasping the
advantages of interacting with the outside world, instead of simply
spewing out marketing messages in one direction. PRWeb, a public-relations online service, has added trackbacks to its press release distribution service.
By using trackbacks, PRWeb enables bloggers who write about a press
release to have links to their items appended to the press release on
the Web. The company brags that it is “the first press release newswire
to enable and encourage press release interaction and commentary from
the blogosphere.”
Here’s the press release about the new service, which demonstrates the concept in action.
PR Newswire, meanwhile, earlier this month tacked on an “Add to del.icio.us” feature to all of its press releases, according to PR blogger Steve Rubel.
Such moves represent a “step in a slow evolution of the press release
wires,” he says. Rubel advocates the concept of being able to “talk
back” to a press release.
Rubel wrote in a February 5 blog item: “Wouldn’t it be great if press
releases had comments, trackbacks, and a Technorati in-bound linkmeter
actually attached to them? News stories do this, so why not press
releases? Then individuals could question the release’s claims directly
under it. Even better, the releases could be appended with a response
from the organization that addresses this feedback. In other words,
what if press releases were living and breathing entities, not staid
and lifeless? If press releases have a long-term future, this is it. “
