Typically, on the day I decided to take the plunge and set up a blog, the Today programme gleefully told me that blogging is so completely over that anyone who has a blog should close it down and hop off to Twitter instead. Apparently the blogosphere is sinking under a “tsunami of paid bilge” and most people have an attention span which is too short to deal with more information than they can get in a typical txt msg or tweet.
If even John Humphrys is telling me that I’m behind the times I evidently have some catching up to do. But having been prompted by blogging enthusiast Richard Bailey to set up my own space, I’m now really excited at the thought of having somewhere to organise my thoughts about the best way to manage a PR business through what promises to be a pretty grim recession.
PR Week ran one of their “thought leader” supplements about the future of the PR agency, recently which came up with some interesting ideas about how agencies can rise to the challenge of the credit crunch. The tone was pretty upbeat – there may be trouble ahead but the PR industry is well placed to weather the storm and our communications skills are always going to be needed. Cheerily, for me at least, there was some suggestion that more business will be outsourced from inhouse staff to freelancers. This allows companies to cut their overheads and not have to pay for all those expensive fripperies like heating, lighting and pension contributions for their staff. This means that I may be able to keep paying the mortgage, but may never be able to retire. Suggestions as to whether this is good or bad news will be very welcome!
Sole Trader PR 
Hello Penny
I was sent the following link today on blogging
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2008/10/is_blogging_dead.html
which agrees with your opening remarks on the death of blogging. I think this form of communicatin will be around a lot longer yet for those of us with longer concentration spans!
Good luck with your blog
Julie
HI Penny – I’m beginning to wish I had been there last weekend – feeling very out of it. Maybe I’ll set up my own blog but as I’m a 19th C girl at heart (never ming 20th) I might struggle. COuld be right about freelance opportunities – unfortunately in our line of work comms will probably just not be done rather than outsourced.
Keep blogging!
Jane
x
It’s fun isn’t it: we’re so 2004 that we bloggers have made it to a prime time discussion on the Today Programme.
I agree with the Wired article, btw, but have a different conclusion. That Facebook has all the fun and Twitter has all the froth will allow blogging to develop. That’s my line, and I’m sticking to it…
Welcome Penny. We might have joined the party late, but isn’t that meant to be fashionable?
As Richard writes, to have a discussion about Blogging of The Today programme kind of gives it the mark of respectability and acceptance!
I checked out the Huffington Post blog yesterday – I think it points to blogs increasing in importance towards the Genral Election. Just think how much fun we could have had if a waiter on a certain Russian Oligarch’s yacht could have blogged about the guests! Maybe a waiter onboard Matthew Freud’s yacht can fill us in on the chats there?