Truth in Numbers: PR and the Blogosphere

Edelmen PR and Technorati just completed a terrific study on how bloggers interact with PR people. Of course every blogger is different, but since these people chose to take the study they're a pretty self-selecting group of (most likely) business-related bloggers.

On his blog, Richard Edelman has a quote about how PR people should be interacting with bloggers:

Companies must enter the blogosphere in ways that respect its values and norms. We should never assume we can barge into a conversation; we need to ask permission to interact. We must always be transparent about who we are and what our motives are. Communications should be based on genuine understanding of each person's interests and needs. When companies or agencies act duplicitously, we should recognize that they are interfering with human conversation, and we should not stand for it.

Great advice.

But I think we should take things one step further, we should become bloggers ourselves. It doesn't have to be a complex blog or something you update daily, and it's probably best not to be just another PR blog, but focus on a hobby or your family or something that you are passionate about. I learned more about blogging from writing about my children than I ever could have learned by simply reading a bunch each day--though, I do that too.

So get out and blog, but blog about something that feeds your true passion.