Shift Communications has come up with this Social Media Newsroom template (PDF), presumably for PR agencies’ clients, though I’m not sure why they saw the need to include a prominent PR Contact box in the right nav. (Social media is about avoiding the PR filter and engaging the company directly in a conversation.) More at PR Squared.
JD Lasica, founder of Inside Social Media, is also a fiction author and the co-founder of the cruise discovery engine Cruiseable. See his About page, contact JD or follow him on Twitter.
Thanks for the write-up and kind words.
As for the “bypassing PR filters” concept: your point is well taken, but keep in mind that the direct stakeholders *within* a company are a) not always available to respond to any ol’ inquiry and, b) they are not always *allowed* to talk to the external world (especially in public companies, which keep a tighter rein on things due to stockholder suits, regulations, etc.).
Also, c) many journalists (vs. bloggers) still want to talk to “official spokespeople” for their stories.
Anyhoo, it’s just a template, which means “use what you like, discard the rest.” ;)
Just wondering outloud…is there really any value to creating a social media newsroom anymore? Seems like putting up “conversation notes” for your friends to read instead of going to cocktail parties and talking. If you are really part of the conversation, perhaps there’s a better (less involved) way to organize your participation (maybe some future iteration of delicious, etc). Curious what others think.
Scott
At least Todd and team (who subscribe to our site, btw) are getting beyond the hot air and rhetoric and creating something tangible for the industry to evaluate and collaboratively improve… there is definitely a need for this.