It’s only midweek and we’ve seen four news stories that signal fresh attacks on free speech and other personal freedoms. A banner week, and one that has implications for tech PR. Let’s look at the headlines first, then the PR angle.

Example A: Philadelphia (can’t you just feel the brotherly love?) has decided to charge bloggers an annual $300 fee for the right to blog. Of course they are calling it a ‘business privilege’ tax, but you just have to love the free-speech aspects of this move. If you’ve ever lived in Philly you already know there’s a tax on everything – head taxes, work taxes, township taxes and more. But taxing the right to exercise freedom of speech – in the city where the Constitution was penned and adopted by the Constitutional Convention – boggles the mind. Someone ring the Liberty Bell, quick.

Example B: California (uber alles – we’ll have that Jello Biafra test later) has passed a bill to make it illegal to impersonate someone on the Web. So much for Fake Steve and other parodies. All that’s needed now is the Governator’s signature and we’ll all be safe in the ether again. While we can see why it’s good to discourage mean girls and other pranksters who see the Internet as a great place to stage attacks on others, we agree with the Electronic Frontier Foundation – there’s way too much opportunity in this bill to squelch freedom of speech.

Example C: Two airports – Logan and Las Vegas – have approved full-palm patdowns of air passengers going through the already slow and invasive security checkpoints. It’s not enough to take off your shoes and get a full-body scan that’s as strong as a CAT scan. Now you get to be up close and really personal with a TSA agent, probably that guy or gal you refused to go out with in high school. So much for personal space. Assault, anyone?

Example D: A Connecticut high school – in swish New Canaan, no less – is considering adding RFID tags to student IDs. No more sneaking out of study hall for a quick trip to McDonalds, kids.

So what does all of this have to do with tech PR? The RFID tags are a tech story, and a pretty convoluted one – a Connecticut RFID company is pushing the plan after applying for a National Science Foundation grant to ‘conduct scientific research.’ Line the kiddies up, we’re all friends here, and while you’re at it, how about a quick cheek swab? The pat-downs are a study in how proven and legitimate technologies such as explosives sniffers and scanner technologies are being ignored. The blog tax is something that affects anyone who blogs – and there’s the fact that taxing speech really pushes the limits of a government’s right to collect revenue from its citizens. And the e-impersonations? Again, free speech is at issue.

Any attack on free speech, constitutionally-protected personal freedoms and human dignity is an issue for all of us. For PR people, it means we need to do a better job explaining the technologies our clients create – those airport scanners, for example. We need to give our clients better advice – that Westport, CT company needed to be talked off the cliff by a smart PR strategist.

And we need to be better citizens. We need to have, and give, some respect.

What do you think?

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I was talking with an editor, I won’t say who or what pub, today on an editorial calendar opportunity that was spot on my client – an owner-funded company with a great product that is the coolest thing in its market – literally.

The editor agreed and we started talking additional information, what he’d need, possibility of an article, podcasts, briefings, essentially the whole nine yards of PR glory.

Somewhere in there, he says, and I am quoting here: “of course, we give priority to our advertisers, and very few if any non-advertisers ever make the book.” Caught by surprise, I had a really snappy comeback…I said – “oh, really.” As it stands, advertising is not what my client wants to do. They understand the need, and in fact do some, but prefer the third-party validation that comes from successful PR.

We got into a discussion on pay-for-play, the value of PR and the role of advertising. I did my best to persuade him that ultimately, running editorial that is only from advertisers will undermine the credibility of his book. He, in turn, tried to convince me that a company that was willing to advertise really wanted to reach his market.

In the end we agreed to disagree. But every time I run across this pay-for-play scenario, I can’t help but think…if editors often consider PR professionals as nothing but schills for their clients, what does it make them when all they accept is editorial from their advertisers?

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Technorati Tags: editorial calendars, PR

Sitting in traffic on 128 the other day, I saw a bumper sticker that said: “Rapture is coming. Will you be ready?”

It got me thinking – not about Rapture, but about recovery from the current economic conditions. Like Rapture, no one knows for sure when recovery is coming – though they are sure it will. And, like Rapture, some are more prepared than others.

Now, regardless of your views on Rapture, from a communications standpoint, companies need to assess their readiness. If you have slashed your marketing programs, gone “dark” on advertising, scaled back your PR and tradeshow efforts – there is a good chance that the recovery will be much further off for you than others.

Here’s the catch – how do you get ready for recovery without breaking the bank? Here’s two thoughts:

Social Media – have your agency step up activity with blogs, podcasts, tweeting and forums. Start to get back in the swing of things.

Public Relations – Ramp up your outreach activities. Haven’t talked to the press in a while – now’s a good time to do a tour – even if it is by phone.

*Don’t have an agency, give us a call, we’d be glad to help.

If we knew the exact date of recovery (or Rapture for that matter), it would be easy to get ready. But one thing we do know – there are signs in the economy that are pointing in the right direction. Maybe now is the time to get some of your communications activities back in action.

Recovery is, after all, coming. Will you be ready?

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Technorati Tags: Communications, PR, Recovery, Social Media