An article by New York Times writer Nick Bilton hit home, (well, PR home) recently. Bilton’s Oct. 14 piece, “Disruptions: Seeking Privacy in a Networked Age” referenced a dinner party he hosted at which many of his guests (including Om Malik) were posting to social media sites, all while noshing on pulled pork tacos and clinking glasses filled with red wine.
And what ended up happening? Seven photos on Path, six Twitter messages and six Instagram photos later someone (maybe a PR person?) emailed Bilton complimenting him on the lamps dangling above his table.
My colleagues and I regularly look to Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook, etc. to catch up on the ever-changing focus of the writers we reach out to, because even online articles at this point have a large and growing lag time between what’s in the past and what’s coming next.
Last night, Bilton tweeted about a colleague’s article on the growing sport of joggling – juggling while running — which I won’t be trying because I enjoy walking without crutches. As much as Twitter tells us what to write and how to connect with reporters, it quietly tells us how not to as well.
I take Bilton’s article as a fog horn-like reminder to keep things on topic and stay on the safe side of the increasingly blurry lines social media creates between our personal and professional lives.
So, Nick, I like your glasses, but I promise to never, ever email you about them.