Don't Speak Up Edelman Subscribers...

Richard Edelman's blog was received positively by the blogosphere when it debuted late last month -- and rightfully so, having someone of Edelman's stature and influence in the industry is important validation for the PR blogosphere. But I just can't, in good faith, bring myself to subscribe to his stuff. Shortly after word got out about Edelman's blog, I like so many other PR bloggers commented on his first post. My comment was pretty straight forward. I offered up the obligatory "congrats" and respectfully asked if Edelman would be using his blog as a listening mechanism or if it was simply a marketing mouthpiece -- I never got an answer and more important, my comment never made the light of day.

I think it's pretty lame of Edelman and/or the folks behind the curtain to scratch my comment like that, but I guess they had their reasons. What bugs me most is that I consider blogging a conversation, and that by definition requires both talking and listening. If you're not going to listen, that's fine, but then do us all a favor and don't call your aggrandized CEO newsletter a blog.

In his first post, Edelman writes "I want feedback, blunt and quick." Well, now you have some. I tried to speak up, I'd like to think that Edelman will at some point in the future listen up...

Comments

[Adriana Cronin-Lukas]

Agree. I never was taken by his blog - it's no conversation. What I love about the blogosphere is that people like Edelman cannot just jump on the bandwagon. I am reading here about how they handled your comment and that is as important to me as the fact the guy is blogging.

[Michael O'Connor Clarke]

And on a related note...(this is a cheap shot, but I can’t resist it -- I’m just a bad person).

I know it would kind of corrupt the purity of the medium, but shouldn’t someone volunteer to proof-read Richard’s blog posts before they get published?

Or do they perhaps think it's a good thing to be highlighting the apparent fact that the CEO of "the world’s biggest independent PR firm" can’t write...?

Uncharitable of me, I know. I should (and do) welcome Richard to the blogosphere with open arms. But, seriously – Richard – get some freakin' coherence into your posts, fercrissakes.

;-)