Embargo Zone : we don’t break the news…
Embargo Zone is a site (blog) clearinghouse that I set up due to the fun time we all had this week reading Mike’s go to hell and I mean you rant. I also read CenterNetworks follow up and the very groovy eco friendly RWW spin on the topic.
Now I know there are a ton of sites like PR Newswire, Business Wire, and your momma’s personal blog that all have the news. No big deal, but I also know that when you are pitched left and right by PR and startups – a lot of places get zero coverage. Maybe not zero, but so little that it never even blips the radar screen.
With that in mind, I went ahead and set up Embargo Zone. It’s not going to be like this blog, or any of the major blogs where you read the opinions of Stern, Arrington, Kirkpatrick, Perez, Marshall, Eldon, Om, etc. It’s going to be more like a second chance for those PR pitches that don’t quite cut it with the prime time bloggers.
Oh and with it being called Embargo Zone, there is no need for it to be “embargoed” PR. It can be release it when you can PR, or the “Hey, no one will write about this company, please post this so that it gets some online traction!” But to that point, if it is embargoed news, that embargo will be honored, please read the how to or about page to learn more.
What good does this really do for the overall news online? Well the biggest thing I kept reading the other day from the PR side of things was that coverage is the main thing. Why not put it all in one convenient place for everyone to read? Remember, not all blogs like your momma’s personal blog are privy to the press release. Why not get momma’s opinion on the subject?
I say the more coverage a company can get, as well as the more opinions on a topic or release is well justified. Our current situation as well stated the other day is that news has changed big time in 2008. The only way that it really will change is to level the playing field a bit by giving everyone with an opinion the chance to write about the company or service without the already prejudiced opinions of the top writers.
Only when the coverage is more even and everyone isn’t just linking back to what the big dogs wrote, will there be real news that matters. If your momma writes about a new service or site off of the press release vs what the big dogs post first, that will give a new point of view on the company or service. Right now, your momma writes based off of someone’s already jaded opinion. There is nothing new once the big dogs write about it; rarely do you see them link to a major blog and say, “Oh btw, Allen is full of sh*t but I thought I would provide him a link back to his blog!”
In the end, Embargo Zone is not here to compete with the great writers. That isn’t the point. Clearinghouse is all that the ‘zone is going to be. I even thought of doing some t-shirts – but damn Auto Zone to hell for taking the catch phrase – “Get in the ‘Zone!” Have no fear, if I do a t-shirt, it will rock no matter if the AZ already has that one locked up tight.
Technically Speaking, you can follow the feed for Embargo Zone – it might be worth your momma’s time if nothing else! If you’d like to learn more, check out the welcome post or the about page.
If you are a PR type that hasn’t heard of us (and you probably haven’t yet!) – you can start sending your PR, news, etc – right to tips [at] embargozone [dot] com – please read the about page or the first post!
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