PR Squared: Seek Out Failure -- Make Omelets

PR people can be such perfectionists. It's our nature; we are service-oriented. And we have a big job: we're the standard-bearers for other people's reputations! When something "breaks" in a PR program, it can mean that our clients get the black-eye.

We've gotta get over our fear of failure. The PR 2.0 age requires it. We can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs.

What types of transgressions are "acceptable?" I don't know. The answer is different for everyone. But here are some mistakes that I'd slough off...

You created a publicly-available del.icio.us page that wrongfully implied that we were working for that company? (Better delete it.)
You stopped commenting on the site of an influential blogger who started sending you "kinda' weird" personal emails? (Don't blame ya. Ask a colleague to pick up the strand.)
You elicited a mean-spirited reaction from a blogger? (If your communication was informed, honest & gracious, then that's fixable - or maybe he's just a jerk.)
You forgot to mention on a user-board or blog that you were representing a client? (Go back and fix it.)
You recommended that a client get directly involved in a blog discussion that later went awry? (Good! Let's try to make an omelet out of that!)

See ya in the kitchen.

Tags: blogs, blogger+relations, marketing, pr, public+relations