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Got a note from PRWeb's David McInnis about the news today that BusinessWire will use the PRWeb/Vocus platform for Social Media News Release distribution and Search Engine Optimization.

"Business Wire will use a private label version of Vocus's PRWeb press release distribution platform to provide a new search engine optimized (SEO) and social media distribution service. The partnership will utilize Vocus's proprietary PRWeb press release SEO methods and social media distribution channels to give Business Wire customers maximum visibility on the internet and in social media networks."

First off, kudos to David and his team. This feels like a coup for them. They get to tout BW's reach and leverage BW's reputation, while maintaining their distinct brand and cementing their reputation for innovation in the 2.0 era. BusinessWire can focus on other big-picture stuff that affects their business: the Social Media check-box has been checked-off, via this news. A win-win for both companies.

I was also glad to see BusinessWire get off the stick, not once but twice this week. This past Monday the wire service announced support for XHTML. That's a gobbledygooky way of saying that you can now (finally!) embed hyperlinks in your press release text, include sub-heads, and (hallelujah!) add basic formatting like bold, italics, etc. (I'd point you directly to that release, but BusinessWire's own newsroom unfortunately is set-up so that clicking on one of their press releases spawns a pop-up window, without a distinct URL.)

In other news, I was contacted today by the fella who runs "The Press Release News Network," or PRNN. Among the services and claims:

"We create a flash advertisement with your release. We provide an audio version of your press release with professional voice talent." And, "We will provide your business over 50 times the search engine exposure than any other service in the world."

I am curious if anyone's used these guys? I told the president, Kevin Dill, that I'd be happy to chat with him. I'll report back on that conversation. I admit to being intrigued, but don't know yet if this is a legit operation.

It wasn't that long ago that some Social Media advocates were rubbing their chins, pondering the long-term fate of the wire services (as was I). Seems to me that BusinessWire, PRNewswire, et al., can be as viable as ever, if they continue to push ahead in the Social Media arena. The fact that new entrepreneurs see opportunity in news distribution is a promising sign.

WEEKEND UPDATE (10/1): I asked Dave Armon, the big cheese at PRNewswire, about his reaction to the PRWeb/Businesswire pact, and he gave me permission to use his response here:

"The BW/Vocus deal was expected. Without an SEO solution, BW was at a competitive disadvantage. (PRN has) been enhancing all releases that move on PR Newswire's US1 Newsline with search engine optimization -- at no additional charge -- since 2004. If BW's offering works like ours, the news release issuers ought to be pleased with the longer shelf life and insight into what readers are saying about their news online. All good stuff for our industry."

Tags: prweb, vocus, businesswire, prnn, david+micinnis, xhtml, social+media, public+relations, pr+2.0, social+media+news+release, SEO