I vividly recall sitting in our San Francisco office, 3 years ago today, discussing with my friend & colleague, Parry Headrick, whether or not I should get on-board with “this blogging stuff.”

He was an advocate.  “This is the future.  This can be our voice.  Maybe it won’t pan out, but it’s worth a shot.”

I was not convinced.  I could rattle off 10–or-so ideas for blog posts, but then quickly ran out of steam.  “Let’s say I post those 10 ideas – at a rate of at least 2 posts per week, this blog will be dead in about a month.”

Parry knew better.  As one of the handful of people who was forced to hear me whirl through a dozen whacko ideas a day (and who could also contribute his fair share), he had a good feeling I’d “come up with something.”  Thanks, Parry.  You were right.

So here we are, 3 years later. 

The Social Media News Release is an on-going topic of interest.  The PR 2.0 stuff overall continues to gain steam: in fact, it’s now woven into virtually every program at our agency, and most other firms & inside marketers are also wading in.  This blog has proven to be fairly popular.  (It is also now a significant contributor to our sales funnel; it is commonly referenced by prospects.  Yet another validation that “blogging is good for business.”)

Most importantly, I’ve made a lot of new friends.  These are folks who I rarely (if ever!) see or speak with “live.”  And even then, it’s usually at a conference.  But I still count them as friends.  We communicate with each other; we read and ponder each other’s deep-thoughts about our industry; we argue; we tease; we joke; we support and applaud each other; we circle around the occassional business-plan together.  Every time any one of these people reach out to me, whether through the blog, Twitter, or email, I am genuinely delighted.  That makes ‘em friends, in my book.

Working on PR-Squared has been inspirational to me.  This blog thrust me down the Social Media path, even as that path was first being hacked through the impenetrable weeds of the “1.0 Era.”  It’s been a journey of discovery that rekindled a belief that we PR pros are capable of greatness.  And that’s a feeling that comes from interacting with great people.

Thanks, all.  Really.

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