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Oh, lordy.

"...self service publicity engine..."

*headdesk*

Looks like vaporware to me.

Yikes. What have I been going to school for all this time? All I needed was PR Genie? Inbox wisdom strikes again. Thanks for sharing this, Todd.

I kind of have mixed reactions when I see garbage, er, I mean stuff like this.

I haven't checked out MyPRGenie, but it seems like the PR Stores that have popped up around the country (including good ol' Toledo, Ohio!).

On one hand, stuff like this belittles and insults the genuine skills and counsel that go into solid public relations work.

On the other hand, companies who will use these services likely are "cheap" anyways, and would never think of seeking out an agency. If they do, they'd be very high-maintenance clients.

However, it does open up avenues of PR to those who may go it alone -- and really screw up or look foolish. Hopefully, services like MyPRGenie offer some level of education for its own clients.

Education that will eventually get them to understand the real value of a solid PR firm.

And, on the third hand (yes, I've come up with a 3rd point in this), it does nothing to help journalists' views of PR when they get spammed by garbage like this.
-- Mike

Mike - Your 3rd point ("...it does nothing to help journalists' views of PR when they get spammed by garbage like this.") is the one that worries me.

Hey Todd,

Thanks for this.

Something that has seemed to bother me lately is that the PR industry doesn't do enough to try to separate "Public Relations" from "publicity".

There is a real difference between a Public Relations professional and a Publicist and what they REALLY do.

To often the media will through something in a magazine or a post that something was PR Stunt vs. a Publicity stunt. It's true that not all PR people are created equally. There are some people who think that PR and publicity are one in the same. There are others - like myself - who see a real big difference in the approach and the profession.

There are great Public Relations Professionals out there, and there are some really great Publicists out there - but very rarely will you see a PR Professional or a Publicist say that they are the other.

This ad is about companies that want publicity - it even says so, shouldn't it be called: mypublicitygenie.com??

Or MySpamGenie would work too.

- Michael Pranikoff

I saw the same spam email (smail ?) and had the same reaction. I actually dug around on their website, and it gets worse. They claim to offer most of the same "features" as agencies ... and point out that press releases are key to any PR strategy.

Forget what this says to journalists about PR "getting" social media. Think about what this says to the thousands of companies who now understand that PR can/should be a strategic component of their plans.

More and more, we're getting a seat at the table early on, and I worry that the Internet will make it too easy for hacks like this to make a quick buck from startups on a shoestring budget. The sad thing is, those same companies will end up spending more with an agency to undo the damage this spamming approach causes.

~Kari

This stuff used to get me worked up, but for me (and I presume Todd and many of my fellow commenters here), worrying about My PR Genie is like a surgeon worrying about a mother with tweezers.

Oh great -- now anyone can rub one out.

Todd:

As a student of PR at Kent State University, I’m often on the receiving end of this message: publicity is just one aspect of the business. It’s a lesson that individuals without a background in public relations, advertising, or marketing may not have learned. Unfortunately, individuals that use MyPRGenie may never learn they are missing out on the talent and services that PR professionals provide.

If MyPRGenie amounts to sending spam out to publics (and it certainly appears to on the surface), it is a recipe for disaster. The application – I don’t dare call it a service – is likely to fall short of a client’s wishes (do they get three?).

If a client rubs the virtual lamp more often, will they be met with greater success? Does spending more, sending more really equate with ROI (not likely)? Like most online Web sites, the folks behind the scenes at MyPRGenie probably require a password to unlock “the magic of publicity.” I wonder if “open sesame” works. Never mind, that is just another fairytale.

Noah