Yutaka Taniyama was a Japanese mathematician who posited a conjecture that eventually helped solve Fermat's last theorem. He committed suicide in 1958, at the age of 31. But in this, the only image available of him online, he looks a lot like any other young man in a dark suit, skinny tie, and plastic framed glasses.
When I started this blog it was not in the hope that people would offer me free stuff (nor is that the case now). It never once crossed my mind that anyone would want to do so. When the offers came in I tended to ignore them, mostly because I knew in good conscience I would then have to write about the product, and I didn't want The Sunday Best to turn into a PR shill regurgitation machine.
When companies I like or even admire started to contact me, my position became a little trickier. These were companies I would have written about anyway, and now they were offering me things that I, to be honest, really wanted. This might have blurred some ethical line, but since it was a line I had created myself I rationalized the blurring.
For one thing, this blog is at least partly about supporting the people and things that I like, and if a company thinks that sending me something will help them then I am not going to argue - except when it doesn't.
Why Most PR to Blogs is a Waste of Time and Money
Recently I was contacted by a PR company to announce a collaboration between Threadless and Gilt, where classic Threadless designs were placed on softer, more "tailored" t-shirts and sold through the Gilt website. I wrote back saying I was a fan of both companies, if not the models' posing, and would be happy to review the shirts.
The wrinkle - the sale went live the next day, and they wanted me to write about it before then. I said I couldn't write about something I hadn't seen, and that I wouldn't simply "report" that the sale was happening. This was all understood before anything was sent.
Enough time passed between this exchange and the shirts arriving that I actually forgot they were being sent. And when they arrived they came with a stated value of $230, meaning duty had been assessed. I had thought I was being sent one or two t-shirts, but they had actually sent 15 of them, the weight and value of the package obviously attracting the notice of Canadian Customs.
I felt genuinely bad that a) I hadn't written about the sale and b) they had sent so many of the shirts. I wrote to the PR company explaining the situation. I haven't heard back from them since.
I'm not trying to take food off anyone's table, or even saying that blog PR can't or doesn't work. But I do think that in its current model it tends to be mostly wasteful. For one thing, it is far too shotgun in its approach. On an average day I'll receive press releases and offers about Miley Cyrus and her choice of jeans at the Teen Choice Awards, mascara that lasts all day long, the perfect handbag for a busy day, and stirrup jeans. Clearly someone is sitting at their computer, firing email after email into the abyss from a generic list of "style" blogs. The return rate on this may justify it to an extent, but, as ad network The Deck will tell you, it's not the number of eyes that matter but the depth of attention.
Since companies seem intent on using PR to contact bloggers, here are a few ways I think they can improve on the process.
1. Hire PR that blog, or at least read the blogs they are contacting.
I know PR mass mailers are probably getting paid by saturation and not hard metrics, so this will take a shift in the entire company-to-PR relationship. Companies - demand a higher level of PR interaction with the media they are engaging. PR - demonstrate the more immersive quality of your PR, and then charge accordingly. Neither of you should be happy with the current state of your PR.
Think of it this way - if you hired someone to buy space in magazines, wouldn't you want those people to actually read those magazines? Shouldn't they, in fact, be aware of a lot of magazines, the better to tailor your product to the reader/ultimate consumer?
2. Write more persuasive emails.
Leaving the actual quality of writing aside for now, most PR email that I receive seems to assume that I will, without prompting beyond the email, be ecstatic to report on whatever is written there. This "hey look, shiny!" approach is exactly what most people don't like about fashion. Dig a little deeper - give me a reason to care about what you're saying. Don't assume that simply putting the label name at the top is enough, especially if you're a new label.
3. Use proper grammar and full sentences.
Nothing is more likely to get me to stop reading than when a writer can't be bothered to trace a verb to its noun or go on and on with sentence or something link to another idea or junk.
4. Don't disappear.
Sometimes I get into a ten response deep interchange with a PR person. We'll reach a point where company information is about to be sent, or some question is about to be answered, and then the PR person will completely disappear. Now, maybe I don't understand the job. Maybe interacting with the people being contacted is not part of the overall package. But maybe, just maybe, it should be (see 1).
I like Threadless and Gilt. The t-shirts are soft and fit well, and the designs look great blown up a little larger. I would have been happy to write about them if I had received them on time. Hell, I'm happy to write about them now. And I didn't even need a PR prompt.
This attractive device is a bag clip. By sliding...something into the bag and clipping another something onto that thing...and then something else, it seals the bag. FOREVER. Or until you open it.
Too industrial looking for you? Then perhaps you might interested in these OXO brand multi-colour bag fastening devices. In fact, whatever your bag closing needs, there is a clip/device to match your lifestyle. More than seems possible.
This is a binder clip. You can buy 60 of them for $4. If you, at any time, have more than 60 open bags that need closing you've opened too many bags. They are stronger than any clip you'll buy specifically designed for that purpose, and they're made out of metal, not plastic, so they'll last forever. You can buy this one box of clips and never need to buy another clip again.
So why do we continue to make thousands of shiny plastic versions that don't work as well when these rugged metal versions are just sitting there holding bills together?
Disposable razors. Plastic shopping bags. New phone every six months. Non-refillable pens. Shoes where you can't replace the soles. Jackets you can't patch, jeans you can't mend, socks you can't darn. We call the alternatives to these trends, things made with metal and cloth and leather and wool. People are being mocked because they want shoes that don't fall apart and a coat that will hold a patch. We created the former as lighter, more easily shipped, cheaper versions of the latter. And yet...
60 for $4 versus 7 for $10. Seems simple to me.
Patrick Stewart, a true gentleman.
Here he writes about growing up with domestic violence:
I knew exactly when the shouting was done and a hand was about to be raised – I also knew exactly when to insert a small body between the fist and her face, a skill no child should ever have to learn.
Protect the women you love - always the right thing to do.
One day, son, if you ask a girl to marry you, she may get you such a watch.
(As seen on Put This On. As given by Charlie.)
Trends come and go but style, so they say, persists. So while 60's style is definitely at the peak of trending right now, that alone doesn't explain why pictures of Steve McQueen resonate so loudly. He looked cool then, he looks cool now, and chances are 100 years on people will come across these photos and know, implicitly, that this was a stylish man.
It's popular, for obvious reasons, to declare things dead, or to label new products the "X" killer. Sites need content, people like stories, and there's no more compelling story than death. But in our rush to always hand out crowns to the next contender we can forget, or at least deny, that popularity alone does not speak to quality...or, for that matter, the lack of it. Every time a trend gets elevated to ubiquitous heights there's a sniper or two waiting in the wings, ready to take it down for having the gall of becoming popular. In this crazy pendulum of public opinion something can go from ignored to beloved to scorned, all the way back to beloved again through the powerful lens of nostalgia.
Minimalist Swiss design has been having a bit of a hey day right now, with the predictable backlash and shouts of elitism. But take a look at this Braun radio, designed by Dieter Rams.
Imagine, given the limitations of technology at the time, trying to improve upon it. In fact, I would argue that a digital display is not an improvement for a radio - where you need to select along a scale, a dial, that allows an easy movement from the beginning to the end, is superior to directional buttons. Yes, it's very trendy to like this sort of thing right now, but does that make it any less of what it is?
- The Sony Whatchamacallit 5000-Q
Converse Chuck Taylor
Converse has fallen prey to the as many collaborations, all the time bug, but all the bedazzling and shit colour schemes in the world can't ruin something so perfect.
While many casual shoes do serviceable work with your outfit, few outside can improve on simply wearing Chucks. Conversely (hah!) you will probably take your look down by replacing them.
Should have worn Chucks. (Copyright)
The Fedora
This venerable style has gotten a bad rap as of late, appearing on the heads of certified morons.
Before K-Fed ruined the party for everyone, Tom Landry stood on the Cowboy's sideline, the picture of effortless style. You can pick up a copy of his fedora from Miller Hats.
Recent Comments