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It is possible for people to be good at self promotion without needing a PR agency. Some people have the hubris to put themselves out there, and are skillful en

by bigdubs 10y ago

It is possible for people to be good at self promotion without needing a PR agency. Some people have the hubris to put themselves out there, and are skillful enough to be successful at it. Not everyone is like that, and we do dole a great deal of praise and attention to good self promoters, but no reason to be resentful of it or ascribe it to a paid professional service. It's a skill like anything else.

sheepleherd 10y ago
you're right, but that's Steve Jobs you're talking about. In contrast, Andreesen spent many years after Netscape in wealthy obscurity which makes me doubt his innate PR tendencies. Speaking of the power of PR (whether innate or professional), take a look at this bit of Jobs-inalia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNeXlJW70KQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNeXlJW70KQ nothing Steve says in that piece is at all remarkable or prescient, nor was it at the time. Jobs had a great promotional ability, and a great leadership ability, he was a great man, but I'm deeply doubtful about the insight everybody credits him with.
- CharlesW 10y ago
  > you're right, but that's Steve Jobs you're talking about. Steve Jobs had many talents, but what I think people don't appreciate is that Steve worked very closely with his PR people. Most recently he'd worked closely with Katie Cotton for decades, from Apple's 90s "fat Elvis" years to its resurgence. If you've never worked closely with PR folks, it's largely a "boots on the ground" exercise. Yes, there's the "vision stuff" and the storytelling, and part of what they do is help get that messaging across in consistent and interesting ways. But much of it is long-term network and relationship building that the PR person leverages in short bursts — product launches, damage control, etc. It's an interesting and tricky job, and people who can do it well make for great allies.

by bigdubs 10y ago

sheepleherd 10y ago

you're right, but that's Steve Jobs you're talking about. In contrast, Andreesen spent many years after Netscape in wealthy obscurity which makes me doubt his innate PR tendencies. Speaking of the power of PR (whether innate or professional), take a look at this bit of Jobs-inalia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNeXlJW70KQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNeXlJW70KQ nothing Steve says in that piece is at all remarkable or prescient, nor was it at the time. Jobs had a great promotional ability, and a great leadership ability, he was a great man, but I'm deeply doubtful about the insight everybody credits him with.

CharlesW 10y ago
> you're right, but that's Steve Jobs you're talking about. Steve Jobs had many talents, but what I think people don't appreciate is that Steve worked very closely with his PR people. Most recently he'd worked closely with Katie Cotton for decades, from Apple's 90s "fat Elvis" years to its resurgence. If you've never worked closely with PR folks, it's largely a "boots on the ground" exercise. Yes, there's the "vision stuff" and the storytelling, and part of what they do is help get that messaging across in consistent and interesting ways. But much of it is long-term network and relationship building that the PR person leverages in short bursts — product launches, damage control, etc. It's an interesting and tricky job, and people who can do it well make for great allies.