Blogg off?

Preparation is key to doing a good interview. In my media training courses I point out that so often people will devote a day to preparing for a presentation to ten colleagues - but when they're about to do a media interview which will mean talking not to ten but to tens of thousands of people, they often just dive straight in.

But these days, part of this this preparation is increasingly about Googling your organisation, the subject matter, the product you're discussing and even yourself. This will soon reveal how the world sees what you're going to talk about and what they know of it. Blogs and social networks are an increasingly important way in which people receive information these days and if you're doing an interview you need to know what they're saying about the subject matter of that interview. Checking out Twitter is also very important before you start an interview.

Increasingly large corporations are setting up dedicated social network or community units within their PR departments. Take brewer Molson Molson Canada. Last December, it sent 10,000 cans of beer to Canadian troops serving around the world. But rather than issue a press release or even contact journalists with the story, the PR activity around this clever stunt focussed solely in blogging. Soon seven other Canadian bloggers followed up the story, spreading it in a way that gave it more credibility than a conventional media compaign could.

Googling, Twittering and reading blogs and social network references is an important part of your preparation - not least because the chances are that the journalist who is going to interview you will also be doing exactly the same thing.