When did common sense become the pleasant surprise of PR?

close-up of a boy making a faceYes, common sense! What we should really take for granted is becoming as rare as miracles. People are so hasty in pushing their own agenda that there’s no time for courtesy, for being nice instead of completely selfish and oblivious of the fact you’re addressing a human being.

Never mind the poor texts sent through email, blog comments and all other channels. Never mind the “what’s in it for me part”! That’s a whole other level of refinement. I really mean the basics of social interaction. Like saying hello, using someone’s name, saying thank you and goodbye. Yes, I am talking about making that other person feel a bit more valuable than just a blog name and an email address you’ve just ticked on a long xls file.

This is becoming so rare, it scares me. OK, you have no time to look for my name, although you can see it on every post I publish. I get the pressure of long to-do lists. But use a ” Hello” or a “Hi” or just “Good morning”! Thank me for allotting 5 minutes of my time to your email or message, then drop a copy/paste line such as “Best regards” or “Have a great afternoon!”.

Either PR people lack all common courtesy skills, or they think bloggers are vane, sub-human creatures that don’t need hellos, but need their ego-boosting pat on the back. Something like saying you chose them because they rank well on some fairly popular site. By the way, try to use a site they actually show up as top dogs on!

I tend to believe it’s the first theory, because such thoughtless messages are also sent to journalists, business partners, customers and whoever else they might come in contact with, not just to bloggers! I understand the fast-paced, Internet-bound world we’re living in has turned us into creatures talking in text message and instant messaging slang. But even on Twitter and messenger we stop to say hello!

Let’s return to the basics! Let’s be nice and thoughtful, act like human beings and have a tidbit of common sense! It’s good PR :)

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This post has 4 comments

  • Deb S

    I’ve experienced the same thing. So I’m not imagining things when I see a lack of courtesy. I hope the perpetrators clean up their act! :-)
    Deb S´s last blog ..Do we need a national broadband plan? My ComLuv Profile

  • Alina Popescu

    Deb, we’re definitely not imagining it. I just hope we get to see less and less of it, so that we can think back and wonder if we were imagining it in the first place :)

  • Karen Swim

    Alina, *sigh* sad but true. I laughed as I recognized the bad behavior but also shook my head with you that there has been a loss of the basics. You do not have to be superstar professional to follow the basic rules of etiquette. Yet, this pervasive trend is not confined to PR professionals but seems to be the new norm for our culture. In addition to what you mentioned I get “hit and run” pitches where people do not even bother to follow up. Guess how special that makes me feel.

  • Alina Popescu

    Karen, I know exactly how you feel. I actually got pitch, replied and never heard back :) Twice from the same person :) ) On the same issue…That was lovely!

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