> I think the only thing I don't fully understsand is if a "media partner" > (honestly, I don't understand what that means) asks to be removed, the > response should be "sorry to see you go; your account has been removed". > Asking why they're asking to be removed makes sense, but only in the context > of "what can we do better?".
Sure we do ... By definition, a Media Partner = Macworld, Macsimum News, etc ... http://prmac.com/agencylist > Michael's perchant for exaggeration is well known, but I think this is a bit > disingenuous, considering information on Michael is dead easy to find > online[1]. > > [1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Arrington I would of never known that given his blatant and disingenuous replies. > So you never actually said any of the things attributed to you/prmac in that > article? Again, he took snippets of my replies, and rolled them up into his blog rant on TC -- deliberately to shape a negative viewpoint of prMac. But this was after I had first contacted him about his posterous blog entry, and not the other way around. > > At any rate, I don't want to belabour this, and I'm definitely not trying to > attack prmac or Ray. That said, it seems that a fair number of people on this > list use prmac's services, and having a more transparent, public explanation > on the prmac site of exactly how these media partnerships work would only help > to clarify prmac's methodology. It's not rocket science. We embrace transparency where it matters. Private info stays private of course. When a media partner opts in to our service, they first must validate back to the server. This is similar to how one would register on a BBS/board, for example. Once they login, they are then able to: 1) Add/Modify/Change extra one-to-one email contacts, or add a pool address. 2) Add/Modify/Change their website address, as well as RSS feed. 3) Add/Modify/Change their website Logo/Brand. 3) Add/Remove Channel Filter(s), as it pertains to their audience. For example, a FileMaker website would choose the "FileMaker" channel, so they would only receive distributions for FileMaker related products/services, and so on. > > So, if we want to talk about specifics, here's a few things I'm curious about: > > * What exactly is a media partner? How does an organization, like, MacLife > magazine, or Macworld get that designation? Is it really just the radio button > in the sign up form? Explained above. :-) > * Is there any safeguards in place to verify that someone adding an external > email address is actually that person? Do you sent out verification emails > before accounts become active, or are they immediately active? Yes. Validation back to the server. The ONLY way we would ever send distributions to a Media Partner is by them opting in to our service first. And those are vetted (ie: you must demonstrate that you're a news source for the Apple, Mac. iPhone, iPod, iPad markets, or serve a beat for the same. > * Is there a clearly labelled way for someone to opt out of all future email > included in the prmac emails that are sent out, and also in the account > system? Yes. They can easily: 1) Reply to the distribution directly 2) Contact us using our contact form 3) Opt Out by logging into their account 4) Write me directly. Most all media partners know me personally This is really part and parcel of what we have had available for years now. It's never been any state secret about what our service offers. It is also important to mention that we have *never* had any episodes of the same nature we have had with TechCrunch (obviously, a fluke if you want my opinion). Most WANT to receive distributions from us, because prMac is in a very niched market. In over 3 years of operation, there have been only 5 sources that wanted to opt out, and of those they simply wrote me directly. We have more than made that up in new sources who have opted in. And of those who opted out, chose to use our RSS feed instead. So they're still getting access, albeit definitely not as good as what it would be if they were registered. > > I think questions like these are important to ask. prmac is, as far as I know, > the only mac-specific service that handles what is basically a subscription > email service. That is not true. Our customers register to prMac because they get results. We charge a very inexpensive single fee, per release that is issued via our service (ie: it is not subscription based). The difference is that our media partners know and understand our format. We embrace and adhere to the press release format empirically. There are also features which enhance distribution(s), so journalists like our format very much. In fact, aside from the content, it's one of the very reasons which have helped make our customers successful. > As an industry, it's important that we self-police how these > types of communications are handled, because ultimately abuse of these > channels harms everyone who wants to use them. The way prMac is set up is by no accident. When implementing prMac, I spent a lot of time sorting out what both our potential customers wanted (to get published), as well as what the media (ie: journalists) needed to help make it easier for everyone. We wanted to level the playing field to make it easy for everyone to have the same access to the media as the larger companies heretofore had. I believe that our customers feel this way too. :-) http://prmac.com/testimonials I hope this helps, and assuages any concerns anyone would have about prMac. However if I've failed to clarify anything, by all means please contact me off list. I believe this thread is getting well beyond the purpose of MacSB, so please accept my apologizes. Ray Barber CEO / Director of Operations MacScripter, LLC | macscripter.net
