Opera is experimenting with the next-generation press release
11 CommentsPublished December 8th, 2006 8:49 AM EST By Daniel Goldman
How many of you have noticed the most recent Opera press release (Opera Mini 3.0’s launch)? See anything different?
I didn’t see much talk about it on the blogosphere; perhaps because bloggers don’t read press releases (most don’t, however). But this press release wasn’t the standard “old fashioned” press release; it was the new “social press release”.
The new press release came with videos and images included and was generally geared more toward bloggers. The style it was written in was in plain English, rather than the fancy jargon usually found in traditional press releases. It contained short paragraphs with clear and bolded headers, and lots of bullet points too.
Being a blogger myself, I’m glad to see that Opera has recognized the blogging world, and how it’s changing the traditional media.
If you’ve been reading Opera Watch for some time already, you’ve probably noticed that I don’t link to press releases too often. It’s not just me, that’s the case with most bloggers. Since this social press release was written with bloggers in mind, it was more understandable and as a result more people linked to it in their blogs.
Opera is not the first to come up with the next-generation press release style, but it’s one of the first.
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using
This is the worst ******** since long ago… You’re saying that dumbing down a press release is a fancy new invention, that anyone who happens to blog unquestionably only wants to read dumbed-down English in a bulleted list, and that bloggers will go mad over this revolutionary new “next-generation style”?
Social press release, my arse
using
I agree with Jere
using
Interesting points, Daniel.
Somehow shifting press releases to actually be informing rather than obfuscating would be beneficial and maybe allow press releases to not be ignored and wastes-of-paper/bytes that they usually are.
The multimedia usage is also interesting, but it’s all in the content. Getting Opera videos into the Youtube referring engine is good idea, as well.
using
Just a way for those who aren’t hardcore computer users and/or bloggers to find news that they can understand without having to read some dumbed down blog. It’s news for the general public. It’s not even next-generation in my opinion…just straight and to the point in fewer technical terms. That’s done with stuff everyday. Nothing new.
Besides, I like reading tech information in these releases. The dumbed-down users need to catch up to the information in the releases..not vice versa.
using
Now that you mention it, that press release does look nice. Not that I took the time to read it…
In the past I just neglected those press releases because they were not what I needed to know, blogs or forums did provide the information about the new features and such.
That press release indeed looks more dynamic (PICTURES! OMG)
I’m looking forward more press releases of this type; I might start reading them now.
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kylebaker is right on. There’s nothing wrong with straight and to the point.
Besides, Daniel is just referring to the Guardian article for the terms “next-generation press release” and the like. Don’t shoot the messenger on that.
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Most professional PR people don’t know how to write press releases—the old kind or the new kind.
For that reason, journalists and bloggers hate reading them.
The social media press release makes the entire process easier for everybody.
using
I am a bit bugged here. Those who read the press release are either journalists or fans of the product released, or maybe competitors.
So my point is. If someone is a fan, and owns a blog, and want to write about the newly released product would again write it in his own words in his blog. So why would the blogger care if it was dumbed down or not?
But I do like that it comes with videos and pictures though. Even though it says no where if you can really use it in your blog or not. Just the standard copy right declaration. Though it might be “obvious” to marketing people that you are allowed since it is a press release, but then again. I am not a journalist nor doing any sort of marketing, I only do blogging. So was it a so smart way of doing a press release in the end when I couldn’t find this out by my self?…;)
using
I think both should be done. A standard press release for conveying the information, and the “new type”. I found the videos published are very well suited showing off the new features that are offered. By reading a normal press release, you may not want to go ahead and check it out. If you are really shown how it works, this is much better.
But I’d put the videos on Opera’s homepage, and give the opportunity to fans to e.g. upload them to youtube or whatever. In other words: give fodder to bloggers but don’t do their work for them.
using
There’s a reason why I love reading most of Googleblog. It’s fun to read, short, and easy to understand. Opera’s making a transition over from the old traditional Press Release, to the new, creative, enthusiastic Press Release. Thanks.
using
The new press release is very cool.
It really gets you more excited about the product if there are more visual cues and easy to read points.
Compare this to the previous press releases and see the difference:
http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2005/08/10/
There used to be just a lot of text and the style was kinda dry.