It’s only late afternoon and we’ve already got a Thanksgiving mystery. API strategist Ben Metcalfe and former SVP of Marketing for Tesla Motors Plato’s Forms. The duo are intent on “solving the problem of rapid proliferation of misinformation in online media.” Although their recent blog post confirms the company’s $545,000 dollars in new funding, they are keeping mum on product specifics and how they’ll transform media in Spring 2010. In our commitment to truth, justice and better blogging, ReadWriteWeb has a list of issues we hope Plato’s Forms addresses:
1. Timeliness: RSS feeds are by far the most convenient way for writers to get your news, but sometimes we need more info. There’s no doubt that Peter Shankman’s free Help A Reporter service is a fantastic one. However, while this is great when you’ve got at least a day’s lead to write, this is not a useful service for those looking to file within the hour.
2. On Topic: While services like Cision and Burrelles Luce may give you general contact info, they are often mistagged or accompanied by outdated descriptions. This means that relevant pitches get buried between spam and off-topic releases.
3. Personal Space: While many would disagree with me on this, I firmly believe that neither LinkedIn, Facebook nor early Sunday morning phone calls are appropriate for pitching. A great service would allow writers to be responsive while still maintaining a sense of personal space.
4. Accuracy: One of the fantastic things about Mozilla releases is the fact that on any given day you can sit in the project’s IRC and chat with developers in real-time. Candid chat conversation is often a better way to communicate than even telephone simply because it allows for quotes but it doesn’t allow for the injection of buzzwords and nonsensical jargon. Analyst and category chat rooms might help aid us in rounding out stories.
Photo Credit: Mike Licht
