Rating: 
Summary: Total disapointment
Review: Great title, great topic, but total disapointment: basic stuff (what is a web site, for instance...), boring (written like a school book), nothing new (no flying ideas, concept, etc.)... I lost money on this one, and still looking for THE great book about PR on the net.
Rating:
Summary: Total disapointment
Review: Great title, great topic, but total disapointment: basic stuff (what is a web site, for instance...), boring (written like a school book), nothing new (no flying ideas, concept, etc.)... I lost money on this one, and still looking for THE great book about PR on the net.
Rating: 
Summary: Sum it up in two words: Not Much!
Review: I can sum up everything that I learned in this book in two words. Not much. It covers common sense things that anyone who has spent any time on the Internet would know. This was written for people who have already worked in public relations but have had practically no experience in using the Internet. It starts with a history of the Internet, then looks at communications and how the Internet has changed them. Part Two is more useful for established public relations practitioners as it covers measurement and audiences. It talks about using the Internet in establishing and maintaining media relations. There was actually one very good section here. In order to use the Internet effectively, you must consider it to be a channel of communications between the PR specialist and the media. The only way to do that is to give the media what they want. Do not send email blindly to journalists and other members of the media unless they have indicated, perhaps at the end of their column, that they welcome email submissions. Always contact them first by telephone to determine if they might be interested in the story that you are promoting. If they are, then you may send them the information via email. Keep it short; no more than two pages. Use excruciatingly good grammar. Be polite and give them information that helps them to do their jobs more easily. As in any part of public relations, establishing contact and credibility with the media is key to your success in getting your story covered. Keep a database of your press releases online so that the media people can find them when they need information. You want your PR people to work with your webmaster while your website is being developed. Other suggestions include that you make sure to have an email contact address at your website that is regularly checked by someone responsible. He recommends the use of newsletters, bulletin boards and chat rooms to pull people onto your site. He also notes that it is difficult to get demographic information on your users and suggests registration to get their contact information and demographics. I personally don't recommend that you use registration for your site when you are just starting out because it will drive users from your site rather than pull them into it. If you are not familiar with the Internet, this book may be useful. If you are a regular user, you may want to find other sources of information on PR on the Internet.
Rating: 
Summary: The Communicator vs IT Staff?
Review: Over all a good book. The author explains new concepts very clearly. I do have a comment about a dichotomy. The author seems to pigeon-hole people into two categories the Communicator and IT Staff. He neglects to mention the graphic artists, multimedia and web developers and programmers who play extremely important roles in public relations. He describes the Communicator stepping into the IT world or IT staff resolving to accomodate every beck and call of the Communicator. The fact that there are millions of people world-wide working in creative/technical fields dealing directly with public relations seems to evade the author completely. Yet there is still a contradiction in the way the author describes IT Staffers as "the printers of the digital, network world" and in the way he describes multimedia as being so much more than print including audio, video and "all forms of interactivity". Do Communicators always have the technical know-how to produce multimedia projects and do IT staff always have the creativity and skills to design relevant communication tools? This is the question the author fails to address in his book. But the book does address a great deal regarding Internet communication fundamentals so long as the reader recognizes the whole spectrum of industry professionals surrounding it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great primer on how to glue the web and PR together
Review: Plenty of ideas and lots of examples splatter each chapter. You need to make sure you don't become gidy with what can be done especially when you start counting up the resources needed.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent on Fundamentals
Review: Public Relations on the Net successfully covers all the basics that pr pros should already know. Neophytes would be well-advised to learn these basics. But, that is where Holtz stops. For learning more advanced methods about pr on the net, I found Guerrilla PR: Wired by Michael Levine to successfully handle the advanced techniques. Holtz's book is not without merit, but if you're in the industry, then it's highly unlikely you'll learn anything new here. Well-written, though.
Rating: 
Summary: Advance Praise!
Review: Shel Holtz has penned the definitive text for online public relations to date. "Public Relations on the Net" is packed with useful strategies and effective tactics that are continuously reinforced in one of the best collections of online PR cases ever assembled. -- James M. Alexander, President, eWatch, Inc., the Internet monitoring company. The Internet is having a profound impact on the practice of public relations. "Public Relations on the Net" explains this new medium in clear, readable prose, and provides PR practitioners with a solid action plan for reaching an organization's strategic audiences. -- Larry Weber, Chairman and CEO, Weber Public Relations Worldwide "Public Relations on the Net" is a useful, comprehensive, and powerful resource for the public relations practitioner who truly wants to be a part of the next wave, the new wave of communication. It provides an important series of practical and tactical benchmarks to help practitioners and agencies determine just where they are today and where they have to be tomorrow. -- James E. Lukaszewsky, APR and Fellow, Public Relations Society of America; international public relations consultant Shel Holtz has written a solid, comprehensive answer to one of the key questions facing public relations and communication managers today: How do we make effective use of the Internet? His recommendations for evaluating the impact of Internet efforts are among the most cogent written to date. Working professionals and students of public relations will find this book invaluable. -- David M. Dozier, Professor of Communication; author of "The Manager's Guide to Excellence in Public Relations and Communications Management Shel Holtz's indispensable treatise offers practical advice to companies that are in the midst of a crisis. PR professionals who master this book will be able to communicate with their stakeholders quickly and effectively. Don't get on the Net without it! -- Daniel Janal, author, "Risky Business: Protect Your Company From Being Stalked, Conned, or Blackmailed on the Web"
Rating: 
Summary: Offers Successful Public Relations Strategies For Online Use
Review: Shel Holtz wrote Public Relations on the Net to promote strategies that will help readers to successfully influence the media, government, business communities, and the general public through online connectivity. This book features a wealth of helpful information that will assist any company, organization, or person to look good before the public. Holtz points out that the Internet can play a significant role in public relations work. This is so true. This book offers readers a full course in developing essential communication skills and sound public relations strategies intended for online use. Holtz covers the basic public relations tools used today - e-mail, e-mail newsletters, discussion groups, and Websites. He lays the necessary groundwork for their effective use. With many companies facing embarrassing situations such as strikes, recalls, work stoppages, plant closures, financial problems, litigation, and about-face actions, saving-face strategies are important and even crucial to the survival of any company. Holtz creatively guides readers through the use of these tools to achieve the maximum possible impact under every imaginable circumstance, good or bad. Readers will be encouraged to learn that any company or organization - large and small alike, are on equal footing online if good public relations campaigns are carried out. Strategies involving writing for the Web, designing Websites, follow-up action, and crisis response efforts will pay off for anyone. For instance, Holtz points out that companies can maintain good public images of themselves by providing links to timely, accurate, and up-to-date information at their Websites. Examples of good public relations work are provided. This book is ideal for companies and organizations who should be concerned about creating and maintaining positive and professional images before the public. Public relations consultants will glean important understanding on how to develop sound media relations skills. The book is highly informative and will benefit any public relations campaign!
Rating:
Summary: Good Primer on Merging Two Worlds
Review: Some books understand the Internet. Others understand public relations. This book is a marriage of the two. Mr. Holtz has written a text accessible to the layperson and to both IT and PR professionals (as difficult as that may be). It's organized well enough that experts in either arena can easily skip the rudimentary parts they already know and go straight to the good stuff. Holtz also takes readers down the path of understanding critical issues that internet hype often overlooks. He points out the paths toward finding online communities and grapevine-level conversations about your organization--crucial information for PR understanding of the environment. He also details the ways Internet-savvy David-sized organizations can wield online communications as a weapon against Goliath-sized companies. A good thing to know, regardless of which side of that fight you may be on. This book is well worth the read for those who desire to gain a stronger understanding of how PR techniques can be adapted to the online arena, as well as what new techniques need to be adopted.
Rating:
Summary: FAIRLY DECENT MIXTURE BUT NOT ENOUGH
Review: This book contains some really neat ideas con how to practice public relations on the net.
The problem is that almost all the information that the book contains are simple and obvious topics that a public relations pro already should know but some how or other the author, Shel Holtz, managed to link them to topics regarding the net.
Read this book definitely wasn't a waist of time but if you work in the public relation field think twice before buying this book; Chances are you already know everything contained in "PUBLIC RELATIONS ON THE NET".
| 
