The Scoble Effect

One of the big news items among geekier bloggers is that that Robert Scoble is leaving Microsoft to join PodTech. The reason this is important in Public Relations is that his powerful presence in the bloggersphere has been a real lesson for Public Relations practice.

The right person, right media and right time and above all a frank relationship with readers and internal publics has given him iconic status at Microsoft among its customers and especially among the many Microsoft opinion formers.

Compared to other organisations, this approach has given Microsoft access to market influencers and protected it against restrictive regulators to an extra-ordinary extent.

A more complete explanation (and communication theory) of the Scoble effect is available here.