The week before Labor Day is always a slow news cycle but things must have really been crawling at a snail’s pace for InformationWeek to run this story…

The gist of the story is eighty-seven percent of consumers said they lost respect for businesses after those companies lost customers’ personal information, according to InfoSurv’s survey of 400 consumers. Tablus, a company that provides systems for protecting software, backed the survey and announced the results Tuesday. According to Tablus, respondents’ comments indicated that a loss of personal information equals a loss of business because consumers believe businesses should place a high priority on maintaining trust and the confidentiality of their information. In fact, 96% of respondents said that protecting customers from data breaches should be a company’s highest priority. Ninety-five percent of respondents said there is no excuse for exposing customers’ confidential information, and 93% said that businesses are obligated to protect sensitive content. Ninety-four percent of respondents said if there’s a technology to prevent the loss of confidential and personal information, all businesses should use it.

Why isn’t this news? First, because it’s old news. A simple Google search would have shown this. Also companies such as Forrester Research, Gartner and Protegrity (full disclosure, Protegrity is a BlinnPR client) have been talking about this subject for months now. In fact, Forrester and Protegrity have actually calculated in real dollar amounts what a data breach could cost a company. And lastly, anybody who closely follows security and data breaches knows that at RSA 2006 and 2007 this topic was presented as part of a panel discussion. How do I know? Yes, I was at RSA but I was also a panelist both years.

This isn’t about bashing InformationWeek or being the ultimate arbiter of what they should or should not report on. I’ll leave that up to people who are legends in their own mind.

No, my point is this. We already know data breaches are harmful to a company’s brand. What we really should be concerned with is making data breaches part of a company’s crisis communications plan. I can tell you from first hand knowledge that data breaches are not and they should be.

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It’s extremely rare when we write about BlinnPR or our blog The BlinnPR Report on these pages. In fact, I believe this might be the very first time.

Well I’m happy to announce that The BlinnPR Report is the 405th most influential Media and Marketing Blog in the world according to Ad Age magazine.

Granted, there are 404 more influential blogs but hey at least someone appreciates our biting wit and candor. And unlike those other blogs from PR firms whose only entries are about themselves, almost all of what we say is not about us. How can you beat that?

So drinks all around and three cheers to the 405th most influential Media and Marketing Blog in the world.

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News flash…Fleishman-Hillard establishes animal care practice to grab piece of $41B market. Growth fueled in part by new services such as pet travel, lodging.

How come we only read about PR agencies establishing new “practices”? I think O’Dwyers, PRWeek and the Holmes Report should start asking agencies to announce when they close down these idiotic “practices” because they didn’t generate a ROI.

I bet you can get really creative with the closure announcements too.

BTW, how long do you think it’s going to be before FH shuts this practice down or mergers it with another practice? One month, two maybe a year.

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Ziff Davis Enterprise is looking for two panelists for an upcoming e-seminar on “Virtualization Management.”

The e-seminar will stream live on Wednesday, Sept. 12. They need panelists from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. EDT to comment on the following: how to determine the virtualization options best suited to a business’ needs; which policies and events can cause deployments to spiral out of control; what companies need to know about guest/host relationships and discovery tools; how to stay on top of security and access permissions.

The audience is IT decision-makers and senior business leaders. They are looking for vendor-agnostic analysts, consultants, experts and end users. Please send a bio with inquiry. Contact Charlene O’Hanlon, charlene_o’hanlon (at) ziffdavisenterprise.com.

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According to O’Dwyers, San Francisco-based Spark PR has opened in London. Rachel Bremer heads the unit. The U.K outpost, according to Bremer, gives the firm a “front row seat to the technical innovation coming out of Europe.”

Maybe it’s me, but to get a front row seat shouldn’t your agency have already been in Europe? It’s not as if technical innovation has just started coming out of Europe in the last week or two.

Also, how do we know there are front row seats available? Because Spark PR says so, get a life. I can think of a handful of agencies that have been in Europe a lot longer. And one last thing is anybody curious to know how many seats are actually in the front row 1, 10, or 139?

My point is this. When drafting a quote whether from an agency head or client stop producing drivel and put some effort into the process.

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St. Christopher’s, the Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., not-for-profit providing quality care to children and their families for more than a century, seeks a celebrity “goodwill ambassador” for its 8th Annual Golf Event, Tuesday, Oct. 9, at The Leewood Country Club in Eastchester, N.Y. This ambassador would receive VIP treatment, greet guests, pose for photos, and have the option to participate in event activities including golf, dinner and award ceremonies.

Contact Michael Jefferson, Roher Public Relations, at michaelj (at) roherpr.com by Aug. 31.

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And I mean that in a good way. Not my cynical way of looking at the world either.

Lenore Skenazy, of the New York Sun, is writing a story on “Help, I’m (technologically) stuck in 1998.” I love the title. It definitely caught my attention.

The Profnet query goes like this, “Are you, too? Do you have no idea how to do half the things (like download personalized stamps from the post office) that apparently everyone else finds easier to do than peeling a banana? If so, do you think you’d like a little help? That’s what I’m writing about. I think someone should start offering, “Help, I’m stuck in 1998″ seminars, and go through everything from uploading photos to downloading ringtones. I’m also interested in things like Verizon’s new store, where you can practice downloading music, and Cingular’s class for parents on “how to text message your kids.” I’d love to hear of any other things companies are doing to help those — like me — who are the “Left Behind.”"

If you’re interested in helping Lenore her deadline is 7:00 PM EST today. Her email is lskenazy (at) yahoo.com

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The reason I ask is because I’m reading an article by the technology reporter of a local NYC business publication, and I’m not impressed. Not by the writing, but just the vibe of the story.

After reading the article, I get the impression the reporter didn’t put much effort into writing the story and avoided asking tough questions. That he/she used a cookie cutter approach to writing the article and didn’t push back during interviews.

Unfortunately or fortunately if you’re in PR, I’m seeing this more and more. So I ask you, do reporters, whether it’s a local publication like the one I speak of or the Wall Street Journal, rise to their own level of incompetence?

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This past weekend my wife and I spent some quiet time at our second home in upstate New York. Two and a half hours from New York City, year round mountain views and total privacy. We cannot see or hear our neighbors and they cannot see or hear us. Just the way we like it.

Anyway, I happened to bring some reading material with me including the July 23rd PRWeek to catch up on some industry news. And you know what? Talk about publishing industry rubbish. What was PRWeek’s editorial board thinking when they published Ed Moed’s Op-ed on “Staffing pyramid impedes service?” Did anybody at PRWeek read the piece before printing it?

The premise of the piece is that PR firms get more bang for the buck and clients receive the strategic counsel they are “screaming” for by inverting the staffing pyramid and having mid to entry-level employees participate in the strategic direction of communications programs, thereby producing real ROI and lowering staff attrition rates.

Bullshit. You don’t need to stand a pyramid on its head. What Moed’s firm and other PR firms need to do first is create a corporate culture that thinks outside the box, pushes the envelope and generates new ideas and suggestions from employees no matter where they are on the totem pole. And then they need to get rid of the deadwood that currently exists among staff and replace them with really smart people. Look, if you’re not smarter than me, you’re not good enough to work at BlinnPR. Period. Also, for Christ’s sake pay top dollar for talent. And lastly, avoid the comical bait and switch during the pitching process. It’s an insult to the prospect/client. Top-flight advice from senior level practitioners should be a 365/24/7 amenity for CMOs and/or VP of Communications. No questions asked.

Follow my advice and you won’t have the high turnover rates Moed speaks of or disgruntled clients asking us how BlinnPR can do better.

Anyway, I have other issues with the Op-ed, like the numerous statements Moed made that were not backed up with supporting statistics. But I guess that is what an Op-ed is all about, opinions not facts.

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AlwaysOn has issued a call for nominations to the Open Media 100. They are looking for the top emerging technology companies that are creating new business opportunities in the worlds of media, advertising, marketing, branding, and public relations. Winners will be officially announced in January.

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