The Inside Scoop

PR Newswire's innovative press release kiosks

by Surfdaddy Orca

“Welcome to PR Newswire for Journalists, where you as a member decide what press releases you want to view & when/how you want to view them” says the web site. PR Newswire, headquartered in New York, is the global leader in news and information distribution services for professional communicators.

In Second Life, you might mistake it for a polling booth—and you wouldn’t be far off. The unobtrusive hexagonal kiosk is about the size of a large closet in the latest Bill Stirling prefab. The door says, “Click to Enter.” You’re suddenly standing in a small, tastefully decorated room complete with wall paneling and recessed lighting.

Once inside, you can do what reporters have done over the past century —phone the home office with a scoop. Yes, you too can report the latest news! “Home” is a PR Newswire web form, where avatar Bruce Voight of PR Newswire vets your news for content, and then releases it to the world. Bruce says, “Creativity... at least I think, is an absolute key in this market.”

Scripted by Aimee Weber, the kiosk includes an in-basket for submissions and a colorful divider for press releases.

• Clicking the Submissions Arrow loads a web page requesting your avatar’s First and Last Names along with an email address.
  
  
• Clicking the Press Release Arrow loads a web page with the latest news submissions in date sequence, not unlike digg.com. Clicking a headline brings up a submitted story.

According to www.prnewswire.com, PR Newswire Association LLC was established in 1954. It has offices in 11 countries and routinely sends its customers’ news to outlets in 135 countries and in 40 languages.

PR Newswire content is considered a mainstay among news reporters, investors, and individuals who seek breaking news from the source.

PR Newswire appears to be reaching out to the native Second Life community rather than relying on the reporting of outsiders unfamiliar with the emerging culture and conventions of the emerging virtual world. After all, you have to have an avatar and know your way around Second Life to use a kiosk.

So far, kiosks have been rezzed at Midnight City, Dr. Dobb’s Island, and Gravel (the campaign headquarters for U.S. democratic candidate Mike Gravel).

Want to be a newsmaker? Well, go and write some!

* * *