Paul Ryburn's Journal

Another question asked at the PR luncheon I attended last Wednesday was, “Do you allow people to post anonymous comments on your blog?” I didn’t get to answer that one in the interests of time, so I thought I’d answer it here.

I keep the comments feature on my blog turned off.  I’m in the minority of the bloggers who do this, although I’m by no means alone.  For example, Seth Godin, who writes what is possibly the most widely-read blog on the Web, keeps comments turned off too.  Here are the reasons I don’t enable the comments feature:

1) To protect the people I know. By continuing to write a blog that has gotten so popular, I’m consciously making the choice to put myself out there, to open myself up to public scrutiny.  However, even though this blog has kind of become an unofficial Downtown Memphis blog, it’s still my personal journal as well, and I write about people I know.  I feel it’s kind of my duty to protect them as I write about them.  Whether I write about good friends like Mikey the Camera Nazi or the Nuh-Uh Girl, or people I don’t always see eye to eye with like MegHanZilla from Big Foot or bartender Brittney from the Saucer, I don’t want to provide a public forum where people can post details of their lives that they’d prefer to remain private.  When I write about people, I know how far is too far and am careful not to cross that line, but I can’t be sure anonymous commenters will do the same.

2) Because I hate racism. Read the comments on Commercial Appeal stories or Thaddeus Matthews’ blog, and you’ll get an idea why I’m not fond of comments on my own blog.  In this polarized city, discussion of any controversial news story – be it crime or politics or whatever – inevitably turns to race.  People have the right under the First Amendment to express racism and prejudice, I suppose, but I’m under no obligation to provide space on the Web for them to do it.

Surely the discussion on panhandling would have drawn a lot of racist comments, if I had allowed them on my blog.  However, it became clear that discussion on that issue was needed, so a friend and I started a forum, separate from my blog, where discussion was carefully controlled in order to keep it constructive.  A lot has been done about the panhandling problem as a result.

3) I don’t have time to deal with comments. I haven’t checked my tracker in about a week, but the last time I did, I saw that a week ago Tuesday was an all-time high, with 1,795 views in one day, counting RSS readers.  I worry that if I turned comments on, it would take an hour of my day or more to moderate them, to get rid of the inevitable comment spam, and to respond to those that needed a response.  It’s just not the best use of my time, time that I could otherwise spend building websites or going out and finding new information to blog about.

4) I want to keep control over what events get mentioned. In the roundtable Wednesday I described the blog as a “clearinghouse for information about Downtown,” but I don’t want to mention everything.  I don’t want people getting on here and cluttering the blog with events in Cordova that aren’t relevant to Downtowners.  I don’t want people getting on here and promoting causes I don’t support (such as Young Republicans, or far worse, that awful white supremacist conference that was in town last weekend).  I don’t want businesses that are known for lousy customer service to get on here and promote themselves.  I put my e-mail address on the blog, and if people want events mentioned, they can get in touch with me and I’ll make the call whether or not to post them.

It’s true that many people (including my co-panelists Wednesday) see a blog as a conversation between the blogger and the readers.  To some extent, I lose that aspect of the blog by keeping comments turned off.  However, I don’t think I lose it entirely – many of my readers e-mail me, and I e-mail back, and have become good friends with many readers over the years.  They’ve provided a lot of useful information that has added value to the blog – it’s just that, as I stated above, I want to maintain control over what information actually goes on there.

In summary, it’s a personal decision.  It just feels right.  There are lots of local bloggers who do enable the comments feature, and even allow anonymous comments, and I have great respect for them for doing so.  It’s just my own personal decision that this blog will run more smoothly with the comments off.

More answers questions from the PR roundtable to come.

Still sitting here at the Second Street branch office, trying to sort out a consulting job I’m doing.  Word of advice for anyone looking to start a website:  Do not use Network Solutions as your webhost.  Good Lord, they are a pain in the butt compared to GoDaddy.

But anyway, let’s get to the point of this post:  They just installed Schlafly APA on tap here.  Here’s a description of the beer from Schlafly’s website:

An American Pale Ale with a hearty dose of hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. We add hops directly into the finished beer to boost the fresh, fruity flavor and aroma of American hops.

ABV:5.9%
IBU: 50

Schlafly is a St.Louis brewery.  Haven’t tried the APA yet, and won’t today, considering that my favorite beer is on Fire Sale.

I’ve been reading this article on the chances dwindling for a bailout of the U.S. auto industry before Obama and the new Congress take office in January.  Republicans are blocking efforts for financial assistance.  Without aid before January, it’s possible that one or more of the Big Three automakers (particularly, GM) may fail.

I think the Republicans are right.  Let them fail.

“The financial straits that the Big Three find themselves in is not the product of our current economic downturn, but instead is the legacy of the uncompetitive structure of its manufacturing and labor force,” Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby said in a statement. “The financial situation facing the Big Three is not a national problem but their problem.”

Exactly.  They created this mess.  While Toyota was busy designing the Prius, GM was putting all its efforts behind big, gas-guzzling SUVs like the Chevy Avalanche and the Yukon XL.  Vehicles that now, nobody wants.  Too bad.  GM made a decision and it turned out to be the wrong one.  Make bad decisions, suffer the consequences.  They don’t deserve to be bailed out.

My suggestion is, instead of giving $25 billion to the car companies, spend $25 billion to create a WPA-style program that will employ the people who are affected by GM’s failure.  Put people to work building infrastructure, working on initiatives to improve the environment’s health, educating our children.  There’s a lot that needs to be fixed in this country other than the auto industry.  Here’s a chance to fix a lot of it, and at the same time provide for those who will lose their jobs.

The Fire Sale at the Flying Saucer, meaning the beer that is put on a discount price of $2.75 per draft pint, was scheduled to be Abita Turbo Dog today.  For those of you unfamiliar with Turbo Dog’s taste, go to the Memphis Zoo and ask for a sample of rhinoceros urine, and you’ll have a pretty close approximation.  It’s been on Fire Sale twice in the past two weeks already.

However, the day manager came in, saw Turbo Dog on the schedule, and said, “Oh, hell, no,” realizing that the Saucer would be the featured topic in my blog this afternoon, and not in a good way.  He changed the Fire Sale to something else.

The new Fire Sale?  Dos Equis Special Lager.

Revised plans for this afternoon:  I have to do a WordPress installation for a consulting client, but I’ll now be doing it from the Saucer while I sip Dos Equis Lager.  About 5, I’ll take the laptop home (earlier if it looks like rain), and come back up to the Saucer to enjoy some more Dos Equis Lager with the happy hour crowd.  Later this evening, I’ll see how much Dos Equis Lager it takes to tolerate the douchebags who show up on Friday nights.  I’ll likely stay at the Saucer drinking Dos Equis Lager no later than 2 AM, because they close at 2 AM.  If I’m still standing at that point, maybe I’ll top off the night with a PBR at Bardog.

If you want to thank me for influencing the Saucer to choose a Fire Sale that doesn’t taste like sewage, you can always click on my www.Buy-Paul-a-Beer.net website and leave a PayPal donation.  I think I’ve earned it today.

One of my readers sent this in yesterday.  I asked permission to post it because it contains lots of good info for sweet tea vodka fans:

I am a regular reader of your blog, and I moved out to Charleston from Memphis six months ago.  Sweet tea vodka is huge out there.  It’s now the number one selling flavored vodka in South Carolina and a huge favorite in summertime.  Here’s the proper way to mix it: equal parts sweet tea vodka and water, a generous wedge of lemon, and a sprig of mint.  The Charlestonians have even altered the Arnold Palmer (half lemonade, half sweet tea) into a John Daly version (obviously substituting the sweet tea for the vodka version).  It’s a great “roadie” drink.  Charleston recently started enforcing its public drinking laws, so whenever I’m walking downtown I mix a sweet tea vodka and water in a solo cup.  No cop can tell the difference.  Enjoy.

If you e-mailed me yesterday or this morning, I apologize if it takes me a little while to get back to you… I have 74 unread messages in my Inbox plus another 6 or 7 starred for follow-up.  The good news is, many of the e-mails are automatic notification that someone bought something from one of my websites.  Yay!  Just now someone bought some cubicle action figures.

Restaurant.com has a new promotion good through Monday, November 17.  Enter coupon code DESSERT at checkout to get 70% off.  That means $25 face-value certificates, which normally sell for $10, are $3 with the coupon code.  The discount is also good on their Dinner of the Month Club, which would make a good Christmas present if you know someone who dines out a lot.

The fire at the Holiday Inn Select was brought under control quickly, although fire trucks were still pulling up 40 minutes later (I can see the hotel out my window, although I never saw smoke or fire).  I’ve heard conflicting reports that it was a fire on the second floor of the parking garage, and that it was an electrical fire in a fourth-floor laundry room.

A new coffee shop, Harbor Town Coffee, opens today on Mud Island.  They’ll have a grand opening from 5 to 10:30 PM with free coffee, eats, and live music.  Free food… wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up?  They sell fair-trade coffee and eco-friendly products.

Also, Lansky 126 in the Peabody is having a party from 5 to 9 tonight to celebrate their expansion.  Free wine, music by DJ Tree.

The finals of the 2008 Amateur Salsa Competition are tonight at 8 PM at the Rumba Room.  You can watch finalists compete for $1000 in cash.

Looks like Pam and Terry have found a new home at the Tap Room… they’ll be playing there tomorrow evening from 7 to 11.

All right… got a ton to do, so I’m outta here for now.  Look for some more new website announcements soon.  I also got a great e-mail about sweet tea vodka, and will do a post about it as soon as I get permission from the person who sent it.

There’s a 2-alarm fire at the Holiday Inn Select on Union, across from the Peabody, that firefighters are fighting right now.

The debut screening of Getwell, a documentary about the Church Health Center, is set for 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at Germantown Performing Arts Centre (GPAC). The film, which will run from 7 to 8:15 p.m. with a reception to follow, is free and open to the public.  The film begins with the 2005 TennCare cuts, forcing 171,000 people off the rolls and dramatically increasing the number of people coming to the Church Health Center.  The film also goes into a lot of depth about the Health Center’s founding.  Check out their website to find out more about this great organization.  It was great meeting some of their team at the PR luncheon yesterday, and I look forward to taking a tour of the facility soon.

Memphis Area Legal Services will hold their first fundraiser tonight ar Bardog Tavern from 5 to 8 PM.  Give a suggested donation of $10 to MALS and get complimentary cocktails.  More info about what MALS does here.

I’ve had some replies to my Firefly Sweet Tea vodka question.  In Midtown, Old Zinnie’s and the Blue Monkey carry the vodka.  That means the Downtown Monkey likely does too.  Itta Bena had it at one point, not sure if they still do.  My favorite blogger/MILF texted me that East End on 64 out in East Bumblefuck serves the sweet tea vodka as well.

The Memphis Holiday Parade moves to the South Main area this year.  It will happen the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 28, at 5 PM.  The parade will start at St. Paul and run north to Huling.  Before the parade, there will be a Make-A-Wish fundraiser sponsored by FM100 and WRVR 104.5.  After the parade will be the monthly trolley tour, called the South Main Jolly Trolly Night for this month, with galleries and shops open serving egg nog and other goodies.  MATA will offer 25 cent shuttles from Main Street at Peabody Place to the parade location from 3 to 7 PM that day.  Visit the Downtown Memphis holiday page for more details.

Whew.  I think I’m finally caught up now.  And hungry.  I think it’s time to walk down to Court House Deli for a mushroom swiss burger.  That probably is not on the list of approved foods my health guru AL is creating for me, but, oh well.

I went to the MPACT Memphis happy hour at Mollie Fontaine Lounge last night, and had a really good time.  MPACT seems to be getting back to being a fun, social organization, much like the MPACT I remember from 2002-2004 when I was most active.  I’m going to have to start attending more events.  I can’t make the wine tasting at Memphis Heritage tonight, but I’ll check their calendar and see what’s coming up… hmmm, there’s a Lunch Bunch at the Rendezvous on Friday, December 5.  Maybe I’ll attend that one.

Ground Zero is hosting a tribute Saturday night in honor of the late soul musician O.V. Wright.  See below for details:

Go to ovwright.org for more.  The event will launch a new non-profit called The Soul of Memphis, which will undertake projects like this one.

Question from a reader:  Is there a bar in Memphis that serves Firefly Sweet Tea vodka?  He can’t find it anywhere.  My guess would be that there is a bar somewhere in Memphis that serves it, and it probably isn’t Downtown.  Can anyone help?  E-mail me at paul@paulryburn.com if you can help.

I’m pleased to announce that Bardog Tavern has Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap.  It was definitely missed for several days this weekend.  Also, if you’re a fan of the Ghost River beers sold at the Saucer (Hefeweizen, Pale Ale, Brown Ale), there’s a fourth Ghost River offering on tap at Bardog, Ghost River Golden Ale.  I believe they’re selling it for $4.

All right.  Time to get started.  I’ve been invited to a Downtown Safety Task Force meeting this afternoon, so I guess I better wash my “NO BUMS” T-shirt so I have something to wear.  I’m about 50-50 on whether I’ll attend trivia with Pete the Trivia Guy and Mikey tonight at Jillian’s (7 PM, $2 Bud and Bud Light, $3 cherry, grape, Jager bombs).  I’ll definitely be at the Saucer by 9 for The Dempseys.

That’s all for now… possibly back later with answers to more questions from yesterday’s PR meeting.

This morning I participated in a panel discussion held by the Public Relations Society of America’s Memphis chapter.  On the panel with me were some of the top Memphis bloggers, representing blogs like Mediaverse, Smart City Memphis, and The Gates of Memphis.  Some excellent questions were asked, by both the moderator and the audience, and I thought it would be fun to give some more in-depth answers here.

One question that was asked:  Do you take information from PR people to put on your blog?  What can PR people do to work with bloggers to get their information out?

My answer is yes, I do take info from PR people, and am usually quite happy to get it. The reason why is that I believe the secret to successful blogging is to blog every day, to constantly have fresh content for my readers.  However, like any writer, there are days when I get writer’s block, or when I’ve run out of upcoming events to talk about, or when I’m busy and just need something quick that I can copy, paste, publish.  Announcements from PR people help me out in that regard.

Here are three pieces of advice I have for PR people who want to interact with bloggers:

1) Determine which blogs speak most directly to the target market you’re trying to reach.  Then develop a personal relationship with those bloggers. I have PR people who have befriended me on Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn.  I’ve been out for drinks with a few of them.  It builds credibility to get to know them face-to-face.  Then, when they ask me to mention an event, I think, “Oh, this is for Katie,” or “Oh, this is for Ashley,” or whoever, and I’m a lot more likely to include their item in a future post, than I would be if I see some random e-mail address and name I don’t recognize.  I’m more likely to help people I know, like, and trust.

2) For the blogs you select, figure out the blog’s overall message or theme, and try to tie items you send in with that theme. Doing it that way adds value for the blog’s readers.  It keeps the blog from looking like a graveyard for random PR releases.

For example, my blog’s theme is “Downtown Memphis.”  If you can tie your items to Downtown in some way, it’s more likely that I’ll include them.  Example: A couple of years ago, I received several e-mails asking me to mention a weekly concert series at a casino in Tunica.  I wanted to help and thought about it, but… I just couldn’t see it being of interest to many of my readers.  Downtowners don’t drive that much.  We tend to go to local events.  I just couldn’t see a lot of value for my readers.

On the other hand, I mentioned a fundraiser at Hollywood Casino in Tunica just last week.  Why?  Because the chairpeople of the event were the owners of Big Foot Lodge, a very popular restaurant Downtown that we all enjoy.  I know people would look at the announcement and go, “Oh, THEY’RE doing it, well, I’m buying a ticket, then.”  It was something I knew would connect with my readers.

3) No matter how good a job you do, no matter how well you connect with me and present me with items that add value to my blog, if your client screws up, I can’t help you. You have to make sure your client is delivering a quality product or service.  There are a couple of restaurants down here, for example, whose events I simply won’t promote on the blog.  I’ve had too many friends and neighbors go there and report back that they had a lousy time – I’m talking on the order of 70% negative comments.  I can’t in good conscience say, “Hey, go to Such-and-Such night at Restaurant X!” just to help a PR person out, knowing that my readers will probably have a bad experience there.  Doing so would blow my credibility.  It would make readers less willing to trust me the next time I heard of something truly outstanding that I wanted to share.

In my opinion, if a business is not turning out a quality product or quality service, the last thing in the world they should do is PR.  They need to fix the problems first.  Until they do, the less publicity they get, the better.

Hope that helps some of the PR people out there in Memphis.  It was good meeting all of you, and I enjoyed the lunch at the U of M Holiday Inn.