When it comes down to what to call the new-fangled news-makin’ tool that we both know and love, It sounds like we agree on the terms “social” and “release” but not much else.

The reason I think that the word “press” is unnecessary is because the word media already covers it. At it’s heart, it is a “media release” – in that it it is a release intended for the media. To have both terms is redundant. I think that in this day and age, we can’t really differentiate as easily between traditional media and blogs that we made even a year ago. As much as we complain about the state of newspapers (as even I did last week), they are getting smarter, and the best ones are resembling blogs more and more every day. Similarly, some of the top blogs are becoming to resemble more traditional media points in their structure and style of reporting.

Tack on the “social” to the beginning, and you explain the elements that make the release easy to share and engage with.

So that’s why I stand by Social Media Release.

Even if we don’t see eye-to-eye on the name, I’m looking forward to hearing from you about how it should function and be used.

I know that “press” is a little tired. In fact, all most all wildly successful Web 2.0 platforms nod to the predecessor technology

Face “BOOK”
You”TUBE”
Flickr (a photography term sans vowels ;-)
“WordPress”
“Moveable Type”

etc.
etc.

I stick with Social Media Press Release. There is no guess work to what it is.
Here is why.

Social Media because it reflects both the target Audience and the type of content
Press – Because we want to be inclusive to traditional folk as a Secondary Target Audience
Release – Because that’s what it is ;-)

I don’t like Social Media News Release because it may not be news! It may simply be an update on specs. It’s too limiting. I agree with you there.

I would concede to SMR when the old skool/ no-skool catch up with the cool kid technology… but that’s just me. We are not there yet.

I find excluding the “P” has the potential to exclude the Press… that would be very sad missed opportunity. The Ford stuff I worked on with SMG got lifted by traditional press from time to time… not sure it it was related… but it didn’t hurt.