As a PR firm that deals with this sort of thing on a regular basis, I guess it behooves you establish a relationship with the blogs most likely to impact on your clients. If the only contact I have with a PR firm is when they want something from me, well… not so compelling. But if they take the time to reach out and provide me with quality stories and content that I can occasionally use, I’m more likely to be receptive and responsive to their needs. If they even visit the blog and throw in a comment or two on occasion, again, I’ll be more responsive.

But if y’all come around assuming that you are owed special access to my readers, well… you’re not. Just be gentle. And considerate. Remember, most of us do this for nothing. A little effort, a little planning, a little forethought and stroking go a long way.

Seems to me that one crucial step in understanding blogs is zooming out and appreciating the notion of the “blogosphere.” This is a wonderful title because it illustrates the sort of vaporous, interconnected nature of blogs. Blogs aren’t peaks on a media landscape, they’re a cloud layer one flies into occasionally while googling a product or story.

While biggies like Huffington Post do enjoy devoted readers, the vast majority of these readers frequent many other blogs covering the same subject matter.

So, if you can’t penetrate one blog to right a wrong, I would say consider it sufficient to find another blog or two of roughly equal popularity and category. As long as you’re in the blogosphere, mission accomplished.

Since when has it been a standard of mainstream media to publish any op-ed submission that was sent in response to a previously published piece? The New York Times will do this?