Meet the #PRStack community; web app next step

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Stephen Waddington

#PRstack is an open source project that characterises the public relations third-party tool market. It lists 100+ tools mapped against workflow.

It has developed over the last three months to try and make sense of the growing market of tools’ vendors.

Each agency or communications team has its own approach and favoured tools and vendors but there is limited understanding of how an individual tool fits into modern workflow.

Vendors often push features over outcomes and the market is complicated by a huge number of options.

Origins of the #PRstack project

Last year I shared a paper at the World PR Forum in Madrid and also at the PRSA International Conference in Washington called How to Modernise a Public Relations Agency or Communication Team.

The paper explores how our business is modernising from publicity to influencer relations; and then to communities and social business. It seemed to resonate and help people understand how the business of public relations is changing.

In December I created a Google document in a bid to crowdsource and characterise the public relations third-party tool market and map it against modern workflow.

Friends in my network kindly shared information about the project via Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. The CIPR in the UK and the PRSA in the US also did the same. The result is a growing #PRstack community.

But then the obvious question is what next?

Google doc to web app, with the help of some friends

I asked my Twitter network for suggestions for ways to visualise the tools in a workflow for each of the different areas of modern public relations. I’ve also thought about transferring the Google document to a wiki site however for now, an online, open document seems to work well.

I caught up with Augur’s Max Tatton-Brown and Prezly’s Frederik Vincx in London after a recent Future PR event. Prezly is a storytelling platform for brands that is listed in the #PRStack.

Frederik offered to work with his team at Prezly to build a web app to sit on top of the #PRstack Google document to help people interrogate the data.

Prezly is going to launch the web app next week on 3 March. It has developed a web interface that allows you to query the Google document by area of public relations practice and workflow. I hope that it will help people better understand the third party public relations tools market.

[Update: 3 March – Here’s the web app]

#PRStack Twitter chat: 7pm (UK)/8pm (CET), 4 March

I am going to lead a #PRstack Twitter chat on 4 March at 7pm (UK) and 8pm (CET) to discuss the project and the public relations tool market.

I hope you can join me and the #PRstack community and in the meantime you can help update and information about the list of tools by continuing to edit the Google document.

Thank you

Finally a big thanks to everyone that has supported the project to date. I’ve listed the contributors that shared their details below.

Rachel Miller (@AllthingsIC), Andrew Arnold (@Andrew_Arnold), Adam Tuckwell (@beyondthespin), Beth Hespe (@bhespe), Becky McMichael (@bmcmichael), Brendan Cooper (@brendancooper), Charlie (@charliesaidthat), Chris Love (@chrislove1), Chris Lee (@cmrlee), Sophie Allcock (@CravingCustard), Dan Barker (@danbarker), Dan Slee (@danslee), Darryl Sparey (@darrylsparey), David Folkerson (@dfolkerson), Dave Games (@gavedames), Alex Yong (@GGsolutions123), Michelle Goodall (@greenwellys), Sarah Hall (@Hallmeister), Jonathan Bean (@jonobean), Jonny Ross (@jrconsultancy), Karan Chadda (@kchadda), Michael Litman (@Litman), Mark Lowe (@markrlowe), Matt Anderson (@MrMattAnderson), Max Tatton-Brown (@MaxTB), Michael Ambjorn (@michaelambjorn), Michael Litman (@mlitman), Mutesa (@mutesas), Nuno da Silva Jorge (@nunosilvajorge), Richard Bagnall (@richardbagnall), Scott Guthrie (@sabguthrie), Sam Evans (@samueljevans), Sarah (@sarahleeyoga), Seth Gilpin (@SethGilpn), Mark Roberts (@sparky_roberts), Stella Bayles (@stellabayles), Stuart Bruce (@stuartbruce), Sharmin Kelly (@tbepublic), Vikki Chowney (@vikkichowney), Will McInnes (@willmcinnes), and David Sawyer (@zudepr).

#PRStack is an important piece of work that I hope will evolve with the industry and as you can see that it wouldn’t have happened with you.

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Stephen Waddington

Partner and Chief Engagement Officer, Ketchum and Visiting Professor in Practice, Newcastle University.

Meet the #PRStack community; web app next step

Origins of the #PRstack project

Google doc to web app, with the help of some friends

#PRStack Twitter chat: 7pm (UK)/8pm (CET), 4 March

Thank you

Stephen Waddington

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