Here's an astonishing fact of business life. The company that eroded IBMs computing dominance by inventing the minicomputer ignored, belittled and dismissed the PC which, when you think about it, was Minicomputer Redux. This incredible… arrogance?… conceit?… protectionism?… had a huge hand in a massive corporate atrophy that ultimately finished Digital Equipment Corporation. Here's another one: did the iPod revolution come from Sony? After all, they launched the Walkman in 1979. Now quick– how many New Bedford whalers made money in crude oil? Answer: none.

This picture of dummies posed as radio broadcast script readers is here for a related reason. When TV happened, some famous radio types merely moved their microphones on stage and let the camera roll as the 'actors' read their lines. They brought radio to TV. They completely missed the power and scope of the new medium. Others came along who got it. They won big.

Now here's the gazillion dollar question. How many PR traditionalists are going to adapt to, and leverage, the power and scope of the new media? How many will ignore, belittle and ultimately dismiss it? I don't know, of course, except to say I think most will not get it. And if you're working with them, you won't get it either, unfortunately. You'll get traditional news releases with RSS feeds. Yummy. Rhymes with…

But here's an interesting clue you can use when calculating your own answer to that central question above: scores of companies you've never heard of — but will hear about — are developing solutions now built from the ground up to meet various opportunities in this new era… and all of them have little or no vested interest in the dwindling demand for whale oil… oops… I mean establishment, traditional PR. Just remember: horse traders did not become the chief source of the nation's auto dealers when cars came along. Very few Broadway stars made it on Hollywood and Vine. My advice: resist being star struck by an establishment PR firm's latest adaptation of online technologies for old line, off line, out of the loop communiques written chiefly for a media audience that's being marginalized by something wholly new and different.

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