St. Louis may not be Silicon Valley, but the tech industry in the Gateway City is growing.
Last Week (5/3/12), we hosted a ReadWriteWeb Meetup. Journalists from the tech publication came in to mingle with more than 50 tech enthusiasts, CEOs, IT professionals, St. Louis journalists and other PR pros.
For tech fans (us included), it was a great way to talk trends and to make new friends.
Since one of Mercury Labs' specialties is Tech PR, the meet up was also a great way for us, as public relations professionals, to talk on a more personal level with members of the media with whom we interact.
We’re big fans of ReadWriteWeb. Working in and around the tech space, we get the chance to interact with their editors and reporters. Our job in public relations is to advocate for our clients, talking with journalists about products or positions clients want discussed. We’ve found it to be a symbiotic relationship. Journalists come to their stories from many different avenues, including getting ideas from PR pros. Of course, these relationships aren’t just a one-way street. It also helps the news people by giving them a source of information (the public relations folks) when they are putting together a story, even if it's not your client.
Those relationships help grow trust, the cornerstone to any association.
One big positive from the meet up was to solidify those relationships, and like any relationship, it's made stronger by putting a living face to the voice you hear so often.
That goes both ways. As a former journalist, I always appreciated PR folks talking to me more than just that "professional" level. I for one, was much more willing to listen to their pitch and they were much more willing to help me when I needed a quote or source, even if what I needed wasn't their client.
These types of relationships and gatherings only help bolster the tech business community in St. Louis, helping put a positive light on a city hoping to become the next tech destination. With companies like Perficient, Contegix, Savvis, Bick Group, Gremln and so many others, we have a great foundation to build that next tech mecca.
Thanks again to Fredric Paul, Scott Fulton, Alicia Eler and Joe Brockmeier from ReadWriteWeb, and especially to David Strom for helping make the ReadWriteWeb Meetup happen!
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