Yesterday I tweeted about Fast Company’s Buzz blog launching a service that allows people to vote story pitches up or down, similar to the way blog posts, stories and other items are voted up or down on Digg. This morning the launch was announced officially. Buzz blogger Francisco Dao wrote (in part):
Since Fast Company Buzz looks for companies that are breaking new ground and changing the game, I believe it’s only right that FC Buzz also looks to break new ground. The pitch portal taps into true social media by letting everyone vote and pitch on what should be covered. All the pitches and votes are open to see, so just posting a story idea will get you exposure.
Traditionally pitching has been a one-on-one thing between the PR person doing the pitching and the journalist making the decision about whether to pursue the story. This changes the game.
First, it raises the bar for pitches. Put together a bad, off-target pitch for Fast Company Buzz and lots of other people will see it, so you don’t want to do anything that’s embarrassing. We’ve seen some bloggers publish some of the more embarrassingly bad pitches they receive, but now all the pitches to Buzz will be visible.
Second, I also wonder if it won’t lead to people trying to game the system. (Francisco, want to weigh in here? Are there systems in place to prevent gaming?)
What do you think? Will other media outlets or blogs start using a system like this to evaluate the interest readers have in different story pitches?
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Maybe FC is on to something – a bad reaction is better than no reaction at all.