The #RTColumn Project to celebrate better writing and knowledge sharing

Content is at the core of Public Relations. I always explain the profession using four Cs and I wrote about recently when I explained the House of Public Relations. A pain-point that professionals face is sharing of knowledge and good writing skills. To encourage both here is an idea that is bring brought to life in the coming days. We put out an open invitation on Twitter to welcome committed, regular contributors who would sign up for 52 columns over a one-year period starting anytime this month and running upto next July. We had an encouraging response with over 30 individuals opting in from various work streams. We already have five regular columns and we will add 21 more in this first wave of creating a culture of celebrating knowledge through regular columns.

For others who missed out on this you can always contribute as and when you want to and have your name on the waitlist for future. We also decided to name every column which is standard practice. We went one step ahead and ensured the 26 columns are named in a two-word format and all start with a different letter of the English alphabet. These names will retire when the columnist stops writing so every columnist gets to choose a new name. These columns will be in English and have names in the same language barring one exception. The names of the 26 columns are listed below. Those in italics are already active. There will be a few guidelines for columnists to follow:

1. These are thought leadership pieces and must be original and not published elsewhere. Seven days after they are published on Reputation Today, they maybe reproduced elsewhere with permission from the author and with due credit.
2. The mandatory word count range for these columns is 600 to 700 words.
3.  Promoting past, present or future clients/brands is not ideal and strongly discouraged.
4. Using the column for religious or political propaganda is prohibited. Similarly, use of defamatory and derogatory language is not allowed.
5. Columns must be sent to editor@reputationtoday.in with column name in subject line by Wednesday of the previous week or all four together before the penultimate working day of the month for publishing in the subsequent month. Only those who follow this approach will be eligible for a grand reward of a #PRAXIS9 at Rs 5200/-
6. No change in author is allowed mid-way. If an author misses the deadline the column discontinues unless the author makes up by sending the column he or she missed out. This is permissible twice during the project. There will be no columns on the Diwali and Christmas week.
7. Content is owned by the author and views are that of the author. They are neither of the organisation the author is employed by, nor of Reputation Today.
8. Authors are welcome to send a picture (share source) that can go along with the article that they have authorisation to use and should make sure there is no copyright violation.
9. Authors must have a twitter handle as the columns are tweeted with author being tagged so that readers can engage with authors directly if they want to.
10. Content director reserves the right to not publish a column or to pull down a column if guidelines are not met. Columnists are responsible for spelling and grammar check.

The 26 columns are as follows:

Taking Pride, Absolute Brands, Brain Storm, Comm Sense, Deep Thoughts, Edge Wise (on Mondays)

Forward Leap, Gear Up, Hello Reputation, Insider Trading, Just Business, Kritical Mass, Let’s Talk (on Tuesdays)

Miss Chief, Nib Karauri, Open Canvas, Pretty Savvy, Questions Answered, Regional Flair, Scribe View (on Wednesdays)

Unfold Stories, Vox Essence, Wizard Speak, X Axis, Y Not, Zesty Life (on Thursdays)

These columns will go out in a newsletter to a database of professionals every Friday. Columnists have a choice to compile all the columns at the end of a year and self-publish a book.

This column was 665 words. One entire page typed from top to bottom in 11 size Calibri font. Enjoy… Cheers!

Amith Prabhu

Founder at PRomise Foundation

Amith Prabhu is the Founder of the PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS, India’s annual summit of reputation management professionals.

He is also the Founding Dean of the School of Communications & Reputation (SCoRe).

He can be reached at @amithpr on twitter.