200 comms tools & platforms tried and rated on pr stack

What started as a chance conversation online has turned into a collaboration and a really useful tool.

by Dan Slee

Back in the day a bloke at the start of events used to ask two questions to a room full of people 'hands up who knows everything?' 

Of course, no-one did put their hand up which unless you are an idiot is the right answer.

The truth is that we all know a little and when we put our heads together then we all get to learn something.

It's a principle that I first came across when I started to go to unconferences and plugged into a network of likeminded people. These people were often in junior positions but could see what the social web could achieve and wanted to achieve it. There was no particular name for us but the phrase 'militant optimist' was one that resonated.

One thing that really worked was a willingness to do and then share.

It's not really something that I associated with the private sector and yet the excellent PR Stack project is something that flies against that. The story of the project is a good one. It grew out of a chance conversation online started by former CIPR President Stephen Waddington. 'Wouldn't it be good,' the conversation went, 'if there was somewhere where you could take a look at the tools that can help PR people do their jobs better and get some peer reviews.'

That was the basis for PR Stack and what began as a shared Google doc that anyone could edit has also become a website. Hats off to Prezly for spending some time on building the rather natty platform.

If you are seeking inspiration it really is worth looking at. It makes sense of what is out there and makes the whole forest of applications easier to navigate through.

It's also more than just an A-Z list of apps. Brilliantly, it can be searched by area as well as goal. So if you are after something to help you build a community.

You can explore PR Stack here.

Dan Slee is co-founder of comms2point0.