Rob from Xset has an amusing task, replying to some brainless questions from a PR flak on blogging. The PR flak is trying to work out how he can use blogs to help his customers and his research is being helpfully aided by bloggers. Feel free to join in the fun: just link to Rob's post on the topic. My oh-so-witty answers are:

1. How do you typically source material/stories for your blog/site?

Typically I steal them. Otherwise I make them up. I try not to let too many facts get in the way as they tend to confuse me. And often they disagree with my opinions and we can't have that. At one stage I was going to outsource the whole thing to a call centre in India.

2. Have you any examples of a story that you have broken on your blog, being second sourced up other blogs or the mainstream media?

I broke both the Man landing on the Moon story and that it was a fake, and then that it wasn't a fake after all. All in an afternoon.

I also discovered who shot JFK and I gave Glenn Reynolds his start although the b@st@rd never thanked me.

3. Do you believe people use or will in the future use blogs as a news source over the traditional medium of newspapers, tv and radio? And have you any evidence to support this?

I believe the world will end in 27 days time and you need to send all your money and worldly possessions to me ASAP. Then trust my blog to report the world's demise to you. The "official" media won't report, but that's what they want you to believe. As for evidence, just keep watching the skies.

Anyway, you can't believe everything you read or see. (Courtesy of Single Planet).

4. What are your views of the commercial sector adopting blogs to communication with customers, and other target audiences?

If companies can find customers and others who want to read their blog, they wouldn't need PR firms. And the world would be a much better place.