Tom Breunig - Blogger, Cleantech Concepts
12/22/2011
By Susan Lanier
When Chicago makes it half way through December without more than just a dusting of snow, it’s hard not to worry about global climate change. Whether we are going through a natural period of heating or gearing up for a serious melt down, there is no denying that clean technology is a valuable, worthwhile enterprise.
This is the message Tom Breunig embraces on his blog, Cleantech Concepts, which launched this October. The site focuses on the research and development phase of emerging clean technology. With fifteen years of marketing and communications experience under his belt, this is Breunig’s first foray into journalism.
The environmental innovations Breunig has uncovered in the past three months hail from all over the world, ranging from two Israeli inventors’ alternative to dredging the ocean floors for offshore operations with their much less invasive Ocean Brick, to a French brewery’s initiative to convert the gas produced during fermentation into renewable energy. Breunig said he has plans to expand coverage to China in the future.
What about the United States? A quick scroll through the Cleantech Concepts blog and it’s clear that the U.S. just isn’t a strong source of content.
“Much of the country sees such technology as a frill, not as an avenue to a healthier environment, significant cost savings and independence from foreign oil…In contrast, Europe and China are creating huge federally funded technology clusters that are already giving them a significant advantage in development, piloting and testing of new concepts. We should be doing the same,” Breunig said.
His hope is that showcasing what other innovators are doing worldwide will inspire U.S. business and create dialogue. However, with so many misconceptions about environmental issues populating the Internet, it’s important to be mindful of how blogging and other social media will shape the conversation. Breunig is optimistic about the shifting media landscape because it forces journalists to raise their standards and be conscious of their audience.
“The wealth of information instantly available on the Internet has changed journalism for good – both because readers can fact check your work in seconds, but also because there's a lot of highly visible inaccurate information out there,” Breunig said.
Of social media tools Facebook and Twitter Breunig said, “Twitter in particular is an amazing source of up-to-date news that I will often draw from; Facebook less so, because people and companies use it more as an engagement tool. But it's important because when used correctly it can create conversations.”
But just having these tools at your disposal as a journalist is only useful if the story you have to tell has resonated with readers first. Breunig cites New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof as a writer that does this particularly well. Breunig said Kristof “offers highly informed opinions and reporting based on a wealth of knowledge from discussions with people all over the world.” He added, “Look at the great conversations on Facebook on Nick Kristof's page. Commenters actually respond to each other, usually civilly.”
Pitching Tips
Breunig suggests that PR professionals familiarize themselves with the blog instead of pitching blind.
“My pet peeve is that of most journalists – receiving too many unrelated pitches by people who include me on the basis of one keyword. I don't cover commercialized technology,” he said.
Breunig prefers to receive pitches by e-mail with a strong, descriptive subject line. “It’s the test of good professional, and one that can pay off.”
Breunig can be found on Twitter at @cleantechcncpts.