Listen and learn

Earlier this week Kristen Chase hosted a radio show and had several smart guests on her show to discuss the perspectives from bloggers of color.

This is required listening for any professional the communications field. Here's something close to the comment I left on Kelly's blog.

Communications professionals need to understand that what we do isn’t just about pushing messaging or providing product. It’s about ensuring access. It’s about access to information. Sometimes the information is crap; other times it’s important. It’s not really about “getting free stuff,” - it’s about doing our part to make sure people of color are part of the discussion, and while we often choose who we contact for a number of legitimate reasons, we don’t have the right to exclude anyone.

We’re letting our own biases about race, ethnicity, culture, and class over-refine our “target demographic,” especially online. There is no excuse for it.