Mike Manuel over a Media Guerrilla points to an article by Tom Foremski about how blogging/bloggers throw a wrench in corporate communications. Envoking the Matrix, Mike says:

Just yesterday I had a conversation with somebody who has attended a few of my talks/seminars. Her comment went something like this, "I guess those of us who have been around a while need to realize that the concept of a spokesperson or PIO is dead" I wouldn't say dead, but perhaps on life-support.

We talked about a company we were both familiar with, and I said that anything their spokesperson said was always carefully worded and passed by legal. For me any statement can be taken with a grain of salt. But we both said that we knew a number of people who worked for the company that were great people, and they always talk about how great their company is. I do business with this company becuase of the relationships I have with their employees, not with the statements made by their spokesperson. Look at Cluetrain Manifesto number 85:

The super-ego reporter I heard speak also says the same thing. He doesn't want to talk to the PIO or the spokesperson, we wants to talk to the 'people' because that's where the human connection is.