Open Sources | Rodrigues & Urlocker » How I Work: Lonn Johnston, President, Page One PR

May 15, 2006 | Comments: (0)

How I Work: Lonn Johnston, President, Page One PR

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What is your role?

I'm the founder of Page One PR, a PR agency in Palo Alto that works with some of the coolest open source companies. We're about 4 years old. I first got involved with open source in 1998 when I helped launch TurboLinux in North America. My Page One PR partner, Craig Oda, was the original founder of the Tokyo Linux Users' Group back in 1993. He and I worked together on the executive team at TurboLinux (and burned through $95M in venture money). I think we made every mistake possible around open source business at TurboLinux and we try to help our clients avoid the mistakes that we made. We also made a lot of friends along the way with reporters, analysts and vendors. In open source, it's good to know a lot of people and have a decent reputation.

What is your computer setup?

It's amazing to me how many folks responding to this survey run Mac notebooks for their work computer. I switched my shop to Macs half a year ago to escape the Windows plague of viruses and spyware. Many of our people work in distributed offices. We lost 4 hard drives to Windows pests in three months. It was just awful. Call Dell or IBM under the warranty and they'll fix it, but both claim spyware and viruses are by far the leading cause of drive failures in notebooks. I still find Linux on the desktop not worth the hassles (please don't flame me; I tried for 2 years).

What desktop software applications do you use daily?

Apple mail, iCal, Microsoft Office, Skype, iTunes, FileMaker Pro, Firefox for browsing, and Adium (IM for lots of different clients, inlcuding Yahoo, AIM, etc...). 

What websites do you visit every day?

All the news sites plus Slashdot. I haven't figured out RSS yet.

Don't forget dead trees. I read four dailies every morning: The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the San Jose Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle. I was a reporter for years at the LA Times and taught journalism at UC Berkeley. I still love the daily printed word. I know there are only about 11 of us left in high tech, however.

What mobile device or cell phone do you use?

Treo 650. It's much more reliable than the old 600s. You still can't read the screen in daylight, though. 

Do you use IM?
I love it. And I was a very late adopter. It's the best way to ask quick questions, work with clients during a call, check if someone's available for a call, etc...

Do you use a VoIP phone?

I like Skype a lot but most of our clients who have installed company-wide VoIP phone systems have had a ton of trouble. It's not there yet, IMHO.

Do you have a personal organization theory?

I'm a flat guy. Our agency has no titles. Everyone does everything. It's like a start-up. I write press releases, build editorial calendars and do all kinds of tasks that  are typically delegated down. But I find these tasks a great way to stay close to the game, close to reporters, and close to clients. Make time to think and run your business, but keep your hands in the day-to-day operations, too.

Anything else?

Free PR advice. Don't just call reporters when you need them. Build relationships, have something to say, be genuine, don't be boring, never tell a lie, and don't be afraid to gossip.

Posted by Matt Asay on May 15, 2006 11:04 AM

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