There’s no denying it: the trusty embargo remains a positive and productive tool for professionals on both sides of the press-PR divide. If anything, embargoes have only become more important in recent years, and they’re certainly not going anywhere.

Why? It’s simple. Virtually every industry that depends on new releases and new information to push its news cycle forward makes use of the embargo. This includes arts and entertainment, publishing, science and medicine, gaming, and, of course, tech.

Whether B2B or B2C, large corporation or startup, tech PR relies on embargos to manage constantly changing product release schedules and updates. This is an industry that likes to keep things under wraps — if not totally secret — until launch day, and that requires a dizzying amount of coordination, calendars, and planning to make happen.

It also requires real relationships with journalists. It’s no secret that good ol’ fashioned human relationships are key to getting your story in front of the public — whether or not it’s embargoed.

But simultaneously juggling multiple journalist relationships while preparing a big PR push comes with its own set of challenges. That’s where the embargo comes in.

Embargoes are valuable in part because they prevent inadvertent favoritism. Embargoes allow every journalist you pitch an opportunity to cover your news at the same time, meaning no publication feels like they’re starting in second place.

Top-tier publications naturally want to publish first, but embargos make sure nothing is announced before it’s ready and that all journalists pitched have the same amount of time (and breathing room) to cover, no matter where they work.

Journalists will not only welcome your embargoed scoops, but cooperate with you if you treat them like actual people with specific beats and use only the embargos you absolutely need. When used correctly, embargos give the right journalists time to write the kind of coverage you want and do it well.

Avoid opening a communication channel with a journalist you’ve never worked with before with an embargo. There’s no good way to soften the but-what-can-you-do-for-me implied in that kind of unsolicited introduction.

Learn to prioritize and personalize. In other words, know who you’re talking to .

First things first: does the journalist you’re pitching accept embargos? If they do, they may want all the information up front, or they may prefer to get a quick primer before agreeing to anything. If you’re not sure, ask. Don’t guess.

No matter which publications you want to embargo, you should be mindful of the constraints of their editorial calendar. No dropping an embargo on a reporter two days before it lifts. Yours is never the only story a writer is working on, and 48 hours from embargoed press release to publication just isn’t going to cut it .

It may also have the inadvertent effect of making you look both disorganized and inconsiderate of their time. Try two weeks instead.

Know when it’s news, know when it’s not

In my experience, startups sometimes struggle to distinguish between what is promotional and what is truly newsworthy. This is totally understandable, as it can be tricky to tell when new developments are happening quickly inside your business.

It’s nonetheless a crucial distinction if you’re going to keep journalists on your side and not stuff their inboxes with unnecessary embargos.

Be considerate by being discerning and realistic. At its heart, the embargo is about keeping things quiet, so only embargo news items that are tied to a specific date and that journalists will need additional time to research and write.

Nurturing your relationships with journalists means valuing their time and not treating every single item of your public-facing strategy as uniquely precious.

This means deciding what’s truly newsworthy rather than promotional, then only embargoing the most important newsworthy developments. This includes brand new models and launches, top-to-bottom software overhauls, and game-changing funding announcements with lots of zeros.

High-profile partnerships that coincide with a previously unseen special edition version of your product? Sure. High-profile endorsements and big awards? Those are no doubt wonderful to have, but they land firmly in the promotional camp.

Calling an embargo truce

It’s no accident that despite some determined detractors, the embargo has held on. Part of the reason for that is practical. Startups and tech businesses deal with time-sensitive information by nature, and an evolving effort to prevent leaks will always be part and parcel of this industry.

The best communications people for tech startups and tech giants understand this, and public relations for any industry will always depend on relationships.

That’s why a little courtesy works wonders when it comes to embargoes. Eager startups chomping at the bit can sometimes struggle to see the forest for the trees when trying to get the public excited about their story. Journalists, in turn, can (not unjustifiably) find startups’ public relations efforts a little too persistent or impersonal.

Consider both sides of this coin when deciding what and who to embargo, and scrap the mass blast while you’re at it. It’s no PR industry secret that this strategy is the surefire way to get actual results, delivered when you want them, without making any enemies along the way.

Yet another issue professional women need to deal with: LinkedIncels

This article originally featured in Byte Me, our monthly feminist newsletter that makes everyone mad. In each edition, we choose a “word of the month” that we’ve either made up or found on the internet. Subscribe here to get it straight to your inbox!

Remember when incels would mostly reside in the dark, stinky corners of Reddit and 4chan? They’ve now conquered your father’s favorite social network, LinkedIn — giving birth to an awful new thing:

To quickly refresh your memory, incels are ‘involuntary celibates,’ people (let’s face it, mainly men) who believe they can’t get laid because they’re not attractive enough. Most of them hate women . Some of them shoot up shopping malls .

An incel with a LinkedIn profile might not take it that far — they’re focused on their careers, after all — but that doesn’t mean they can’t hit on random women via Linkedin messages.

In a recent piece for Fast Company , author Katie Fiore signals a disturbing new trend on the social platform: women users are increasingly dealing with harassment and misogyny.

Fiore researched the reactions to articles posted by The Female Lead , an online platform that focuses on female leadership. She noted that:

And the misogyny on LinkedIn isn’t just hiding in comments and DMs — it’s also in the content itself. Last week, this post landed on my feed:

In addition to being regressive and demeaning — which, for the record, is pointed out by many readers in the comments — why is this post even on LinkedIn?

It’s pretty ironic to suggest that all women should devote their lives to homemaking; the one job you won’t find on LinkedIn. Also, what the hell are safety pads, and why would women need men to buy them?

So what’s LinkedIn doing about all this? According to a recent blog post , the platform will be rolling out some ‘anti-harassment’ features this fall.

Before publishing new posts, users will be reminded to respect the guidelines and keep it professional. Direct messages that are deemed inappropriate by LinkedIn’s algorithm will show up with a warning:

While such a feature lowers the barrier for users to report unwanted advances, LinkedIn is unclear about what will happen after reporting; just that it will take “appropriate actions.”

And, as Fiore states in her Fast Company article, these tools don’t seem to acknowledge the underlying issue: that it’s mainly women who need to deal with this crap. They’re on LinkedIn to further their professional careers, and now they have to become full-time unpaid moderators, too?

So, a closing note to the men: stop using LinkedIn to hit on women. If you come across a pretty profile picture, no need to tell her about it. And please, please don’t send unsolicited dick pics via inMail . Nobody endorsed you for being a pathetic little pervert.

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5 easy stretch routines to make working from home more bearable

Working from home can wreak havoc with your physical health.

Many urban dwellers don’t have spare bedrooms that can be swiftly turned into home offices, or desks that can double up as a working space.

In fact, I imagine that many of you will be reading this hunched over your laptops , sat on your sofas, or dare I say it, lying in bed.

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I’m not here to tell you why doing so is bad — we all know it is — but I am on hand to share some handy online videos that might help alleviate any discomfort or pain you may be experiencing.

So, here they are!

An awesome sequence for your upper back

If you’re an avid yoga fan, you’ve probably heard of ‘ Yoga With Adriene ‘ and if you haven’t, well that’s OK.

In this video, Adriene takes you through an all-levels yoga sequence that will “help create space and provide relief for upper back pain.”

She says it’s great for people who have a tight neck and shoulders and helpful if you’re looking to improve your posture.

Stretches to relieve lower back pain

In this video, fitness instructor Paige Jones demonstrates three stretches that have allegedly been shown to reduce lower back pain.

Lasting just over four minutes, this routine can easily be incorporated into your day.

So, get stretching!

Sorting your neck out

In this instalment, Dr Jo demonstrates several simple stretches designed to combat neck pain.

Dr Jo will have you rotating, side bending, flexing, and loosening your neck muscles in no time.

Be careful and pay special attention to the technique, though!

Last but not least, stretch your quads

Spending prolonged periods of time can tense up your leg muscles but don’t fear because Dr Jo is near (or easily accessible on YouTube ).

This video, part of her office series, will show you how to loosen up your leg muscles with the help of a chair.

Easy peasy.

Knee pain exercises

In this seven minute video, Jessica Valant chats you through a basic home exercise routine for a variety of knee injuries and pain.

It’s designed to be a general routine to strengthen specific knee muscles , which can cause suffering if you’re sitting for too long or in the wrong position.

Watch it, do it.

I shouldn’t need to say this but I am going to anyway: Please remember that none of these videos contain medical advice nor are they treatment plans. They are intended for general education and for demonstration purposes only. Please don’t use them to self-diagnose or self-treat any health, medical, or physical condition.

Don’t use them as a way to avoid going to see a doctor or to replace any advice they’ve given you and consult your healthcare professional before doing any of the exercises demonstrated in the videos.