Back in the day, the wires provided "simultaneous distribution" of press releases. Truth is, today they still do...for a price.  But, social media has changed the way information gets delivered. The need for a third-party publisher is becoming questionable at best. Case in point, Google.

One of the main drivers behind the need for wire service distribution are the SEC's (Securities and Exchange Commission) regulations for disclosure.

Once upon a time, corporations were mandated to use wire services to distribute earnings statements simultaneously. There just wasn't a better method of telling people - all at once - information pertaining to stock prices, critical product announcements, etc., So, wire services got BIG.

But recently, the SEC announced that, in some cases, corporate websites are deemed compliant with public disclosure requirements. My friend, and CEO of Q4 Web Systems, Darrell Heaps, sums up REG FD nicely.

In a recent press release, Google spelled out their plans: "Google intends to make future announcements regarding its financial performance exclusively through its investor relations website." (http://investor.google.com/)

What does this mean for the wire services? My guess is, a lot of lobbying to keep "simultaneous distribution" under their control. But as more and more companies enter a more social-minded ecosystem, they will continue to realize that sharing corporate news and marketing directly to investors, consumers and other influencers is viable. They'll start to seriously rethink the process and the millions of dollars they currently spend with the "middle men" in the news delivery process.

It happened in the music industry. And it's happening in the newspaper industry. Is PR next? 

Will software platforms like PitchEngine power PR publishing in the future?

What do you think?

@jasonkintzler