Comment on Relationships Enable Exposure

Comment on Erin Martin’s post Relationships Enable Exposure.

Social media gives the little dog a big bark

After speaking with Laura Fitton, better known as @pistachio (twitter) I started to think about social media in a more in depth manner. 

Social media is revolutionizing the power structures around the world and changing the way that we receive news.  Social media gives power to the people.  No longer does one have to be in a high organizational position to be heard and make a difference. As Dr. V said “the golden wall is coming down.” That is the thing that seperates us (the public) from the elite. This drastic change is turning PR upside down.  The role of boundary spanner is changing.  A PR practitioner is not the only direct voice between an organization and the publics important to its success.  PR practitioners must listen to the public and learn from them.  According to Laura Fitton, the most important lesson to learn from social media is to learn how to listen.  Listen to your publics and be genuine.  Social media is not merely a way to push product or services, it is a means to form relationships with others.  It is through these relationships that conversations arise and then the work of the PR practitioner has truly started.  Offer your publics information that will benefit them, not only the organization you represent.  After good PR is two way symmetrical, meaning that the organization and the publics are open to change. 

This dynamic change in power scares the once powerful decision makers of organizations.  One voice can not harm a large company, but masses of voices can.  Social media gives the little dog a big bark.  My voice matters and it can be heard. 

 Another change due to social media is the way that news is received.  The news industry is the only media required by democracy.  It was established to be a forum for discussion.  The notion of news as a media conglomerate challenges this notion of a place for the people to discuss their thoughts and opinions.  News has become a business, and because of this the people have found ways to discuss topics through other means, now known as blogging.  This just goes to show that discussion and conversations are necessities in society and if the news doesnt provide a forum for discussion, people will find other means.

Over all, social media is revolutionizing PR, news, and even communication as we know it.  The most important task is to stay up-to-date with the current media trends and us them in a genuine manner.

Comment on Charity Water

I commented on Paull Young’s blog post about his social media project.

Chapter 11: Public Relations in the Digital Age

Important Points

• The Digital Age has changed helped PR practitioners to communicate with a vast amount of publics in various locations.
• Serious matters such as privacy issues, the protection of intellectual material, job security, and media convergence have been raised as a result of the Digital Age.
• Although technology has changed our world drastically, when sending a message the content of the message and the medium chosen still depend on the audience, purpose, and values.
• The most important job for PR in the future is to stay up-to-date with new and advancing technologies.

Cluetrain Manifesto

Important points:

• Markets are conversations.
• The Internet has made it possible for people to speak their minds and be heard.
• We are not just consumers, we have minds and things to say.
• When PR practitioners start making connections with people instead of constantly “pitching” is when contacts and relationships are made.