2008 marks the third year that Canada will host mesh: a web conference. The event will run from May 21st-22nd 2008 in Toronto, Ontario and cover a range of speakers and topics. Due to the enthusiasm of five people involved in the web and all the next-generation things happening in the world, Canada will be another country participating in the Web 2.0 conversation.
Around the world events connecting Web ideas and leaders of the future are going on- Geneva has LIFT, Paris has Leg Blogs, New York has BlogOn and now Canada has mesh!
George recently presented in class and posted on his blog:The Use of Podcasting For Web PR. It made me contemplate...Podcasting, a useful PR tool or an annoying audio element? Wondering if podcasting is a viable option for PR professionals to use? One member of our class suggested that podcasting is useful way of delivering information to people on the go. I agree with their view, but as a PR tool I am not sure if it is a method that would work for every company or product.
After reading Mattias' post: Blogging Big Business, but at what price, I was inspired to do some investigation of my own. I found this clip by video caster Chris Pirillo where he discusses PR's involvement in the Blogosphere. He welcomes public relations practitioners to participate in the blog environment, but is clear to lay out 5 rules on the "blogging road".
I find Pirillo's suggestions helpful, but am shocked that he goes beyond assisting PRs about blogging and feels the need to tell professionals how to do their job. Point number four is most surprising for me because it is such a fundamental element of PR... know your public. Granted, there might be a few PR professionals out there who do not direct emails to the appropriate people but that does not mean that all PR agents are careless.
I must admit that I am sceptical of PR's place in the blogging environment. It seems that blogging has the potential to reach a vast number of individuals in a short amount of time making it a viable communication option. If you are clear about who you are (state you are a PR professional) and have something to contribute then possibly PR could blend into the blogging sphere. However, I am not convinced that blogging is an appropriate way to reach the public. Many individuals are already weary of PRs "spinning power". Why reinforce negative opinion of the profession if we are constantly poking our PR noses into blogging spaces.
ABCnews.com produced a video exploring the implications of mobile phone spam. Posted on March 11, 2008 the link connects to previous discussion regarding push and pull technology.
This spam 'crisis' has created an environment making users aware of the implications of mobile phone use and cautions one must take when signing up to add extras to your phone. If we peer into the PR sphere, how will this impact the environment? One implication might be that using cell phones to ‘push’ a product might backfire if mobile users start blocking what appears on their phone. Another more serious implication would be how Spam might interfere with important and confidential documents. It seems that many professionals are using mobile devices to communicate with their clients as well as their office. The intrusion of Spam is becoming more dominate as the technology increases. Will Spam force PR professionals to alter their modes of communication? From the professionals I have talked to in the field, life without mobile devices would be quite difficult. Will spam force the profession to find safer ways of delivering information?
After reading Irene's post: Social Networking: A new PR tool, I did some research of my own and found an article discussing Facebook. In the article "Facing up to Facebook", Stewart Kirkpatrick, a digital content consultant states, "using social networking tools or blogs actually makes employees better communicators". Kirkpatrick further reveals, "through these activities they (employees) are more likely to come across intelligence that could be to their employer's benefit". Kirkpatrick then argues the point that "staff who use the full gamut of online options are more valuable assets than those who do not". While I see merit in Kirkpatrick's statement, I would disagree that online communication equates to better communicators. Maybe when he uses the work communication, Kirkpatrick is talking about written communication. Just because someone can use Facebook, doesn't mean they have the interpersonal skills to connect to clients and work with other employees. His comment about staff being more valuable if they use the full gamut of online options is another issue that I have to disagree with. While the online systems are a valuable component in today's society. It is not the only quality an employee must possess to be an asset to the company. Even though the article does not distinguish between different professions, I feel that a PR professional must acquire many different types of skills to be an asset to a company. Even with the technology influence on the profession, interpersonal communication is a quality that cannot be overlooked.
With the advancement of mobile technologies new methods of communication are being formulated. Two terms that have developed from this advancement are push and pull technology. Push technology involves information (e.g. emails) being 'pushed' to the user as soon as they are sent to the messaging service. In contrast, pull technology refers to when a user (or recipient) initiates the transfer of information. “The original BlackBerry was the first popular example of push technology in a wireless context"(wikipedia). Since then, many mobile devices offer push technology. The mobile phenomenon has drastically changed the PR realm. It has allowed communication to occur at a faster pace (you are no longer limited by location) and more often (people are able to be contacted 24/7). However, does this bode well for PRs? Some believe mobile devices allow them more flexibility when communicating to clients and co-workers. What about the concept of personal time? Does it exist with mobile devices?
Wikipedia. Push Technology [accessed March 6,2008] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Push_technology&oldid=182636889
