By Leo Valiquette
There’s been no shortage of commentary about the threat and opportunity posed to traditional media, and the PR profession for that matter, by social media (reference too, my post of yesterday). But, while these new tools of mass communication and interaction are truly disruptive, have we developed the maturity to use them wisely?
Chris Brogan today offered some key etiquette points to keep in mind with social media, whether it be basic e-mail use or the more advanced features of Facebook. It’s by no means an exhaustive list.
There mere fact that Chris finds it necessary to start off his list with the email etiquette, of all things, demonstrates the utter thoughtlessness many of us demonstrate with the casual click of that Send button. Email is the original social media tool (no doubt, others will disagree about that). It’s been widely available to the masses for more than a decade, and yet we still have to be reminded about how to use it judiciously?
It’s the utter convenience of these things that I believe is the problem. These tools are so ubiquitous and available it’s easy to focus on employing them as the ready means to a goal without giving sufficient thought to the impact on those with whom we’re trying to communicate, or those around us we shouldn’t disturb.
Mobile phones are the ultimate example of this. Movie theatres still find it necessary to preface the feature presentation with that annoying “Please, don’t add your own soundtrack” PSA to ensure ringtones have been muted. And that’s a casual social setting. I’d estimate that 90 per cent of the time when I am attending some kind of business function that includes a presentation, at least one person in that audience will receive a call with their ringtone at full volume to interrupt the speaker. Rather than mute the volume, quite often they’ll leap up and sprint from the room with the phone still ringing.
The important thing to remember in this age of instant communication — all communication doesn’t have to happen instantly, people don’t have to respond to you within minutes and the world really doesn’t need to know what you had for breakfast or share in that snazzy new Facebook app you’ve found.
By Leo Valiquette
Yesterday I enjoyed a lively piece from PR executive and co-manager of The Bad Pitch Blog Richard Laermer about the gradual extinction of the newsprint dinosaur or, at least, the dinosaur mentality of those who run the old-school journals of record.
He asserted that traditional media suffer from a fatal self-importance (I’d say arrogance) that sees most media empires failing to appreciate the threat and opportunity that is social media. As evidence he cited the mass layoffs taking place at major dailies across North America as advertising revenues droop. For PR practitioners, It’s a problem exacerbated by clients who don’t see the value of online media coverage if there isn’t also some ink to stain their fingers.
Bottom line: Blogs, Twitter feeds and the like are giving consumers of information more nimble, responsive and interactive channels through which to get the news and comment most important to them. It’s a point not to be overlooked by PR types either.
As a former journalist, I wholeheartedly agree that print media outlets must go far beyond simply offering their content online, even offering exclusive online content. They must be ready to engage directly with their audiences and provide the news in a much more dynamic fashion than has been the norm.
A perfect example of the way in which a newspaper can take advantage of the tools offered by social media (and one that also demonstrates there is hope for change) cropped up today at A Shel of My Former Self. Shel Holtz talks about how two local newspapers are using Twitter to cover a sensational murder trial in Idaho. One is simply using Twitter to alert interested readers of when there is new content available to read, while the other is taking the truly pioneering step of providing real-time updates of the proceedings direct from the courtroom. Now that’s what you call dynamic news coverage.
There is hope after all.
By Leo Valiquette
In business circles, defining what is social media is immediately followed by the question of how can it can be turned into an effective marketing and communications tool. But who owns this function in an organization? Is that even a valid question? Over at A Shel of My Former Life, Shel Holtz gives a comprehensive rundown of who can, and can’t “own” social media and why.
Chris Brogan, meanwhile, provides a handy list of 50 online applications and sites to consider when developing a social media presence.
Lastly, Robert Geller at Flack’s Revenge discusses user-generated content options for organizations trying to build presence at a time when the number of traditional media channels is on the decline. Youtube anyone?
By Linda Forrest
Today is my last day of work prior to going on maternity leave. In Canada, we’re incredibly blessed that we have the option of taking one year off to be with our new arrivals, so I’m taking advantage and plan to be off until mid-August 2009 doing work of a different sort.
It’s been an interesting introduction to blogging these past months and I think that I’ll miss having a venue to regularly voice my opinions on topics pertaining to PR and technology. (I should watch how loudly I say that in front of my editor, for fear that he posits that I can easily blog with junior on my lap…)
‘Til we meet again, blogosphere…
