You Say 3.0, I Say Tomato (and Other PR Blog Jots)
PR Week Defends its 3.0 Assertion
PR 2.0
After lambasting PR Week for declaring public relations to be entering its “3.0 era,” Brian Solis praises the magazine for responding directly to the blogosphere furor the article caused. Solis still reminds the reporter, however, that vast numbers of PR professionals and businesses still don’t “get it” when it comes to embracing new communications platforms; he argues that the focus should be on bringing everyone up to speed, not charging forward. “This is an incredible opportunity for the PR industry to escalate its perception by integrating value, direct engagement, and an entirely new set of metrics that prove ROI. It’s up to us to put the “pro” back in the PR Professional title. PR 3.0 is only confusing the market more. This existing confusion is where we need to focus.”
Tough Sledding
Using Steve Rubel’s infamous PC Magazine faux pas as an example, Bill Sledzik argues that you can never be too careful when conducting yourself in social media. Anything you put out there can indeed come back to bite you, which is an especially important reminder for PR professionals. He notes that while Steve’s casual comments may have seemed innocuous to him at the time he wrote them, his massive global audience took an offhand remark into a major PR fumble, due to the casual nature of social media. “The paradox? Steve’s error was being honest when he really didn’t have to be. He put transparency ahead of discretion. We all do it, but most of us don’t have a global audience holding us accountable. Crazy stuff, this social media.”
Military Transparency an Oxymoron
Crisisblogger
Gerald Baron remarks on the coverage yesterday of Jessica Lynch and Kevin Tillman, who testified before Congress railing against the military’s efforts to turn war casualties into American heroes (in this case, Lynch and the late Pat Tillman). Baron notes that this type of propaganda has been a part of the military since the dawn of its existence, but how can such actions last in this day and age, when social media all but requires complete disclosure and transparency? “We live in the age of embedded reporters who share the frontlines with soldiers dodging bullets and living in constant fear of IEDs. And we have no tolerance for spin–not even from our military leaders. I can imagine the Army Public Affairs officers in the 50+ category shaking their heads and wondering, what is happening here. The ground has shifted under our feet and we naturally feel unsteady. And the problem is, it keeps shifting.”
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