single semester aussie

[thehouseofhippies]

Social Media…

[marianig]

[marianig]

Digital Divide in PR

Public Relations is a profession based largely via internet access.  As I discussed in my blog last week, common tools and techniques for a Public Relations professional are and attending public events, press releases, newsletters, blogging, and social media marketing.  A majority of these require Public Relations professionals’ access to technology, mainly the internet.  While many countries still do not have access to one of the greatest and most influential creations to date (the internet), the majority of countries that do access it are helping to bridge the digital divide.  The digital dived is termed by Terry Flew as “the gap between populations that have easy access to ICTs and those who remain underserved by these technologies” (Flew 23).  The digital divide not only restricts people from learning from the internet but prevents them from being globalized.  Not being able to have access to ICTs is a problem “because inclusion and engagement with the global knowledge economy is an important quality of life indicator for people in the twenty-first century, and exclusion is a significant source of deprivation and disadvantage” (Flew 23).

Because Public Relations is dominated by the technological world in regards to communication and gaining and sharing information, the digital divide in this profession lies with the companies unable to access these technologies.  “Move forward to the second decade of the 21st century and communication practice is increasingly shaped by both globalisation and globalising communications technologies. However, what we often fail to recognise as practitioners is the national and regional histories and cultural characteristics that have shaped, and continue to shape, PR practice in individual markets” (Sheehan).  In today’s world, technology has become more of a necessity than a luxury it seems.  Sheehan goes on to talk about how in developing nations, their need for technology is what holds them back from developing further.  “In developing nations whose PR practice is immature or restricted by structural constraints such as government or media control it is sometimes the case that they seek to imitate and view public relations through a Western prism ignoring their own history and development – and how public relations has functioned in-country” (Sheehan).  The control that certain governments have over the communication professions hurts the possibility of communications professional, like Public Relations professionals, to gain access to the rest of the world’s knowledge and expertise.

“For Pertierra (2007), the concept of digital divide or digital inequality is not only about the existence or nonexistence of infrastructure. The provision of the physical access is necessary but it is not sufficient. Digital inequality refers to the “real access,” which includes cognitive and cultural capitals well as technical resources. “Real Access” goes beyond infrastructure and refers to people’s actual possibilities to use technology to improve their lives (Warchauer, 2004, assisted in Pertierra, 2007). The technology itself does not ensure its equal and efficient use. Real access is ensured only when appropriate technologies are introduced in political, economic, and social environments conducive to people’s participation” (Munsayac). 

“Many U.S. and international leaders and nongovernmental organizations have identified the digital divide as an area of concern. A globalized workforce does not separate the world into easily divisible political territories but rather into those that have useful access to technology to reach a wider market and those that do not. As the 21st century develops, worldwide communication has become increasingly imperative for a healthy economy, creating a new challenge to make sure that rapid technological changes do not preclude economic success for less developed economies” (Lule).  The importance of countries being able to communicate with each other is so important, especially in the 21st century when it can be as easy as an email.  Countries that can’t have access to even this technology that is now considered “old school” weakens the power of the country and the improvements that the country can make for its people.

  References

Flew, Terry. New Media: An Introduction.4th ed. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford UP, 2005 Print.

Lule, J. (2014, January 1). Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication, v. 1.0. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/3833?e=lulemedia_1.0-ch13_s03

Munsayac, M. (n.d.). The Digital Divide: A Perspective from a Public Relations Practitioner. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.academia.edu/630607/The_Digital_Divide_A_Perspective_from_a_Public_Relations_Practitioner

Sheehan, M. (n.d.). PR through a western prism: Why nations should not ignore their defining points of difference. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.ipra.org/itl/02/2013/pr-through-a-western-prism-why-nations-should-not-ignore-their-defining-points-of-difference

[marianig]

[marianig]

PR is Globalized

Media communications is “the proliferation of technologies, platforms and services that enable cross-border communication and intensify transnational communication flows, including the internet and cable and satellite television, and associated developments in global media culture” (Flew 25).  Thanks to the internet, Public Relations professionals can be anywhere in the world and still be connected to their line of work.  Common tools and techniques for a Public Relations professional are and attending public events, press releases, newsletters, blogging, and social media marketing.  These are forms of media communications where a majority can be completed and shared online.

Establishment and upkeep of a good public reputation is an ongoing process for Public Relations professionals.  This is generally reached by a Public Relations professional having a good relationship with their clients as well as presenting the best guidance for their client and representation of their client to the public.  Clients want their audiences to receive a positive outlook on their company/ self.  Without an effective Public Relations professional, it is very difficult to reach the attention of the target audience and harder to influence their opinion and decisions on the company.  Public Relations professionals have two options for reaching out to the public, online PR or offline PR.  In an article about the differences between online and offline PR, Lee Odden talks about the basics of what the two forms of public relations are.  “Basically, online PR involves activities geared towards influencing media, communities and audiences that exist solely on the Internet using online channels. That includes search engines, blogs, news search, forums, discussion threads, social networks and other online communication tools. Brand reputation monitoring and management is also a focus area for online PR.  Offline PR deals with the same things except with print, radio TV, conferences/events and other “real life” venues. One difference between online and offline PR is in pitching. For example, before pitching a print journalist, the publication’s editorial calendar is researched to see if there are any planned story opportunities. The subsequent pitch is specific to the upcoming story” (Odden).

In an article about global public relations, Jennifer Moyer talks about the positives of globally communicating your company with your target audience.  “Many types of organizations virtually and physically interact and communicate with publics and/or audiences outside their own country of origin to build a dynamic set of relationships. Trade, direct foreign investment, political coalitions, worthy global causes, information flow, and social networking, among other phenomena, are increasing the complexity of these relationships dramatically” (Moyer).  To reach an audience in another country, global connections are key, and the easiest way to globally connect with someone is via internet.  Public Relations professionals rely on the internet for multiple resources for work and research, as well as keeping in contact with people. 

“The Internet has a major influence on people’s opinion and the decisions they make, especially when they are uncertain. For example, let’s say Joe has difficulties deciding which anti-acne cream to choose. He will open his search engine and look for information about the creams he is considering buying. He will most likely take into account a variety of factors including the price and other people’s opinions but his decision will also be influenced greatly by the information he will be able to receive about a particular product. And if he finds little information about how the product is supposed to work, how soon he will be able to see the results, etc. there is a great chance that he will not buy that product.  In order to encourage Joe to at least consider buying your cream, he needs to be provided accurate, trustworthy and up-to-date information about both the product and your company. And this can be achieved only through an effective Internet PR” (IPR).

So long as the internet is available, Public Relations officials can be globalized.  It is after all “the expanding scale, growing magnitude, speeding up an deepening of transcontinental flows and patterns of social interaction” (Flew 24).

  References

Flew, Terry. New Media: An Introduction.4th ed. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford UP, 2005 Print.

Moyer, Jennifer. “Global Public Relations.” Institute for Public Relations. N.p., 10 Jan. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2014

Odden, Lee. “Tips for Online PR.” Online Marketing Blog RSS. Top Tank, n.d. Web. 18 Nov 2014.

Public Relations and the Internet. “Public Relations. IPR, n.d. Web 16 Nov. 2014

[marianig]

[marianig]

PR is collective inelligence

“Collective intelligence was a term used by Pierre Lévy (1997) and Derrick de Kerckhove (1998) to describe the capacity of networked information and computer technologies (ICTs) to exponentially enhance the collective pool of social knowledge by simultaneously expanding the extent of human interactions enabled by communications networks, and providing a vastly greater capacity to generate, codify, store and retrieve knowledge through collective access to networked databases” (Flew 19)

In public relations, expanding human interactions by communication networks is everything.  It is after all “the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization and the public. Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment” (Wikipedia).  Due to the increase of news availability, public relations professionals have increased, thus being able to produce more news, and no just via journalists.  With the boom of social media over the past ten years alone, public relations professionals can use social media to help build a positive (or negative, but hopefully not) branding for their clients.  Social media allows public relations professionals to get notice out to a greater population with little added time or cost and by doing so, it increases their audience.  People can share, retweet, reblog and send screenshots of anything on the internet today, which is great for public relations professionals, it’s free media coverage.  Social media also allows public relations professionals to build relationships with influential social media people, a.k.a. someone with a lot of “followers”.  This benefits in a public relations professionals attempt to spreading coverage on their client because more “followers” will receive the news and share it.

“While traditional journalism has taken switched from time-zone based to 24-7 around the clock information, public relations have increased heavily and media release-based stories have overtaken “normal” journalism stories. Public relations feed the otherwise skeptical journalists with the majority of stories because they embrace the new mediums more than traditional journalists can” (PR Kessler).  Collective intelligence is effectively used in public relations when it comes to releasing new stories.  In many ways, people can be their own public relations person when it comes to advocating their own news.  People can build off what others have previously said and spread news faster and easier than ever before.

“What I think is missing in all of these notions about collective intelligence or global access to unlimited information is the question of filtering. Who will filter the accumulated information? Who will be the gatekeepers? Or will the crowd self-regulate what is important and what is not?” (PR Kessler).  The only time I can think collective intelligence is used poorly is in this example.  With so many people able to create news on topics and share them so easily, it can damage what a public relations professional is building for their client.  Gossip blogs and tabloids are able to spread their news just as easily because of the internet.  When it is up to the public to decide what is accurate information, these medias can skew their attention away from what a public relations professional wants them to know.  This is when having a good connection with the media, especially social media, is key because you can then clarify what was wrong, misleading or completely made up.

“The knowledge that emerges could be more genuine than that which is artificially imposed. In fact, these things together represent a massive social experiment in the creation of collective intelligence. Can groups of heterogeneous individuals cooperating, however loosely, create knowledge or wisdom through the aggregation of efforts?” (Albrycht).

 References

Albrycht, Elizabeth. "From Information Overload to Collective Intelligence: Social Bookmarking, Tagging and Folksonomy." PRSA. Public Relations Society of America, 15 Mar. 2006. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

"Collective Intelligence and the Paradigm Change of Collaboration." P R Kessler. N.p., 26 Oct. 2010. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Flew, Terry. New Media: An Introduction. 4th ed. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford UP, 2005 Print.

"Public Relations." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

[marianig]

Pinterest is UGC

Joining Pinterest in 2012, Barry Schnitt has left his Facebook Corporate Communications Director role and will be leading communications and public policy.  “Pinterest is most often identified with brainstorming ideas and dreaming of faraway places. The platform has recently released new features to enhance the context of each pin, ultimately tying the digital world back to the physical. Retail brands like Kate Spade, REI, and Target are using the platform to create city guides, collect UGC content of their products in action, and collaborate with Pinfluencers for custom campaigns. In the travel industry, destinations and resort properties are capitalizing on the different Rich Pins’ functionality to promote highly visual content with associated context.”  The site was launched only four short years ago but has become one of the top social media sites.  

With an account of his own, we can explore the 32 boards that Barry has created, with boards ranging from ‘Pinterest HQ’ to ‘Front Door’.  “Pinterest is a web and mobile application company that offers a visual discovery, collection, sharing, and storage tool. Users create and share the collections of visual bookmarks (boards). Boards are created through a user selecting an item, page, website, etc. and pinning it to an existing or newly created board. Users save and share pins from multiple resources onto boards based on a plethora of criteria, e.g., similar characteristics, a theme, birthday parties, planning a vacation, writing a book, interior decorating, holidays. Boards can develop projects, organize events, or save pictures and data together.”  You can learn about a person’s personality and interests based on the types of boards they have.

“The rise of user-created content is associated with broader trends away from a twentieth-century mass communications model, characterized by large scale distribution, media content largely produced and distributed by media professionals, and a clear distinction between media producers and consumers, towards convergent social media, characterized by dramatically reduced barriers to user participation through easy-to-use Web 2.0 technologies and the resultant blurring of distinctions between producers and consumers” (Flew 34-35).  A great example of this is a campaign Kate Spade set up via Pinterest.  “One of Kate Spade’s most popular Pinterest campaigns was a giveaway for a custom Vespa designed and decorated by artist Florence Broadhurst. Entrants were asked to create a “Ride Colorfully” Pinterest board inspired by beautiful destinations for riding the new Kate Spade Vespa. Here user-generated content comes in the form of content curation. In effect, Kate Spade recruited their fans as content curators, and leverage their customized Pinterest boards to better determine how and where their consumers envision themselves riding the unique Vespa.

Build a fun and interactive experience for your community and loyalists will always join in. Winning a fashionable motor scooter was an incredible giveaway, but even just curating a Pinterest board of stunning places to explore on a Vespa became an incentive in and of itself. Some users went as far as to share over 90 pins, completely on their own accord. For Kate Spade, identifying these brand champions became a massive added benefit to the “Ride Colorfully” experience.”  Not only did this get consumers attention, it allowed them to get involved and create their own boards, allowing their creativity flourish.  

“…the rise of the creative industries is seen not simply as an outgrowth of public policy to support creative activities, or as a rebranding of traditional arts policies, but rather linked to new media, globalisation and the knowledge economy” (Flew 21).  Pinterest is just this.  Only being founded in 2010, this social media site is only four years old but already has 70 million users, as of October 7, 2013, which has most likely grown since then.  It acts as a personalized media platform where users can browse the content of others on the main page,  save individual pins to one of their own boards using the "Pin It" button, with Pinboards typically organized by a central topic or theme and can personalize their experience with Pinterest by pinning items, creating boards, and interacting with other members. By doing so, the users "pin feed" displays unique, personalized results.  This allows users to feed into the knowledge economy as well as gain from it.  While Barry Schnitt is a part of the communications end of the company, he feeds into the site with his own boards, demonstrating user generated content while at work.

References

 Curalate. "4 Ways to Leverage UGC on 4 Top Visual Networks." Curalate Insights: Tips for the Visual Web. Tumblr, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

Flew, Terry. New Media: An Introduction. 4th ed. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford UP, 2005 Print.

"Pinterest." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.

Walsh, Emily. "Pinterest Comes to Life, Twitter and Facebook Ads Go Mobile and Pharrell Inspires Worldly UGC Travel Videos: TPR Weekly Download 4.28.14." Turner PR Spin Kitchen. Turner PR, 25 Apr. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

[marianig]

[best-of-memes]

[weekendwolvess]

LOL SO MUCH SHADE

[henerycook]

[skipxd]

slide to unlock

[onzai]

My first impression of this was that everytime you sell yourself to technology and the masses, you lose a bit of your identity I don’t care if that’s completely wrong that’s why I love art

[soggyflicker]

[unamusedsloth]

First person to buy an iPhone 6 in Perth immediately drops it during TV interview

[utterly-rotten]

[technologicalxdeterminism]