Phillips D., Young P. Online Public Relations
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A brief look at the future
266
The evolving internet will be more addictive and people will develop
their brains to cope. With the new internet we can expect new skills to
emerge (even programming a video recorder can be learned!) and we will
both learn and evolve to do these things.
Human biology as much as human society seeks to satisfy the need to be
sure that the social group can be trusted. We need to be able to trust people.
There are dozens of devices that say they offer secure relationships, and
for people this means they need to be recognizable. Throughout history,
people have recognized people from their looks, voice and mannerisms.
But online, it is easy to steal identities. The next evolution of Facebook and
MyMelcrum will have eye scanning (biometric iris scanning) built into a
security system that allows many ‘selves’ but only one self.
Finally, there is the question of when will all this happen.
Usenet and IM flourished for five years before the be�er blog mousetrap
came along. MySpace took three years, Twi�er a few months. Adoption of
new and more ‘human DNA’-friendly social networks will accelerate.
Look back five years and the rate of change is fast, but it is the rate of
adoption that is more interesting. Usenet was for geeks and sex maniacs.
MySpace is for them (still), but mostly for a huge proportion of ordinary
and not so geeky young people.
So, who will be using this new internet? As it becomes less complicated
it will become more available to more people. And the more its forms com-
plement the drives of human biology, the more pervasive it will become.
The new internet will be closer to human DNA than bits and bytes. It
will be more ‘human’ and the rate of adoption of useful social interaction
content will be quick.
In terms of planning how to use the media for a campaign just a few
months away, the speed of change may well mean the decision to use
specific platforms or channels will be taken late in the day. The media for
the 2012 London Olympics will be vastly different to the media familiar in
2008.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PR?
Firstly, we will need to move away from ‘mass’ and begin to think ‘niche’.
The concept of ‘mass media’ is already waning. This means that practitioners
will continually need to adopt fresh communication management skills, and
be prepared to discard others. Some will be group specific, some interest
specific and some community specific. Approaching online communities
will require practitioners to demonstrate empathy because they will be
‘invading’ the societies of our constituency. In addition, the concepts of
advertising, long the rich man of communication, will morph too.
Humans, public relations and the internet
267
When will all this come about? Well, it already has critical mass. Whereas
once the power of media ownership lay in the size of circulation, it now rests
with linkages within the online community. Where once there was merely
e-mail, the channels now include internet telephony and instant messaging,
comments in chat and messages in social media sites, SMS texts, videos and
voice. Where once people shopped from web pages, they now buy using
a mobile phone. While once it was only possible to play tennis using the
same grass court, we now use a Nintendo WII to play games online with
opponents who are continents away.
The only thing that holds PR back is that it needs to understand these
things, see the opportunity and adopt this different way of using PR
creativity.
Oh! And if you don’t, someone else will.
There is no really good reason that anyone should spend so much time
looking at a screen, but most people do, so there has to be a reason.
In looking beyond the usual realms of PR research from social science
to anthropology, brain science and psychology, we get a glimpse into the
motivations behind this strange behaviour, and in doing so discover that
they are very, very powerful. They are drivers from the primitive to modern
humanity and there is some cause to believe that these human motivations
– cerebral, instinctive and emotional – all find an outlet in using digital
capabilities to satisfy deep human motives.
At a superficial level we know by experience that this stuff is not going
away, but when we look more deeply we see a future where it becomes
integral not just to our habits and convenience, but to satisfying more basic
needs and desires.
Notes
1. Baumeister, R F and Leary, M R (1995). The need to belong: desire
for interpersonal a�achments as a fundamental human motivation.
Psychological Bulletin, 117, pp 497–529
2. Kimble, C, Grimshaw, D and Hildreth, P M (1998) The role of contextual
clues in the creation of information overload, in Proceedings of the 3rd
UKAIS Conference, Lincoln University, April 1998, pp 405–12, McGraw-
Hill
3. Shove, E and Warde, A (1999) Reader distributed for the Consumption,
Everyday Life and Sustainability Summer School, Lancaster University.
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/sociology//esf/inconspicuous.htm
(accessed October 2007)
4. Featherstone, M (1991) Consumer Culture and Postmodernism, Sage
5. Sanford, S (nd) Civic life in the information age: policy, technology and
generational change, h�p://www.compact.org/20th/read/civic_life_
in_the_information_age (accessed October 2007); Putnam, R D (2000)
A brief look at the future
268
Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of American community, Simon &
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6. Csikszentmihalyi, M (1993) Flow: The psychology of optimal experience,
Harper Perennial
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(accessed October 2007)
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number? Knowledge@Wharton, 14 June, h�p://knowledge.wharton.
upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1501 (accessed 23 October 2008)
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11. Vrba, E (2007) in F Grine, The Evolutionary History of the Robust
Australopithecines, Aldine Transaction
12. Turner, D C, Aitken, M R F, Shanks, D R, Sahakian, B J, Robbins,
T W, Schwarzbauer C, and Fletcher P C. (2004) The role of the lateral
frontal cortex in causal associative learning: exploring preventative
and super-learning, Cerebral Cortex, August, 14 (8), pp 872–80
13. Palombo Weiss, R (2000) Brain-based learning, Training & Development,
July, 54 (7), pp 20–24
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Worth Publishers
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309, pp 1720–22
269
Conclusion
We began this book by saying that the internet changes everything. We are
confident that we have made a compelling case that it has to do so.
We have embraced the controversial – and provocative – idea that the
internet is driving something that can rightly be called ‘the new PR’. We
have accepted that social media make it imperative for the discipline of
public relations to change, whilst never wavering from our conviction
that the essential elements of public relations, which we consider to be
relationship management, have not changed and will not.
We suggested that online public relations would provide a roadmap for
anyone engaging with public relations in the age of social media. Certainly
anyone who has got this far will agree that there are endless challenges
ahead, and that our response must go way beyond merely developing fresh
tactics to also addressing more fundamental strategic questions.
We hope our core argument is proven: that the internet and the rapid
growth of social media have at least begun to shi� the vector of com-
munication from a vertical organization-to-audience model to a horizontal
discourse among networked commentaries that aggregate into reputation.
The need for PR to develop messages that can be distributed through
mass media channels has not gone away, but it is equally clear that the
‘horizontal’ vector is becoming ever more important, and that more than
ever it will be the actions of an organization that ma�er rather than the
desired messages.
Conclusion
270
Here is the crucial point: the command-and-control model of PR practice
was always something of an illusion, but real enough to fool some of the
people some of the time. But social media have blown away the smoke and
cast a piercingly perceptive light on the mirrors that created the illusion.
Social media are forcing an honesty onto public relations that in fact provides
a great opportunity. And at the same time as transparency weaves its magic,
organizations are being forced to contend with the limitless interventions
of online participants who are creating their own content and have the
potential to refract, distort or enhance reputations and relationships.
Let’s move directly to the bo�om line. The Guardian’s media business
correspondent Katie Allen wrote a fairly straightforward business story
about world’s second largest advertising group, WPP.
1
Headlined ‘PR
industry profits boosted by MySpace phenomenon’, her piece credited
the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace with
driving unusually strong growth in public relations business. Although
WPP had reported a weaker-than-expected third quarter, it revealed that
revenues from PR work were growing strongly. Allen quoted WPP’s Sir
Martin Sorrell as saying:
Social networking seems to underline the importance of editorial publicity. . .
Social networking is really recommendation between people about the things
that they are interested in and they like. . . this has stimulated people’s a�ention
in terms of the importance of PR.
He said that companies’ increasing focus on ge�ing into news stories
reflected an appetite among web users for ‘ideas and knowledge’ from ap-
parently ‘independent’ sources. Using a PR company to generate more press
coverage also helps brands get around social networkers’ typical aversion
to adverts:
The people who are going on these sites didn’t want to be monetised, they
didn’t want to be advertised to, so again editorial communication is so
powerful, they would rather be communities that can exchange views that
are untarnished.
There is a great deal to unpick from Sir Martin’s words and some of it has an
uncomfortable ring for many PR practitioners. Sir Martin is still talking about
using social networking as a vehicle to project messages out, to sidestep
gatekeepers; as reported, there was nothing about listening, nothing about
conversation. But the important point is that the changes outlined in this
book are flashing so brightly in the thinking of a major player, and flashing
brightly from the balance sheet.
Public relations must embrace social media. Social media are changing
the media landscape in radical ways. Practitioners must explore and
Conclusion
271
experiment with new technologies, new ways of thinking. Whether or not
we accept the need for labels like ‘the new PR’, social media are leading
us to something that lies beyond what we have recently considered to be
public relations.
The newness is not the point. What ma�ers is that public relations must
be considered as a strategic function concerned with relationship man-
agement, and that social media are dramatically changing the dynamics of
the conversations that shape relationships.
Public relations must move beyond its self-limiting role as the unseen
hand that commands and controls messages cleverly targeted at discrete
publics; it must take a bold stride out of the shadows to become the eyes
and ears of organizations, ensuring that organizational behaviour merits
positive consideration in the myriad networked and aggregated conversa-
tions that shape an organization’s reputation, and hence its ability to create
and sustain meaningful and productive relationships.
We opened this book by saying we believe the internet changes everything
as fervently as we believe that the internet changes nothing. The fundamental
concepts that underpin the public relations function remain unshaken; the
ways we achieve our objections, from research through strategy to tactical
delivery, have to be rethought from first principles.
It is going to be a challenging journey, but if the challenge is met, the dis-
cipline of public relations is set to emerge far stronger than it was before.
Note
1. Allen, K (2007) PR industry profits boosted by MySpace phenomenon,
The Guardian, 19 October.
272
advertising 18, 58, 20–21, 99
Alert Thingy 64, 132, 148
BBC 17, 38, 89–90, 96, 101, 106, 145,
210, 234, 235
Bebo 95, 102, 103, 104, 106, 126, 179,
215, 262, 263
blogs 6, 7, 12, 17–18, 23, 24, 30, 28, 49,
49, 53, 56, 61, 64, 75–76, 89, 95, 102,
103, 104, 105, 113–14, 126, 132, 138,
142, 144, 146, 161, 162, 163, 175,
176, 180, 191, 214–15, 223, 230–32,
254, 261
brand equity 68
Broadband Over Powerlines (BPL)
112–13
chain of supply, production,
distribution and payment 58
channel(s) 95, 103, 137, 143–44, 145,
160–66
citizen journalism 139, 142, 213–15
communication channels 125–35, 173
communication(s) 4–5, 6–8, 64–65,
91–92, 95, 97, 104, 111–15, 119–24,
125, 137, 140, 143, 144, 146–47
copyright 72, 211
corporate communications strategy
137–39
corporate control online 187
corporate information 68–69, 70, 88
corporate social responsibility (CSR)
70, 88, 253–57
data security 111
definition of public relations 4
Disability Discrimination Act (1995)
157
eBay 55, 90, 102, 105, 115
e-mail 5, 7, 14–15, 20, 46, 49, 53, 62, 64,
75, 100, 101, 102, 112, 148, 161, 179,
187, 263, 265
employees 46, 227–28
ethics 90–91, 223, 226–27, 230–35
European Union 41, 112
evaluation 236–37, 241, 239–40,
244
Facebook 6, 10, 14, 17, 18, 26, 64, 76,
101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 114, 126,
137, 139, 142, 144, 148, 156, 175,
Index
272
Index
273
179, 180, 215, 245, 248–49, 261, 262,
263, 265, 266, 270
games 15–16, 18, 126, 127, 161, 179,
267
global issues and sustainability
watchdogs 254–55
Google 10, 14, 17, 23, 24, 27, 29, 30,
42, 50, 53, 63, 75, 82, 83, 84, 90, 103,
126, 132, 145, 146, 155, 162, 163,
164, 165, 167, 188, 190, 197, 218,
234, 238
Guardian, The 6, 63–64, 96, 101, 155,
210, 270
HTML 25, 29, 30, 101, 187
HTTP 14, 29, 112
humans, public relations and the
internet 261–68
hype/hype circles 127, 135, 147, 172,
173
influences on policy, corporate speak
and bling 247–52
information 6–7, 58–66, 67–74, 77, 80,
89
instant messaging (IM) 7, 16, 126, 156,
161, 261
intellectual/intellectual corporate
property 40, 72, 211
internet 6, 14, 17, 18–19, 62, 82–93,
97–99, 111, 136–49, 175, 197, 240
internet agency 50–54
internet as media 94–115
key terms: social media 10–33
knowledge 75–81
landscaping 159–63, 164–69, 173
competition 167
and context/environment 166–68
and traditional media 167
machine-readable (CSS)
navigation 189
marketing 191–92, 193
mashups 53, 103
Microso� 75, 121, 145, 148, 252
mobile internet 18–19, 100
mobile phones 7, 10, 11, 18, 120–21,
125, 126, 210, 265
monitoring, measurement and
evaluation 236–46
monitoring 46–47, 132, 144–45, 237,
240–42, 242, 243–45, 236–3
MSN 16, 24, 84, 112, 188, 190
music 10, 26, 102
MySpace 17, 26, 31, 95, 106, 126, 166,
161, 188, 215, 231, 261, 262, 263,
265, 266, 270
network communication 111–15, 140
news and the internet 209–21
online
conferencing 19–20
data security as reputation issue 73
media 154
relationships and trust 89
retail purchasing 85–87
social interaction/groups 98, 175
surveys 20
telephony 49
video 27, 101, 161
online PR strategies 179–84
organizational analysis 170–78
organizational structures and
innovations 140, 142
organizations, porous 45–49
pay per click 20–21
planning, management approaches
to 150–58
platforms 95, 119–24, 125, 137, 143,
144, 160
podcasts 11, 16, 21–22, 49, 103, 126,
144, 147
political campaigns and internet 88
porosity 45–49, 211, 222, 224, 234
internet 15
portable applications 10–11
processes as corporate intangible
assets 48
Public Relations, Chartered Institute
of (CIPR) 25, 59, 90, 92, 162, 164,
165, 220, 223
public relations 17, 21, 95–97, 136–39,
152, 154–55, 167, 177
Index
274
reach 55, 56–57, 98–99, 222, 224
relationships, building 154–55
research 8, 12, 16, 20, 23, 26, 77, 83,
85–86, 87, 89, 96, 98, 100, 101, 102,
106, 108, 123
richness 55–57, 222
right and wrong 222–29
risk and opportunity 196–205
risk management 196
RSS 22, 23, 29, 42, 64, 104, 114, 144,
148, 161, 182
search engines 12, 23–26, 126, 132,
189, 215, 224, 265
optimization (SEO) 24–26, 42, 146,
189, 241
segmentation 145–46, 174–76
shopping, interactive/online 105, 139,
267
Skype 10, 13, 16, 20, 119, 145
SMS 7, 18, 119–20, 125, 176, 182, 187,
267
social bookmarking 13–14, 19, 104,
144, 156
social demographics 145
social media 7, 17, 84, 102–03, 114,
126, 138, 153, 215, 220, 222, 230–35,
240, 255, 267, 270–71
social networking/groups 8, 17, 26,
89, 102, 132, 176, 191, 193, 262–64,
266, 270
tactics 185–95
tagging 56, 103–04
television 29, 100–01, 112, 143
timelessness 222, 224
traditional media 5, 102, 123, 131, 138,
144, 210
transparency 37–44, 47, 48, 49, 50,
55, 69–70, 77, 211, 222–23, 224,
225–26, 227, 254
inadvertent (porosity) 45
trust 89–90, 250–52
Twi�er 10, 17–18, 19, 64, 95, 96, 131,
132, 144, 145, 148, 161, 164, 175,
176, 265, 266
uncertainty 196–97, 202–03,
203–04
Usenet 11, 17, 56, 101, 145, 261
value network 62–63
values and value systems 153–55
video-sharing 27, 103, 114, 142
virtual reality technology 77–78
virtual worlds/environments 27–28,
95, 126
VoIP 16, 28, 32, 112, 119
web 2.0 103–04, 152, 254
web browsers 10, 12, 25, 29, 32, 103,
187, 238
website design 101–02, 156, 187–88
website(s) 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 23, 24, 26,
28–30, 51–52, 53, 61, 64, 85, 104–07,
115, 153–57, 173–74, 176, 180,
187–88, 189, 245–46
widgets 15, 20, 29–31, 32, 42, 53, 144,
262, 265
WiFi 11, 16, 19, 121
Wikipedia 17, 31, 40, 42, 90, 103, 104,
114, 145, 161
wikis 20, 24, 30, 31–33, 61, 64, 71, 75,
95, 142, 144, 147
XML 29, 104, 112
Yahoo! 16, 17, 24, 30, 84, 90, 162, 188,
190, 245
YouTube 27, 30, 53, 56, 101, 103, 114,
144, 147, 179, 188, 193, 210, 245,
255, 265