Chapter Twelve: New Media and Public Relations
The idea of using new media as a PR tool is finally discussed in this chapter, which covers five main points. Firstly, an understanding of emerging new media concepts and theories are provided, followed by an overview of the technological impact on PR practices. Next, how the PR profession is challenged by new media is discussed together with some academic discourse on the use of social media as dialogue opportunities. We look at ethical practices in relation to new media and PR in the last part of the chapter.
Definitely, new media has gradually come to take a very important place in society. We have always been talking about the Internet and related computer technologies, and it is indeed true that the fast pace of development in this sector has led to a need for us PR practitioners to sit up and look at these new media platforms as a way of engaging the public.
Chia and Synnott (2009) mention discussions from academics about the unequal penetration of the Internet in different countries, ultimately a holistic mix of traditional and new media is needed to reach out to as many people as possible. While this is a valid concern and argument, for the sake of this blog entry I shall discount this fact and focus solely on new media and those who have access to it.
My reflection for this entry is based on two of the five tools of new media applications as discussed in our text, namely: blogs and game worlds like Second Life. The textbook describes blogs as a relatively new, yet powerful tool for PR, especially in researching the sentiments of the consumers "on the ground". An example to cement this point was related to me by my friend. Back in mid-2010, he faced a problem with overseas postage using SpeedPost.Written complaints to the organisation failed to have any effect, but the company got back to him within a day or two after he blogged about his troubles online, and linked the blog entry on Facebook (Chua, personal communication, 2010). This small little example does prove that blogs (in this case, of a personal nature) are a good tool for corporations to gauge responses from the public, and it shows that some organisations are actively trawling the Internet for any comments related to their organisation.
As we have seen in the "Wal-Marting Across America" example (Chia & Synnott, 2009), corporate blogs need to be transparent and honest; however there will always be the existence of cynical netizens (also termed "keyboard warriors") who will dismiss messages from corporations as propaganda and rely more on comments from the man-in-the-street. Even so, if done properly, the PR effects of blogging can be quite powerful, especially if an opinion leader gives good praise of a product or service after he has tried it out. A good example in the local context can be found in this newsletter, of which some mention is made of the collaboration between Nokia and Mr Brown (also known as Lee Kin Mun), a popular local blogger.
The other point, as mentioned above, would be the opportunities presented by mediated, virtual worlds. Chia & Synnott (2009) cite Second Life as an example, where many nations, corporations, companies, and even people, have a presence there. I believe that this sort of media, which also spans gaming worlds (both online and offline - although it becomes more akin to advertising in this sense), represents a huge chance for companies to pursue PR efforts through public outreach campaigns. The gaming equivalent might then be for the player to perform a task that is in line with the real-life goals of the organisation represented in-game. While it is indeed risky, a good portrayal of themselves (or even their in-game analogs) would no doubt raise their familiarity and profile among the participants of these virtual worlds.
Faced with the constant barrage of new media technologies and their spread around the world (even Singapore's politicians have been blogging, Facebooking, and tweeting for some time, now), the future for PR in this field seems especially exciting, and I thus end my reflection for this week on an upbeat note.
Definitely, new media has gradually come to take a very important place in society. We have always been talking about the Internet and related computer technologies, and it is indeed true that the fast pace of development in this sector has led to a need for us PR practitioners to sit up and look at these new media platforms as a way of engaging the public.
Chia and Synnott (2009) mention discussions from academics about the unequal penetration of the Internet in different countries, ultimately a holistic mix of traditional and new media is needed to reach out to as many people as possible. While this is a valid concern and argument, for the sake of this blog entry I shall discount this fact and focus solely on new media and those who have access to it.
My reflection for this entry is based on two of the five tools of new media applications as discussed in our text, namely: blogs and game worlds like Second Life. The textbook describes blogs as a relatively new, yet powerful tool for PR, especially in researching the sentiments of the consumers "on the ground". An example to cement this point was related to me by my friend. Back in mid-2010, he faced a problem with overseas postage using SpeedPost.Written complaints to the organisation failed to have any effect, but the company got back to him within a day or two after he blogged about his troubles online, and linked the blog entry on Facebook (Chua, personal communication, 2010). This small little example does prove that blogs (in this case, of a personal nature) are a good tool for corporations to gauge responses from the public, and it shows that some organisations are actively trawling the Internet for any comments related to their organisation.
As we have seen in the "Wal-Marting Across America" example (Chia & Synnott, 2009), corporate blogs need to be transparent and honest; however there will always be the existence of cynical netizens (also termed "keyboard warriors") who will dismiss messages from corporations as propaganda and rely more on comments from the man-in-the-street. Even so, if done properly, the PR effects of blogging can be quite powerful, especially if an opinion leader gives good praise of a product or service after he has tried it out. A good example in the local context can be found in this newsletter, of which some mention is made of the collaboration between Nokia and Mr Brown (also known as Lee Kin Mun), a popular local blogger.
The other point, as mentioned above, would be the opportunities presented by mediated, virtual worlds. Chia & Synnott (2009) cite Second Life as an example, where many nations, corporations, companies, and even people, have a presence there. I believe that this sort of media, which also spans gaming worlds (both online and offline - although it becomes more akin to advertising in this sense), represents a huge chance for companies to pursue PR efforts through public outreach campaigns. The gaming equivalent might then be for the player to perform a task that is in line with the real-life goals of the organisation represented in-game. While it is indeed risky, a good portrayal of themselves (or even their in-game analogs) would no doubt raise their familiarity and profile among the participants of these virtual worlds.
Faced with the constant barrage of new media technologies and their spread around the world (even Singapore's politicians have been blogging, Facebooking, and tweeting for some time, now), the future for PR in this field seems especially exciting, and I thus end my reflection for this week on an upbeat note.
Glad you found the future of PR interesting as well with the growth of technology just as fast as 20 years ago. We might converse with 3D images in the future like in the movies.
ReplyDeleteYes, with 3D technology on the rise, things may very much be so. I offer here a possible scenario (off the top of my head) for which communications technology can evolve to: Holographic images displayed from projectors in front of your eyes delivering audio-visual messages right before you, something akin to Wall-E, perhaps even with the tactile and olfactory (smell) provisions. Perhaps then we can use this to deliver product samples right to the journalists' doorstep?
ReplyDelete