DISQUS

Bryan Murley · 11 months ago

Thought-provoking article. I am sick of the term "social media" however (just as I grew sick of "new media" and "convergence" before it). Isn't all "media" social in some way? When something is published, isn't part of the DNA of its existence the desire that it spread across some sort of social system?

barryhurd · 11 months ago

I dislike the term social media as well, as an umbrella term it really falls short in several areas. It is often confused with social marketing and social networking, and doesn't identify whether things are online or offline. It has many points of confusion.

Unfortunately I think that the term is here to stay for at least a year or two more, or until someone defines a way to toss Google, Microsoft, and Facebook off the throne and declares a buzz term that sticks. It would have to be a fairly massive change to take over the current usage.

Bobbie Carlton · 11 months ago

I've got 20+ years of PR and marketing experience to draw on here. A couple of points:
-- The death of PR has been predicted before. Back in 1995 it was predicted that the web would kill PR.
-- I know a lot of PR people and agencies who take off between Christmas and New Year every year because often the media does. (Some publications traditionally don't publish during this period or simply have an issue in the can ready to go.)
-- I have worked on PR projects during this period in the past and have frequently discovered that media people haven't completely disappeared. Some are still working and are thankful of the abatement from the PR noise level. However, I worked on a project this year and got a very high volume of "this person is no longer employed here" type replies. This is indicative of the media woes more than anything else.
-- PR skills work in social media. In fact, I would submit that often the best social media people are PR people in fact, or at heart.

barryhurd · 11 months ago

I remember the first claims to the death of PR with the web... that was far more comical the first time around.

I do not think that the PR industry will go away or truly suffer a "death" at the hands of social media, but it does appear that many PR professionals are sacrificing the industry title to other terms. I've been watching case after case of old school communications roles shifting to "social media evangelist" or "new media communication"

Considering many of those PR folk are adapting titles: I'm not sure if that is the indicator of acceptance in the industry forcing them to change or if they are actually pushing the trend faster.

The Lovable Rogue · 11 months ago

One of the major reasons for the high volume of references to 'social media' is precisely the fact that it is has become such a widely recognised buzzword. Along with terms such as 'Web 2.0', the social media is often referenced by those who have heard the term, but are not entirely sure of its meaning. This clearly does not help either term become any more useful, and as per the comments by Bryan and Barry, the term social media has become reasonably ambiguous in recent times. These terms have become flavor du jour and are being dropped by everyone, whilst new media and PR terminology is arguably more refined in its usage.

An insightful article, and I found the stats most interesting.

TLR

barryhurd · 11 months ago

Good point TLR. I would be interested in seeing how many communication professionals are using the term social media, rather the more precise definitions like journalist relations, blogging, buzz analysis, etc. I'm sure these numbers would produce some interesting charts if we could separate the common joe vs an industry practitioner.

Even though a lot of my work evolves around the umbrella of social media, I do know that when I am with a communications professional I can delve into more expert terms without losing track of the conversation. I find that many old school communication professionals who label everything "social media" are simply identifying a level of inexperience in the online channel.

Danny Brown · 11 months ago

I'm not sure I agree with this part:

"If we look on Twitter and ask ourselves about who is talking about social media, new media, and public relations - we find something that would initially say “Wow, public relations is going into bye-bye this year”, but you do have to realize that numbers on Twitter ARE skewed: the community is dominated by social media professionals."

No-one is really saying PR is going into bye-bye - certainly not the "social media people" that this suggests. If anything, what IS being suggested is that PR, along with marketing, advertising and other similar industries, is missing out on some great opportunities if they don;t integrate social media as part of their strategy or business plan.

The economy is screwing up a lot of businesses worldwide, large and small, and purse strings are being tightened everywhere. Social media, when used properly, is one of the most effective communication tools around. No-one is saying it's the be all and end all of any project - instead, what is being said is that is should form part of any promotional plan.

As far as calling it the end of PR, if the PR industry WAS to die, there'd be no-one to blame but the industry itself for sticking to pre-historic practices for too long. Drop the monthly retainers; listen to ideas across your business more (offer interns and juniors a speaking point); and stop thinking you're the sole reason your business is a success.

Social media won't kill PR - PR will.