DISQUS

Laura Van Hoosier, APR · 7 months ago

PR pros must be monitoring and be ready for just this type of citizen journalism. Richie, thanks for summarizing this in such a nice way.

I, too, appreciate that media outlets like the Austin American-Statesman are listening and involving their readers. Yes, this is a real shift/change for traditional journalists and PR pros, but it is the NEW REALITY!

As PR pros, we have an even greater opportunity to tell our stories with the tools of social media, and if we maintain strong stakeholder relations and openness with all of our employees, customers and others they can help us do this. Transparency and listening are key.

The element of not having control of what is covered or not being able to "control the message" is what is difficult for many in communications to accept. Again, this is the environment we are now working in. We must be monitoring the field of social media, be "in the know" on everything that is happening and realize that anything is a possible story!

We must continue to be the most FULLY-INFORMED PR pro for our companies and our clients.

Richie's post is a perfect summary of what is happening. I encourage all PR pros to get ready and be constantly monitoring their fields of interest.

Vedo · 7 months ago

Laura, thank you so much for your thoughts on this. You bring up excellent points. I completely agree that "Transparency and listening are key."

I wonder though if we ever really had control of the message.

Robert Quigley · 7 months ago

Good blog post. I'm the guy behind the @statesman Twitter account; thanks for highlighting it. Information sharing definitely is changing fast. My advice: embrace it. It won't be unnerving if your organization is active in social media.

Cheers,
Robert

Todd · 7 months ago

I guess I am failing to understand why its an area of concern for PR - when did you *ever* have control of citizens photographs? While I'm not a lawyer, I am fairly certain anyone may take photographs of a public place an publish them where ever they want. How does Twitpic add to this sense of "dread"?

Also, if control of content is a concern, why is blog hosted on Google's servers? By using Blogspot you've relinquished all control to Google who may do whatever they wish with everything here, including re-publishing it elsewhere and selling it for profit - per the blogspot ToS.

As someone who contributes content to news agencies ( written & photographic ) I say: "Halp?"

Vedo · 7 months ago

@ Robert - Thanks for stopping by and for your comment. I hope PR people will continue to pay attention and take your advice and embrace Social Media.

@Todd - I am not saying we ever had control of citizen-photography. (I'm not even convinced we've ever had control of our own messages.) The "sense of dread" is really reserved, in my opinion, for those Comm/PR people who continue to sit on the sidelines and not even bother with anything in the realm of social media.

Good point about hosting a organization's blog with Google (or other free service). That should really be a consideration when starting the process. Thanks for your comment and bringing the conversation to an interesting area.

Narciso Tovar, Big Noise Comm. · 7 months ago

This brings up a good point: as PR professionals, it is ESSENTIAL that we remain nimble and active in our search for tools that are available. Moreover, we need to be that much more ahead of the curve if we intend to be leading that innovation, instead of being led to it.

A good reminder for all of us...and a GREAT way to prove your point. NICE POST, Richie!

Dave Nielsen · 7 months ago

Did the Statesman secure permission and verify the accuracy?

Getting content through citizen journalism is awesome, I just want to know that newspapers are respecting rights and keeping up their quality standards. :)