Blogs and PR's Possession of the Internet   by Mary Ann Carolyn Dalangin-Tordecilla

I have read a very interesting article which features arguments on the true claim of online PR to the Internet. I have been writing about online PR for some time now, and somehow, I still confess that I have no idea how public relations first figured in the World Wide Web (WWW). Now that I've been enlightened, I think that it is better to step back a little and start the discussion on how PR ultimately claimed the Internet as its territory.

According to the article entitled Blogging: PR's True Claim to the Internet, the idea of public relations claiming the Internet as its own was first coined by Don Middleberg in 1998, when he said that public relations is "about a brilliant idea communicated through various forms of media and online is the next form".

Middleberg sparked a discussion by saying that the PR industry claimed the Internet. His thesis created an argument that between PR and advertising, the latter seems to have claimed the Internet by way of banner ads and email newsletter sponsorships. Then again, the claim was made back in '98. If someone will say that the PR industry has claimed the www in this day and age, I will have to agree.

Public relations on the Internet has the capacity to become a perfect brand building mechanism. In my opinion, being a brand building mechanism is the primary role of online PR. But what does this brand-building role of public relations have to do with laying a claim to the Internet? Well, by becoming a mechanism in brand building, online public relations could claim the Internet through its claim of another growing culture online, that is the Blogosphere.

I have discussed the culture of blogging before, and (I think) I also mentioned how blogs and PR are interrelated. But to my surprise, upon reading the article on PR's true claim to the Internet, I found out that the PR industry has claimed the blogosphere as its own. How?

The article explained how public relations has a claim on the culture of Blogosphere by pointing out that the survival of blogging -- and perhaps, its popularity -- is dependent on the PR industry. According to the article, "Many journalist (sic) that run blogs have small but dedicated followings of opinion leaders and influencers, the key people that PR initiatives are trying to target in maintaining relationships. In so doing bloggers exert an influence rivaling that of traditional news outlets."

In addition, the article emphasizes that blogging, although not yet considered to be fully journalistic in nature, but more of meta-journalism, relies on the sources that mainstream media produce. Thus, in a sense, "bloggers look to the same news outlets for blog-fodder that PR professionals pitch in the first place."

Another thing that the article pointed out is the development of blogging as a business tool through PR's help. "PR professionals can develop several blogging strategies that will impact the effectiveness of their campaigns. To get into the picture PR professionals can either pitch blogs directly or set up a corporate blog (internally or externally)."

And in addition, "Through blogs, any online PR efforts resulting in content generation has the potential to be moved around the Internet, reacted to, conversed with and linked to thousands of times...building company brand. If the material is positive for a company, it's a PR manager's dream."

PR could have indeed conquered the www through conquering the blogging industry. I think that the versatility of public relations won this claim like its success on conquering the mainstream media. Public relations, in short, can and is continually adapting to the changes of technology and time. And through this, it has conquered both the Internet and mainstream media.

Keeping Track of the Changes: PR on the Web 

Nearly every day, there are new discoveries that bring to mind how the Internet has changed a lot of our communication traditions. In its arena alone, the web offers a lot of ways for two or more people to communicate. Needless to say, the Internet is one of the fastest growing technologies, one that has obviously affected a lot of communication professionals, especially public relations practitioners.

Upon the Internet's breakthrough, it also became the major prospect in terms of communication. Now, I believe, there are a lot of readers online than readers of any major print publication. The reason behind this is that the Internet is fast, easy to access, has a wide coverage of information, and definitely free. This is also the reason why PR professionals have gone online to transform their "PR jobs" more than they may have initially thought was possible. Now, you could never expect a PR professional to do traditional PR jobs for you; online, nothing remains the same.

PR's media relations have changed. PR writing must suit every reporter's taste. Thus, online, the traditional "commercialistic style" of PR has changed into the same style of writing reporters do. Hoffman Agency online comms chief Shane Larrabee cautions PR people to change the way they treat the average press release. "PR professionals have to change the way they write. We have to write releases as a reporter would [write a story]." The Golden Rule: "Know thy reporter" remains the logo that should be carried out by any PR professional, but with a slight change. The slight change is in the way you know the reporter. Knowing the reporter before means knowing him as a professional. Now, dealing with a reporter online takes more than knowing him in his profession. It requires knowing him as an individual. . "Don't assume an individual working in the digital domain should receive email pitches," Jason Teitler, EVP of Porter Novelli's global interactive practice Teitler says. The corporate site is one PR job, too. The web became the default dialogue box for all businessmen. Thus, the site must be guided thoroughly by PR. In order to measure the importance of having a site in any kind of business or establishment, here are some of the comments from important people who have seen how effective it is to communicate through the web: Brown & Williamson, a tobacco company, has leveraged its site to control its media message and reach a variety of stakeholders in a controversial industry. "When we first launched the site in 1997, it was more of an informational site like most corporate sites. Since then, it has become a very important piece of our communications", says Steve Kottak, manager of external affairs for the corporation. The Red Cross also used its site to diffuse controversy in the wake of Sept. 11, when the organization fell under scrutiny for alleged misuse of funds. "We had a section called 'Myths & Misconceptions,' where the section listed each issue or 'myth' and briefly debunked it....We looked at our traffic, and when there was a hot issue, traffic to that section would peak", says Phil Zepeda, senior director of media communication for the Red Cross national headquarters. The emerging mini-sites and the invasion of blogs are just two of the newer things online PR has to cope with. Mini-sites are important tools for managing the overflowing information seen online. Aside from mini-sites, there are also interactive press kits, and sites that can be switched on and off for specific campaigns---- all these draw attention to programs or issues without readers having to dig deep into the corporate site. The web serves as a familiar full-access medium so that PR professionals may treat it as part of a PR strategy. "You have to use it strategically," Miller says. "The Web is grown up now, and it has caught up with the other outlets", says Janice Miller, e-marketing and e-media director for GCI Group. The blogs (short for web logs) is another trend PR has to deal with online. In fact, it has become a culture in the Internet. Many people are drawn to the blogosphere culture. The reason for this probably is the "preciseness" of topic that is being discussed by a certain blogger. Blogs can be anything. And for now, PR people monitor the existence of this growing culture, "Most (PR men) choose not to participate directly but to monitor them as they would a chatroom that covers issues impacting their industries," says Teitler.

About the Author

Aside from being a full-time writer, Mary also loves beauty and the arts. She appreciates the works of the Impressionist artist Monet and loves to paint landscapes and seascapes. She also loves to do photography of people, where the theme centers on the spirit of realism. Aside from that she simply enjoys life and hangs out mostly on the dance floor or by the beach.

Read more of her posts at http://onlinepr.gbwatch.com/

 

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