Does PR deserve to be an academic discipline?

As a Public Relations undergraduate, I have to defend my unfinished degree about as often as I tell people I’m a PR major. Acquaintances struggling through organic chemistry or Arabic language courses might have questions like “Isn’t that what the guy in Thank You For Smoking does?” or “What do you do with all your free time?” or “Does it hurt to be inferior?”

I’m exaggerating, of course, and no one means to offend when asking questions about Public Relations, but I do sense that the hard sciences and even the humanities look down on us media majors. And why should Public Relations majors need to argue for academic legitimacy? It seems unfair. I go to college. I work hard. What’s the deal?

Perhaps the most obvious reason is that Public Relations is an academic discipline in its infancy. Edward Bernays, often called the father of modern Public Relations, taught the first course in Public Relations at New York University in 1923. Faced with respected fields like philosophy and mathematics that have been around for millennia, Public Relations really is the new kid on the block – the new kid who is kinda short and trying really hard to make friends. But even considering the relative newness of the discipline, Public Relations is a rapidly expanding research area and branch of learning – we should be proud of this.

Another reason for the disrespect from my hard science peers might be that Public Relations is a science predicated on fields like communication theory, sociology and psychology, which are already seen as nebulous and esoteric. Considering the criticisms already directed at our theoretical foundations, Public Relations researchers must work that much harder to show causal relationships grounded in hard data. As an undergraduate unburdened by the research responsibilities of graduate students and professors in the college, that’s easy for me to say, but I’ll say it anyway. I’m getting involved in research this year in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida and I hope I’ll be able to update here about my work there.

But hey, despite all the hate I may get from friends in other colleges, I really love my major for one reason: its potential for real-world applications. If you’re a PR major, this is the #1 reason why you should be proud of your degree. Shout it from the rooftops! Public Relations needs lovin’ too!

China practices crisis communications 20 years too late, and poorly

Assuming these men blocking a view of Tiananmen Square with umbrellas are doing so at the behest of the Chinese government, their actions represent one of the worst ways to deal with the media. (Background: If you weren't aware, today, June 4th, is the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre).



Because of the Chinese government's inane policy, the BBC has downright creepy footage from a country that is either:

1. evidently embarrassed of its own history and expressing this sentiment through policy,
2. so grossly incompetent that it actually believes umbrellas will prevent the media from filming, or
3. so grossly incompetent that it actually believes umbrellas will hide the story from the public eye a full 20 years after the Tiananmen Square incident occurred.

So, in trying to cover up its violent, authoritarian history, China looks more Orwellian than ever. How can Chinese officials justify this policy? Where are the apologies? If China expects to be taken seriously on the world stage (which it does), policies like the one shown in the video must end.

What the internet means for...everything.

Haha, wow, my old blog! Just how I remember it. Let me dust off the post button reeeal quick. Yup, still works.

Okay, so I've been thinking lately about the Internet, and because I consider myself a big picture person (I like to consider systems as a whole), I've been thinking about the big picture of the Internet. And, ladies and gentlemen, it's a mess.

The Internet is a mess. Virtually every aspect of the Internet is poorly understood and, therefore, poorly managed - the way we access it , regulate it, pay for it, view it, make money on it, control identity with it, communicate through it. Maybe I'm being melodramatic, but can you predict the outcome of any one of these problems we're facing right now? I know I can't. But sure, we're starting to figure out what works and what doesn't.

So what? Well, so a lot of things. For example, as an individual, using the Internet means walking in a reputation minefield. You know that scene in Grease where the news of Rizzo's unexpected pregnancy beats her back from the bathroom? Well, it's like that, except worse. My generation often treats the Internet like its own private social forum, but in reality the information is transparent and easy to share. Organizations have as much (if not more) to worry about than individuals; "isolated incidents" that once flew under the radar of big media can now blow up faster than alka-seltzer in a seagull.

And if you're not messing up your reputation online, your organization is probably, at best, basking in the mediocrity of its lifeless Web page. Which is fine. But it's no way to drive traffic, command attention or make money.

How can you use the Internet to its full potential?

1. Consider your goals as an organization. Could an organzational Web site or involvement in social media help you achieve those goals?

2. Consider your audience. What are they like?

3. Consider the value of your content. If you're a corporation, people aren't going to visit your page to view your canned advertorial content. There'd better be something to worthwhile to your readers - attention is difficult to keep.

4. Update! Content must timely or no one will care.

Later I'll talk more about how you can engage the online audience. In the meantime, to my readers (if there are any of you) - how has the Internet affected the way you consume media?

Two minutes of pure cute

I'm sorry, but viral marketing just doesn't get much better than this:



He he he.

Things that rhyme with turtle: curdle, fertile, girdle...

Wordle!

What a neat toy. This site generates word clouds from any massive block of text you feed it. Below is a word cloud built from the content of my blog:



Way cool.

Making YouTube work for you

This is exactly the kind of video media people need to post to YouTube:



In a little under three minutes, these two WGN anchors showed their unique personalities. They've thoroughly choreographed this handshake during years of commercial breaks. The video is quirky enough to make you laugh - but shows subtle dedication and professionalism.

At the end of the day, what can one local news station offer that other stations can't? All local news stations offers news, but many watch one station in particular for the people they recognize. Make your anchors likable and you'll keep all eyes on you.

YouTube is a way to make yourself stand out. Don't be surprised if this video goes viral.

Sometimes, "sorry" is the best medicine

If you've ever fought with a friend, you know how hard it is to make amends without one of you saying "I'm sorry."

Why should crisis communications be any different? Occasionally bad blood fizzles out, but companies in crisis usually have to be vindicated by the news media or make some sort of apology or announcement of regret before they can rebuild relationships with consumers.

When Fox had Hulu take down 3 seasons of the hit show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," Hulu experienced some immediate backlash. Perhaps the negative response wouldn't have been so strong if it weren't for the popularity of the show.

But was the removal of the show really even Hulu's fault? Fox owns the rights to "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and rights ownership issues are dangerous territory - Hulu had no choice but to anger consumers.

But Hulu consumers weren't just angry that the content was removed - they were angry that it was removed with no notice. Recognizing the PR crisis at hand, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar issued a heartfelt apology and returned the shows to the site with permission from FX, giving users an additional two weeks before removing the episodes.

On the social news Web site Reddit, responses to Kilar's statement are varied and interesting. Most believe this is exactly how a company should behave in a crisis situation:

"If every company out there had this level of respect for their customers, there would be FAR FEWER incidents of deleting users' data.

Companies should regularly be grovelling at the feet of their customers. They exist solely thanks to the willing contributions of the customers, and without the customers, they are nothing.

And it's only recently that companies have really forgotten that."
-innocentbystander

While some users are baffled by the apology's intensity:

"This is a wildly excessive apology for such an event. It's not as if they deleted users' data or cancelled their vacations."
-acontorer

But the vast majority of Redditors agreed that the apology was appropriate, which shows how far an apology can go in winning back the trust of the public. As Kilar himself said, "Customer trust is hard won, easily lost."

Burger King: pandering to that elusive 18-34

Many Facebook users are "Facebook friends" with people they don't know or care about. This ironic reality of social networking is riffed on often by cynical young adults with more "Facebook friends" than real-life acquaintances.

That's what makes the Whopper Sacrifice such a clever strategy in Burger King's quest to win over those crazy kids with integrated marketing communications. The challenge Burger King poses to Facebook users: get rid of 10 Facebook friends for a free Whopper. Oh, the potential drama!

But why is "defriending" - that dreaded social slap-in-the-face - so offensive, especially if you honestly don't know your "friend" very well? After all, the taboo of defriending is what makes this campaign interesting. The answer looks pretty obvious; passively maintaining a Facebook friendship takes no effort, but one actually has to go out of his way to defriend someone. Ouch.

I gotta say, I'm pretty hungry after reading this website. Who will I sacrifice?