Public Relations, Social Media and Ephemera Since 2005
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Last night I joined a gaggle of New York’s most digital in welcoming SHIFT Communications to New York.
Here’s an interview with a obviously delighted Todd Defren who clearly believes New York is ready for SHIFT’s brand of social media savvy:
Why is it assumed that social media practitioners are somehow more honest, open, transparent, etc., than old school PRbots?
It’s flattering to believe that social media is somehow immune from the excesses (or improprieties) that have become associated with the black hats of PR. But that’s a false sense of entitlement. If we’re all smart, the next stage of social media’s integration into mainstream messaging will focus less on how new messages are spread and more on what those messages are actually saying in the first place.
Using social media tools doesn’t make a company or organization or individual more transparent or give them a human face. In fact, being transparent and having a human face are the prerequisites for a successful social media program. Otherwise it’s just marketing bullshit.
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Mike Manuel (AKA, the hardest working man in PR business) senses trouble afoot:
I can’t tell you how many marketers I know are pissed off these days at A) the big social networks; and B) the community software providers.
I agree with Mike about the problem. Marketers are unhappy and the big social networks – all of whom started out as tiny social networks and their ability to deal with growth and interest from marketers hasn’t kept up with the growth – aren’t helping any.
Mike believes this will lead to an increase in ‘roll your own’ solutions. I’m not so sure I agree. For agencies like Voce and SHIFT, who have either the in-house capacity and / or the smarts to conceive of such solutions, DIY is easy. But for the larger agencies, most of whom still see all of this as some sort of mumbo=jumbo and typically focus on tactics, being ripped off by software providers and pushed around by big media organizations is too ingrained into their DNA.
This is just another case of where the nimble will survive and thrive and the dinosaurs will get crushed.
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The brilliant minds behind the Bad Pitch Blog are offering Bad Pitch Night School (during the day). For only $49,
[C]all attendees will learn a smart, step by step approach to pitching that goes well beyond a simple email. From looking at the whole pitch lifecycle, including the truth about pitching bloggers and using social media in the pitch to tips to improve your news habits and the keys to pitch inspiration, we’ll help you improve your game.
Seriously, Kevin and Richard know their stuff. If you can be there. You’ll be all the smarter for it.
Details here (Best. URL. Ever)
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I’ll be speaking at the July 14 meeting of the Fairfield County Public Relations Association. I’ve been asked to talk about how social media / web2.0 can help small businesses and sole practitioners reach a larger audience, something I think I have a bit of background to speak of.
So if you are around Stamford, CT on the morning of July 14, please join us. It promises to be a fun event.
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