I’ve been thinking recently about the generational gap, real or perceived, in social media use. I’m not sure it’s generational. I think it’s more accurate to say that being savvy with social media falls better into paradigm of literacy, such as public relations literacy, computer literacy and now, social media literacy. Age isn’t the gap-maker, but interest, time and personality perhaps are what separates those fluent in social use and the willingness to learn from those who are not.
I’ve written many times before about how social media breaks down barriers between us and our publics, which means we have to be better, more open and more genuine communicators, and by this I mean we have to be more transparent, which ironically seems to be a challenge and a risk for many PR pros. It also reduces the power of the news media –something PR pros also seem uncomfortable with at times — which public relations has relied on for far too long to communicate its messages.
With this in mind, I’ve created a bit of a comparison for how public relations professionals manage reputations within the paradigm of being social media savvy. I’ve chosen the terms “old” and “new” not to signify age but the changing mindset of how things used to be done versus what’s occurring with social media.
These ideas are just a starting point. I welcome your thoughts and contributions in the comments.
Old Minds: Rely on third-parties to communicate
New Minds: Establish new channels of communicating directly with constituents
Old Minds: Rely on traditional channels for message delivery
New Minds: Offer multiple channels for conversations
Old Minds: Try to control conversations
New Minds: Participate in conversations and/or take the lead in starting them
Old Minds: Go to the very parties who muddle messages for redress
New Minds: Go directly to important audiences to set the record straight
Old Minds: Seek dialog offline
New Minds: Take risks with online, public dialog
Old Minds: Demand organizational transparency
New Minds: Demand holistic transparency — for both organizations and publics
Your thoughts?
James Stover
6 months ago
Great observations – I recently took part in a lively discussion on the importance (or not) of social media . . . on, of all places, a social media site: http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&gid=49680&discussionID=6287419&goback=.anh_49680
I’m a strong proponent of what you first mentioned — I think above all, it is about willingness and maintaining our curiosity, and stepping outside our PR comfort zone. It’s clear to me that everyone in PR is striving to find their way. From my perspective, that’s a fun and exciting place to be. The day when we think we’ve got it all figured out and there’s nothing left to learn is the day we need to leave the business.
Ike
6 months ago
Old Minds: Feel their position as intermediary between the client and the public is threatened
New Minds: See value in teaching clients how to respond and engage; and in scoping out the next new opportunity for same.
Rebecca Wikler
5 months ago
Old minds: public relations
new minds: relationSHIPS with individuals