After Thought...

Hello world, I love you all. Your probably the best audience in the world...oh, you are the world! That's the potential of blogging, and digital comminications.We can reach a world community
The PR industry has a tool now at its disposal, which can create communities all around the world like never before. Getting the messeage out there to like minded people, trend setters as it were. Isn't that what the modern day blogger is after all...a trend setter. Leading the way, embracing new technologies that can only work for the good of the industry. As BT put it "its good to talk!" If Public Relations can help fillter this optimsim through to the business world, opening there eyes to this vast hardly utouched source, we can be seen to be a more open shop with the audience, regain some trust, but also have vast communities working together, sharing priciples, ideas to better improve the Public Relations Service we provide, and also reach the furthest corners of the globe.

I was really excited when I read The Guardian's Media supplement on Monday 10/07/2006. The front page carried the headline "How the net closed on Prescott" - The duputy PM's latest tangle is the first big British political story to be driven by bloggers. (Barkham, Patrik, The Guardian, 10/07/2006)
The story highlighted the situation John Prescott found himself in after being linked to an American Billionaire, and that bloggers blew the lid on the story. John Prestcott called it a dirty tricks campaign, by bloggers who were acting as pupets for Conservative central office. The journalist asked the question "is the growing influence of bloggers a boon for democracy? Or is it a reckless deskilling of journalism?"
This shows exactly how afraid the journalists are about the blogsphere. We are here to stay, but we don't want to have the sort of stigma attached to us as we already have in the Public Relations Industry.
The Guardian's story on the first major impact a blog has had on British soil, shows the power that blogging carries. If we can act responsible, be more open, create communities to carry our messages that will be trusted by the general public, then we are on the way to utilising the full extent of what blogging has to offer. While staying within the ethical boundaries lacking in our PR industry.
The fact that Gido Fawkes's blog who helped put the final nail in the Prescott scandal coffin, has the number of hits it recieves from Conservative central office , Associated Newspaper computers and the BBC, shows just how worried big business is about this blogging revelution. We need to dispell this distrust, make them see that it can be used to our advantage. Look at Wall Mart, the people hate them, distrust them, and now they are on a downward scale. To lose audience trust is a disaster. That should be the first task of the PR blogger. Be open, regain the trust, leave out the journalist who distorts the facts, and get our message out straight to the target audience in as open a way as possible.
Communiti - cation is what it's all about.

I hope you've enjoyed my blog. From being a blog virgin, not knowing the first thing about it, to now keeping my own, learning what potential it holds for the Public Relations industry, how big business and Goverment is sitting up and taking note. If we can be aware of the ethical issues involved in unmediated digital communications, be responsible for the messages we convey, make big business see the potential that blogging can achieve for their business.Blogging really is the "golden flees" of the business super highway.

Blogging - Its here to stay!!!

Public Relations is about getting a message out to as wide an audience as possible. With the introduction of new digital communications, the PR practitioner is no longer reliant on the journalist to carry the message. This will undoubtedly upset the journalist when they realise they are losing their grip on what is published. However, if the ethical issues are taken into account, and codes of practice are ahered to, then blogging will be a vehicle that will revelutionise the PR industry. Any companies or organisations that want to stay ahead of the game, better make sure they embrace this new communications tool, and quikly, or risk being left behind.
After completing the research for this blog, I believe that companies are not keeping up with the changes in communications as quikly as they should be. They seem to be sceptical about its performance and impact. As blogging becomes increasingly popular amongst the PR industry, with more and more people embracing it, companies need to follow suit in order to keep up the pace on change and commence their own blogs. This will enable larger audiences to access more information quikly, and enable messages to be sent to stakeholders, in a more formal, one to one basis, without the use for journalists.
Although companies will have comments posted on their sites which might speak badly about them, the companies need to see past this negative aspect, and see just how far the blogging revolution will go. The Public Relations Industry will certainly become a more open house, and an industry I can't wait to get srarted in if blogging is a tool at my disposal.
Thank you for taking this journey of discovery with me. I hope I have answered some of your questions, and I look forward to meeting you within the blogsphere some time in the future.

The Blogging Revolution

My name is Darren Bagnall. I'm currently conducting research for a Communications Technology assignment, for my BA Hons Degree in Public Relations, at London Metropolitan University. As part of this subject, I have to compose an on going blog of my progress in researching the impact of new digital communications technology on the PR/Media industry, their supply chain, and the effects and ethical issues surrounding unmediated digital communications i.e. blogging. Therefore, please join me on a journey of discovery to find the answers to these most important questions!

History of Blogging

A weblog or blog first appeared around 1994 and consisted of web based publications consisting of periodic articles. The modern blog evolved from the online diary where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. The first of these started in 1994 by Swathmore student Justin Hall. (www.wikipidia.org, April, 2006)
Andrew Sullivan stated in his article; The Blogging Revolution - "blogging is changing the media world and could, I think, forment a revelution in how journalism functions in our culture. (www.Lexus-Nexus, May, 2006)

12th May 2006

Blogging - Who, Where, Why and When?

Blogging is a relatively new phenomenon, which is spreading like wild fire in the business world. More and more companies are realising the potential that blogging has to offer. In terms of communicating to stakeholders, reaching a wider audience, sharing information, letting people have their say that would otherwise of not been heard in the past; blogging is the "golden fleese" of the new digital communications age!
However, with this new freedom of speach and reaching the wider audience, which is the objective of a professional blogger, there comes ethical issues which need to be addressed. As a result of this new found freedom, people and organisations can now say what they want, when they want, without the intense scrutiny they were once under when journalists were the mediators.
Although this blog will address the implications that new digital communications has on the Public Relations industry, the issue of unmediated communications will have a wide ranging effect on digital communications, whether your a personal blogger like myself, or a professional blogger from an organisation. The Public Relations industry I believe will be one of the major benficiaries of this new digital communications phenomenon.
The blogging era for example will revolutionise the way PR and journalists conduct business in the future.
Elizabeth Albrycht from the Global PR Blog Week conference 2005, stated "blogging is a very useful tool for PR, as it is all about enhancing your network." According to a recent Web 2.0 conference report, there are now over 4.1 million blogs around the world, with a new blog created every 7.4seconds. A suprising fact then is that there are only 5000 organisation/company blogs. There are reasons for this lack of take up of this new communications tool. (www.globalprweek.com/2005May, 2006)
In the lecture last week, I participated in a presentation highlighting the uptake of this new digital communications tool by different organisations. My group was based on Friends of the Earth, who do have a really accessable communications web site. However, the second group who presented, did so on Shell Oil who had recently been crucified in the media for withdrawing their blog site, due to entries/posts which heavaly criticised the company. Following this post, Shell promptly removed the site to stop further attcks on the company. The media critised Shell for preventing people from having their say, and accussed them of becoming a closed door company.This is one of the negative issues surrounding unmediated communications, which organisations need to address to keep up with the times. Blogging is here to stay!

13th May, 2006

Blogging and Public Relations

In a blog by Jerry Swerling, he explains "communications should be two way in nature, and that what blogs are doing. With more voices in the profession, there are more resources and more participation. (prblogweek.com, May, 2006).
This is yet another example that highlights the general consensus among the blogging community; the huge potential of this mass communications tool, can reach a far wider audience on a more personal level. A PR blog is an important voice in the Public Relations Industry, and the more voices the better.
An article in Business Week, highlighting blogs new importance to companies states "Blogs or websites with content management systems are changing the model for companies. We really now have to engage customers on a one to one level" (blogsbusinessworld.blogspot.com/2004, May, 2006)
Corporations need to accept blogging as an integral part of their Public Relations work. Blogging is different from other mediums because it collapses the distinction between producer and consumer. Bloggers and blog readers are essentially the same people from what I can tell. Instead of largely passive audiences, complex webs of on-line communities and conversations are being created. This huge resource pool can not surely be ignored by big companies for much longer. They must soon realise the potential of this communications resource. Here you have a message-sender-reciever model ready to go, without any interference or distorting the message from anyone.
The journalist for years now, has been seen as the mediator for the news they report on, and therefore could hold organisations to account if the information turned out to be inaccurate. However, now everyone from any organisation, culture, and political party can have their say through the use of blogging, there is absolutely no way of mediating the information that is posted on the blogging sites. This is the dilema we now face. Is this a good thing that freedom of speach has been given such an enormous unsoiled outlet, or is this a bad thing with the complete lack of mediation associated with this freedom of speach. Public Relations already has a bad image of deceit, and lies, therefore the industry must tread carefully when utilising this new communications tool.

15th May, 2006

Unmediated Communications

I read a blog yesterday by Elizebeth Albrycht, who I mentioned in an earlier entry, where she discussed the implications and need for transparency and ethics in the blogsphere, especially within Public Relations. She explained that truth and transparency are necessary conditions for ethical PR practice, but niether are sufficient. You need both plus other things like the ethical codes like those outlined by the PRSA. With the blogging becoming more and more widespread, it is crucial that PR practitioners become more transparent for the customer and general public to regain any trust it once enjoyed. The PR industry has always had a bad image attached, shrouded in lies and secrecy. This is one of the problems the PR blogger needs to address with unmediated communications. Elizebeth Albrycht explains " the practice of PR has always been a game with certain rules. We use various methods of persausion in order to get our message across, especially to the gatekeepers of the media." (Blogging Planet, www.globalprweek.com/2005, May 2006)
Most activities while generally conforming to ethical principles, have been conducted behind closed doors. Today, with the blogsphere, a light has been shined on these activities and many people don't like what they see. Most people have no idea about how Public Relations is really practiced, but plenty have opinions on how terrible and dishonnest it is. Now these people have a platform for proclaiming their opinions through a blog.
This is exactly the reason the blogsphere will help to dispell the myths of PR practitioners and enable a more open door policy which can only help to enhance or reverse the currently bad and distrustfull image associated with Public Relations.
In a recent lecture I had, we were instructed to look at a Public Relations company called Edelman who posted a blog which explained the future use of digital communications in the Public Relations industry; "we see a very different future - one in which PR becomes the essential aspect of communications creating a runway of trust before other marketing disciplines are deployed." (Edelman - whatsnextblog.com, May, 2006). This shows the positive feeling I believe that is coursing through the veins of the PR body in regards to this exciting communications tool.

16th May, 2006


Blogging for PR - Good or Bad?


What will blogging do for Public Relations? A very good question if I do say so myself! Blogging is already turning the PR world on its head. In the past year or two, from the research I've completed for this assignment, I've found that the blogging phenomenon has already achieved a remarkable prominance. This was supported by a communications officer for Friends Of the Earth, who I interviewed for our presentation on New Digital Communications. He stated that the introduction of new communications technology has exceeded his expectations. They have a web site where the FOE community can blog. The COE of Friends of The Earth is about to start blogging for The Guardian. This new communications technology is exactly what these sorts of organisations need to reach a wider audience, become closer, on a more personal level, and target specific messages at specific audiences with greater freedom. Coupled with the impact it already has acieved within the industry, I believe that blogging will be the way forward.
The use of blogging is especially changing the PR industry. I read a blog by Marcel Goldstein; a senior executive at Ogilvy Public Relations; he stated in his blog; "addressing a company's public relations requires all or most of a company's marketing communications tools, as they are all being redesigned from one-way mediums to two-way mediums by the online world." (marcelgoldstein.blogspot.com, May 2006).
Public Relations will no longer be a stand alone discipline but part of an intergrated marketing communications enviroment. Crucial to this success will be strategic planning, and management PR will then become a centerpiece of marketing communications integration. This intergration is imperative for the PR industry, in order for it to keep up with the ever changing digital communications, and the benefits to be gained from embracing it.

The flow of information and opinion is unprecedented in human history. The potential for missinformation is disturbing for some people, especially politicians, corporations i.e. Shell Oil, and others in the public spotlight. But the liberating effects of blogging and the information flow are far more significant. (Re-Thinking PR, May 2006)
PR has grown up in this "restricted access" enviroment. Therefore, these new digital communications channels will enable PR practitioners to help clients get through these restrictions and derive maximum impact from promoting their messages to the mainstream media's "captured" audiences.
It is clear from reading scores of blogs I've undertaken from researching this issue that PR practitioners have grown tired of this insiders game and blogging will help them and their clients move away from the total dependance on mainstream media. This I believe is one of the fundimental issues on how blogging will help the Public Relations Industry.

Bloggers love the new medium for all the reasons that make it a scary prospect for traditional old style PR practitioners, organisations such as Shell, and journalists. Blogging emphasises "authentic voices" and genuine interaction - it can be fast, rough and unpredictable. This is very different to what currently passes for communications in the world of business!

Intervening and influencing these communities and conversations, will require different skills, techniques, protocols and strategies. Up until now "feedback" has been the poor cousin of PR, which has been mostly concerned with the disciplined download of cleverly crafted and tightly controlled messages.
The ease, power and popularity of blogging is already challenging the media's centrality, and consequently its impotance. Even in these fairly early days of the blogging phenomenon, there is a growth in direct communications with stakeholders by organisations and the use of blogs to raise the media accountability to unprecedented levels.
The decline in the media's centrality and authority is a double edged sword for PR. It gives the capacity to go around the narrow media gateway and develop richer more robust relationships with the stakeholders and general public. Jay Rosen, professor at New York University and professional blogger summed up this point in an interview with the New York Times, "In this world, the audience and sources are publishers...producers too. The interview lies midpoint between us." This sums up the blogging revolution to a tea!!!