The New Realm of Public Relations

A new face of Public Relations is emerging with technology being at the forefront. Public relations practitioners have formally relied on print news to get the message from the company to the public. Now with the emergence of Deirdre Breakenridge concept "PR 2.0", company's are able to have conversations directly with their public concerning their brand on the internet.
Consumers are able to get involved in areas where there was previously limited access. PR can now keep the public at the top of the agenda and connect ideas and people in a way that contributes value.




The advanced technology of our time has allowed for a extremely high level of connectivity between companies and the public that has never existed before. Mitch Joel a "Rock star of digital marketing," and one of North America's leaders in digital communication, coined the concept "Six Pixels of Separation." This is a play on words regarding six degrees of separation. We are related to everyone in the world by no more than six degrees. Joel believes that the same holds true on the internet. We are never more than six pixels away from anyone else in the world.

Joel's concept reinforces the notion that with PR 2.0 an innovative class of public relations practitioners will emerge being able to but the public back in public relations through broadband connectivity.



Bottom Line: The more things change the harder it is to remember how they once were (Courtney Barnes, editor, PR news). Because of the increasing broadband connectivity throughout the word the function of public relations professions will never be the same. Get Connected!!!

Baby Boomers Take Over Facebook

Mitch Joel, one of North America's leading digital visionaries, recently wrote a blog exploring who uses Facebook. Joel reported that there are more baby boomers than high school students using this social media application.



Joel states in his blog (Six Pixels of Separation) that baby boomers " Are taking to the Web, engaging, joining the conversation and taking part in many online communities." Many are surprised by this statement. Many believe that this generation is "technologically challenged" and would be the last to use Facebook.


Despite popular belief the number of baby boomers (aged 55 and older) has skyrocketed in the past six months from less than a million users to nearly six million. At the same time the number of college and high school students using Facebook has declined an average of 17.5 per cent.


For me these figures were not surprising. Both my parents have Facebook accounts and engage more frequently than I do and I know I'm not alone. Most of my friend's parents also have active Facebook accounts. So then why the gap between what is believed and what is reality?


I feel the reasons behind why the baby boomers use Facebook may account for the gap. Students use it mostly to socialize. The baby boomers may have ulterior motives. Yes they want to stay in touch with their children but they also want to observe what they are doing. The watchdog works best if hidden. They have a superior presence online but keep it hidden better.

The bottom line: Baby boomers then may play the role of technologically challenged but are actually savvier then us.