1. Putting the Public Back in Public Relations Authors: Brian Solis & Deirdre Breakenridge Jessica Cameron
2. Brian Solis Principal of FutureWorks Co-founder of the Social Media Club Original member of the Media 2.0 Workgroup Among top 1.5% of blogs tracked Books: Engage, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations, Now is Gone Photographer www.briansolis.com
3. Deirdre Breakenridge President & Director of Comm. at PFS Marketwyse Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Prof. Books: Cyberbranding, The New PR Toolkit, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations PR Practitioner PRSA www.deirdrebreakenridge.com
4. What I learned… “The first principle of success is desire - knowing what you want. Desire is the planting of your seed.”
5. Social Science v. Social Media Social science-study of society & human relationships & communities people create & participate in
6. Social Science v. Social Media Social media-about people & how we can approach them as informed & helpful peers
8. Would I recommend this book? Insight on blogging & it’s benefits New way to look at social media & what it does Social media is based on social sciences and will always be; NEVER FORGET YOUR ROOTS
Brian Solis, one of the authors of this book, is the Principal of FutureWorks. FutureWorks is a new media marketing and branding agency located in Silicon Valley. Brian co-founded the Social Media Club and became one of the original members of the Media 2.0 Workgroup. Brian has been writing about the changes and revolutions of the new marketing and communications for over a decade. He wants the public to realize how the internet is redefining the communications industry as we know it.Brian, along with Stephanie Argresta, began TechSet. TechSet is a celebration of people who have and continue to contribute to the evolving of the social economy. Brian has become well known for photographing prominent technology figures, artists, celebrities, and events. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, Business Week, The Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, and many others. You can find Brian’s blog at www.briansolis.com.
Deirdre is the President and Director of Communications at PFS Marketwyse. Marketwyse is a marketing and public relations company. The clients of Marketwyse include Catalent, JVS, Michael C. Fina, and RCN Metro. Deirdre is a professor at the Farleigh Dickinson University located in Madison, New Jersey. She teaches classes in Public Relations and Interactive Marketing.The books Deirdre has written include PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations, New Audiences, Cyberbranding, and The New PR Toolkit. Deirdre is a PR practitioner and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).You can find Deirdre’s blogging site at www.deirdrebreakenridge.com.
The book compared PR to farming and planting seeds. It says that the more seeds you plant the more coverage will happen over time as long as you spend time “watering” and caring for the seeds you planted. All the coverage doesn’t just happen because you are a great big company that is popular in the public eye. At some point the greatest companies even need great PR people to help their company excel.
Although giving the definition of social sciences may seem old fashioned. The social sciences are still the foundation of any communications program in any university or college around the nation. Without social sciences there would be no communication studies or communication arts or any other program in the communications department. As these basic concepts are still extremely important in the communications of today’s world, they are the beginning and the most valuable tools in the world of social media and communications. New tools will continue to emerge and change throughout the years, but one thing that remains the same is the basis for all that is communications.
The definition of social media is not THAT different than the definition of social sciences. Our attention is constantly shifting from one technology to the newest innovation in social media. The first step in being successful with social media is to listen. You need to figure out where your constituents are congregating and collaborating. This is the key to everything that follows. The most important rule in using social media is to observe and understand the cultures and behavior that is necessary to participate in communities which you don’t already exist and participate in. Marketing in social media is considered equal to telemarketing in your personal homes. Focusing on individuals, not just audiences, will help you succeed and keep you on your path.
Is a journalist a blogger?Is a blogger a journalist?What is the difference between the two?Are bloggers as important to communications programs like journalists are?There may not be consistent answers to the questions listed above, although some may think they are fairly simple questions. Journalists everywhere accepted the rules of the AP Stylebook they were required to learn in school, but are those rules relevant to bloggers?Journalists have always seemed to have the reputation for being respected for the immense schooling and the strict ethical guidelines they are supposed to follow in the reporting process. Has blogging taken some of that respect away from them?With the empire of social media evolving, writing has become more conversational and has more personality and flare than traditional journalism and is affecting even news releases.Although journalists have crossed over into the world of blogging, all bloggers can not be deemed journalists. Journalists still go to school to learn all the tactics and techniques that is not required for just anyone in the internet world to create a blog and share their opinion and personal news. Bloggers can have their own code of ethics and build trust in their blogging community to gain readership, but they are not required to do so. No particular person is governing the blogosphere out there. In past couple of years, teachers in the communications departments at the universities around the country are teaching their students the art and rules of blogging. Someday bloggers may have a greater ability to gain the same respect traditional journalists today have.
This book provided me insight on how to keep your blogs within the “bloggers” code of ethics. I had never thought of the bloggers being a type of journalist before reading this book. Although bloggers are not always technically considered journalists, journalists who blog are considered bloggers. For those who are not familiar with the new age of social media, this book provided a newer way to look at all the aspects of social media, how to use it, and what it can do for you. Where there are advantages, there will always be disadvantages. Social media will constantly be changing and new tools and products will be emerging. Never forget where the roots of communications came from. What you do today with social media, started from something more complex with less technology. It is important to learn about the science from which our practice came from as PR professionals.