PR 2.0

In the book, 'Putting the Public Back in Public Relations' by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge, there is a Chapter by the title of PR 2.0 vs. Public Relations.
Throughout the Chapter we are supposed to remember that PR is about the people and not about the tools. I think that we should remember this not only through the book we are reading in this class but also throughout our career choices in PR.
The Chapter brought up the 'black mark' that inevitably occurred in 2001 which meant the Internet and PR spin were on the rise. Many PR professionals and agencies suffered and lost credibility. Although this was a large problem in 2001 I think that some agencies are still feeling the negative feed back. It is important as a PR Professional to uphold integrity and credibility at all times.
From the first few chapters I see that it is very important to remember the golden rule and the code of ethics, no matter which code you follow. Remembering that PR is about people and not about the tools is something to always remember. Always check and recheck facts and dates; credibility is something that will either make or break a reputation.

Is Facebook Like Google, or More Like Yahoo?

I found a blog that talked about Facebook vs. Twitter on 'The Social Media Guide-Mashable.' The blog named,'Is Facebook Like Google, or More Like Yahoo?' briefly discusses the journey both Google and Yahoo have taken.

The blog shows how Yahoo went from incorporation to IPO in one year and started acquiring different companies and diversifying itself away from the standard search engine. Yahoo had acquired classic games, sportasy, viaweb, webcal, message boards, news, instant messenger, clubs and calenders in a matter of three years.

Google on the other hand was Incorporated in 1998 and didn't make is first acquisition until 2001 (Google Groups). It took Google six years to go from founding to IPO and didn't start establishing google maps, blogger, igoogle or gmail until several years after they launched. Early on Google's main goal was to be the best search engine on the web. Having that goal be their main focus has made Google grow into one of the most profitable, powerful and popular destinations on the web.

The blog compared Facebook and MySpace to Yahoo and then Twitter to Google. The blog talks about the potential identity crisis that Facebook could go through when deciding what it really would like to be in the future whether it be a full-featured social network, an application platform, an identity platform, a micro blogging platform, a real-time search engine, or something.


With my experience with Facebook it always seems like they are finding a different application to add or a different layout to try out. Facebook seems to almost have Attention Deficit Disorder when deciding how they want to be. Facebook is now trying to reconnect with the users that they have lost to twitter by launching Facebook Lite, which is just like Facebook but with all of the many applications cut out and with less tabs to go through to get to what you want. Do I think Facebook is slowly going downhill just like Yahoo? No, but I do think that if Twitter keeps on the track of being simple, professional and easy to use they could be the top networking devices that we use. As I am getting older I can see a definite pattern of which social networking devices I use, in high school I was on Myspace and now in college I was more attracted to what Facebook had to offer and as I am looking towards my future out of college, Twitter is becoming more and more appealing.

Code of Ethics

Today in class we talked about the code of ethics in public relations. We looked at the PRSA code of ethics just to get an idea of how it works. There are going to be ethical codes that we will need to follow in the future whether it be for PRSA, our company or even in life. When we went over the principles of ethical research it was clear that the participants in the survey being done must know every detail that is going on in the study. The participant needs to know that they are being involved in a research study and that they can withdraw at any time. The researchers must not mislead the participants at any time. The participants cannot be harmed or punished in anyway during the study.

If you offer an award for participating you must follow through. Results are usually promised to the participants and to the companies who hire the researchers. However the company has propriety over surveys and all information taken during the study.