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1、A historical examination of the development of social mediaand its application to the public relations industryKelli S. Burns, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorSchool of Mass CommunicationsUniversity of South Florida4202 E. Fowler Ave., CIS 1040Tampa, FL 33620-7800(813) 974-6799kburnscas.usf.eduPaper present
2、ed at the 2008 ICA Preconference, Montreal, Quebec, Canada AbstractSocial media have directly impacted the processes of communication and relationship building, not just among individuals, but also between organizations and their publics. With communication and relationship building often the respon
3、sibility of public relations practitioners, these professionals have recognized their critical role in helping organizations succeed in this new environment as well as the need to rethink previous approaches. While much has been written about the development of social media, the relationship between
4、 social media and the public relations industry has not been documented. This paper tracks the development of social media and the implementation of its various forms as public relations tools. Also discussed is how traditional public relations instruments, such as press releases, have been transfor
5、med to incorporate social media tools. Surveys of public relations professionals are used to illustrate the increasing acceptance of social media in public relations as well as changing expectations.Key words: Public relations, social media, blogs, historyA historical examination of the development
6、of social mediaand its application to the public relations industryIntroduction to Social Media“As the consumer-generated media wave continues to crest, it will be incumbent on the PR industry to stay current.”Todd Defren, SHIFT Communications (2006)Public relations practitioners employ social media
7、 tools to build and maintain a network of relationships with their publics. Blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networks, RSS feeds, and video-sharing sites offer unique opportunities for the field of public relations.The term social media is often used interchangeably with Web 2.0, which more specifical
8、ly refers to the second generation of Internet-based services. OReilly provided a comparison of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 to demonstrate how Web 2.0 represents a new mindset.Web 1.0 was the era when people could think that Netscape (a software company) was the contender for the computer industry crown. We
9、b 2.0 is the era when people are recognizing that leadership in the computer industry has passed from traditional software companies to a new kind of internet service company. (OReilly, 2005)While much has been written about the development of social media, the relationship between social media and
10、the public relations industry has not been documented. This paper tracks the development of social media and the implementation of its various forms as public relations tools. Also discussed is how traditional public relations instruments, such as press releases, have been transformed to incorporate
11、 social media tools. Not only do practitioners employ new tools and technologies, but the social media landscape also requires a rethinking of public relations models, strategy, research, and measurement. Practitioners have responded to social media by seeking new sources of influence, building trus
12、t with audiences by being more transparent, and recognizing some loss of control over the message. The next section will introduce and review the origins of popular social media tools.BlogsWeb logs, now commonly referred to as blogs, are characterized by reverse chronological entries of text, video,
13、 audio, or photos. According to Technorati, the number of blogs currently in existence is greater than 112 million although it is difficult to determine how many of these blogs are active. Long before Merriam-Webster named blog the word of the year in 2004, early forms of blogs existed, often as com
14、pilations of Web links. Catapulting the explosion of blogs was the release of free blogging software by P and B, both in 1999. These services gave the user a user-friendly interface for coding and designing a blog. OBrien (2005) called 2003 the “definitive moment for blogs” because that was the year
15、 bloggers received media credentials for the Democratic and Republican conventions.RSSRSS, or really simple syndication, allows for data broken down into discrete items to be syndicated on the Web. RSS feeds make is possible to receive news stories, blog entries, and podcasts in a news aggregator. W
16、ikisWikis allow multiple users to edit documents or Web pages. The first wiki, called WikiWikiWeb was designed by Ward Cunningham and installed on the Internet on March 25, 1995. Today, the largest and most well-known wiki is Wikipedia, which operates as an online encyclopedia.PodcastsThe term podca
17、st, coined in 2004, refers to online audio programs that can be downloaded for later listening on a computer, iPod, or other MP3 player. Delivered through RSS, users can subscribe to a podcast series. Podcasts can be interviews, speeches, radio programs, music, or any other content with an audio com
18、ponent. Podcasters can alert subscribers when new podcasts are available. Podcasts can also be disseminated automatically through a feed reader. OBrien (2005) noted the “tipping point” for podcasts was June 28, 2005, when Apples iTunes allowed for the podcast format. Within two days, one million peo
19、ple had subscribed to iTunes podcasts and some small podcasts experienced listenership that was 10 times previous levels (OBrien, 2005).Video-sharing sitesAfter the video-sharing site YouTube was founded by PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, it quickly became one of the faste
20、st growing sites on the Web, according to traffic site Alexa. YouTube allows its users to post videos for public viewing and commentary. In just a little over a year after the public preview of YouTube in May 2005 and less than a year after its official debut in November 2005, YouTube was purchased
21、by Google for $1.65 billion in stock.Social networksWhile MySpace and Facebook hold the two top spots for social networking sites in terms of members, hundreds of social networks are in existence including LinkedIn, Bebo, T, Cyworld, and Friendster (boyd and Ellison, 2007). boyd and Ellison (2007) p
22、rovided a definition of social networks.We define social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list o
23、f connections and those made by others within the system. (boyd and Ellison, 2007)MySpace, founded by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, went online in August 2003 and had its official launch in early 2004 (Kurtzman, 2006). The sites popularity skyrocketed through 2004 and by July 2005, when Rupert Mur
24、dochs NewsCorp. paid $580 million for the site, MySpace had 17 million unique monthly visitors (OReilly, 2005; Petrecca, 2006). Just one year later in July 2006, with 46 million unique monthly visitors, the social networking phenomenon reached a milestone as MySpace became the most visited site on t
25、he Web, garnering 4.46% of all Internet visits (OMalley, 2006). By June 2007, the numbers reached 53 million visitors a month (Nielsen/NetRatings 2007 as cited in (Li, 2007). In August of 2006, MySpace registered its 100 millionth user, while the number of total members rose to over 116 million in O
26、ctober 2006 (Bowley, 2006) and to 172 million by April 2007 (Morrissey, 2007). SummaryThe accessibility of social media to marketers, advertisers, and interactive experts has created a situation whereby these professionals are tackling media relations, event planning, and two-way communications, onc
27、e the traditional domain of public relations practitioners.The time is very ripe to solidify and strengthen our (public relations) industrys established position of building and sustaining relationships, lest we cede our expanding position to other disciplines that approach social media from a persp
28、ective that is still rooted in the “push” messages that so turn off consumers. (Cripps, Rand, and Rodriquez, 2006, p. 5)Social influence has always been and should remain the purview of public relations (Cripps, Rand and Rodriquez, 2006). For this reason, it is important that public relations practi
29、tioners understand and excel in the use of social media.Models of Public Relations The old model of public relationsPrior to the advent of social media tools, companies were basically in control of their corporate image and message. Understanding consumer opinion required market research and pilot t
30、esting of new products and services (Bernoff and Li, 2008). Traditional public relations practice dictated that opinion-leaders were located and targeted for their ability to connect with key publics through the mass media and industry press. Under the old model of public relations, the industry rel
31、ied extensively on the push model to disseminate information, a single authoritative voice in a crisis, one-way communication, and control of both information and the flow of information (Edelman/Technorati, 2006).The emerging model of public relationsThe pyramid of power has shifted and the consume
32、rs and employees formerly at the bottom have become the new influencers within a peer-to-peer network (Edelman/Technorati, 2006). Now, employees are given more power and command more focused communication tactics with the understanding that employees might blog or speak about the company online. Con
33、sumers want to co-create with the manufacturer or service provider and address issues to a broad audience (Edelman/Technorati, 2006). Edelman contends that the shift is beyond that of two-way communication, but to an inclusive model. He advocated an “Arthur Page” approach to public relations in this
34、 new environment, emphasizing truth and listening to all voices (Edelman/Technorati, 2006).A white paper by Cymphony documented the changing practice of public relations, highlighting social media as one of the three major trends (2006). The recommendations included incorporating social media into c
35、ommunication plans and developing a corporate blogging strategy. The report identifies influencers such as activist bloggers and discussion on message boards. Provided in the Cymphony report are five indicators that social media is not just a trend. First, mainstream industries with non-digital prod
36、ucts, such as Nike, Starwood Hotels, McDonalds, and Wells Fargo Bank, are using corporate blogs. Second, corporate blog topics have moved away from corporate strategy and are focusing on public relations efforts. For example, McDonalds “Open for Discussion” blog presents their corporate social respo
37、nsibility initiatives and Starwood Hotels “The Lobby” blog uses travel writers to post tips and hotel information. The third indicator is that interest in best practices continues to grow. Fourth, companies are not as afraid of the potential negativity of the Internet. Survey results indicated that
38、of the 42% of companies who said a blog post affected their company, more than 90% cited a positive impact. About 75% of respondents said that their blogs had met initial goals of media coverage, Web site traffic, and sales leads. Finally, companies are realizing the insight that is possible through
39、 social media. Blogs are monitored to discover trends, get competitive information, and understand the word-of-mouth buzz (Cymphony, 2006).The Edelman/Technorati report highlighted the characteristics of an emerging model of public relations (2006). Included in this model is a move from push to pull
40、 dissemination of material. RSS feeds can be used for bloggers, journalists, and consumers to read client content regularly. Edelman used this technique for the City of New York as they publicized the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan after 9/11 on the Web site www.LowerManhattan.info (Edelman/Technorat
41、i, 2006).The second quality of the new model is a move from tight control of a message to conversation. Companies should be able to admit error and not have every message checked by headquarters. Thirdly, the Edelman/Technorati report also noted that public relations firms are going to need to engag
42、e at multiple levels through a process of open debate and divulging of good and bad information as quickly and completely as possible. The fourth quality of the model is the empowerment of employees and consumers to co-create. Employees should be able to maintain blogs and consumers should be encour
43、aged to create with the organization. GE used this strategy in their Ecoimagination program and allowed customers to tell stories about how they added to GEs product strategy (Edelman/Technorati, 2006).Fifth, the new environment requires that the practice of public relations is treated as a manageme
44、nt discipline to bridge the relationships between the company and its publics. Finally, the public relations industry needs to set aside the notion that the company is the best source of information and embrace collaboration with the community or the process of gaining knowledge outside the company
45、(Edelman/Technorati, 2006). Bernoff and Li noted that past uses of social media were rarely strategic (Bernoff and Li, 2008). The opportunity for todays public relations practitioners is to use social media to deliver results against strategic business goals (Bernoff and Li, 2008). The report outlin
46、es the ways social media can be tapped for listening, talking to, energizing, supporting, and managing consumers.Asked whether he believed public relations practitioners are embracing social media, Edelman executive and blogger Steve Rubel responded, “I think embracing, no, accepting, yes, beginning
47、 to work with, yes, but I think it requires a different way of thinking than what they are used to” (Jones, 2006).History of Social Media Applications for Public RelationsSocial media applications for public relations may date back to 1997 when Steve Gibson was hired by Ritual Entertainment to be th
48、eir online public relations director. In this capacity, he blogged for the company and is credited with being the first hired blogger ever.PRWeek and PR News, the two primary industry publications for public relations, are the best sources for the documentation of the rise of the use of social media
49、 in public relations. Many of the sources in the following sections originate from these two publications.BlogsFor many organizations, their first foray into social media was a blog. Searching the word “blog” in both of these publications located articles dating back to 2002. In October 2002, a PR News article suggested mo
