I have read a very interesting article which features arguments on the true claim of online PR to the Internet. I have been writing about online PR for some time now, and somehow, I still confess that I have no idea how public relations first figured in the World Wide Web (WWW). Now that I’ve been enlightened, I think that it is better to step back a little and start the discussion on how PR ultimately claimed the Internet as its territory.
I have read a very interesting article which features arguments on the true claim of online PR to the Internet. I have been writing about online PR for some time now, and somehow, I still confess that I have no idea how public relations first figured in the World Wide Web (WWW). Now that I’ve been enlightened, I think that it is better to step back a little and start the discussion on how PR ultimately claimed the Internet as its territory.
According to the article entitled Blogging: PR’s True Claim to the Internet, the idea of public relations claiming the Internet as its own was first coined by Don Middleberg in 1998, when he said that public relations is “about a brilliant idea communicated through various forms of media and online is the next form”.
Middleberg sparked a discussion by saying that the PR industry claimed the Internet. His thesis created an argument that between PR and advertising, the latter seems to have claimed the Internet by way of banner ads and email newsletter sponsorships. Then again, the claim was made back in ’98. If someone will say that the PR industry has claimed the www in this day and age, I will have to agree.
Public relations on the Internet has the capacity to become a perfect brand building mechanism. In my opinion, being a brand building mechanism is the primary role of online PR. But what does this brand-building role of public relations have to do with laying a claim to the Internet? Well, by becoming a mechanism in brand building, online public relations could claim the Internet through its claim of another growing culture online, that is the Blogosphere.
I have discussed the culture of blogging before, and (I think) I also mentioned how blogs and PR are interrelated. But to my surprise, upon reading the article on PR’s true claim to the Internet, I found out that the PR industry has claimed the blogosphere as its own. How?
The article explained how public relations has a claim on the culture of Blogosphere by pointing out that the survival of blogging -- and perhaps, its popularity -- is dependent on the PR industry. According to the article, “Many journalist (sic) that run blogs have small but dedicated followings of opinion leaders and influencers, the key people that PR initiatives are trying to target in maintaining relationships. In so doing bloggers exert an influence rivaling that of traditional news outlets.”
In addition, the article emphasizes that blogging, although not yet considered to be fully journalistic in nature, but more of meta-journalism, relies on the sources that mainstream media produce. Thus, in a sense, “bloggers look to the same news outlets for blog-fodder that PR professionals pitch in the first place.”
Another thing that the article pointed out is the development of blogging as a business tool through PR’s help. “PR professionals can develop several blogging strategies that will impact the effectiveness of their campaigns. To get into the picture PR professionals can either pitch blogs directly or set up a corporate blog (internally or externally).”
And in addition, “Through blogs, any online PR efforts resulting in content generation has the potential to be moved around the Internet, reacted to, conversed with and linked to thousands of times...building company brand. If the material is positive for a company, it’s a PR manager’s dream.”
PR could have indeed conquered the www through conquering the blogging industry. I think that the versatility of public relations won this claim like its success on conquering the mainstream media. Public relations, in short, can and is continually adapting to the changes of technology and time. And through this, it has conquered both the Internet and mainstream media.
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