Web 2.0 saw the emergence of social media, new and extensive ways of communication to a world of people online. As opposed to the generic top down format the media has always taken, such as the press barons feeding the news to the consumers, with social media the consumers can now contribute in what is quickly becoming a bottom up media world; the consumers are wanting to become the producers.
Social media in the forms of social networks, micro-blogging and blogging have conquered the attention spans of those online. An article on the Telegraph website explains the grasp social networks alone have on the world, mainly the youth, with 9 out of 10 students being distracted by a social network such as Facebook and Twitter once an hour (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8781704/UK-students-most-distracted-by-social-media.html) From a ‘normal’ society view, the social networks are harming real social interaction and shortening attention spans; however this dominating aspect of the social media is nothing but positive from a Public Relations perspective.
Social media gives the illusion of being social; there is an aspect of ‘sharing’ on the social network websites that form a pseudo community. PR professionals are tapping into this community, subliminally making them do their work for them by sharing the PR client's content for free, to their friends or followers, depending on the social media type; who will then go on to share to theirs, so on and so forth.
Drawing back to the Jenkins’ quote, PR companies are quickly creating social networking pages for their campaigns/clients, dispersing them at a dramatic rate through the use of hash tags (Twitter categorising method), they have had to adopt language and techniques that have come with the new social media in order to use it effectively, involving adapting to the new media as well, concluding with their efforts being absorbed in to the culture very quickly. Proving that social media, although poisonous to some, for PR companies it is an outlet for mass communication, helping achieve their goals on an international scale, such as the viral domination of the Kony 2012 campaign.
Social media in the forms of social networks, micro-blogging and blogging have conquered the attention spans of those online. An article on the Telegraph website explains the grasp social networks alone have on the world, mainly the youth, with 9 out of 10 students being distracted by a social network such as Facebook and Twitter once an hour (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8781704/UK-students-most-distracted-by-social-media.html) From a ‘normal’ society view, the social networks are harming real social interaction and shortening attention spans; however this dominating aspect of the social media is nothing but positive from a Public Relations perspective.
Social media gives the illusion of being social; there is an aspect of ‘sharing’ on the social network websites that form a pseudo community. PR professionals are tapping into this community, subliminally making them do their work for them by sharing the PR client's content for free, to their friends or followers, depending on the social media type; who will then go on to share to theirs, so on and so forth.
Drawing back to the Jenkins’ quote, PR companies are quickly creating social networking pages for their campaigns/clients, dispersing them at a dramatic rate through the use of hash tags (Twitter categorising method), they have had to adopt language and techniques that have come with the new social media in order to use it effectively, involving adapting to the new media as well, concluding with their efforts being absorbed in to the culture very quickly. Proving that social media, although poisonous to some, for PR companies it is an outlet for mass communication, helping achieve their goals on an international scale, such as the viral domination of the Kony 2012 campaign.
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