Online PR & Marketing – Today’s Perception and Latecomer Practitioners
During one of my recent trips my eye got caught by this Internet hotspot in London. It made me think about what the Internet has become.
Few years ago people were using Internet and cyber cafes to check their emails and surf. Today the web is much more. Chats, social networking, online gaming, calls, live/on-demand video streaming, etc.
The same shift happened in business too. Are you familiar with those barbecue parties in which people ask you “What do you do?” I usually answer online PR and marketing (or more in general online communications). If I think about their reaction
- Few years back was: “Oh yeah… so you are into ‘email marketing’…”
- Today is: “Oh yeah I know what you do… I’m on facebook, youtube and twitter too!”
Hehehhh if you are a serious practitioner, and not a carpetbagger, I probably know what you are thinking right now so my answer to you is: “No you are not the only one noticing this… Today lots of people believe they know what’s PR or marketing on the web just because they are on twitter, youtube or facebook… but this is a topic for another blog post
“.
What was running in my mind when I was looking at the huge sign of this Internet hotspot wasn’t the central-hub role that the web is playing in the everyday life and business of many. My thoughts went out to all the practitioners that took distances for years from social media and that now are jumping on the bandwagon just because twitter and facebook went mainstream. Shouldn’t surprise the fact that although now they are embracing these new communication channels, they are still not getting it right forgetting about strategy and ending up focusing on tactics first (I’m sure I’m not the only one seeing this either). But again, I should dedicate another blog post to this topic.
What do you think when you look at this photo I took? Take this as a conversation starter and share your thoughts, I’ll keep them in mind and use them (giving you credit of course) as inspiration when I’ll blog about some of the ‘related’ topics I mentioned in this post.
Andrea
Author: Andrea Vascellari
Andrea Vascellari is the CEO of itive.net. All thoughts and opinions on this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of his employer or clients; neither past or present. If you liked this post feel free to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or subscribe to this blog.
I’m mainly working with beginners in online communications. So although my personal reaction to this photo might be more like a “yes, sure” the reaction of most of my clients would be “oh my god!” and a feeling of being lost in front of all of the possibilities the web offers today.
As intermediators for online communications we need to help people select from this variety, help them find their way and get used to these tools (that might be common for us but are not common for them). We also need to help people understand that the web landscape is something dynamic, changing every day. Maybe in a while we’ll find this photo funny because there is a new service that has all this in one?
Maybe you remember me asking you this before: I really wonder where it all will end? Will it all be summed up one day in some follow-up of facebook or google wave? Or will the variety of tools remain or even grow? What do you think?
@Annette: Yes, the Internet has become a core element for many but not for everybody. Not yet. Agree also on the fact that communicators certainly have to keep their role of guidance.
About where we are heading? Future questions are always tricky. I can’t predict the future but I think the service of the future will must solve problems (that’s what will make them spread, support their revenue model, and make their usage sustainable in the long term). Google Wave is not solving problems yet.
Maybe it’s too early to say what Wave will be used for. Probably is going to be the community that will determine it, and almost certainly the developers will have to re-pitch it according to the needs of users (Wave is still too geeky for many).
Maybe Wave is still too much ahead but it already shows us (again) the potential of the real-time web age we are living in and the power of ‘channels aggregation’ (if we can use the term).
Time and community will tell.
Thanks for joining the conversation Annette!
I have also been pondering with the idea of “where is this all going to end” and this is what I’ve come up with: internet is a language.
At first, let’s say 10 years ago, only some of us where able to read it. Even less where able to write it. But as it is the nature of this particular language, it spread. People everywhere saw that this language was something that would be beneficial to them to learn. So they learned. And many of them thought them selves, so the knowledge of this language became, in a way, personal to them. And now that there was the audience that could read, there were also the people how could and would write.
As I see it, each and every application or service online, be it Google Wave or just some Twitter-like-clone, is a book. A book, that will have it’s own readers. Some books will became huge success stories, others will be forgotten (or sold at $0,99 at local supermarket). Some books will have the knowledge and/or stories of multiple books in them. And some books are just sad plagiarized copies of others. But the one thing in common, at least for the most successful books, is that they reflect the needs and dreams of the current age.
Books also have a great influence on people and if those people are well connected or are in some high ranking office, the influence is going to be even bigger.
Now that we are all (well not all, but still) living in the same digital village, speaking the same language, these books (apps) naturally are about social interaction; sharing and there are going to be books like these for ages to come – take the classic books of Greece writers, Homeros etc. and you will see that books like these are still written.
In my opinion, we should use “real world” as our map on predicting the future. I bet that we are going to see a lot of “how to help the environment” -apps in coming years.
@Tommi: Terrific comment. This will keep me (and I’m sure others too) thinking for a while, excellent contribution and metaphor!
“They were not able to choose, which world they would like to live in. Still they should have been able to learn – learn the means to survive and to understand the world they’ll have to live in and furthermore have an option to communicate with a common language.”
Just an idea from A book: Half of a yellow sun.
Internet is a language. We still collide in several points, in a way that is repeated in every era that changes humankind on a significant level. People use the language they are familiar with in a world that is different and new, and in a way scary an uncertain to them.
@Sanna: and we are just at the beginning of this new era
Exciting times!
The picture but even more your post raises a lot of thoughts. My first impression of the big sign is that Internet is so much more than that. And how did something so specific such as “Travel insurance” end up on the sign? It is as random as “Cheap tires” and/or “Latest news from Uganda” or something alike on the sign
Internet is a totally integrated part of our society these days. Almost anything we can do AFK can be done online (And will be more and more in the future, I think). But there is also a growing digital gap between people that are online and know how to behave and live online and the people refusing to take part in any of that. Some of their own free will and some because of economical, physical, intellectual or other challenges.
Younger people doesn’t see Internet as an object. They have never used a computer that’s not connected and don’t know for what use such a computer would be.
@Daniel: I think the insurance ended up there because I was at the airport
, but I agree Internet is much more and it is part of our society. Then of course not everyone is there yet, but they will come. At least the younger generations as you said (I love to work with digital natives!).
Agree on the gap too.
What I think must be kept in mind is also what Richard said in his comment below, change takes time. We are living at the edge but for the rest of people that are outside the fishbowl the situation is still much different. But again I’m convinced it will gradually change if we keep playing a good role of guidance.
In my travels I USE airplanes. This does not make me a pilot or an aviation expert. Likewise, using a Web 2.0 tool does not make one a professional. So, in short, I concur here
@Nikos: Very good metaphor! Well said… I’ll keep it in mind
I think kind of the opposite of Daniel’s thought. That is, the billboard makes it clear that Internet is still some separate thing that you must go to.
“internet” (here) means it is not everywhere.
Furthermore, it was many years ago I realized how long time change takes.
cheers,
/r
@Richard: Yes I know what you mean. Probably Daniel was referring to it when talking about the gap.
About the time needed to change. Oh..my… I see that everyday too. In projects, organizations, everywhere. I wish the reaction time could be faster. Especially because this fast paced environment is setting new rules and who doesn’t play by these rules have a bigger chance of being left/dropped out of the game (not sure now but I guess in future almost certain).
Yep! There is a digital gap between the people that have to use such a hotspot and the people that are carrying Internet with them wherever they go. “Internet here” seems like a stupid statement for all the people passing the hotspot with internet in the pocket. “Internet, everything but here” would be a more precise message since people using a hotspot probably not is the ones active online. Most of them belong to the part of the population that still check their snail-mailbox more often than their email.
Web 1.0 They
Web 2.0 We
Web 3.0 Me
Web 4.0 Always and everywhere
People online have reached different of the above stages. And Yes Richard, it takes time. A lot of time. Some people even mean that the current oldest generation is lost and never will get online. I dont agree on that. They just need a reason good enough for them. Like the 55+ ladies that are flowing in to Facebook.
@Daniel” Nice evolution summary
=> from web 1.0 to 4.0
Thx! It is not my stuff. I picked it up and get a lot of cred for it every time I bring it up
Soon it will be my words…or?
Yes, be authentic. It may seem obvious and trite yet it’s so important to talk like a human, act like a human, be human when in the social space. Blog as if you’re having a conversation with someone. Tell stories. Show your strengths and weaknesses. It’s ok to rant, rave and even show your faults.
Authenticity is so important yet so many people hide their true feelings and thoughts for fear of rejection.
This comment was originally posted on KyleLacy.com
I heard about google alerts but until now I never thought to use it as a tool in my work, thanks
This comment was originally posted on KyleLacy.com