PR principles in a social media environment

Five principles that are important in social media and can influence or inspire how we teach public relations:

1. Collaboration. If people are now expected to understand how to harness collective intelligence, it's important for them to learn how to operate in a collaborative environment. An example is the collaborative literature review project I used in my special topics social media class, inspired by Michael Wesch.

2. Narrative. I've been referring a lot to Henry Jenkins's notion of "transmedia storytelling" lately. We've always needed to teach students to tell stories about products, people, issues, etc. but the new media environment forces them to tell stories across multiple platforms. I like Jenkins's discussion of transmedia storytelling because it suggests telling different parts of the story in different places (movie, game, Web site, etc. -- he uses "The Matrix" as an example) tailored to the medium. My students experimented with this idea in their book report blog on Jenkins's Convergence Culture. Applying this concept to PR would mean NOT taking a press release and making a podcast of the press release being read out loud. Instead, a press release might link to a video that has a human interest story related to, or maybe just briefly mentioned in, the press release -- either could stand alone, but together they tell a bigger story. I'll be experimenting with this next time I teach PR writing.

3. Online identity production. I refer here not just to online branding (personal or product) but to actual production of identity along the lines discussed by danah boyd in her study of teens on MySpace. Transparency and authenticity are important parts of this discussion -- how do you construct a personal or corporate self in an environment with those expectations? What do you say, or not say?  Looking at examples like the Dell Twitter feeds, where a person and a brand are both identified (such as @LionelatDell, who tells me that there are about 200 Dell employees tweeting now, although not all with the xyzatDell username), or the Rubbermaid blog, where different people write brand-based stories from their own lives (disclosure: Erin is a Grady alum), will help students understand the blurring of personal and professional as well as the work of creating an authentic identity.

4. Culture. Of course students need to understand online culture and expectations. They need to learn to enter an online space treading cautiously, stopping to understand how the community operates and understand its norms and expectations before they start blasting their own thoughts and opinions. But culture also means attending to the inherently cross-cultural nature of communication on the Web. I learned this one the hard way when I complained about the cold winter weather on this blog, and an Australian reader reminded me that it was summer there. Yes, I had ignored an entire hemisphere. Since then I've tried to remember that anyone can read what I post. This is even more important for someone representing an organization, particularly a multinational organization, in a time when communication automatically extends around the globe. I haven't figured out any particular way to teach this, but would welcome suggestions.

5. Entrepreneurship. I listened to Tina Seelig's podcast (but I'm linking to the video because there are visuals involved) and got really energized to think about how entrepreneurship can be taught in PR. I'll be doing some sort of experiment with it in PR Administration next semester and will report back then.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and input.

Comments

[Gee Ekachai]

On Narrative, is the video addition similar to VNR? I think this is a good idea but also requires students to have video production skills, and us teachers to know enough to teach them. Although technology makes it easier with Flip camera and iMovie (and lots of hours on Lynda.com), I am concerned about the time we all have to consume to figure out how it works. I am teaching PR writing in the fall, so any advice will be much appreciated. I believe transmedia/multi-media storytelling is essential. But I am afraid it would take more than one course for students to do it well.

[Dawn Gilpin]

Our students are required to take an Online Media class, which basically covers the production aspects of transmedia storytelling. Of course, it doesn't address how to use these techniques in public relations, but by the time I get them in PR writing (hopefully next spring), I hope I'll be able to concentrate on applications without messing around too much with the technology--definitely not my forte. I agree that it all becomes overwhelming, even though convergence is definitely the name of the game for the foreseeable future. I'm eager to try my hand at it, though, and like Gee am always looking for suggestions and advice.

And I am finishing up an article on identity construction right now, as it happens, although it's just a tiny step toward thinking about some of the small and large issues involved. There are so many perspectives that can and should be brought into play, from ethics to critical theory. Lots to think about and discuss.

[Karen Russell]

Gee, not so much a VNR or PSA, just a video that tells one part of the story. (I can see that by calling it a feature I brought in a news approach, which I didn't intend).

Dawn, a course like that would certainly solve a lot of problems -- I wonder how many schools have that, or could support it if they wanted to? (Gee, is that a possibility for Marquette?)

The different perspectives you mention are also really important, because these principles can be discussed in a variety of ways -- it sounds like you're considering the ethics of identity production in addition to a critical analysis of it; but you're right, there are so many other lenses to use to view each principle beyond the obvious tactical needs they point to.

[Gee Ekachai]

Sorry for the late reply, Karen. I should have subscribed to the comment feed.
We just added a new course called Communication Technology and Design, aimed at freshmen and sophomores before they take PR Writing class as well as Graphic Communication and Design. It's designed to expose students to different software (CS3, iLife, basic web design, blogger). In past years, we spent too much time teaching technology in PR Writing Class. I hope one of these days I could start talking about blogging without having to show them how to set up a blog. I remember the old days when I had to tell students what WWW and URL stand for, so I am hopeful that day will come. :-)

Problem here at Marquette, and I am sure at other schools too, is that not everybody is on the same page. We have sections taught by both full-timers and part-timers, and it's difficult to ensure the consistency of the course content. I realize that we all have different approaches in teaching. But how do we streamline the curriculum without violating faculty's academic freedom?

I know this is kind of off-topic. Just something that's been in my head for a while.