I would like to start out by saying that this article made some really good points about old fashion PR. I was so drawn into this article that it makes me want to think of the way I should do PR when I get a job. We are all so use to PR 2.0 and how everyone is attached to social media. Then again, people have done PR with out social media for years and have done fine, if not better. I think that there are positives and negatives to both types of PR. Lately, it is harder for our age group to understand that PR is possible to be completed the old fashion way because we are so used to social media. I do not know how I feel about the article saying that social media is a complete waste of time. I can see where he is coming from but I think what we need is to find a happy medium. There is a way we can do both old fashion PR and use some social media. That way, we are not relying only on social media to do all the work. I’m not going to lie; I am really impressed that some of the most accomplishing PR was done with out all the major social media.
On page 30 of Solis and Breckenridge it says, “with web 2.0, the ability for everyday people to publish content and build authority exploded.” We have also seen many companies do some awesome things because of social media and this is why we need social media for our PR. On page 3, of Solis and Breckenridge it says, “Social Media also forces PR to see things differently.” I think that book makes a really good point that having social media helps us reach those people that we may have not been able to reach before. In our article it talks about using email and telephone use to get a hold of someone but that’s not possible. I think social media opens that door so that you can have all the access in the world. Also, we know that things are changing and being ahead of the game is key. This is why we need to be able to know how to use social media for our PR but not to the extent to where we are not wasting time. I know that we can’t, “Spend time meeting reporters, crafting your message and getting placements in major media or your local publication, or you can type the keyboard for hundreds of hours hoping someone “Likes” your brilliant post on Facebook or follows your wickedly awesome tweets on Twitter.”
I found a really interesting article that also talks about social media being a waste of time and money. The name of the article is Social Media: why it’s a big fat waste of time and money. Just the beginning of the article it makes a really good point saying, “The problem is that social media rarely has any strategy or business purpose behind it. (Hint: getting as many Facebook likes as humanly possible is not a social media strategy!).” I do not think that many of us realize that this really happens. I can see that some people may get carried away and use social media because other companies use social media and that could potentially be bad. My thoughts are that this article and the article that we were given tell us that we don’t need social media. It may have a hidden meaning saying that people do not know how to use social media wisely.
It is really hard for me to pick one kind of PR instead of the other. This is why I keep going back and forth in my answer because I see positives in both. I can see how it would be beneficial to use old fashion PR and I also see how social media helps PR people. This is why I have mentioned earlier we need to compromise and be able to do both.
allisonwalter 