Blogger ancestry.

Spring ahead to the golden age of news–from the time of the Civil War (when war photography really made its mark) to the age of the “muckrakers“, World War II, and then to Watergate and Vietnam. Journalism became a profession; and “citizen journalists” disappeared from the scene.  “Journalism” became a scholarly pursuit with the advent of “J-schools” and journalism degrees.  

And the then began the consolidation in the 80s, and finally, the beginning of the great newspaper extinction.  And the  journalist breed–the guy with the suspenders, rolled up sleeves, reporter notebook and hat with the piece of paper in it that said “press,” also disappeared…Right?  

They haven’t, of course. (though the medium of newsprint, I am fairly certain and happy to say, is going extinct–Mother Nature is happy.)

And we have blogs and citizen journalism to thank for this. Much like small mammals in the midst of the great dinosaurs,  blogs multiplied in the shadow of newspapers early in the 21st Century.  And as the fortunes of newspapers began to decline, the blogs and citizen journalists  have filled the void. 

And I’m glad to see the U.S. has returned to its roots as a land of citizen journalists. 

Many former journalists became bloggers too (and Tweeters, Facebookers, etc.).  But the best part about the growth of social media and blogs is the return of the “citizen journalist”–the Thomas Paines of the world.  People that have opinions and are not afraid to write about it.  I’m thrilled that bloggers consider themselves journalists. In my mind, they are one in the same.  (And, by the way, I think, The U.S. Courts, should extend freedom of the press to these citizen journalists. Citizen journalists, or bloggers, are the very best insurance against omnipotent government.) 

Bloggers, everwhere.

As a public relations agency and for company clients, the growth of bloggers has brought both challenge and opportunity. The media landscape is now more fractured, and it’s harder to persuade a “mass” that your product/company/service is “the shizznit.”  But as an American, and a lover of American history, I’m glad to hear that most bloggers consider themselves journalists (according to the PRWeek/PR Newswire study).  I’m glad because it makes me feel (Robert Duvall Apocolypse Now pause, please)…free.

In fact, not only won’t they leave their facebook pages alone during work, young journalists are likely to be using facebook for work.  Fully 100 percent of the Millennial respondents to the SNCR’s survey showed they believe “new media and communications tools are enhancing journalism, vs. 40 percent in the 50-64 year old demographic.”   While this disparity isn’t surprising, it is interesting to note respondents were likely trained by the latter group both in college and in the early years of their profession.

If we thought PR has had difficulty adapting to social media, just imagine the chaos today’s in editorial departments.  On the one hand, social media is not-so-slowly strangling the mainstream media’s lifeblood.  On the other, young journalists are cozying up to social media to help them do their jobs.

Key findings of the study include:

* 100% of Millennial respondents (i.e., 18-29 year-olds) believe new media and communications tools are enhancing journalism, versus 40% in the 50-64 demographic

* 87% of 18-29 year-olds believe bloggers have become important opinion-shapers, versus 60% of 50-64 year-olds

* 87% of 18-29 year-olds confirm that new media and communications enhances the relationship with their audience, versus 42% of 50-64 year-olds

Key findings among all journalists:

* 48% of all respondents use LinkedIn, and 45% use Facebook to assist in reporting
* 68% of all respondents use blogs to keep up on issues or topics of interest
* 86% of all respondents use company websites, 71% use Wikipedia, and 46% use blogs to research an individual organization.

So it’s not a leap to understand why millennials are turning to social media to help them do their jobs, these tools foster a deeper level of interaction while at the same time broadening one’s reach.  Just as in PR, relationships count for journalists.  Why wouldn’t it make sense for a reporter to directly connect with a source via facebook or LinkedIn?

The challenge on the PR side is for millennials keep up with their journalist peers.  Not long ago I addressed part of this issue and got a great response from Megan Maguire, a millennial working for the Medical Records Institute (link down at the time of this post) here in Boston.    Her point: “older” <ahem> PR professionals have to show the millennials it’s okay to bring their leisure time experience with social media into the workplace.

Where millennials might not have been comfortable doing that before because they thought social media was perceived by management as “toys,” I’m sure I’m not the first to say that’s not the case now (if it ever was).  Young journalists inevitably grow up to be older journalists, and they’re not giving up their social media.  The SNCR’s report underlines the fact that both younger and older PR professionals have to embrace Twitter, facebook, Linked In, blogging, etc. to stay relevant.  If not for yourself, then do it for the kids.

- Joel

]]> http://www.pancommunications.com/prspeak/2008/11/do-it-for-the-kids/feed/ 0 http://www.pancommunications.com/prspeak/2008/01/living-the-life-online-how-to-do-it-have-fun-and-not-get-burned/ http://www.pancommunications.com/prspeak/2008/01/living-the-life-online-how-to-do-it-have-fun-and-not-get-burned/#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:48:38 +0000 ajigarjian http://prspeak.com.s47573.gridserver.com/?p=160 So you’re going out tonight, and you’re bringing the digital camera with you! All those great pics of you and your friends havin’ fun at the bar, and plus it’s your birthday, so you’re wearin’ a crown and a sexy top. Great!

The next day you upload all the details of the night to your Facebook page, tag every one of your friends that joined you in the midnight shot of Cuervo, and blog about the ridiculous antics you all got up to. So much fun to share your life online! Right?

Of course it is, and Facebook isn’t the only venue. Blogs, MySpace, Twitter, Flikr, Friendster, Bebo, Gather, imeem, LinkedIn, Jaiku, Meetup, ok you get the point. There are hundreds more. The question is, as we grow more and more comfortable sharing our daily details online, how do we know where the line is when it comes to what is appropriate, and more importantly, what is NOT, when it comes to putting content online?

Maybe we should ask Mark Jen, Ellen Simonetti, or Mike Hanscom. Each was fired for blogging, and they weren’t even maliciously sharing inside information about their companies. In fact, all three were surprised that their company took issue with what they had written online, they were just sharing anecdotes, posting pictures of friends and having a conversation online, but in each case, what they had revealed in the course of blogging was ultimately considered inappropriate for a representative of the company to be talking about online.

Think it’s just blogs? What about that profile picture on Facebook? Or the wall post your friend wrote you? Just ask Charlie Barrow or Zach Good. Your boss might not be your friend, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know someone who is, so assume that everything you put on any social site can be found by anyone, regardless of your privacy settings. With 63 million active users, odds are one of them has a connection to your employer!

So now you have a clean Facebook profile, but seriously, you can’t control what your friends do! No one would ever hold you responsible for who you are friends with, right? Wrong. Just ask Officer John Nohejl, who is under investigation because one of his friends on MySpace has a link on his or her page to a porn Web site.

The moral? What you put online is not just a fun way to share with friends and family, it’s a reflection on you, your company, your family, your friends, your school and any other organization you belong to. In addition, even if you think you’re blogging anonymously, you will probably eventually be found out. (Fake Steve Jobs, for example). Keep this in mind when writing and posting! Follow guidelines for online interaction. And speaking from experience, never doubt how fast what you thought was an innocuous post can be spread to hundreds of people and create unintended waves in your personal and business life. The world of online interaction continues to expand, just be careful how you play in it!

Seems that breweries are figuring out that these hop-head aficionados have a loyal online audience and are an important part of the marketing mix!

Check out these popular brew blogs or start your own and see if the samples start rolling in!

A Good Beer Blog
The Brewsite
Hale the Ale

P.S. My favorite brews are the Belgian ales! Yours????

Tim’s predictions for the world of media relations.

· First, the word media will become more encompassing, but the media itself will become more narrow, niche and specialized.
· More blurring between professional journalists and bloggers. Definition of journalism will continue dramatic evolution.
· Trade magazines will continue to thin—particularly in tech. Pubs will lose more ads to online pubs and other channels.
· Niche bloggers and podcasters will be the new vanguard in the media making PR professionals more essential but also making their job more difficult.
· A few major media companies will begin acquiring popular and influential blogs.
· Katie Couric will be fired and with it CBS will be the first network to completely abandon the nightly news.
· XM radio will be acquired by Sirius. Oprah’s XM program will be her first large public media failure.
· Traditional journalism venues seeking to compete against blogs and other channels, will abandon their supposed objectivity (which never existed in the first place).
· Investigative bloggers will start testing the limits of corporate and government controls on information.
· Private citizens will someday have their own PR people to help advance their personal causes.
· PR firms with strong specialties will be in high demand.