PR meets the WWW / Constantin Basturea’s weblog

• I’m not Scoble, but my blog still loves me
• Blog on Friday looks tempting
• Recommended reading for the weekend: The Most Interesting New Tech Startup of 2009 by Anil Dash and The Policy-Speak Disaster for Health Care by George Lakoff

I blogged live some of the UGA Connect 2008 sessions via CoverItLive. Please scroll down for coverage of the sessions.

More coverage of the conference:

• The conference’s blog (including video interviews with the speakers): ugaconnect.wordpress.com
• Twitter coverage @ http://twemes.com/connect
• Photos, courtesy of Josh Hallett

Session 1: Engagement

Session 2: PR on Facebook - The Public’s Perspective

Session 3 - Relationship Building

Session 4 - Keynote: Bert Dumars, Newell Rubbermaid

Session 5 - Social media and intellectual property, Doug Isenberg, The Gigalaw Firm

Follow Dr. Vorvoreanu’s live blogging of this session here: http://ci.cs.clemson.edu/mihaela/?p=108

Session 6 - Measurement: Jim Fetig & Kathi Wallace (GIT), Mia Lustria (FSU)

Faith and Confidence, by William C. Beall of Washington Daily News, 1958 Pulitzer Prize for Photography | More photos from Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs exhibition

I’m thrilled to see that Dr. Karen Miller Russell has made available online one of my favorite articles, “U.S. Public Relations History: Knowledge and Limitations“!

With this, my modest role in the PR history is secured, and I can get back to work :)

Karen, please let me know if you have any project I can help with. All I’m asking :) is a follow-up to your article, “Public Relations in Film and Fiction: 1930 to 1995.” (Anyone who was shocked, shocked to see/read CBS’s Andrew Cohen’s take on the PR industry should read this article, available online -see the link below- via a USC Annenberg’s project, The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture.)

If you are a PR student or practitioner, do yourself a favor: download both articles, and read them; they’re well worth your time.

Karen S. Miller (2000)
U.S. Public Relations History: Knowledge and Limitations (PDF)
In Michael E. Roloff (Ed.), Communication Yearbook, vol. 23 (pp. 381-420), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication

This analysis of the literature on public relations history indicates that the field has been dominated by a business history approach. Most scholars have studied public relations in its corporate context, and most have utilized business history’s dominant paradigm, which calls for a general theory of PR history based on the review of a large number of case histories. But the business history frame is both flawed and inadequate for a complete understanding of public relations history. Political and social histories show that public relations was emerging and apparently would have emerged even if big business had not. In reality, these histories are intertwined. No single strand of PR history can be understood except in relation to the others, and none should be given a privileged position in public relations historiography.

Karen S. Miller (1999)
Public relations in film and fiction, 1930 to 1995 (PDF)
Journal of Public Relations Research 11 (1), 3-28

In this article, I examine depictions of PR and its practitioners in film and fiction in the United States from 1930 to 1995. The analysis indicates the representations of PR are woefully inadequate in terms of explaining who practitioners are and what they do, and it shows that writers dislike PR’s apparent effectiveness. Perhaps most significant is the extent to which the portrayals have remained the same over many decades. This study reveals misconceptions about and stereotypes of PR that are relayed to the public through the media, setting the stage for scholarship on what members of the general public think, for the enduring quality of representations suggests that the media may well have cultivated negative attitudes toward PR and its practitioners.

Here’s the latest update of the PR and Communications Blogs List. As always, corrections and recommendations are welcome.

[Updated 11.26.07 to add Voce Nation's change of URL]

General information:

• The list has currently 743 feeds (previous update: April 8, 2007)
• About the list — description & FAQ
• Browse the list in Grazr (please use this page as a reference; the public Bloglines list will continue to be available)
• Import the list’s OPML file
• Search all the websites included in the list via Google Co-op: http://301url.com/prblogsearch
• Find new PR blogs (RSS) without waiting for updates - via del.icio.us (RSS) or twitter.

New feeds:

• There are 70 new feeds listed below; you can import an OPML file with all the new feeds, or browse the feeds.
• Manuel Montaner, Argentina: http://manuelmontaner.com.ar
• The PR Lab weblog - Greg Smith, Australia: http://theprlab.wordpress.com
• A Learner’s Way - Professor Christine Smith, Centennial College, Canada: http://corpcomm.prblogs.org
• Bernard Gauthier -PR, Persuasion and Politics, Canada: http://www.bernardgauthier.ca
• Blog Line - GCI Canada: http://blogs.bnet.com/pr/
• Fleet Street PR - Dave Fleet, Canada: http://fleetstreetpr.com
• Eminence Grise - Michelle Sullivan Communications, Canada: http://eminencegrisemontreal.blogspot.com
• Loyalist PR - Professor Kerry Ramsay, Loyalist College, Canada: http://loyalistpr.blogspot.com
• ChatteringClass - Edelman’s UK CEO, Robert Phillips: http://www.chatteringclass.co.uk
• my(PR)palette - Martin Waxman, Canada: http://martinspalette.blogspot.com
• Public Relations Rogue - Bernie Charland, Canada: http://publicrelationsrogue.wordpress.com
• The|Intangibles - Neil Boyd, H&K Canada: http://intangibles.typepad.com/theintangibles/
• Turning News Into Knowledge - MediaMiser Ltd, Canada: http://www.turningnewsintoknowledge.com
• The blog of the postgraduate Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Centennial College in Toronto, Canada: http://centpr.wordpress.com
• Let’s Keep Things Simple - Jim Dowling, Ogilvy, Hong Kong: http://jimdowling.typepad.com/simple/
• PR India Post — CJ Singh, India: http://prsichd.blogspot.com/index.html
• Ten Minutes Older — Piaras Kelly’s podcast, Ireland: http://pkellypr.libsyn.com/
• RF Israel Blog - Ruder Finn Israel: http://www.ruderfinn.co.il/who-we-are/rf-israel-blog.html
• Michelle Boag Blog, New Zealand: http://www.michelleboag.co.nz/michelle-boag-blog/
• Public Relations in Transilvania - D’Avantage Consult, Romania: http://davantage.wordpress.com
• The eOK .network - Benjamin Koe, H&K Singapore: http://eok.net/
• Comunicacion Corporativa - Joaquin Mouriz, Spain: http://mouriz.wordpress.com
• SimDalom - Chema Martinez-Priego , Spain: http://www.simdalom.com/blog/
• PR 2.0 - Kristofer Björkman, Sweden: http://pr20.wordpress.com/
• IABC Switzerland Blog: http://iabcswitzerland.wordpress.com/
• DWPub Sporadic - Daryl Willcox, UK: http://www.dwpubsporadic.com
• Financial Media and Communications - Professor Mark Phillimore, Bournemouth University, UK: http://financialmediaandcomms.blogspot.com
• HackFlack - Chris Marritt, UK: http://www.hackflack.co.uk
• Media Evaluation - Mediatrack Research, UK: http://www.mediatrack.com/blog/index.html
• Talking Internal Communication… - Lee Smith, CIPR, UK: http://talkingic.typepad.com/foureightys_lee_smith_tal/
• The Friendly Ghost - Brendan Cooper, UK: http://thefriendlyghost.wordpress.com
• Politics, PR & Marketing - Professor Darren G. Lilleker, Bournemouth University, UK: http://darrenlilleker.blogspot.com
• 2007 PRSA International Conference blog: http://www.prsaconf07.info
• Ampersand - Hill & Knowlton: http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com/blogs/ampersand/default.aspx
• ArticuBLOG - Articulate Communications, NY: http://articulatepr.blogs.com
• Beyond the Press Release: http://prexpress.blogspot.com
• Christi Eubanks, Converseon - my PRception: http://christi2006.prblogs.org
• Disruptive Conversations - Dan York: http://www.disruptiveconversations.com
• For Budding Public Relations Professionals - Adam Denison: http://buddingpublicrelations.blogspot.com
• Greg Brooks: http://greg-brooks.com
• Grounded In Reality - GCI Group: http://blogs.gcigroup.com/groundedinreality/
• House of Naked: The Home of Naked Communications NYC: http://www.houseofnaked.com/
• Measuring Communications - Matt Greenberger: http://standonabox.blogspot.com
• my 2 cents - David Reich, Reich Communications, Inc.: http://reichcomm.typepad.com/my_weblog/
• MyRaganTV.com: Broadcast Your Company, Your Work, Yourself: http://www.myragantv.com
• O’Dwyer’s PR Blog: http://www.odwyerpr.com/blog/
• PR Conversations - Global opinions on public relations and its impact on society, from local perspectives (academic group blog authored by PR academics and practitioners): http://www.prconversations.com/
• PR 101 - Steve Turner, Solomon/Turner, St. Louis: http://solomonturner.blogspot.com
• PR and Comms Network - Alex Pearmain and Alain Desmier, UK: http://prandcommsnetwork.wordpress.com
• PR Measurist - Michael Young, SVP, Access Communications: http://accesspr.typepad.com/pr_measurist/
• PR Meets Marketing — Cece Salomon-Lee, ON24: http://prmeetsmarketing.wordpress.com
• PR, New Media, GTD - Lines from Lee — Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic’s manager for National Media Relations and New Media: http://leeaase.wordpress.com
• PR-Bridge - Professor Bob Batchelor, University of South Florida: http://pr-bridge.com
• PRactically Speaking Online - RGM Communications: http://allaboutpr.blogspot.com
• PRNewser by MediaBistro: http://prnewser.wordpress.com
• PRSSA @ University of Georgia: http://ugaprssa.blogspot.com
• Public Relations Princess - Claire Celsi: http://clairesbestlife.typepad.com/public_relations_princess/
• Real World Communications & PR - John Mallen: http://johnmallencommunications.typepad.com/real_world_communications/
• Reputation Excellence - Peter Morrissey, President and CEO of Morrissey & Company: http://www.morrisseyco.com/blog/
• Reputation Gurus - GCI Group: http://blogs.gcigroup.com/reputationgurus/
• Sarah De Bruyn, Canada: http://realworldcommunications.blogspot.com
• Social Media - Dr. Kaye Sweetser’s Social Media class @ University of Georgia: http://socialmediauga.blogspot.com
• SocialTNT - Christopher Taylor Lynn, SHIFT Communications: http://socialtnt.com
• Stop the Presses - Levick Strategic Communications: http://www.levick.com/blog/
• Technobabble 2.0 - Jonny Bentwood, Edelman UK: http://technobabble2dot0.wordpress.com
• The Affari Edge Blog: http://www.affariblog.com
• The Buzz Bin — Livingston Communications: http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/blog/
• thegoodthebadthespin.com - Bob Conrad: http://thegoodthebadthespin.com
• Vegas PR News - Public Relations Society of America - Las Vegas Valley Chapter: http://prsalasvegas.com/blog/
• Your PR Guy - Rodger Johnson: http://rodjohns.typepad.com/yourprguy/

Change of URL/feed:

• Tom Keefe, CommakaziSpeek: the new URL is http://www.commakazispeek.com/blog/
• Kyle Flaherty, Engage in PR: the new URL is http://www.engageinpr.com
• Angelo Fernando, Hoi Polloi: the new URL is http://hoipolloi.wordpress.com/
• Todd Andrlik, The Power To Connect: the new URL is http://www.toddand.com
• Voce Nation (Voce Communications’ weblog): the new URL is http://www.vocenation.com/

Is The New PR nothing else than the old PR? No, I would argue (but I’ll postpone explaining why, since it’s past midnight already).

Think this way: if nothing else, self publishing and new technologies have created a rhetorical situation which compels us to speak — publicly — about PR as a profession and discipline.

This is our chance to make people understand that public relations is not about spamming journalists with pointless press releases, or about controlling the information, or…. [add your pet peeve here]. This is our opportunity to show that we have a role, one that goes beyond what has been traditionally assigned to us (from town crier or steward to traffic manager and conductor), and to (re)define it.

Let’s not waste this chance.

It’s official (almost): we’re starting to organize Global PR Blog Week 3.0.

It’s an event that will present the best articles, interviews, debates, case studies, and essays on how social media continues to change the Public Relations and Communications theory and practice, its relationships with other disciplines, and our roles as practitioners, students, and teachers.

It will run –like the other two previous editions– for one week.

It will happen online, at globalprblogweek.com.

It’s going to be a free event.

It will continue to be a community-supported, volunteers-driven, unaffiliated event. At least two prestigious research organizations will support the event, and any (non-financial) support that will raise the industry’s participation to it will be welcome.

It will encourage new voices and fresh perspectives, it will value experience and real-world case studies, and it will have (I hope) a robust international participation.

What’s new this year:

• 2 or 3 keynote/invited contributions
• digg-style voting mechanism to choose the top 3 entries
• live events (example: a daily live BlogTalk Radio show)
• a daily event in Second Life
• video, in addition to podcasting
• daily summaries of the most discussed topics
• real-time updates for the number/titles/authors of entries submitted for each category

Also, we’re going to have:

• a more effective communication about the rules
• clear guidelines for accepting/rejecting the entries
• strict enforcement of deadlines for submitting entries.

Now, before discussing more about the nitty-gritty of the event, I’d like to ask you:

How do you see this event?
What do you expect from it?
What would you like to read/ see/ listen to?
What it will make it most valuable for you, and for the industry?

Please share –via comments, blog posts, or email– any ideas or suggestions on how to make this event a great one.

Thank you. We’re going to have a blast :)