Digitally savvy corporations can finally stop worrying that their last Tweet or Facebook post might have inadvertently disclosed material information to investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued a new “Guidance Update” that provides welcome direction on when and how social media may be used by publicly traded companies while remaining in compliance with federal regulations.

The SEC has long been concerned with timely disclosure of company information to the public. In 2000, the agency promulgated Regulation FD in an effort to prevent earnings and other important information from trickling out to investors and the public at large. Through the use of the SEC’s online filing system, EDGAR, and the processes set forth in Reg FD, timely notification could be made. The problem? Reg FD does not address the digital world we now live in.

Continue reading " All the Public Companies: Put a #Hashtag on It "

My students at Curry College hear this all the time from me: “Never stop learning.”

Most of them, having willingly (or not!) suffered through at least two or three of my PR-related courses, have figured out the best response is a gentle sigh and understanding nod of the head. They know they’ll hear it a dozen or more times in the course of the semester, so they humor me.

So it was with a gigantic sigh of satisfaction last night that I heard the guest speaker for our PR student association say exactly the same thing as part of her “how I got where I am and how I’ll get ahead” presentation.

Continue reading " Public Relations: A Lifelong Learning Commitment "

Editor’s note: This is the 6th in a series of 12 guest posts from industry thought leaders predicting key trends that will impact the public relations industry in 2013. Hosted under the hashtag #PRin2013, the series began Jan. 7, 2013, with a compilation post previewing some of the predictions.

Tumblr goes down (again)
Facebook changes everything yet again
Instagram takes after papa bear, Facebook, then backs away…

Not to say I might’ve mentioned this in the past, but well, I did.

Continue reading " Not Losing your Social Media Shirt in 2013 "

2013 is the first year since 1987 with four unique digits, but will it be as unique as its numerical configuration? With that question in mind, we once again bring you our annual PR industry prognostications.

This year we feature contributions from 12 creative thinkers who represent various facets of the PR industry. We asked for their insights into the trends they believe will fundamentally change the PR industry in 2013.

Below is a compilation of the thoughts of our first five contributors. Their full blog posts, and those of the remaining eight contributors, will appear throughout the month of January.

Continue reading " #PRin2013: Top Trends to Look for in Public Relations During 2013 "

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is in the news again, not for enraging subscribers over a price increase or for presiding over a steep decline in share price, but for using social media to tout a company milestone.

Hastings took to his Facebook page in June and praised his staff for achieving a monthly viewing rate in excess of 1 billion hours for the first time in the company’s history.

Continue reading " Assessing the Net of Disclosure: Should the SEC “Like” Facebook? "