Here I am at the PRSA Digital Impact Conference in New York City’s Wall Street financial district. Like most PRSA conferences, I’ll hear from leading experts in the field. At the moment, I’m listening to Josh Bernoff, the author of the hot new book Groundswell. We’re going through some of the key areas of his book – getting a personal explanation from the author – a unique opportunity and very useful.
What stikes me about Bernoff’s talk is the enormous power of social media. Individuals engaging new technologies have been able to win out against traditional, established societal forces — large corporations, mainstream media, lawyers, etc. Social media can even supersede business policies and notions of proprietary information when online communities determine they violate principles of free speech, whose definition is in their own hands. Individuals become groups become movements become change!
Just imagine the power and opportunities social media can put in the hands of public relations and marketing professionals — tearing down traditional hurdles and barriers like never before. Those who know how to use social media to their fullest potential, then, can wield enormous leverage on behalf of their clients that competing professionals who are less technology savvy cannot offer — an enourous competitive advantage. It’s a huge win-win, then, both for your firm, career and clients.
Authored by Joseph DeRupo, assistant director of public relations, Public Relatons Society of America.
Josh Bernoff, vice president at Forrester, is one of America’s most prominent and most frequently quoted research analysts. He is the coauthor of “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies,” a comprehensive analysis of corporate strategy for dealing with social technologies like blogs, social networks, and wikis, published in April 2008 by Harvard Business Press.
Bernoff presented “Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies,” as the keynote speaker at the Digital Impact Conference on Monday, June 9, 2008 in New York, New York!
Much of the corporate world seems very slow on the uptake when it comes to social media – presumably because the open society it represents is anathema to closed capitalist structures such as businesses. As you’ve noted, things are starting to change, however, and it could very well be the beginning of a transformation in the way people and corporate entities relate to each other, giving power back to the person. *Cue opening bars of Imagine*
The growing demand for digital video’s seem to be getting out of hand. Everyone is getting use to instant information, not only just hearing but also seeing what is happening. How is this demand going to be met? Also I’m wondering in our rush to satisfy our customers what about the integrity of what we are reporting, how can we make sure it is correct and not slanted left or right. There seems to be a tremendous amount of planning that needs to be completed as soon as possible.