Wikipedia

When I googled “wiki,” the first relevant response, ironically, directs me to Wikipedia’s article about wikis. Wikipedia, banned by professors and scholars everywhere, is in fact the most well known wiki.

A wiki is an online source that allows anyone to publish his or her own information about any topic. According to Wikipedia, the term wiki is derived from the Hawaiian word for “fast” and is an acronym for “What I Know Is.”

The first known wiki was published in 1995 on the Web site WikiWikiWeb. Wikis quickly expanded into the business world. Companies recognized their abilities to quickly communicate among employees. They utilized this ease and replaced the intranet with wikis. Since then, wiki has made its mark in the technological world. In 2007, it was even added to the Oxford English Dictionary.

They are incredibly convenient and have endless information all at one location in the vast universe of cyberspace. Anyone can contribute information, resulting in a more comprehensive encyclopedia entry.

However, this is the primary Achilles heel of the wiki. If anyone can anonymously publish information, how do you know if it is accurate?

Wikipedia came across this problem in 2005. In May of 2005, Brian Chase posted erroneous information about his colleague journalist John Seigenthaler Sr. Chase accused Seigenthaler of involvement in the assassinations of both President John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. The post remained on Wikipedia for four months until it was discovered.

This false entry is also known as “trolling” or the intentional vandalism of the site. Wikipedia approaches false posting with the attitude that incorrect information is easier to delete than it is to deter. Misleading information is the chief reason why professors ask their students to use sources other than Wikipedia. Yet, with such an accessible Web site, is this fair? Wikipedia is the one-stop shop for any and all information.

All credibility is not lost though. Public relations practitioners are employing wikis to communicate with one another and gauge opinions. The New PR/Wiki Web site is one such site. PR professionals blog and communicate with one another via this site.

However, new technology has made the “anonymous” posts not so anonymous anymore. Identifying IP addresses has shed light on PR practitioners contributing information on wikis that either benefit their own organization or slur another.

Wikis are a fascinating concept. They can potentially offer so much useful information. With the growth in popularity of private wikis, the possibilities of this expanding technology are endless. Supervising the accuracy of posts is the obstacle preventing the breakthrough of the wiki.

Question: If the most extensive information I could find about wikis was on Wikipedia, how much should you trust this article?

For more information, visit:

http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.ph

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/15/wikipedia-editiing-publishing-tech-security-cx_ag_0815wiki.html

By: Allison Key

Search Engine Optimization

What is Search Engine Optimization?

If you’re like me, Google is the first Web site you visit when you have a question or need to do some research. Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a Web site from search engines (such as Google) via search results. The earlier a site appears in the search results, or the higher it ranks, the more likely searchers are to visit that site. SEO can also target different kinds of searches, including image searches, local searches, and industry-specific searches.

How to Optimize your Web site

Optimizing a Web site involves editing the content and HTML coding to increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. In other words, it makes the Web site easier to find through a search engine. Sometimes a site’s structure, or the relationship between its content, must be altered too. If you’re interested in doing this to your own Web site and a lot more tech-savvy than I am, here are complete instructions on how to optimize your Web site. (http://www.bruceclay.com/web_rank.htm)

Why is SEO important?

As an internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. It has become a very important tool for companies because consumers are relying more on Web sites to find trusted information. Chevy, in order to save money on advertisements, has recently cut back on television commercials and has focused more on its Web site. Chevy made use of SEO to increase traffic to their Web site. When people put in the key word “car” into a Google search, Chevy ensured through SEO that they would be one of the first sites listed. This allowed Chevy to lure customers who are not loyal to one specific car brand. SEO is a great way for companies to increase traffic to Web sites and can potentially save a lot of money on advertisements.

What does SEO mean to Public Relations Professionals?

It is very important for public relations professionals to make use of SEO for their clients. The internet has become into a huge medium for finding information and researching a product. Getting your client’s Web site to be the first site listed in a Google search can help your client achieve a numbers of goals and will prove your value as a public relation practitioner.

To learn more about Search Engine Optimization, visit the following site:
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35291

By: Ellen Greenwell

“Broadcast Yourself” - YouTube

YouTube: it’s not only a Web site; it’s a social revolution. The video-sharing site, started in 2005, has exploded in popularity, with nearly 100 million videos watched daily. The site allows users to upload videos they have taken or watch videos other people have uploaded. From politics to the downright silly, YouTube has become a household name for Internet users.

We’ve all seen the funny videos…now how does it actually work?

Basically, YouTube is what Georgia Tech students would call, “a video sharing network, operated by Macromedia’s downloadable plug-in, Adobe Flash Player, which displays high-quality, sometimes streaming, video.” In laymen’s terms, a user can download a plug-in and begin watching videos other people have recorded and uploaded to the Web site. Sometimes, users can even watch videos in real-time. I read somewhere that this year’s presidential election is being called “the most democratic election in American history.” I give YouTube the credit. They partnered with CNN during the 2008 Presidential Primaries and urged Americans to upload video questions for the potential presidential candidates. The candidates gave answers to selected questions in a televised (and YouTube-ed!) debate,. Through YouTube, the candidates were able to reach out to a wider audience and Americans were able to directly take part in the election process.

Okay, I’m sick of politics…how does YouTube help me, the regular guy?

YouTube has definitely made celebrities out of Joe-Schmoes. We’ve all been there: first, you get an e-mail from a friend with a YouTube link. You follow it, watch Charlie bite his brother’s finger and decide you’ve got to pass it along to your family and a few of your friends. Ah ha! We’ve just witnessed the birth of a viral video, an Internet video clip that becomes widely popular (unusually so for kids in middle school) through word-of-mouth. Athens, Ga. even has its own YouTube celebrity, the vulgar homeless “Rack ‘Em Willie.” His video is an inspiration to all: one day homeless…the next…YouTube sensation.

How can I contribute to the YouTube community?


Think you’ve got the dance moves that rival J. Lo’s? Aspiring to become a country singer and want record executives to see your stuff? Just have a crazy talent that grosses everyone out? Well, sounds like the YouTube coummity is for you.

Anyone on the Internet can watch videos, but YouTube only allows its users to upload videos for others to watch. To do this, you must first create an account with the Web site. Uploading videos from there is as easy as confirming your e-mail address, selecting a video you’ve already uploaded to your computer and clicking “upload” to add the video to YouTube. From there, you can add tags to your videos so your friends can find them and create a profile by uploading more videos to your account. Just be sure, however, your video does not contain inappropriate or copyrighted content, or it will be removed from the Web site.

Besides uploading, you can also comment on and rate other people’s videos as a member of the YouTube community. By creating a profile, or “channel,” other YouTube members can see information about you, like how long you’ve been a YouTube member and how many videos you’ve watched or add you as a friend. YouTube even suggests videos you may like and gives you the option of adding these videos to a “QuickList” for later viewing.

Here’s to hoping you become the next viral video sensation like this guy. Happy uploading!

By: Kelcie Chambers

Social Media News Releases

So…what exactly is a Social Media News Release? My guess was that it is some new way of distributing news to various publics through programs such as Twitter or Facebook; any social networking site.

A social media news release is a press release created specifically for the blog community. These types of releases are not formatted as a traditional press release. Instead, it offers a variety of multimedia content in a customized blog platform and can easily be shared on blog sites, Web sites and social networking sites, including MySpace and Facebook.

The content of the social media news releases, such as the core facts, quotes, contact details, and boilerplate information are separated into a user-friendly layout to allow individual exploration, unlike the information in a traditional press release.

Other content includes images, audio and video that is popular to many social media users.

Social media news releases are helpful for marketers and public relations practitioners because of the steady increase in today’s use of social media. The social media news releases provide “bloggers” with links to helpful resources that aid in research and the format is created so that information, quotes, citing references, etc. are easy to use.

This new tool also makes it possible to distribute news smoother and encourages news sharing through social bookmarks, tags, images and video, and subscription to RSS feeds which direct consumers or information seekers to additional useful data to fulfill our needs.

There are a variety of products which has received media attention via social media news releases such as Ford Motor Company’s promotion of the new Ford Focus, Gatorade’s sweat test and hydration analysis with Stanley Cup winner JS Giguire and Nutrisystem’s SMNR site discussing its product arrival to Canada.
In order to stay competitive within the industry various producers must be
· Findable
· Credible
· Believable
· Able to prove value


The first social media news release template was presented in May 2006 by SHIFT Communications, a mid-sized independent PR agency located in San Francisco and Boston.

What isn’t a SMNR?

Although the two main reasons for the use of social media news releases are to change the needs of the consumer and to increase the ease of use for the media, SMNRs are not:
· An alternative news distributor for untimely news
· An independent media tool to be used without conventional PR methods
· The quick-fix tool to change negative PR practices
· A tool to control the message through deception or persuasion

WHY this works???

The social media news releases seem to be more effective for a variety of reasons. They offer structured headlines, anecdotal content and persuasive blogging. In addition, consumers are able to view attractive text formatting on a non-traditional press release that gets straight to the point…no words are wasted.

It allows writing for regular readers, search engines, and socially driven sites, which in turn has an effect on its media usage.

By: Brittney Watson

Social Bookmarking

What is social bookmarking?

Technically speaking, social bookmarking is a user-defined taxonomy ( or “folksonomy” as its sometimes referred to in certain techie circles) of Web sites that have been bookmarked by internet users, with the help of metadata, so they can store, organize, search and share URLs.

Now for all those people who don’t spend all their free time reading CNET, social bookmarking is really just tool to put all your favorite Web pages in one place so you can tell your friends and professional colleagues what they should be looking at when they’re online. For example, say you are a student studying public relations (a stretch, I know). You can use a social bookmarking system to put all of your favorite blog posts about your future profession in one place so your parents know they’re not wasting their money on tuition.

How does social bookmarking work?

A social bookmarking system allows internet users to save their favorite links they want to remember or share with others. These links can then be organized by “tagging” them, which forms collections of bookmarks divided into categories so other people can find them. Imagine, again as a public relations student, you are doing research on the latest trends in PR practice, but you happen to also be a bit ADD. You can put all the sites you find about “blogging” in one place with the tag as something like “blogging” (mind-blowing, I know) and all the other ones about “celebrity gossip” tagged as “guilty pleasure” in another place.

Most social bookmarking sites also enable browsing other bookmarks with similar tags so you can see what other people like you found while they were aimlessly surfing the ‘net. However, if you don’t want people to know you were reading about Paris Hilton’s latest scandal or Madge’s workout regimen but still don’t want to forget that juicy site’s URL, social bookmarking systems also lets you mark some bookmarks as private.

When did all this “tagging” and “bookmarking” begin?

The first true social bookmarking site was started in April 1996 (think back to the good ole days of the Spice Girls and the Macarena) with the launch of itList. Within the next three years, a whole batch of SM sites cropped up including BackFlip, Blink, Clip2, Click Marks, and HotLinks. However, these sites died a sudden under the “dot-com bubble burst” due to a lack of revenue-generating opportunities. (This was clearly before the days of Google’s Adwords…)

So, what can SB do for me?

There are many advantages to using a social bookmarking site. For one, SBs searches find sites that have been classified by living, breathing humans, not just webcrawlers like most search engines. This means that the stuff you find under a certain tag actually relates to what you’re searching for, instead of just searching for the number of times a word or phrase is mentioned on a certain Web site. Think about what happens when you Google “guilty pleasure” without the safe search mode turned on... things could get very naked, very quickly.

And, social bookmarking systems can also rank sites based on the number of times other people have bookmarked it. Meaning: like-minded people saving sites that can actually help you find the info you want instead of a search engine ranking sites based on their interconnectivity.

Professors and even corporate big-wigs have started using SB to tell the little people like students and middle management what they should be thinking and talking about.

Ok, it can’t be all that great or else I would have heard about it sooner…

There are some downsides that the minds behind SB can’t really fix. First of all, because of the variety of different terminologies and vocabulary of the English language (and not to mention new slang terms that are created by the thousands everyday), there is no standard set of keywords. A hip-hop artist fan could tag an article about managing your finances “cheddar,” and a suburban father could tag the same article “fiscal responsibility.” The SB system wouldn’t be able to relate the two to people who don’t what either tag means (i.e. me). You say “potato,” and I say “what is cheddar?!?”

Also, there are a lot of dummies out there who can use a SB site but can’t spell to save their life and end up tagging an article about killer strawberry daiquiris as “daccury recipe.”

Recently, due to the intense internet competition, SB sites have become the latest battleground for spammers and unethical corporations who try to up their site’s traffic for search engine optimization. The more a site is submitted or bookmarked, the better chance it has of being found. So for that company who sells male enhancement pills over the internet, SB provides just another way for them to annoy us.

What are some SB sites I could try? (a.k.a. the easiest ones to use)

Probably the most popular social bookmarking site available today is delicious (formally known as del.icio.us). According to their website, delicious is ‘da bomb because:

“With an emphasis on the power of the community, delicious greatly improves how
people discover, remember, manage and share on the internet. “


The many features of delicious are what attract it to so many people. These include:
1. A simple interface that is easy to use
2. A human-readable URL scheme
3. The cutesy domain name (I know I want to click on something called Delicious)
4. RSS feeds that provided syndication
5. The fact that it’s FREE.


Another popular site for SB newbies is StumbleUpon. This service lets users bookmark Web sites, photo and videos as they are viewing them with a special downloadable toolbar. When you find a site that you like (such as that one about ScarJo’s secret wedding), you just click on the “Stumble!” button and the service adds it to your personal profile. You can then give it a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” depending on your opinion of the quality of the gossip….er…information. Also, you can search for sites that other “stumblers” have found and the service only shows you the ones they have given a “thumbs up.” StumbleUpon, therefore, forms a collaborative opinion on website quality by logging each user’s “thumb” rating. It’s like Robert Ebert’s guide to the internet.

For more information on how cool social bookmarking is, you can visit the sites below. Maybe you can even add them to your own list of bookmarks!

7 Things You Should Know About: Social Bookmarking
Social Bookmarking in Plain English
Social Bookmarking: Tools for Collaboration and Interaction
Social Media Survey
Links that are Worth Building

By: Allison Brill

Social News Sites

Social news Web sites are a great way to show off your content and Web site to a large audience. As well, social news sites can also function as places to share and retrieve personal information. These communities enable you to have access to a large variety of news types and the opinions of others, while you share information that interests you and participate in group discussions with fellow members.

Social news Web sites involve a group of people with different points of views and allow them to come together to determine the value or importance of content disseminated through the community. Each user has equal editorial rights over the content of the Web site. Some sites employ human editors to determine the visibility of content.

Social Web sites can be wide-focus or narrow-focus communities. Some of them only cater to a “niche” audience, such as public relations specialists or moms.

Digg is probably the most popular and widely-know example of a social news Web site. The site includes many topics such as politics, entertainment, technology, humor and other types of news. The site also has a separate video and image section.

Digg contains the most highly rated information voted on by their users. In its attempt to allow the community to have equally opportunities and make collective decisions to determine the value of content, the site doesn’t have any editors. Everything on the Web site is submitted by users and other users immediately have the chance to see it and “Digg” what they like the best. If a user’s submission receives enough Diggs, it is promoted to the front page for millions of visitors to see. Furthermore, Digg users have the option of discussing and conversing upon topics about which they are most passionate in group discussions and blogs.

Mixx is the new way to discover stories, videos and photos that you love the most. This general social new site has a category for all types of news including business, entertainment, sports, health and technology. Creating a profile is easy. Here’s a video that will show you the quick and easy steps to creating a Mixx.com profile so that you can enjoy all of the benefits of the Mixx community.

Mixx also has a built-in search engine that allows you to type in a keyword to direct you to pages that contain your largest interests. Just like Digg, the stories on Mixx are rated by users, and those with the most votes in their genre get featured on the homepage for millions of visitors to see.

Reddit is another popular social news Web site. Reddit has a large user base and covers a variety of news. Reddit also includes sections called subreddits that focus on more specific and exclusive topics such as programming, science, politics and business.

There are many more social news Web sites that are open to public use. Here’s a site that lists 48 social news Web sites that you can use, with a brief description of each one. If you’re not sure what type of site you wish to subscribe to or how to go about beginning your search for a social news Web site for you, here’s another site for you to consider that just might help you along the way.

By: Tiffany Hobbs

Flickr

Social media is the new rage, and Flickr is an online outlet for photography fanatics. Launched in February 2004 by Ludicorp, Flickr is an online photo management and sharing application that allows its members to share and network through photos and videos. I love to take photos of my friends and family, so to me it seems like a great way to do all of my editing, organizing and sharing from one Web site.

I originally had no idea how to use Flickr or what it really was, but the Web site had a helpful tour to show me each step of the photo sharing process, and even gave examples of what I could do with each feature. There were also helpful screen-print graphics that illustrated examples of what I can do with my pictures.

There are five different ways to upload pictures to the Web site, including using the Flickr Uploadr or e-mailing them from a mobile camera phone, so anyone should be able to find a way that works for them.

Flickr partnered with Picnik to edit photos, reduce red-eye, crop, rotate, change colors, add special effects and more to any photo. The example on their Web site shows how a picture of a lamb can be edited to look like it is wearing a crown and confetti is flying around it.

Once you have edited your photos, you can organize them into Sets based on a certain theme or photo subject, for example, a favorite pet or vacation spot. You can combine similar Sets into Collections, such as “World Travels” or “2007,” for even better organization. Both Sets and Collections are created by using the Organizr, which allows you to perform common tasks on multiple photos. You can also share pictures in three different categories of groups: public, public (invite only) or private. Every group has a discussion board to talk to others within the group and a pool to share photos and videos. There are also many privacy controls that you can adjust so you control who sees your pictures and what pictures you see.

Other fun features include a map that you can use to see where photos were taken, and you can use your photos to make photobooks, calendars and more.

You can also keep in touch with friends and family on Flickr by adding people as contacts whether or not they have a Flickr account. That can be a really useful tool in public relations since it helps you build and maintain relationships. Flickr allows you to easily stay up to date with what other people are doing, and they can do the same for you.

By: Lauren Rohde

Skype

The first thing that came to mind when I read the name of my new chosen technology Skype was…well that’s an interesting name. I had never heard of this new media before, nor did I have any indication of what a powerful tool it can be.

Skype is essentially software that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet. This seemed rather boring at first, but reading further into it’s capabilities I’ve learned that Skype is a pretty incredible tool. Skype users have a plethora of free features and additions available at their fingertips. Some of the basic free features include a global use directory, call forwarding, instant messaging, file transfers, call logs and the added mobility that you are able to log into Skype from anywhere in the world.

Created by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friss in Tallinn, Estonia, Skye now has its headquarters in Luxembourg. In April 2003 the skype.com domain name was registered, and in 2005 eBay purchased Skype making it an official eBay product. Since this purchase Skype has experienced a dramatic growth, and is now available in 28 languages in almost every country around the world.

The only question I had was what makes this product so different that so many individuals and corporations would want it. Well, Skype has some really incredible features, especially for people looking to study abroad or who have family abroad. SkypIn has essentially made long distance phone cards obsolete. SkypeIn users can receive calls on their home computer or hand held devices that have been dialed by regular local phone numbers. This means that although Skype to Skype phone calls are free, your friends and family members do not need to be Skype users to contact you. Local numbers are available for Australia, Brazil, Chile, France, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, UK and the United States to name a few. What does this mean? Basically, a Skype user can have a local number in any of the participating countries, and will pay the same rate as any other citizen of that country would on a fixed line. I came to find out that my roommate’s best friend actually used this exact technology to contact her while studying abroad in Spain!

Imagine the possibilities that this feature alone could have on the entire make up of international affairs, both in and out of the world of public relations. It would certainly save corporations and agencies a significant amount of money, making it plausible for small agencies to connect with the rest of the world.

A few other available features that could be really useful in the field of public relations is conference calling, and video calling. Conference calling allows you to have up to five to ten people on one call depending upon the particular technology each person is using. This feature allows you to have a conference call with all the necessary contributors in one easy step without ever leaving your computer desk or wireless device.

Overall I’ve learned that Skype is a pretty good name, because the sky seems to be the limit with this new technology. It’s no wonder that Skype has become the leading internet communications company.

By: Shannon Lazo

What is a podcast?

A podcast is a digital media file that allows users to subscribe for periodic updates that can be played on a computer or a media player. Moreover, this media file can be a video or audio.

What is the big deal—why is there excitement over a simple Mp3 or Mpeg?

If you are unfamiliar with podcasts, it could be difficult to answer these questions, but it is simple.

Podcasts allow users to listen to whatever they want. Furthermore, they can listen to an endless variety of topics, whenever they want. This is a big deal because in turn, the user gains control.

‘When’ users can listen is also important. In an age where time is tremendously valued, this tool becomes a remarkable advancement. A car ride or casual walk can become a learning opportunity about any topic.

The other cool thing about podcasts is the ability for ANYONE to broadcast about any subject.

Due to this fact, educational outlets have actually begun utilizing podcasts to broadcast lessons and lectures. This is true even at the University of Georgia—if you are in new media with Dr. Shamp or in public relations research with Dr. Sweetser, you have the ability to listen to lectures online. So, if you happen to miss a class due to an unexpected emergency, you can acquire the lecture and listen to everything that was said in class.

Furthermore, if you are ambitious enough, you can actually create your own podcast.

A step-by-step procedure can be found on the Apple website.

What does this mean in terms of public relations?

In a professional setting, podcasts are also being utilized by organizations like the Public Relations Society of America. Learning about the latest trends in your respected industry is as easy as listening to the radio. Moreover, companies can keep their publics informed. When there is crucial news about a merger or crisis, companies can directly speak with their publics. The middle man is no longer relaying the message—direct communication can be achieved.

How can I get started?

Podcasts are easy to access. If you have iTunes, you can subscribe to any podcast topic you want, and once you subscribe, it will update automatically. Pick a topic that interests you and listen or watch away.

If you want to learn more about podcasts, you can visit the following links:

http://www.teachingpr.org/teaching_pr/2008/08/get-into-podcasting.html

http://www.podcasting-tools.com/what-is-podcasting.htm

By: Debbie Ebalobo

Second Life

Second Life is a virtual world created and constantly changed by its Residents. It is reminiscent of the Sims computer program in which users can create their own simulated people, buy a house, and live a virtual life. Millions of avatars, the people each member creates, inhabit this world. They can buy houses, build businesses, and sell their digital creations. Second Life includes a marketplace that supports real US dollars that can be converted to the Linden dollar, the virtual world unit of trade. This is truly a “second life” that people all around the world become members of and participates in. It is an outlet of creativity and expression.

People create all the elements that comprise a community such as art, fashion and music. Residents open up their own businesses and support themselves with actual currency. Huge aquariums are built. Places like Korea Town include a replica of the historic national treasure, Sungnyemun Gate. Weekly live concerts are held in outdoor amphitheaters. Basically, everything that goes on in real life goes on in Second Life. It seems like it may be a great escape to a not-so-great real life. But is this not a harmful alternative to being an active member of the real world? Possibly it is. Or maybe it is just a fun activity to do in spare time. It encourages people to create and experience as much or as little as they want to. For some, it allows opportunities that may not be possible in the real world.

One example of a positive role of Second Life is in a woman diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Nanci Schenkein was forced to quit her job as a wedding planner, but found comfort in her new life as­­­ Baccara Rhodes, a wedding planner as well. People pay real money for her to plan their online wedding. There are also groups of adults with illnesses like cerebral palsy who get together to create their own avatar and live through it. These virtual people can sing, dance, run, and do many things that disadvantaged people cannot do.

Also, some nonprofit organizations use Second Life to build facilities, promote campaigns, and raise awareness to audiences. For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) created a facility to provide interactive educational demonstrations about the ocean and weather. Second Life is a technological advancement that allows people to get, perhaps, more connected to society than they normally would.

Potential users could include virtually anyone, from teenagers to the elderly. It seems more adept for adults who want to build businesses and make money. But it could also be a place for fun and entertainment to younger crowds. Second Life appears especially beneficial to those with disabilities or those in need of a creative outlet. Second Life has grown explosively since opening to the public in 2003. There must be an appeal to all types of people in all stages of life. Where will technology lead us next?

By: Brittany Raines

Twitter

Social media is taking over the world…or at least the World Wide Web. Everyone who is anyone has joined one or more of these online networking communities. Sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter are all competing to prove their usefulness to students and professionals alike. As a member of both Facebook and Myspace, I am decently familiar with these communities. Twitter, however, was uncharted territory for me. Other than what my professors and fellow students told me, I knew next to nothing about the “micro-blogging” site. A quick visit to Wikipedia and an even quicker conversation with my tech-savvy roommate showed me that Twitter appeals to the same group of people, but in an entirely different way.

My roommate explained it like this: Twitter is very similar to the “status” feature that I am constantly updating on Facebook and Myspace. A “tweet”, which is a short blurb of text that is 140 characters or less, lets people know what you are up to. It’s very much an “on-the-go” way to stay connected. Those with very little time and unlimited internet access via iPhones or other devices can update themselves on their friends’ and colleagues’ tweets quickly and easily using programs such as Twitterrific. Subscriptions through SMS, RSS, instant messages or email make the process that much faster. Even my beloved Facebook allows you to view tweets through applications on their site.

As far as posting your own tweets, that process is just as simple as viewing someone else’s. You can go through Twitter’s website, instant messaging, email, SMS or another third party application to update your profile. Twitter applications such as Twitter Blocks and Twitter Search add to the “at-a-glance” appeal of the site. According to Twitter’s company profile on Crunchbase.com, these applications allow users to search tweet conversations and see updates in a visual form.

Twitter’s potential in the PR field is immense. Presidential candidates are using Twitter as a publicity tool to keep the world updated on their status at the polls. Universities are using it to get various messages out to their students. Professionals keep in touch from all over the world, and students keep up with their friends at other schools. Business and organizations can use this technology as a quick, simple and cheap way to keep in touch with important publics and stakeholders.

Twitter’s possibilities are endless, and the convenience and simplicity gives this “micro-blogging” site an appeal that will ultimately lead to its mainstream success.

By: Rachel Atcheson

Public Relations: A Social Network Using Social Networks

I remember when AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) first came out. I was constantly logging on to talk to my friends, but after a while, I started to feel bogged down. I had things to do, and when I was available to talk, my friends were not online. It didn’t take long for me to turn back to the telephone as my primary means of communication.

Then social networking Web sites started to emerge. Social networking sites are Web services that allow you create a profile to contact your friends and network with other subscribers. The social networking Web site any particular person subscribes to depends on what they are looking for. For example, those who want to find a date might go to Match.com, but someone who wants to keep up with all of their friends might choose Facebook. Some other social networking Web sites are MySpace, a media-related social network, and LinkedIn, a networking website for professionals.
Okay, so you can create a profile. Big deal! What can you really do on social networking sites?

After you create a profile, these Web sites allow you to search for people or companies, join groups, post comments on others’ profiles, and upload picture albums.

Those are fairly common features on every social networking site, but different Web services have their own unique features. YouTube allows people to upload and view videos, but Facebook allows users to create and add applications through their platform. These applications range from sending virtual gifts to one another to inviting your closest friends to an event.

Why do I care, as a PR Professional?

Different social networking Web sites attract different crowds of people, or different publics. If my public communicates via social networks, then my job is to find out which one they are using and communicate to them through it.

Some public relations professionals communicate to their publics by uploading viral videos on YouTube. Others create a group within Facebook for their product or service. Whatever the case, social networks are becoming increasingly more important for the public relations profession.

What to Expect in the Future.

Okay, I can’t predict the future, but I know what I would like to see. I recently read a scholarly article about product placement in PR. The results of the study showed that public relations practitioners are more enthusiastic about the future of product placement than are advertisers, and I am definitely one of the enthusiastic ones! I cannot believe I have not seen more product placement within social networks already.

Companies can use Flickr, a picture-sharing network, to place their product in pictures they upload to the Web site or Facebook applications to send out virtual products. They can also use YouTube to place their product within videos, much like Hershey’s did with LonelyGirl15. Whatever the case, public relations practitioners are only beginning to tap into the technology surrounding us.


By: Erin Burry

Blogs

Simply put, a weblog, also known as a blog, is a Web site in which journal entries are posted on a regular basis. Blogs can be used for commentary, personal reflection, information, gossip and other topics such as political campaigns. The entries appear on the Web site in reverse chronological order and are available for the public to see and leave comments. A person who post entries and contributes to a blog is called a “blogger”. Bloggers most often use text in their blogs, but some of the other available features they might have are pictures, videos, music and often hyperlinks to connect the reader to other blogs or Web sites. For a more in-depth look into blogs and how they work, check out this entertaining YouTube video explaining Blogs in Plain English.

The inventor of the very first blog is still unknown, but the term “weblog” was coined by Jorn Barger in 1997. The word “blog” was not coined until 1999 when Peter Merholz broke up Bargers term into the two words “we blog”. Since then, the term has gained popularity and is used as both a noun and a verb. Here are some Important Blogging Statistics about blogs and their growing popularity in the United States.

There are many different genres in the world of blogging. Listed here are just a few.
--The most common type of blog is the personal blog. This type is used as a journal or diary where people can post about their daily experiences, thoughts, complaints, and much more. Visit Audrey Caroline's Personal Blog for one mom’s touching story.
-- Political blogs, which are often difficult to control, are also being used more often in campaigns to discuss issues and get feedback regarding elections and candidates. Visit the McCain 2008 Blog for an example.
-- Corporate blogs such as Coca-Cola's are used to promote businesses and their image as well as communicate internally and externally with employees and consumers.
-- Celebrity gossip blogs such as Perez Hilton's is also a popular way for people to read up on their favorite celebs and events in Hollywood.
--There are many other popular types of blogs. Some of the more popular include house blogs for home improvement purposes, fashion blogs, health blogs, news blogs, literary blogs, educational blogs and legal blogs (also know as blawgs).

Blogs have influenced the field of Public Relations by allowing companies to gain exposure and attention through new areas of media. Blogs are allowing companies to attract a much wider audience and are also providing this audience with a direct line of communication to the businesses. Businesses are able to establish more trust and address any company issues openly within a quick time-frame, and not to mention, with much ease.

Companies in the past, when facing controversial issues, have taken it upon themselves to address those issues on a blog to inform the public on the problem occurring. Doing this gives the company the chance to tell their side of the story and also helps them gain public trust.

By: Neila Fricks

RSS

Okay, so you see the RSS symbol just about everywhere as you are conducting your daily web-life. If you are like me (not quite as tech-savvy as the rest of Grady College seems to be) you may not know exactly what RSS is or what it can do for you. But even if you have no clue what it is, you have seen the symbol enough to be curious why it is popping up all over the web.

What is RSS?

RSS most commonly stands for "Real Simple Syndication" (although there are multiple names for it.) According to Wikipedia, "RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video in a standardized format." Put simply, it is an quick, easy way to distribute or receive news and web content, which is updated very frequently, without the hassle of surfing the web.

How does it work?

Many online publishers, such as bloggers or news organizations, syndicate their content. As new content is created, the updated information is organized into a list of notifications called an RSS feed. A special program called an RSS aggregator allows you to grab RSS feeds from various sites. It automatically checks the list of RSS feeds that you have chosen and organizes the information. It is then sent directly to you, so your mailbox does not get cluttered.

Why use RSS?

The Internet has become the most widely used way to obtain information (especially for those in the academic world.) The problem is that there is an overload of potential sources of information. It has become a tedious, time consuming process to constantly check websites whose information is important to you. Also, the content changes frequently and unpredictably. RSS has solved this problem. Notifications from many websites can now be presented to you in an organized manner.

What does this mean for the world of public relations?

Although it may not have been created specifically for this reason, RSS can be used as a valuable marketing tool. First of all, the more people that visit your site the more visible you are on search engines (the closer you are to the first page of results.) If someone adds you to their RSS aggregator they are technically visiting your site more frequently. Even though there are still many people who do not use RSS, most people do visit search engines on a regular basis. You are increasing the publics awareness of your site and/or organization. Now that is a great public relations strategy.

Also, PR2020.com points out that "RSS gives public relations professionals the ability to consume and filter much larger amounts of information."

How do I get started?

Fist you need to find an aggregator (or RSS reader). For most, an online reader is the easiest to obtain. Since gmail is so popular I would start with Google Reader, but there is also My Yahoo. Next, when you go to a site look for the RSS symbol shown above, or they may use an icon with XML or RDF.

For more information visit:

1. A great youtube video that explains RSS in simple terms

2. wikipedia

3. whatisrss.com (clever name, right?)

By: Kelli Hammock

Technorati Offers New Strategies for Public Relations Practitioners

Blogs are the newest rage in the field of Public Relations. Companies and organizations are beginning to use this new form of communication to reach their publics in a quite different way than ever before, and there are thousands of new blogs created each day. The problem, however, is how does someone go about organizing all of these blogs?

This is the question that David Sifry asked himself in 2000. His solution? Technorati, the ultimate blog search engine. It currently tracks 112.8 million blogs and more than 250 million pieces of tagged social media. Technorati is a place where bloggers can organize their favorite blogs, find new blogs, and share their own with people around the world. Technorati also tracks links and rates the relative relevance of blogs, videos and photos.

To fully understand what Technorati is all about, I decided to check it out myself. I found this site quite helpful. The headline tabs are useful to find popular topics quickly, and the search tool is also effective. Each blog has “tags” that are used for searching purposes and for finding related articles. Blogs are rated according to their relevance and popularity. However, when searching for simple topics such as, public relations, I found several top posts that did not seem relevant to what I was searching for.

I believe this search engine for the blogosphere can be an effective and helpful tool for PR practitioners. Technorati allows you to learn who is linking to your company’s blogs and what they’re saying by tracking conversations about your brand. By using the Technorati tags, you can create more exposure for your blog and generate more readers. By using Technorati, practitioners can perpetuate their strategies of furthering their company or brand.

A new approach that many companies are now taking is the use of blog advertisements, and Technorati is in the forefront of this new trend. Each page of the website has several advertisements for different companies. Advertising through social media outlets has recently become a popular trend in PR. This can be an effective tool for practitioners when trying to gain exposure for their company or organization.

PR practitioners should take advantage of what Technorati has to offer. Through creating blogs, or by making use of advertisement opportunities, companies and organizations can expand their resources and reach their publics in a new and innovated way.

Photo caption: Dave Sifry founded Technorati in 2000.

By: Samantha Riddle