1. Chapter 7 Technological Development and Online Public Relations Key Terms Applications of Online Media Relations Dialogic Communication Discursive Resistance

2. Technology and PR Online environment as focus. New tools for listening and communicating to publics. Potential for two-way communication.

3. Key Terms: Basics Internet World Wide Web Web site E-mail Instant messaging Blogs Wikis Really simple syndication (RSS) Listserv

4. Key Terms: Commerical Flickr Twitter (micro blogs) Facebook YouTube

5. Online Technology and PR Two categories. – Sender-oriented: deliver content – Receiver-oriented: listening

6. Sender-oriented Focus on creating information for others (pushing your content). – Web sites – Wikis – RSS

7. Receiver-oriented Ideal for listening to others (follow content others have created). – blogs – listservs – chat rooms – discussion groups – social media

8. Unique Aspects of Online Tools Interactivity Linked potential

9. Interactivity Asynchronous interaction Real-time interaction

10. Active Nature of the Internet People actively search for information. Links facilitate searches. Links permit jumping from one document/location to another. Easy to find related information.

11. Example of Linked Potential Early 2009 had an extensive peanut butter recall. News stories would provide links to groups involved including: – Food and Drug Administration – American Peanut Council (a trade group) – Manufacturers of jarred peanut butter – Peanut Corporation of America (company responsible for the recall)

12. Applications of Online PR Online media relations. Buzz marketing. Potential for dialogic communication. Potential for power acquisition.

13. Online Media Relations Driving forces: – Journalists visit web site to collect information – People use search engines to find information – Bloggers are form of online journalism

14. Social Media News Release Online version of traditional news release. Maximize search engine hits with text. Provide links to additional information in text. Make it easy to link the news release to other sites. Offer RSS for news releases.

15. Online Newsroom Archive of news releases and other information journalists might want. Make it searchable. Make it easy to navigate. Fits with how journalists now gather information.

16. Bloggers Some bloggers are influential. Organizations now pitch bloggers with stories. Many sources of advice for “how to” and “how not to” pitch bloggers. Oddly, paying for blog coverage is an option.

17. Buzz Marketing Online venue for word-of-mouth (WOM). Now easier to spread WOM with online tools. WOM is powerful. – Positive helps – Negative hurts

18. Basic Dynamics of Buzz Also called viral marketing. Allow your publics to spread the messages. Publics share it with one another. Like a virus it spreads from person to person. PR person lacks control over if it will spread and how it will spread.

19. Buzz Can Be Bad Negative messages can appear online and spread: – Post on discussion boards – Attack web sites – Blogger comments – Unflattering video on YouTube

20. Misapplications of Online PR Intimidate people into closing critical (attack) web sites. Offer to edit Wikipedia entries for money. Must allow free flow of information, a cornerstone of PR.

21. Potential for Dialogic Communication Dialogue, people interact with an eye toward reaching a mutually satisfying resolution (Kent & Taylor, 1998; 2002).

22. To Maximize Interactive Potential Online communication should: utilize dialogic principles provide useful information to visitors encourage return visits provide an intuitive interface keep visitors on the site by not providing links to other web sites (Kent & Taylor, 1998)

23. Five Tenets of Dialogism Mutuality: collaboration between the parties involved. Propinquity or engagement: an immediacy and willingness to communicate. Empathy: supportiveness and recognition of the other. Risk: vulnerability created by shared information. Commitment: willing to keep engaged in the process (Kent & Taylor, 2002).

24. Potential for Power Internet provides potential for powerless constituencies to build their power. Other constituencies, including corporations, begin to listen when the once marginalized and powerless constituencies have power (Coombs, 1998; Coombs & Holladay, 2007; Heath, 1998)

25. Internet Contagion Theory Organizational leaders prioritize constituents. Only have time and resources to deal with high priority constituents. Power is critical to prioritization along with legitimacy and urgency. Powerless become marginalized (ignored). Internet can be used to build power and raise priority of constituents.

26. How Internet Creates Power Internet is low cost communication tool. Offers multiple channels for reaching others. These connections are a power resource. Online communication can be used to: – Disseminate information – Recruit supporters – Mobilize supporters for action

27. Internet as Site of Resistance Multiple unfiltered news sources offer new perspectives and information. Marginalized have a place to speak and potentially be heard by others.

28. Discursive Resistance Discursive resistance “is a process through which text, oral, nonverbal communication, and other forms of meaning-making are employed to imagine alternatives to dominant power structures” (Wood & Smith, 2001, p. 169).

29. Discursive Resistance and PR Traditional channels marginalize some voices, even when they engage in PR. Online PR can be discursive resistance for the marginalized. Such discursive space must be preserved.

30. Constituency Churn Constituency churn is when members of a constituency actively oppose an organization and seek to attract others to support their cause. Churn occurs when there is a gap in what constituencies expect from an organization and how an organization behaves.

31. Constituency Churn Typically viewed as threat. Can help organizations adapt and improve.

32. Reflection Points What dangers do bloggers present? Does it matter that bloggers are untrained? What should be in a blogger code of ethics? Is PR simply recreating media relations, including claims of corruption, online? What is flogging and how does it hurt those who use it?

33. Reflection Points What does it mean that dialogic communication is more potential than reality online? Does the online failure of dialogic communication mean it will never really be widespread in PR? How does the Co-Operative Bank use dialogic communication?

34. Reflection Points Why are some efforts of the marginalized to build power viewed as threats? How does the digital divide impact online PR? Is the online environment better for listening to others or presenting one’s own message?