In a way, it is sad to read the final chapters of our 'textbooks'. I would never normally use that sentence. But it is true, like most people in our class agree, these books were thought-provoking, insightful, and intriguing. With social media being a new topic to study, I was excited to read each week and learn what the knowledgeable, experienced authors had to say--especially since all of their ideas can be applied directly to PR and where the profession is headed.
In the conclusion of New Influencers, Gillin says, "Social media is simply an electronic version of interactions that have been going on for a long time." I completely agree with his statement. The concepts and ideas behind social media aren't fabulously new and innovative. At its core, social media is communication and interaction between people. What has changed is that people now know how to communicate/interact electronically and instantaneously. This allows companies, organizations, and individual people to interact with the public in a more effective manner; a manner that follows the evolution of technology in our culture and uses it.
Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba stress the importance of loyalty and transparency in this social media phenomenon. Loyalty is the goal and the backbone of citizen-created content. People blog and share because of their passion and desire to do so. It isn't (normally) out of monetary motivation. Self-motivation is what makes the communication credible, honest, and transparent. Investing time and thought into people and engaging in transparent communication is social media at its finest.
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I like how you put it when you reiterated the fact that social media isn't creating anything "new" in the field of PR. I've agreed all along that these new trends have simply facilitated the way we observe and communicate with our chosen public. The beauty of it, for me, is the fact that it works both ways. No longer are PR professionals the "invisible" people behind winning campaigns, etc. We're right in your face writing blogs in our own words that you can read from your home computer and give feedback to!
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