Ashlyn Brewer
St. Louis, MO
- 9 comments
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When I graduated from college in 2010, I was excited to work in "public relations." Now, only two years later, I almost exclusively use words like "strategic communications" and "reputation management" because those terms seem to communicate the strategic part of what we do better. PR does have an image problem -- it DOES need to be redefined, or we risk losing the term all together.
This post makes it sound you're giving up on the vision of finding a common ground definition that gets us excited to use the term again. Don't! Don't lose sight of the vision because you want to stick too closely to the process. The vision was right, the process just didn't generate the desired results. Go back to the drawing board!
nicksargent Pinterest, while interesting, is somewhat of a one trick pony. The functionality of Google Plus is exceptional. I agree with you that users aren't completely on board yet, but I think we'll see it experience a growth model similar to Twitter. Twitter went from "one more thing" and "why would I want to do that" to playing a central role in many users' online experience. Based purely on functionality, I think Google Plus has a good opportunity to do the same. It just needs time to grow.
nicksargent I think the majority would probably concede that Google Plus *may* not succeed, but I for one think it remains very likely that it will. Sure, the first several months I used it my circles only contained fellow social media nerds, but recently I've noticed a lot of nonprofits and other organizations adapting the technology. President Obama's hangout is just one great example of how one can leverage Google's integration to deliver something with unique value.
As for the Pinterest comparison, I truly think it's apples and oranges. Sure, Pinterest may have broader consumer appeal right now than Google Plus, but Twitter was not immediately a consumer-friendly network, and we're still seeing it have serious business implications. Different networks take off in different ways.
I love that J.C. Penney's pulled the shirt and responded without actively shifting the blame. Users pointed out that the shirt sucks, they agreed, and now it's gone. Behold the power of social media!
I agree with kraftykmay. It's not a very successful rebranding campaign, but I don't think it was intended to be. It's about saying that no matter how "slutty" she dresses, no woman deserved or is asking for rape.
I'm not so doubtful. Plenty of politicians tweet for themselves (as we've all learned recently), and they didn't usher Obama into an ivory tower upon his inauguration. I imagine he'll still have a team handling account management (the follows/unfollow type of functions you mentioned), but I see no reason he can't compose his own 140 statements every now and again. :)
Sushi You're so right. Communities are more effective and interesting when the defining characteristic is shared passion.
I love the idea that communities are built out of people's passions. Great post.
As we've said again and again personal experience isn't fact, but as the child of a mother who ran and partially owned a businesses (not a startup, but the point holds) as I was growing up, I think I greatly benefited from having that successful, businesswoman model.
No woman should feel obligated to have children if she doesn't want them, but no woman who wants them should feel she won't be a good mother if she is also an entrepreneur. Kids need love/attention, obviously, but a good role model goes a long way too.
Historically speaking, there was a time when people assumed that having children (or even just a husband) meant that women couldn't even work and function well in their familial roles. The idea of what a mother can/cannot do is still evolving.