New Media and PR

For me learning about new media and how it relates to PR has to be one of the major highlights of this MA. Although we just touched on it briefly in the first semester my understanding of it was deepen in the NGO module. This sector has adopted the tool new media as a way to mobilize support for a cause and to build momentum for campaigns that will make it in mainstream media.

New media in a way has presented a new challenge for the practise of public relations.Some of these include the fact that reputation management is harder to control, the power of feedback and that the reach is instant. So the practitioner might exert some amount of control on the company websites but there are blogs , social networking sites, virtual worlds that this is not so.

As was illustrated in class the relationship between new media and traditional media is not estranged. They both to an extent depend on each other and as was pointed out the techniques used in traditional media also apply to new media. The PR practitioner has be transparent and ethical when doing online work.

After my classmates presented I was keen to do the podcast but after 3 unsuccessful attempts I was not able to do it for the blog. I want to eventual do one as I might not know when it will become handy.