Advances in Technology and Their Effect on PR
In my Intro. To New Media class, we recently discussed a spike in citizen journalism nationally and internationally. With new developments in technology, like camcorders being built into iPods and iPhones, it is becoming increasingly easier for regular people to broadcast live videos online. Millions of people watch YouTube videos every day, and its setup facilitates the quick dissemination of true or false information.
The link posted above is a San Francisco Chronicle article about CNN’s new iPhone application that allows users to pull up news stories and even live streaming video. But it’s not just CNN distributing the videos to users; the application also allows subscribers to submit photos and video to CNN as well. In the past two years, CNN’s iReport.com has received half a million photos or videos of news-worthy events around the world. It is amazing how much the average Joe is capable of doing with the right technology in hand.
There is even an AP Stylebook application that serious citizen journalists can pull up to check their grammar when writing or reporting on a story.
I see present-day citizen journalism as being a potential benefit and problem for PR practitioners. It’s a quick way for people to post feedback and information about a client you may be representing. But with the rate at which a negative or untrue story could be posted to YouTube, blogs or even news sites like CNN, PR practitioners must be on top of watching social media and protecting their client’s image.
I personally like the advances that have facilitated citizen journalism. It allows us to see video or photos of events that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. Every major news broadcasting organization has a certain take on things: CNN is more liberal, while Fox is conservative. Citizen journalism allows people to see certain events in an impartial manner. It gives us a chance to form our own opinion about current issues instead of forming one for us. And most of all, it lets us see things from a point of view we might never have considered.
I’m interested to see what other technological advances will come in the future, and how they will affect citizen journalism and social media.
kbanesPR 