Social Media and Public Affairs: Friend or Foe?

As we’ve gone through some of the lectures in my Public Affairs class this semester, one theme has been emerging and that is the fact that public affairs and public relations are about images and perceptions. But we’ve also talked about influencing stakeholders. In fact, a recent paper that I just wrote for the class centers on the idea that messages intended to influence can be undermined depending on your choice of media outlet.

There is so much talk these days about social media: Twitter, Facebook, blogging, Digg, YouTube and so on. I started to wonder how effective some of these particular media outlets may or may not be. Then it just so happened that I stumbled upon (thanks, Google!) a blog post by Doug Pinkham is president of the Public Affairs Council (http://www.pac.org/). In his January 27, 2011 post titled “Is Anyone Listening,” he talks about some of these very things.

Based on a report released at the Public Affairs Council’s National Grassroots Conference (“Communicating with Congress: Perceptions of Citizen Advocacy on Capitol Hill”), Pinkham notes several interesting things:

• Only 41% of Hill staffers think that email and the Internet have increased public understanding of what goes on in Washington.
• The Internet has made lawmakers more accountable, but electronic communication “has reduced the quality of constituents’ messages.”
• More than 60% of staffers think Facebook is an important medium for understanding constituent views and nearly three-quarters consider it important for communicating their members’ views.
• YouTube is valued almost as much for congressional communication, but not as highly for understanding constituent views.

So, like any tool, social media and electronic communication can be used well and with influence, or wielded wildly and become scattershot and unfocused.

Take care when you’re choosing the media outlet for your message; it can make all of the difference.

Buying for a Good Cause

So, I’m taking a Public Affairs class as part of my Master’s program at Emerson. The thing I have found most surprising so far is how vague the area seems to be. While “public affairs” is typically associated with promoting legislation or has some other government connection, it is far broader in many ways and I have to confess having some trouble wrapping my whole head around the idea.

One of my assignments for the class is to do a social media project, where I’m planning on combining observations and comments on the state of public affairs through this blog, Twitter, and FaceBook. We’ll see how it goes.

But one thing I did today was Google public affairs and I did come across an interesting article on the Public Affairs Council Web site (www.pac.org). It referenced some research done by Cone LLC. The survey, which was done in 2010, indicates that many more consumers in America are “buying products or services linked with a cause or issue than they did 17 years ago.”

So, from a public affairs perspective, what does this mean? It could open the possibility for some advocacy causes to get additional attention  with stakeholders, particularly Moms and Millennials who, according to the survey, are the most likely to buy something that is associated with a cause. The viability of this course of action would certainly depend on what the cause is and how relevant it is to these particular demographic groups, but it merits some thought.

Interested in the survey? Check it out…

24/7 Connectivity – Good or Bad?

It took me forever to get a cell phone. I kicked and screamed and refused and delayed. But finally I caved and got one. I mostly got one because I liked the idea of having one in case of emergency, like if the car broke down. That’s a good reason to have a cell.

But I look at my younger cousins and how they are attached to their cell phones, how they seem to not be able to function without them. I’m sorry, but I don’t think it is necessarily a good thing to be that attached to a piece of technology.

So, I was delighted to read this article about how some of the most powerful figures in business are saying “no” to cell phones, and finding that the world doesn’t come to an end. In fact, they’re finding they get better quality time with colleagues and can focus better on the issues at hand.

Here’s a quote from one contributor to the article (a guy named Jonathan Reed): “In what I do, it’s important to pay attention to people when they get a meeting with you. I see people reaching in their pocket when [their phone] vibrates—all of that distracts from your work. At meetings, colleagues of mine miss opportunities to shape the dialogue because they’re glancing at their e-mail or going out of the room to make a call.”

I’m not saying we should all give up our cell phones and go back to hand-written letters to communicate, but I think more people need to realize that they CAN turn their phone off for a few hours or a day, and that they’ll be okay.

Want to read the original article? Check it out here: 

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/110267/strongest-job-markets?mod=career-leadership

The Phoenix Has Landed

Hello world!

I’m Susan and I’m the one-woman show behind Blue Phoenix Communications.

Thanks to all of the entertaining upheaval in our economy, I am – like many in the country – now unemployed thanks to being kicked to the curb by Corporate America. It happened back in January and I’ve been job hunting and going to school (I’m a graduate student at Emerson College).

Being out of work has made me think about what I want to do (as cliche as that sounds). My background is in employee and internal communications and I really do enjoy that. I’d like to find a new position in that field. My Master’s Degree will be in communications management when I finally finish. But I’ve also been trying to keep busy and do some freelancing and that’s where Blue Phoenix Communications comes in.

This is my chance to put myself out there and build my own business. I know I have the experience and the know-how, and I’ve already gotten a few clients. Now it is time to start pushing ahead and really starting to build a client base.

I’m hoping to use this blog as a discussion format for observations about the freelance life and about communications topics in general. Thanks for checking this first post – I hope you’ll visit again soon.