PR in a nutshell

Courtesy of, http://www.frontpagepr.com/public_relations/

Ethics in PR

Spin, Lies, Propaganda, Buearacracy.

Four words which recurred often when I surveyed the public with the question: "What do you think of when I say 'Public Relations'?"

Those who answered 'Buearacracy' must have been public servants, or  people who worked closely with the government. 'Propaganda' must have been the traditionalists; those who adhere to an Edward Bernays philosophy. 'Spin' and 'Lies', I can assume were some general public perceptions. (Keeping in mind there were also plenty of good reviews of PR)

So how much of PR is actually lies and deceit?

I believe people like Max Clifford do the PR industry no favours. However, I can understand how the bending of truth is a necessary part of the industry. 

Although, to me, bending the truth involves giving people the same message, but with an emotional twist. Humans are emotional beings, and their emotions need to be tended to carefully. 

Many people would say emotional positioning is wrong, because any message that isn't objective is somehow deceitful. I don't believe it is 'wrong' or deceitful. Nothing in this world is entirely objective, and if it were, we would all be robots.

It is considerate to be aware of audiences emotions, and as long as everybody is happy in the end, and the truth has been stuck to, what harm has been done?

Sorting Cyberspace

A problem that I am faced with, as a frequent web user, is how to syndicate all my accounts, usernames and emails on the internet.

At the moment I have around 6 email addresses and countless username accounts all over the internet. I started with a really lame username and email that I thought of when I was 13 and have gradually grown disinterested in following usernames since. I create a new web-name every two or three years. So how do we tackle web organisation in an efficient manner?

A few tips:

1. Put all usernames and password hints on one big list, like so:

Website - Username - Password Hint
Website - Username - Password Hint
Website - Username - Password Hint
etc.
And keep it in an accessible place, in case you forget any.

2. Keep a consistent password to match each username (Unless there are forseeable security risks)

lonelybob123 - kittens
lonelybob123 - kittens
amazingbob9 - dolphins
amazingbob9 - dolphins

3. Use an email client, these keep track of multiple email accounts.

Mozilla Thunderbird is my preferred.
Windows Live Mail also does a good job.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-mail_clients

4. Delete any unwanted accounts! This way if you ever need to use a site again you can start fresh.

5. Merge your email accounts:

See: http://www.ehow.com/how_7182667_merge-email-accounts.html

So what has this got to do with PR?

PR involves a lot of multi-tasking and account managing. It is too easy to be disorganised on the internet!

Make organisation part of your PR practice, and even your life practice!


Creative Commons image.