Some virtual communities that are in progress and have a reasonable number of participants to make them a successful community to date include, The New PR Wiki, Global PR Blog Week, and the Australian PR Network.
The last of the above communities mentioned will be the first to be explored because it is the simplest of all virtual communities. The Australian PR Network is a discussion group/list run through the system of Yahoo Groups, and moderated by public relations practitioner, Melanie Mayne-Wilson of Mayne Stream Communications. This virtual community is a discussion and networking forum for Australian public relations professionals, or those interested in the public relations industry, to discuss issues and exchange ideas relating to public relations, new media and new technologies in Australia. This virtual community began in July of 2000 and currently has over 606 discussion threads all in relation to public relations issues or public relations people seeking help/information. Participants of this community have to have an email account with Yahoo, and when a post is made, a message is sent to your inbox notifying you of the discussion thread occurring. The objective of this virtual community is to share professional ideas, issues and concerns about public relations in the digital age and more specifically about internet public relations - including online media relations, newsgroups and chat rooms, online activism and Internet strategy (Australian PR Network, Available: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/australian-pr-network/ ). Therefore, it can be seen that this virtual community is successfully recognising the internet, its social tools and their importance on the public relations industry. It is not only doing this through the use of the tools, but also through creating discussions about them so as to increase awareness and understanding with public relations professionals. The people involved in this community will be prepared for the public relations of the future, because they will have an online intelligence of the practice.
Global PR Blog Week, is a recently developed online event that engages public relations, marketing and business bloggers from around the globe in a discussion about blogging and communications. The event had its first appearance this year (2004) in July from the 12th to the 16th. Its success was phenomenal and gloabl. During one week, 35 practioners published more than 60 articles and interviews on the impact of personal publishing on public relations (Global PR Blog Week, Available: http://www.globalprblogweek.com/). It is predicted that this event will continual as an annual event. This virtual community provides numerous academic and reputable links to only the most recent articles and research undertaken in relation to public relations and the social tools of the internet. It is an invaluable resource of information to any public relations practitioner, and will only continue to grow in value.
The final virtual community to be explored is The New PR Wiki. It was developed in May this year (2004). It is the most pioneering of all virtual communities being discussed here, as it is attempting to create its own open-source software in regards to public relations. In doing this, its main aim is to enable organisations to conduct a totally open public relations/marketing campaign with the help of the public relations community at large (The New PR Wiki, Available: http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage ). Currently, this virtual community has successfully obtained a large number of participants and is being updated almost daily. It presently provides a number of very useful resources and links to information in regards to public relations. As to whether the open public relations campaign will be put into practise will be a question of the future. It will also be a step in the right direction by public relations professionals. Such a campaign will place those public relations professionals, and the public relations industry as one of the expert communicators for online communication. At the rate this virtual community is progressing it is highly likely to occur.
Sophie Best 10:47, 29 Oct 2004 (EST)
Virtual Communities in Public Relations
Australian PR Network. (2000) Australian PR Network [Online]. Available: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/australian-pr-network/ [Accessed: 29 October 2004].
Global PR Blog Week. (2004) Global PR Blog Week [Online]. Available: http://www.globalprblogweek.com/ [Accessed: 29 October 2004].
The New PR Wiki. (2004) The New PR Wiki [Online]. Available: http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage/ [Accessed: 29 October 2004].
Sophie Best 10:57, 29 Oct 2004 (EST)
