Information is being distributed, attained and accessed through new media technologies enabling instantaneous availability of information. This development is quite obviously going to impact how people communicate. It is the social tools of the new technologies, in particular virtual communities, which has facilitated new modes of real-world engagement, communication and collaboration (Lovink and Scholz, Available: http://molodiez.org/ocs/overview/). Therefore, how organisations communicate in both their internal and external relationships will need to evolve with the technology, thus affecting the practice of public relations.
The new modes of communication encompass a system that can be defined in a number of ways - two-way, reciprocal, mutual, multiple, and decentralised. Mark Poster (1995: 3) defines “today’s society [as] a system of multiple producers/distributors/consumers, an entirely new configuration of communication relations�. This configuration is decentralised and networked, in contrast to its preceding linear and hierarchical configuration of a one-to-many communication environment. In order for public relations to most effectively communicate to publics a networked system catering for a many-to-many communication environment is favoured (IMT Strategies, Available: http://www.prfirms.org/docs/internet_impact.pdf/). It can be seen with the evolution of the internet and virtual communities, users of these communication tools have decentralised, distributed and direct control over when, what, why and with whom they exchange information. This control is placing a strong influence on users to be critical thinkers, activists, leaders of democratic practice, and quality conscious (Poster, 1995:28). Not only do these characteristics reflect the social impact of new media technologies, but in conjunction redefine the communication process.
Terry Flew (2002: 38) defines a cultural approach to communication in that “communication is understood not simply as the sending and receiving of messages (the transmission model of communication), but rather as a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired or transformed�. It can be said that with virtual communities, the reality is the production of the communication occurring. Unlike conventional public forums where communication was dominated by the rhetoric of political debate, the issues, ideas and views being discussed gain their authority from personal experience (Porter, 1997: 183). Therefore, the business of public relations is no longer just concerned with a one-way type of communication, but with two-way communication. The two-way concept emphasies communication exchange, reciprocity and mutual understanding in short. The expanded concept includes organisational adjustment adding counseling management and taking corrective action to the role of public relations (Broom, Center and Cutlip, 2000: 3).
Therefore, as virtual communities continue to develop, communication will continue to be redefined, and at the same time affect the practice of public relations.
Sophie Best 02:43, 29 Oct 2004 (EST)
Tactical Insights into Public Relations
Virtual Communities in Public Relations
Broom, G., Center, A. and Cutlip, S. (2000) Effective Public Relations, 8th edition, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc, ISBN 0135412110.
Flew, Terry. (2002) New Media: An Introduction, South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195508599.
Lovink and Scholz. (unknown) Overview of the Conference [Onlin]. Available: http://molodiez.org/ocs/overview/ [Accessed: 10 May 2004].
Poster, M. (1995) The Second Media Age, Cambridge: Polity Press, ISBN 0745643950.
Porter, D. (1997) Internet Culture, United States of America: Routledge Inc, ISBN 0415916644.
Sophie Best 11:14, 29 Oct 2004 (EST)
