Social Media and Public Relations Group 6

Social networking has been around far longer than just Facebook and Myspace.
Social networking began many years ago with a program called BBS, bulletin board
system. This program allowed users to go into a central network and share files and
games, however it was limited to only the local community. BBS allowed file sharing via
phone lines and modems, and it was expensive to make long distance calls. This was the
first program used for social networking.

Other systems such as CompuServe and AOL would redefine social media after
BBS. CompuServe allowed people to join live forums and talk to one another. AOL was
the first media outlet that allowed users to search for other’s profiles and create their own
personal profile. AOL also allowed people to join chat rooms. People often call AOL “the
internet before the internet” (Goble, 1).

The most recent generation of social media has been defined through social
websites such as Friendster, Myspace, and Facebook. These sites allow users to make a
personal profile in more detail than ever before. Anyone can upload pictures, videos, and
music while networking with friends, family, businesses, and potential employers.
Facebook specifically helps people to show information about themselves and find other
people that they are interested in. These sites often times lead to personal meetings and
strong bonds of friendship or professional relationships.

Finally, there is Twitter. Twitter is the most advanced form of social networking
in existence today. Twitter is a real time update of the user’s life. Twitter uses only 140
characters for the user to type the details of their lives or give opinions of public
discussion. These posts, or tweets, are then shown immediately to everyone that follows
users on Twitter. Twitter is the most personal type of social networking out there because
it literally gives followers up to the minute updates about peoples’ lives and allows users
to comment on public forums about any topic at any time. You can follow different
companies and organizations to see what they’re up to. This often can lead to great
opportunities such as internships and jobs.

The new talk about social networks is Twitter. Twitter is a free social networking
service that enables anyone to post messages, known as tweets, to groups of self-
designated followers. The tweets can be sent from and received by any kind of device
such as a desktop, laptop, Blackberry, and cell phone. It is very similar to instant
messaging or text messaging, but Twitter relays the message to several people at once,
instead of just one.

Professional news reporters have utilized this online tool to reach people where
they are in real time. Although people are busy, they can easily access Twitter on their
computers where they have access to exchange information on these networks. This is a
way of bridging the gap with them and being more engaged with them. Twitter works
best in situations where the story is always changing, where the actual media will not be
able to report on the news as fast as someone who is on Twitter. Dan Gillmor says,
“journalists should view Twitter has a ’collective intelligence system’ that provides early
warnings about trends, people, and news” (Farhi).

According to Nielson Online, people ages 35-49 were the largest single group of
tweeters. People older than 55 topped the amount of people who user Twitter between the
ages of 25 and 34. Twitter is mostly used amongst professionals to communicate in real
time.

Twitter has become an integral part of today’s business world, politics, and
mainstream media. Twitter has allowed the public to interact in real time with its clients.
For example, politicians can discuss issues in real time with their constituents giving
them an additional outlet to voice concerns. Twitter has also allowed the audience to
participate in news broadcasts, allowing for interactive viewing. Businesses now rely
heavily on social media, such as Twitter, to gather consumer opinions on product
popularity. “Experts on social media emphasize that the most effective business
professionals and entrepreneurs use online networking and content sharing tools.
Companies use Twitter to enhance their personal brands, establish their expertise and
credibility, and ultimately build the quality relationships that result in actual transactions:
signing contracts, closing deals, and landing jobs, making real-world networking more
productive, better targeted, and ultimately, more profitable”.(Graves, 6)

PR Student Chat is an event that strives to bring the student and professional
public relations community together for meaningful discussions regarding “the art and
science of Public Relations”. The event occurs in the form of a live chat on Twitter,
which allows public relations students and professionals to connect in real time.

The event is moderated by Deirdre Breakenridge, the president of PFS

Marketwyse. PFS Marketwyse works to help companies “widen their reach by blending
the best of traditional and new media marketing”. The event is hosted by Valerie Simon,
the Senior Vice President of BurrellesLuce. BurrellesLuce specializes in “media
planning, media monitoring, and media measurement services”.

According to Simon, “#PRStudChat offers students the opportunity to connect

directly with industry leaders and educators in a new learning environment that brings
together the academic and professional world”.

In order to participate students or educators had to send a “tweet” to Valerie

Simon requesting a three character “hashtag” assigned to the university. The hashtag is
used in every tweet for tracking. Through the hashtag, the tweets are tallied and winner is
declared.
On October 21, 2009 BurrellesLuce offered students and professionals the
opportunity to communicate freely throughout the country using Twitter Chat between
12pm- 1pm EST. This event allowed students and professionals nationwide to receive
feedback to public relations questions while sitting in the comforts of their offices and
classrooms. Students and professionals alike asked questions to gain insight from another
outsiders’ perspective. Twitter forums such as these this are innovative since it provides
users with innovative up-to-the-second updates of data, ideas, and sharing about any
given topic at any given time.

The event had met its intended goals and purpose. Students and professionals were
able to meet online and discuss issues tied to public relations. Students were able to post
their ideas on their twitter accounts and would receive recognition on the page by using
the hashtag #PRStudchat. Rider students were assigned the hashtag #RID to represent
Rider University. Several Rider students had participated in the event to gain insight into
the field of public relations.

The event had hundreds of posts within the one-hour span from students and
professionals all over the country. Some participants were NJ natives (the home state of
the host BarellesLuce and PFSMarketwyse) such as us at Rider University, and Seton
Hall University. Others came from places such as Florida, Alabama, Oregon, and NYU.
People from all across the nation are able to participate in a way that could not have been
done before. Social media such as this Twitter chat event allow different demographics of
students and professionals to be connected and united through the online network.

As with any new media outlet there are some glitches that need to be worked out.
Because #PRStudchat was available to any user on Twitter people began to misinterpret
its meaning. Certain individuals thought that #PRStudchat was an opportunity to meet hot
Puerto Rican studs, which it clearly was not the case. Also Twitter has so immediate
postings that it can sometimes be difficult to follow the trends. A person will respond
using a re-tweet (RT) to a question posed and there will be three other posts
simultaneously going next to theirs. There needs to be a better flow of organization.
Overall this event was very informative and interesting points, articles, and questions
were posted by all.

Works Cited

BurrellesLuce. “Company - About Us.” Burrellesluce.com. BurrellesLuce, 2009. Web. 17

 Oct. 2009. <http://www.burrellesluce.com//_us>.

Farhi, Paul. “Twitter Explosion.” American Journalism Review 31.3: 26-31. Web. 15 Oct.
2009. <http://web.ebscohost.com//detail?vid=3&hid=112&sid=6f99da55-95ff-
4ee0-80fe-
b26a1184ccf8%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d
#db=ufh&AN=41877978>.

Graves, Earl G, Sr. “Use Social Media to Enhance Face-to-Face Networking.” Black
Enterprise 40. Issue 2 (2009): p6. Academic Search remier. Web. 20 Oct. 2009.

Goble, Gord. "The History of Socail Networking." Digital Trends. Web. 18 Oct. 2009.
<www.digitaltrends.com>.

Johnson, Steven. “How Twitter Will Change The Way We Live .” TIME 5 June 2009: n.
pag. google. Web. 15 Oct. 2009. <http://www.time.com////,8599,1902604-
4,00.html>.

PFS Marketwyse. “About PFS Marketwyse.” Pfsmarketwyse-blog.com. PFS

Marketwyse, 2009. Web. 17 Oct. 2009. <http://www.pfsmarketwyse-blog.com//pfs-
marketwyse/>.

“PR Students, Professionals, and Educators Are Faced with the PR Student Chat
Challenge.” Pitchengine.com. Pitch Engine, 29 Sept. 2009. Web. 17 Oct. 2009.
<http://www.pitchengine.com/release.php?id=27290>.