PR Squared: On Disruption

Pencil Reid Hoffman, CEO of LinkedIn (and Godfather of Web 2.0) posted a LinkedIn Question to his network: “What are the next areas for disruption arising from the consumer internet?”

Here was my answer; thought it might make a good blog post:

Disruption is all around us.

Advertising: I am not sure that the Consumer-Generated trend in advertising will become a long-term game-changer but for now it's made companies realize that "Great Creative" can come from any Joe Sixpack with some ambition and some genuine appreciation for their brand. The Media Buyer - second banana for so long - may become more important than the Creatives. WE are the Creatives.

Tech Support: Most consumers with a tech issue, whether with their iPod or computer or newfangled toaster, do NOT start off their search for help by checking a warranty card or even going direct to the mfrs' sites. They start with Google. And 9 times out of 10 they get a decent answer from an unpaid user who posted a similar query to any of the umpteen user boards that are just a search-term away. It's happening within corporations, too. WE are the Help Desk.

Portals: Content aggregation and ancillary services (IM, webmail) have been a key monetization opportunity for brands like Yahoo. But content is becoming "disembodied" - microchunked and aggregated from various different sources, for consumption on various different platforms (web, cell, pda, etc.). Don't you foresee a day in the near future when a user gets his email from Gmail, his IM from Jabber, his news and blog faves from any ## of different RSS feeds (directly, with no portal intervention), his friend updates via Twitter, etc.? What does this mean for portals like Yahoo, MSN and Google who rely on selling ads on users' personal landing pages? There may be no more personal portals.

Public Relations: It's been argued that corporations' ability to speak more directly and candidly to their stakeholders will eliminate much of the PR function. I happen to disagree, but it's inescapable that PR's role must change. If nothing else, the role of the News Media is being re-invented. The regional journalists are going hyperlocal: perhaps burrowing beyond the reach or interest of traditional PR pros; and, the national journalists are being subverted by semi-professional bloggers whose bias has the approbation of their readers … which shrinks the market for traditional journalists on the national beats …

I probably should have also mentioned how Joost will no doubt cause angst for the TV networks, but that seemed all-too-obvious for a guy with Reid’s 2.0 credentials and connections.

How it all pans out is anyone’s guess. But “disruption” is a creative animal. While the eating habits of this beast may leave us bloodied, it leaves plenty of opportunity in its wake.