Get Into Twitter or Get Outta Public Relations? [link to post]

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Reading @TDefren – Get Into Twitter or Get Outta Public Relations? [link to post]

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Agree with everything you said except the bit about Twitter being the only road to salvation for PR people who want their careers to go somewhere (okay, I’m distorting your comments slightly, for effect).

First, on the linkbait question: honestly I don’t actively strategize for links, however, I try to both educate and entertain at PR-Squared – so controversial statements don’t bother me. If I felt bad about trying to stir the pot, I’d be pretty bored – and boring.

More to the point: I kinda feel like you didn’t read my post with the spirit in which I intended it (no doubt a failure of my writing). It boils down to: “All the smart people are doing it, and it’s making them smarter.”

I strongly feel that PR is evolving to a role akin to Community Relations, thus I espouse that PR folks get involved, as MEMBERS (vs. “just” lurkers), in ANY community which may be of value to their company or clients. Twitter’s a place that’s relevant to tech and consumer PR in particular, which is my Agency’s focus, so I feel particularly strongly about it.

Net-net, I am not a Shiny Object chaser. Nor do I advocate it (I was always a SL doubter, for example). But the paradigms *are* shifting and I do advocate that “smart people get smarter” by latching on to the tools, like Twitter, that seem to be gaining critical mass.

One thing that is really appealing to me about Twitter is its emphasis on conversation, as opposed to just adding friends like other social networking sites. The high degree of interactivity really makes this community feel alive, and as you said, it seems like a great way to actually build relationships instead of just establishing a network of contacts.

As for cutting-edge learning, Twitter seems to have harnessed the information content and user base of some IRC channels and packaged it in a more user-friendly interface.

Twitter seems to be growing rapidly, and who wouldn’t want to be part of “the next big thing?” In a few years, its possible that not knowing about Twitter could be akin to not knowing about Facebook, MySpace, or blogs today.

My answer to one of your questions is no, you don’t ‘need’ to be on Twitter to have “a meaningful career.”

Nor do you ‘need’ to be a Second Life Svengali, a MySpace maven, a Facebook friendaholic or a LinkedIn luminary to find meaning in your life and your work.

These are all tools that help people expand their personal and professional networks, increase their knowledge and influence, and stay on top of trends.

To declare one or all of them as the ultimate test of whether you matter is a backhanded way of dismissing the 10s of thousands of PR people in the world who aren’t.

I promise you, many people who aren’t Twittering are having very meaningful careers.

Interesting post, but your points are kinda undercut when you kinda make blanket statements that are kinda insulting to folks who aren’t on the same Cluedintrain that you are.

(This comment sounds a lot crankier than I really am, but I’m too lazy to edit back the snark. Sorry, old bean!)

One thing I fear though? That some PR and other brands will use it to spam and that will be unfortunate.

So true!