I had the pleasure of attending last week’s Council of PR Firms Critical Issues Forum. The focus of the forum was on the world of social media. The event featured an excellent keynote speech by Obama’s former press secretary, Robert Gibbs, followed by a panel discussion with some leading practitioners and thinkers in this space, all cap-stoned by a moderated interview with Mashable founder Pete Cashmore.

Below are the most interesting insights from the day:

Observations

• The power of the Internet is not in its infinite nature, but rather in its ability to connect micro-communities.
• Social networking is not a new concept. Maryam Banikarim, CMO of Gannett, recalls the Iranian revolution of her youth, where folks were making cassette tapes and passing them out at mosques to help mobilize support and drive change. Same underlying logic, same desire, just different tools that existed.

Challenges

• Gibbs raised a concern that the “Amazon Model” of feeding you information based on past choices can actually be very polarizing – people will only be seeing and reading things like those they’ve seen before. He cautioned that we all need to be at least aware of both points of view to breed greater tolerance and acceptance.
• The massive volume of communication that goes on today means that we all have to work much harder just to keep up. There are many more implications for every communication today because of all the places and ways it can show up. There is no such thing as an “internal memo” anymore. People are becoming overwhelmed with worry about being left behind.
• Gary Hoenig, general manager of ESPN publishing, lamented that it’s very difficult with the immediacy of communication today to discern if consumer dissatisfaction is a “mosquito attack” or “nuclear attack.” The concern is how you determine how much energy or emphasis to place on these events when they are unfolding so quickly.
  

Predictions

• Cashmore’s optimism about the future of social media stems from the speed at which they have impacted the world. He is excited to see how embedded it will be a decade from now. In fact, in his vernacular, Twitter will become just like plumbing, it will be there as another regular communication tool that is used all the time and serves its purpose.
• When asked to comment on wikileaks and whether it’s good or bad, Cashmore’s viewpoint was that transparency is here to stay and we must adapt to it. In essence, that genie cannot go back in the bottle.
• When asked what Mashable will be writing about 36 months from now, Cashmore responded that he doesn’t know and that’s what’s so exciting. For example, is voice (as appearing on the new iPhone 4S) a fad or a trend? Who knows?
• If starting any company today or attempting to be the most successful PR firm in 2020, Cashmore’s answer was the same – be on the cutting edge doing something that is totally new. It’s easiest to grab the space and the most defensible position. Today, he would go to mobile first; that’s really the “new place,” whereas when Mashable launched in 2005 the Web was the “new place” to be.
• And finally, always embrace the next trend.
  

–Cici Gordon, Senior Brand Strategist

Comments

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