PR is dead. Long live PR!

Paradigm shits, by nature, do not occur often.  In my career in the public relations world I witnessed one in the mid 90's with the growing acceptance of the internet.  I believe we're in the midst of another today.

Just as RSS and ATOM feeds empower end-users to directly syndicate content thereby competing with old-school wire services, so does the web 2.0 enabled website threaten the old-school pr practitioner.

In order for the industry to survive, it needs to evolve.  Gone are the days of spamming print editors and broadcast producers.

What today's pr practitioner needs to to is to empower their clients.  Give the client the capability to connect with the outside world directly.  Sure, pr is still handy when you need to insulate yourself (or your business) from a crisis, but many don't realize that the majority of pr folks practice their art like door-to-door salesmen.....knocking on each editors' or producers' inbox, asking if they can come in.  Trouble is this blanketing approach is no longer working.  Anyone that believes otherwise is just plain wrong.

Similar to how search engines rank the quality of the content they index, similar attention should be made with respect to how companies position themselves online and communicate with the public, whether consumer or B2B related.  The PR practioner of tomorrow needs to guide the process, but also get out of the way.  They need to provide measureable results through truly targeted campaigns.  They need to be held accountable.  Its sad, but in some cases today, pr practioners are behaving like the day-traders or junk bond traders of yesterday.  Its a hard fast sell with little quality or substance to back it up.  Pretty soon, they become used car salesmen.  Its already happening.

Phaseous Phact:  PR folks need to empower their clients to connect directly with their audience.  They can provide valuable guidance, but should essentially stay out of the way.