Have you heard of a word cloud? Some of them are quite ornate and beautiful.
The Public Relations Society of America last week launched a crowdsourcing project called #PRDefined. Based upon the current results, I'm not so sure I agree with the four top words. What do you think?
Have a little fun and create your own word cloud.
I don't agree with the four top words for public relations. I think that "public", and "organization", "communication" and "relationships" don't capture the essence of the field. My top four words would be "selling", "audience", "profile" and and "multidimensional".
ReplyDeleteSelling is the essence because all public relations entails selling people on something. That could mean enticing someone to purchase something, or to buy an idea, habit, or mindset. You're basically aiming to induce someone to do something.
Audience is key, because public relations means targeting and reaching a certain body of people with a specific message. You are always thinking of what tactic works best with a distinct group.
Profile is highly relevant, because in public relations you are fashioning an image of someone or something for the public to see. How you create that profile (whether on or online) has a direct bearing on how your audience perceives you.
And of course, multidimensional is an apt word. In public relations, you are always weighing different angles, mediums, and course of actions to effectively communicate strategically. That fact alone is exemplified by all the thinking, consideration, and trial and error that we do in our weekly assigments.
I do think that public and communication are pertinent. It just that the four terms I mentioned really go to the heart of the subject.
I'm not surprised the Public Relations Society of America's PRDefined# crowdsourcing endeavor yielded terms that I disagree with. After all, I wonder how many crowdsourcing participants have ever taken a public relations course, let alone PFR&P? It goes to show just how much this course has reshaped my thinking.
wow, what a surprisingly sterile result! I too, disagree and think the PRF&P team need to get involved to add color to these rather bland definitions.
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