Ok, so it’s not a great title, but Robert Scoble and Shel Isreal have written a book about the power of social media that even a 40-something can love. It’s not long, it’s straight forward and, importantly, it’s hopeful. Yes, we’re going through a significant change – yes, it will be difficult for many organizations to grasp, but they will, at their own speed and at their own peril.
Some of the chapters are liberating. In chapter 10, we are basically told that there’s no such thing as a bad blog. Put differently, there’s no format to follow – just be yourself and share your views and people that feel the same way will find you and reward you for your honesty.
You just read the 95 thesis of the Cluetrain Manifesto. Pretty interesting stuff. Ultimately, the intentions here might be pure: the world is changing and consumers – end users – would like to feel like they have more access to corporations and influence how corporations provide products and services. More introspection is needed, but for today, let this be a starting point.
More importantly, lets agree that language that creates a chasm between interested parties should be dispensed with. And, lets all be careful not to get too far ahead of ourselves. Otherwise, there’s nothing new about social media at all.
Last year, a colleague of mine mentioned that she was “loosely related” to the “godfather” of public relations. I don’t remember how it came up. Nor can I tell you why she wanted me to know. But she did.
His name was Edward Bernays and Stewart Ewen described him in his book “PR! The Social History of Spin,” as “one of the most influential pioneers of American Public Relations.” So, godfather it is!
Bernays was a fascinating man. He was born in Vienna in 1891 and was the double nephew of Sigmund Freud. No surprise, he was, by most accounts I’ve read, absolutely brilliant and perhaps obsessed with understanding the human mind and what motivates us. It also appears he was born to be in what we now call the public relations industry because he was equally obsessed with how words tap into our emotions and, ultimately, prompt our actions.
And, while Ewen did not pursue in this terms, Bernays seemed comfortable knowing that words and the power of persuasion could be used for good or evil, which, he might have argued is more telling.
My recent introduction to Bernays has had a profound impact on my views of the industry. Admittedly, on a day-to-day basis, I’m focused on the products and services that live in a consumers mind, but might not spend enough time discerning why certain things are embedded so deeply in us while others are fast to flee.
