Some highlights in the PR 2.0 Universe this year; as I remember them…

The Good — Google’s US$1.6 Billion acquisition of YouTube - a strong affirmation that the future belongs to ‘new media’. The launch of Second Life, followed by quick, bold attempts by Text 100, Dell and even IBM’s CEO Sam Palmisano (“Breathing Second Life into Business”, BusinessWeek, 17 October 2006) to harness its potential.

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It is interesting that even today – after much discourse over ‘new media’ – there is an understated inconsistency (and error) in the way we use the term ‘new media’.

The fundamental flaw? Mention ‘new media’ and many would immediately think of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, Interactive TV, Games, Video-sharing sites, RSS and the likes. This is a deceptively close-to-accurate perception, but therein lies a completely flawed paradigm that would hinder our understanding and limit our effectiveness as PR professionals in this very ‘new media’.

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The date is 12 December 2006. The time is 9:07 pm (Singapore). Or rather, ‘589 Internet Time’.

Internet time, if you remember, was invented by watchmaker Swatch in 1998.

History tells us that while Swatch in apparent misguided marketing zeal to create buzz, attempted to impose an awkward new measure of time, ‘the others just watched’ * as ‘Internet Time’ disappeared along with the bursting of the dot-com bubble.

Today, arising from the bubble rubble (I couldn’t resist), we see a world that is remarkably different, largely because of the new evolved Internet – a phenomenon that’s known by many names – “Web 2.0”, “Interactive Digital Media”, “New Media”, “Social Media” and “User-generated Media”. (Oh, and let’s not forget “Madness” quips my technophobic friend from suburbia New York.)

While Swatch once sought to impose (time) upon us, the world remained in total disregard for corporate agenda – a sound testament to the fact that power does indeed belong to the people; and it is the masses of ‘you and me’, that drives the new Internet economy like never before.

This morning, I read what must have been the hundredth report this quarter that affirms that a majority of business leaders find blogs an increasingly crucial tool in communicating with their customers and other stakeholders. And I find yet another document explaining the intricacies of user-generated media.

Take for example ‘Blogging Asia: A Windows Live Report’, a study based on a survey of more than 25,000 people in seven Asian countries. Released on 28 November 2006, it revealed that 50 per cent of online respondents rated blogs as being equally as trustworthy as traditional media.

Soon after, in a Singapore Business Times interview, Reuters Asia’s managing director Alex Hungate revealed his company’s plans to remain relevant, and asserted that “traditional journalists must find ways to access and take the writing of bloggers into account when doing their reporting.”

With the world clearly being transformed by Web 2.0, PR professionals and companies all over the world have been in a race to establish themselves as pioneers and thought-leaders in the new media landscape; and there is certainly no lack of shared information and knowledge.

This site was founded, not to add to the overwhelming amount information that already exists, but, with the metaphorical compass in hand, it is dedicated to making the new media landscape (or the PR 2.0 Universe) easier to understand and navigate. Think of it as a travel guide if you will - not the destination in itself, but a map to the best resources from the trivial many out there. It also attempts to chronicle noteworthy endeavours in PR 2.0 – to celebrate the successes, and to caution us to learn from follies. And for those who are unfamiliar with PR 2.0, here’s a primer on the subject.

I thank you for visiting, and invite you to join me on this journey into the PR 2.0 Universe…

Melvin

* the 1995 Swatch advertising slogan was “Swatch - the others just watch“