Social Media Release: Separating the Apples from the Oranges
It's getting to be late Sunday afternoon, I am avoiding work (I wonder why), and preparing to head down to my good friend Brian Solis' home to catch the end of the game and to say "see ya" before running East for the next month.
Brian and I spoke early this morning about the entire dustup that has been going on over the Social Media Release, hRelease, or whatever flag it flies under at the moment. One of the more salient points we discussed was that there was indeed two arguments being made, just piled together.
My partner in crime (and business), Stowe Boyd seemingly sparked this conversation with his post last week, "Enough Already: Getting Social Media All Wrong." You can read it for yourself, but Stowe touches on the first half of this problem, the PR industry.
As I see the problem, there's a small issue of mechanics and a large issue of culture. The mechanics issue really boils down to the nuts and bolts of how press releases are presented to the world. Chris Heuer quite aptly refers to the hRelease as the "presentational layer" of the social media release in his post titled "The Social Media Release is about getting the facts right." However, the mechanics really are nothing to bat an eyelash at - a standard is and will be resolved and anyone who chooses can put it to use.
The problem, as I see it, with the Social Media Release, is the cultural problem. The problems that Stowe outlines initially are pointed at the professionals and institutions that perpetuate a specific line of thinking and mode of operation. There are brave souls, such as Brian, that are willing to stand in the flames and share his knowledge with those that only are starting to get it - or more likely a bit curious about it.
The problem in my eyes is that we are hanging these cultural issues under the banner of the Social Media Release - but it's simply too much responsibility for a simple specification on how to express a collection of bits and bytes. The hRelease format does not come coupled with a Code of Conduct, Best Practices, or other treatise on HOW to make the content more truthful, honest, and transparent. Unfortunately, and I don't think it has been intentional, we here these concepts used interchangeably when the are nothing of the sort.
In a followup post, Stowe addresses head on the issues of hRelease and his position on the matter. This sums it up best, I believe:
I applaud any efforts, philosophically, that are an attempt to shake the corporate centroids into a real dialogue with us, the edglings. However, I don't believe in hedging, over-simplifying, or reusing outdated rhetoric in an attempt to make it easier for the poor, benighted corporate types to make the trip to the promised land without hard work. The core dynamics of webology can't be put aside for the sake of offering PR agencies' clients a baby step by baby step path into the new age of interaction. We are putting aside lying, so let's not even lie to the liers. Let's not perpetuate false and misleading metaphors, like "audiences" and "crafting messages for our markets".Amen. Despite all the magical powers and abilities we obtain from technology, it cannot replace the need for change - an emergent force that comes from within, often after weathering a significant amount of trauma from without.
If we truly want to effect change on an aging business practice and culture, we need to attack the problem from both within and without. From within, we need to invigorate the various parties as to the "soft", human rewards. From without, we must present the metrics, case studies, and best practices that compel and propel all business decisions.
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