Jangan Jatuh Cinta - Bab 23 | Adah Hamidah

Jangan Jatuh Cinta - Bab 23 | Adah Hamidah

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

The use of communication technology is ubiquitous in contemporary public relations practice, and often there’s no choice but to adopt the newest communication technology.


For example, even the smallest and most traditional businesses require the Web sites that their customers expect, and the submission of a simple news release to a mass medium’s electronic newsroom must satisfy the technological requirements of that medium. Organizations must continually monitor blogs, recognizing that harmful rumors can spread worldwide in minutes. The contemporary practice of public relations requires practitioners to immediately respond to emerging issues and crisis situations via Web sites, blogs and other new media. Today, the choice of communication channels is dictated by technology: a practitioner must seriously consider which message forms and channels would be best for specific publics. Often, new technological forms and channels, such as electronic pitching, podcasting and blogging, prevail over traditional news releases and media kits.


Thus, students must know how to use today’s communication technology and must monitor and most likely adopt rapidly and unpredictably changing technology. Equally important, public relations students must be taught to appreciate and to continually explore the societal ramifications of continually emerging communication technology. Students must learn strategies, not only for using this technology, but also for dealing with its effects, ranging from the ready availability of virtually all types of information to questions of personal and organizational privacy.


Public relations practitioners are among the heaviest users of today’s communication technology. However, technology remains simply a tool–albeit an important tool–that practitioners must manage. This means public relations professionals must not be unduly constrained by technology in developing their communication strategies, nor must practitioners’ strategies and tactics be restricted by the technicians who develop and maintain organizations’ communication technology infrastructures. Rather, public relations practitioners must be the managers of how their organizations strategically use communication technology to affect public relationships. Within their organizations, public relations practitioners best understand that communication technology that conquers time and space by permitting instantaneous communication worldwide not only can create understanding and cultivate harmony and empathy between an organization and its publics, but has great potential to generate misunderstanding and to exacerbate disharmony and conflict. With considerable prescience, Edward R. Murrow identified the inherent dangers and limitations of today’s communication technology over 40 years ago, in October 1964:


The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue. The most sophisticated satellite has no conscience. The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end, the communicator is confronted with the old problem, of what to say and how to say it.


Thus, public relations educators must assure that their students are prepared not only to be proficient in the use of the most recent communication technology, but also to understand and appreciate the societal ramifications of its use. Educators also must use this technology to maximize the effectiveness of their own instruction.

SENDING OUT PRESS RELEASES HAS BECOME EASIER THROUGH THE INTERNET

Gone are the days when PR companies have to go through distribution services to ensure that their press releases will reach the intended parties. Gone are the days when practitioners have to literally kiss the butts of people in the media in hopes of getting something written about what they have fed. Email has completely changed the way PR professionals distribute news releases and other items. Today, instead of going through the conventional distribution channels of print, television, and radio, they can send out press releases through email – a new distribution tactic that basically offers a virtually unlimited reach.

In addition to this, there are press release distribution services that a PR practitioner can tap for free. Unlike before when you have to pay top dollar just to get your information out, you don’t need to spend a dime on anything when going through such services. Examples of online press distribution services include:

· www.i-newswire.com

· www.prlog.org

· www.free-press-releases.com


The social media explosion helped PR practitioners reach more audiences.

Say, a PR agent handles an account for a doughnut chain at some Southeast Asian country. She puts up a Facebook page for the brand and links it to the official US page of the doughnut chain so that her target audience would also be acquainted with the business in the US. She starts sending out invitations to her friends. Months later, she gets to handle another account; it’s for a bread spread this time. Without necessarily having to link the previous account she’s handled with the current one she’s working on, she could use the same set of people (a.k.a., her friends) to get the first few invites out and promote the new product.


Practitioners are wooing the new opinion-makers (bloggers).

Before, PR professionals had to reaffirm their relationship with the press or media from time to time by sending gifts (monetary and otherwise – admit it) and by constantly leaving voice mail messages on these people’s inbox-es.  Today, PR agents are soliciting a new kind of support from a new breed of influential people – the bloggers. They are the new opinion-makers. They play a big role in the proliferation of news.


Once you invite a blogger to an event, expect to see a promotion-based article on your offering hours later. With a publication, you have to wait until the next day (or the next month, if it’s a magazine) before it comes out. With a TV outfit, you have to wait for the next news broadcast (maybe the late night news?) and a feature on your brand is only expected to last within a two-minute report. But with bloggers, you get tweeted, re-tweeted,posted, re-posted, and they can give birth to a long-winding discussion on your product that can truly be valuable in the long run.


Arguably, the PR world is getting more and more exciting with the introduction of new trends and practices brought about by new technology.

INTERNET NEWS RELEASES

In terms of writing for the Internet, brevity and succinctness are paramount. Reading from a computer screen is more difficult and tedious that extracting from paper. Therefore, Internet writing must appeal to the eye with, such as:

1. Paragraphs must be short.

2. Sentences must be short.

3. Frequent lists.

4. Bullets, dashes, numbers.


According to Business Wire, another paid news release service used by public relations people, the average news release is 500 words in length. Releases tailored to the Internet, particularly if they are delivered as e-mail, must be even shorter and confined to one or two screens. No more than that.


As to Internet releases themselves, the release’s should explain on headline and it leads, upfront and without hyperbole, what is new and different. Ideally Internet releases should tailor messages to the individual recipient’s needs or interests. Keywords in the release should be linked to a glossary’s defining industry terms and other jargon.

NEWS RELEASE FORMAT

Writing for a reader differs dramatically from writing for a listener. A reader has certain luxuries a listener does not have. For example, a reader can scan material, study printed words, dart ahead and then review certain passages for better understanding. A reader also can check up on a writer if the facts are wrong. Writing for the eye must be able effectively withstand the most rigorous scrutiny

Public relations practitioners and also who studied public relations should know and understand the differences between writing for the eye and the ear. The important is to understand what constitutes a speech and how it is prepared and then be ready for the assignment whenever opportunity strikes.

The format of a news release is also important, whether online or print. Certain mechanical rules of thumb should be followed.

§ Spacing

News releases should always be typed and double spaced on 8½ x 11” paper.



§ Paper

Inexpensive paper stock should be used. For example, reporters win Pulitzer prizes with stories written on plain copy paper.



§ Identification

The name, address and telephone number of the release writer should appear in the upper part of the release in case an editor wants further information. For online releases, printing contact information at both the top and bottom of the release reduces the need for scrolling.



§ Release date

Releases should always be dated, either for immediate use or to be held until a certain later date, often referred to as an embargoed date. In this day of online communication, however, publications frown on embargoes.



§ Margins

Margins should be wide enough for editors to write in, usually about 1 to 1½ inches.



§ Length

A news release is not a book. It should be edited tightly so that it is no more than two to two and a half pages long, or, for e-mail, two online screens. Words and sentences should be kept short.



§ Paragraphs

Paragraphs should also be short, no more than six lines. A single sentence can suffice as a paragraph. Paragraphs should be completed before a new page is begun to ensure that a lost page in the news or composing room will not disrupt a particular thought in the release.



§ Slug lines

Journalistic shorthand, or slug lines, should appear on a release. Page numbers and one word descriptions of the topic of the release should appear on each page for quick editorial recognition.



§ Headlines

Headlines are a good idea. It helps pre sell a print or online editor on the news release that follows. Releases should be folded with the headline showing.



§ Boilerplate

In releases, a final paragraph should be included that describes the organization, what it is and what it does. This not only to inform an editor but also it might well be picked up in the story.



§ Proofreading

Grammar, spelling and typing must be perfect.



§ Timing

News release writers must be sensitive to editorial deadlines.



§ Internet prudence

It is important for a public relations writer to recognize that e-mailing release, stating the lead over voice mail, or messenger a disk won’t guarantee that a reporter will even see a release. The best advice is to check a particular reporter’s preferred way of receiving news release before dispatching them.

THE PURPOSE OF HAVING AN RSVP EMAIL FORM

People that are planning an event will sometimes want to invite a lot of people. However, the whole planning process takes time. If someone wants to invite a lot of people, they will have to send out invitations several weeks in advance. They will need to know how many people to expect.

An RSVP has been the popular way to do it for many years. For a long time, people used decorative stationery and envelopes to match. Waiting for their response could take a while. Plus, there would be increased costs because of the outside mailings.

Nowadays, with the age of the internet and e-mail, you set up a website and include an RSVP email form. This way, it will only take minutes to get your response. All they have to do is plug in their answer and it goes to your designated mailbox.

When they fill out the RSVP email form, they will get a response from the autoresponder email as confirmation that their email response was received. There’s no need for the person who sent the invitation to respond personally unless they want to. They just have to make sure that their names are added to the guest list. Replying to every email would take up more time.

One way that the RSVP email form can be created is to use form builder software. This software can be set up on the website to include a place where people can respond to the invitation.

Included on this form would be the information needed for that target audience. In order for them to respond, they need to know a briefing about the event. In addition to that, they would need to know the date, time and place.

Making the details brief on the RVSP form to email can help individuals decide whether or not they can attend. Plus, you are only looking for a select group of people to attend the event and knowing in advance if they will be attending can save you a lot of time.

The RSVP email form can be used for events such as weddings, meetings, parties, baby showers and other events where a person may have a sizeable crowd of people. The form can be designed to your specifications.

Having form builder software can help you to set up the form quickly and easily. You don’t have to deal with the headache of spending hundreds of dollars on invitations anymore. You can do the inviting from the comfort of your own home.

AN E-MAIL ADDRESS

In today's business environment, which is as competitive as ever, every little advantage that you can create against competitors is going to benefit you, and having an e-mail address is one such advantage. Even something as small and as simple as an e-mail address can have a large impact on your business when it comes to determining whether or not you are going to land a deal, or create a sale before a competitor can.

When the internet was first taking off a few years ago, nearly everyone was signing up to utilize free web based email services such as free access mail. These were very convenient services at the time, and they gave us a means of communicating with other people all over the globe. Free browser based email services are still quite popular today, as there are millions of people subscribed any Free access mail. These free web-based e-mail services were primarily created for individuals that wanted email accounts, but businesses have also utilized these email services as well. In the past, having an free access account, an -at-free access mail.com account or an -at-yahoo-dot-com account was perfectly acceptable, even if the account was intended for business purposes, but this has changed significantly in recent years.

Now that we have moved so far forward in the realm of digital business, something looks fishy if you are still using one of these free email service providers as your primary business e-mail address. If you are using a free access mail account for your primary business contact, you may actually be giving people the wrong idea about your business by telling them that you are not serious about what you do. Because it has become so important for business people to have websites, you should already have an email to correspond with your domain name, meaning that there is absolutely no need for using a free web based service for your email needs.

Having an e-mail address is vitally important for communicating with other business people, clients, customers and people interested in what you do for a living. But you need to understand the difference that exists between being johnsmith-at-free access mail.com and being johnsmith-at-yourcompanyname-dot-com. If you are serious about having people take you and your business seriously, then you have to have a yourcompanyname-dot-com website, and an accompanying e-mail address.

If for example you run a communications company, then telling people that your e-mail address is JohnSmith-at-A1Communications.com is definitely going to be better for your reputation and image than telling people that your email address is A1Communications-dot-free access mail-dot-com. Which company would you sooner rely on? For this reason, it has become vitally important for you to have a website and an accompanying email address that helps to build your reputation in the business world rather than to tear it down.

So how important is an email address these days? Vitally so, if you want your personal life, social relationships and business to go anywhere in this highly competitive world.

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