Normal

What is normal? It is something that is usual, typical, standard, average, unexceptional, routine, predictable, to be expected. Normal is the way things are done, part of the fabric of society, everyday habits, the unnoticed, taken for granted, culturally embedded. It defines the benchmark against which everything else is measured. The middle of a normal…

A sinister perspective of diversity in public relations

I belong to a sinister minority group – I’m left-handed. We make up around one in ten of the world’s population, although apparently, about a third of people are cross-dominant, or ambilateral, favouring different hands for various tasks. I have no idea of the number of PR practitioners who may be left-handed as it isn’t…

In praise of the amateur in PR

I tend to refer to public relations as an occupation or practice rather than as a profession (although sometimes I use the term public relations professionals as well as practitioners). Bill Sledzik’s 2010 post Is PR really a profession? sums a lot of my thinking. In 1969, Goode reported the “industrial society is a professionalizing…

Public Relations as a Rainforest

In writing about T-shaped career decisions for public relations practitioners at PR Conversations, a comment by Natalie Bovair suggested a tree trunk for the vertical stroke that grows thicker and deeper, but needs (along with its main branches – the horizontal stroke) to bend to the winds. This is a useful metaphor, which can be…

Loving or loathing LinkedIn

I’m in two minds about LinkedIn both personally and professionally. In some ways it is the most irritating of social media networks, but also it can be highly useful. I tend to feel LinkedIn (the topic of my second January post reflecting on Social Media) doesn’t really know what it is any more and is…

The importance of kindness and goodwill for PR practitioners

The focus of #7 in my 12 Days of Christmas series of posts looks at kindness and goodwill. Within the professionalisation agenda of public relations has been a focus on being more businesslike with PR activities directed to achieving organisational objectives, and clear measures of the benefits to the organisation. This approach seems to advocate…

The PR meaning of Christmas

The meaning of Christmas can be analysed through studying its signs, symbols and stories, many of which could be considered from a PR perspective. So #4 of my 12 Days of Christmas posts considers the semiotics of Christmas to examine symbolism of the season and how this is applied by PR practitioners. Religious signs, symbols…

PR ideas from a fall

At the end of October I fell down a small flight of stairs at home. As I believe all experiences are learning opportunities particularly for public relations practitioners, I’ve been thinking about the PR ideas I can take from my fall. First is that it’s not the fall that matters, but how you land. In…

Who do you think you are? Respond to the PR Census 2013

Scoping the PR industry is an unreliable business – but the PR Census (undertaken by PR Week and PRCA) is a valiant attempt to provide some useful numbers and insight into who we are and what we do. That’s why I support the call to complete the census form: https://survey.yougov.com/vdfp0RlDDBKrdk. The greater the number of…

A disruptive week in PR

It’s always good to disrupt your normal routine with an opportunity to learn new things, gain different insights and meet interesting people. Last week was a disruptive one for me to this extent. The main event was the inaugural PR and Disruption conference at the London College of Communications, followed by the annual MIPAA “soirée”…