Deakin Speaking

Barack Obama’s use of social media in the lead-up to the recent US presidential election is well documented. Now in office, the Obama administration is making extensive use of social media to communicate and engage with citizens.  In his blog, President Obama said governments “cannot meet the challenges of today with old habits and stale thinking."
Across the Atlantic, the UK Government is also leading a charge to embrace social media. The UK Cabinet Office has published guidelines encouraging civil servants to use the micro-blogging site Twitter.

I'm chairing and presenting at this week's PR and New Media Summit in Brisbane, and it's got me thinking about the evolving nature of public relations.

When I started my BA (Public Relations) at Deakin in 1985, the role of the mass media was of paramount importance to PR practitioners. Mainframe computers were starting to be used for word processing, and telephone calls were made on rotary dial, fixed-line telephones (provided by Telecom).