Over the past few days, a meme (or a discussion), about the role of young public relations professionals has emerged. Paull Young, who puts together the Forward Podcast, asked for some ideas on Twitter, a social network that allows many of us who blog to “talk” to each other in real time.
Edelman’s Phil Gomes answered his call, urging young pros to “manage up.” Phil argues that the upcoming generation (read:you) often has better instincts about online communication than their bosses.
However, many young pros might be tempted to go against those instincts because they figure that their boss is experienced, so he/she must know what he/she is doing.
Or on the other side of the coin, what happens when a young PR pro steps over the line in giving his or her opinion and begins to border on arrogance?
It seems a fine line to walk.
Some back and forth between blogs ensued, as well as a spirited discussion on Twitter, and Paull pulled it all together in a post on his blog. I highly recommend that you go and read this post, as well as a somewhat-related post by Chris Clarke (a new PR practitioner) that has garnered some heat and raised the question about young bloggers, with some asking if they are “writing about things on their blogs they can’t possibly have developed the sophistication of thought to opine on credibly.” Chris says in his post that Crayon, a PR company launched last year, is effectively out of business with some recent high-profile departures from its staff.
Paull asks a few questions that I think would make for a great discussion here at MARCOM blog.
- What’s the balance between self confidence and humility?
- If you don’t have much on -the-job experience does this discount your opinion?
- Should young communicators have a voice in the industry?
I would add the following scenarios as well that might get the conversation rolling:
- Your boss asks you to send a press release to bloggers, you think that a more targeted approach might be warranted, what do you do/say?
- Like Chris, you have an opinion about something an established PR company or person did and you want to write about it in your blog. Do you do it, or do you just sit on the sidelines and look for an opening to make your ideas known in a comment?
Young PR » Blog Archive » Young PR’s - Know Your Place
tags: Paull+Young, PR, Public+Relations
The Immigration Officer starts kindly enough and uses the same old banter. “Welcome. How long will you be staying? Business or pleasure?” My passport goes in the scanner and it comes up clean. But then she flicks looking for a space to put the stamp. The eyebrows furrow. The questions begin.
