I was asked to speak to about why we should care about social media to my Public Relations class at Algonquin College last evening.  As part of the session, I highlighted a number of resources that will help understand the significance of social media.  As a resource for the class, I’ve summarized some of them here.

CLUETRAIN MANIFESTO

Many books have been written about social media, communications, engagement, influence and interaction.  To me, The Cluetrain Manifesto is required reading to understand why all the other books matter.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE WITH SOCIAL AND NEW MEDIA

Perhaps the best example of amateurs doing what media organizations can’t do (or won’t do) to make this world a smaller place by sharing real stories about real people in unimaginable situations is the Alive in Baghdad video podcast.

PUBLIC RELATIONS RESOURCES

Since the class is about public relations, I highlighted a FEW of the MANY high-quality public relations, communications and marketing social media-based resources on the web.

• Six Pixels of Separation (blog and podcast)
• ProPR (blog and occasional media)
• For Immediate Release (podcast)
• Inside PR (podcast)

COMMON CRAFT: SOCIAL MEDIA IN PLAIN ENGLISH

COMMON CRAFT: RSS IN PLAIN ENGLISH

Thanks to the folks at Marketing over Coffee for introducing me to this great video (from the Cannes Film Festival) that shows that public relations is how your audience relates to you.

When bloggers have a bad experience with a product or service, they blog about it. That’s what I did last year after being trapped in a hotel for over an hour during a power failure in a hotel. My initial blog post of the event features a detailed account of the problems and suggestions of obvious solutions. In a follow-up post, I identified more frustration.

Amazingly, the hotel listened and responded. I had a few conversations with Westin Prince hotel management and they presented themselves as genuinely concerned and committed to making changes. While some of the changes the manager and I talked about were based on regulatory compliance, the hotel had plans to implement better communications systems and new equipment that would be beneficial in any situation, emergency or not.

I took my chance to express my concerns through my blog. Perhaps that public display helped me get heard by management and ultimately become part of the solution. I felt pretty good.

Management invited me and my family to be guests of the hotel. It seemed like a typical make-good offer and I accepted the invitation.

In May, I finally took management up on the offer. It turned out it wasn’t just a free room for a couple of nights. The Westin Prince rolled out the red carpet. It was much more than they needed to do. Some would argue that their over-the-top approach was an easy way to slap a band aid on the situation. I disagree. The hotel didn’t have to do as much as they did and I felt awkward when I considered the value of their gift to us. Clearly, the management has put a high value on their guests and reputation.

There was a magnificent gesture that demonstrated to me that the hotel has changed considerably. My daughters enjoyed watching one of the Beta Fish at the reception area and, after returning from an outing one day, found a Beta Fish in their room with a note that he was a great listener for them to hang out with during their stay.

In many cases, bloggers can wield some amazing power. In as many cases, we don’t consider what the impacts can be. Holding others publicly accountable comes with the responsibility to follow through to the end. Be prepared to engage with those about whom you blog.