The Information Age caused the growth of PR and the Internet will cause its demise, said Colburn Aker, managing partner of The Aker Partners, in his Feb. 24 speech to
members of the City Club.
Aker's dismal outlook stems from every person with Internet access having the power to practice PR via rogue Web sites, chat rooms and discussion boards. Such Internet nuances
make it impossible for communications professionals to handle their job tomorrow as they do today.
Regaining control means taking decisive steps, says Aker. PR departments need to beef up their Internet monitoring and be ready to move fast when bad news hits. Departments
should also become more aggressive in protecting their company's reputation by taking advantage of the good things the Internet offers, like one-on-one relationships and advanced
research capabilities.
Conversely, David Drobis, senior partner/CEO of Ketchum, says the Internet is a golden opportunity for public relations. In his speech "Why the Information Age is Old News: The
Dawn of the Communication Age," he sees the Internet assisting PR professionals in their most fundamental task: getting the message to the right audience.
"Technology gives us increasing opportunities to obtain and analyze this information," says Dobris. "We can now target it to the right audience immediately through a growing
variety of communications channels."
(Aker, 202/789-2424; Dobris, 212/448-4200.)