Current Trends and Future of Public Relations - Essay Example

?Current Trends and Future of Public Relations The social media has come about as a recent trend which has made headlines for different reasons. Thisis because the social media offers the people a room to meet and interact with new ones, and to touch base with their celebrities without a doubt. Also these renowned individuals (celebrities) get a chance to link up with their fans, no matter where they are located around the world. Thus the social media offers a great chance for people to come close to their revered celebrities and make their agenda apparent to them. Their wishes are conveyed and their sentiments are made known to the celebrities in a very easy way. The celebrities have a safe route towards reaching their fans without actually getting nabbed by them. It also increases the chances of these fans to connect with their die-hard celebrities because usually the latter find ways, under which they could keep away from the fans due to invasion of privacy, however this problem gets solved in an amicable way when there is a virtual connection between the two. Moving ahead further, it is important to ascertain what the exact basis of this connection between the fans and the celebrities is, and how they connect with one another through the social media platforms which have come about with the passage of time. What needs to be understood here is a need to bring all of these fans to a common platform, which only the social media regimes can do in essence. The social media includes some of the most sought after names on the world of Internet, which might comprise of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, MSN and so on and so forth. What is required here is an understanding of each of these social media sites and software before delving deep further into the study of celebrities and their connection with the fans. The fans have all the right over their celebrities to know more about them and hence gain the knowledge and information regarding them in the long run. Social media tools make this data available to all and sundry, and create the vital link amongst all concerned (Franklin, 1999). The trend of social media has kicked off well. It has turned heads more often than any other aspect within the world of Internet in the recent years. It has made one realize how important the social media tangents really are, and what kind of affect this new form of social linkage has had. Since social media forms do not have any physical basis, it is quintessential that these can be used from just about anywhere. It is also important to understand that social media is the basis of achieving success when the celebrities want to reach out to their fans and apprise them about the recent developments and changes which are happening within their fore. What is interesting is the fact that these celebrities can remain in touch through the different social media forms and be ahead with regards to their competitors (Shaviro, 2003). The trend of social media is all the more interesting because it raises quite a few eyebrows every now and then. With the recent upsurge in the communication platforms between the celebrities and their fans through Twitter and Facebook, this phenomenon has been beefed up nonetheless, and there is reason enough to believe such a premise in the first place. One should believe that the social media forms have more or less brought together the chain of interacting one another with how they view the celebrities and what they would like the celebrities to commit or do in the long run. The reason why the trend has centered on the excessive usage of these websites is because these remain online for 24 hours a day and almost anyone can hook on to them, as and when needed. This is such a blessing that the social media forms can have over individuals as they look to bridge the gap between themselves and their celebrities who are much revered and desired. On the flip side, these celebrities can heave a sigh of relief because they get to know what their fans think about them and how they will interact with them once they release their songs, write a book, perform on field and so on and so forth. The celebrities also find it interesting that they are being taken seriously and that their status messages and comments on these social media platforms and websites are being retweeted and forwarded to new people all the time. Their celebrity status gets stronger and hence their brand equity is raised due to which they can charge a higher fee within their respective trade and reap rich dividends in the long run. However the celebrities should not forget that this can have a negative affect as well, since the social media forms can reveal a great deal about their private lives and hence leave a bad mark on their reputation in a manner that is only synonymous with jungle fire. In essence, the two-way philosophy of the social media forms have more or less put the celebrities in a fix because they do not know what to do and when, and there is confusion within their respective realms (Dougherty, 2006). This makes the task of the people easier as they get to know so much about their stars in so little time. Indeed this is invasion of privacy if seen from a corrective setting, as it creates disharmony between the fans and more so amongst the fans and their celebrities under certain occasions. There are indeed the positive and negative aspects of social media, more so when it comes under the aegis of the celebrities with their interaction of fans and general masses. The positive aspects should be replicated by celebrities as they aim to build their reputation across their select audience and thus get their message through in an easy going way. The negative aspects must be taken care of very seriously so that the ramifications do not come about in a rigorous way. What is needed now is to weigh off the positive alongside the negative so that the end result is toughened up in a balanced form. This will pave the way for understanding the domains of social media and how these impact the celebrities on a strategic basis (Krajicek, 1998). The role of the social media is to facilitate the linkage between the celebrities and their fan base, however this does not mean that there would be a guarantee that every celebrity would be able to extract the best possible mileage out of the related equation. It could also mean that some celebrities take the social media platforms for a ride and start propagating information which is unbecoming of them, and which shall bring nothing apart from failure as far as their reputations levels are concerned. Hence there is a dire need to understand what is deemed as right and what is constrained in entirety as far as comprehending the true meaning of social media forms is concerned. As far as the celebrity objectives are concerned, these tsrends have more or less been beneficial towards them. The social media forms have brought together the celebrities on a single platform from where they can interact with their fans in an out and out fashion. There is nothing that seems to be hidden under such a setting, and this indeed is one of the positives that can be drawn out from the debates of social media incorporation within the celebrities’ realms. Some celebrities would however have serious reservations about the excessive usage of these social media websites and platforms because they might feel that they are being hard done by their fans and the critics, similarly. For such celebrities, there is a dire need to understand that the time and age of today is such that these kinds of incremental changes have to come about, no matter how difficult it is to curtail in the long run scheme of things. The celebrity objectives might change with the passage of time but what is most important is to know that these celebrities understand how useful the social media regimes will going to be and if they use it properly for their own interests, it will seek rich rewards in the coming days. The likes of Twitter, Facebook, MSN and others have been supportive of these celebrities as they give special status to such individuals who have been able to make it big within the different fields of life, and who are supported by people left, right and center (Andrews, 2001). The celebrities are able to help increase their profiles within the publics and hence expand their fan base which is indeed a positive if seen within the broader sense. The celebrities can expand their basis if they really want to however, for this they require to be vigilant with the changing norms of the time and to get acquainted with those social media sites which are most conducive within their fan base. It is a good omen for the celebrities to feel secure since their physical self would not be exposed to the fans yet they can contact them as and when they need. There is a good amount of interaction possible with the celebrities since they are able to understand the true value of these social media sites and platforms (Kennedy, 2009). Having said all this, there are a number of challenges that have come to the fore with the advent of the social media platforms for the sake of the celebrities around the world. The invasion of privacy is one of the biggest challenges that have been highlighted time and again by the people who believe in the doctrine of social media to remain in touch with their fans and supporters. The celebrities believe that they must hide their information from the people, however expose certain parts of it to let them know what they are up to and what kind of activities they are indulging in from time to time. Some celebrities believe that getting on to the social media platforms would create problems for them and hence it is a good practice to keep away from such domains. They think that it is in their best interest to have a low profile or not have a profile at all on the social media websites and platforms. However a number of celebrities do not buy such a theory and get on the bandwagon of detailing their life’s different routines as and when they experience, through their computers or cell phones. There is some resentment however within the fans with regards to the ones who do not come on the Internet that these celebrities think of their own selves in a very high way as they perceive this to be something which is not becoming of their stature. At times, these celebrities have little or no control over their information and feel that they are playing into the hands of the people. The strategies that can be employed to get rid of these problems center on the basis of understanding that social media regimes indeed bring about a certain form of invasion of privacy and hence this shall remain as long as social media websites and perspectives are in place. If these problems get diminished, the celebrities should understand that the social media has provided them facilitation; however this is not always attainable and could lead to serious problems in essence for their future realms. Other strategies that can be made use of here include the basis of understanding that patrolling bodies on the Internet will do the trick as far as invasion of privacy is concerned (Chia, 2009). This will mean that the social media websites are being checked on an active basis and their input of data and information is not being compromised upon in entirety. Essentially, this should mean a great deal of success for the celebrities as they aim to form a bridge between themselves and their supporters spread in different locations of the world. This will also help them understand that their information is not being shared with the wrong sets of people and that no one would be able to enter their private domains no matter what. In the end, it would be adequately safe to state that the social media tools and websites are the best possible bridge between the celebrities who have made it big within the different areas of life and the general masses who want to follow these celebrities in essence. The celebrities usually like it when their fans run after them, plead their case within the public and generally support them in an out and out fashion. The social media tools are no different, where they find a way to showcase who they really are, by writing blogs, posting pictures or by commenting on status messages. What they do in reality is to tell the public that they are very much alive and have gotten into the varied nuances of life in a head on manner (Hills, 2002). All said and done, social media and celebrities connect with each other in a very apt way and this should be encouraged across the board to make sure that these celebrities remain in the limelight within their heydays to extract as much mileage as they possibly can. They should also look to build long term relationships with their fans and supporters by encouraging them and through other means which are quite popular in the time and age of today. References Andrews, D. L. (2001). Sport Stars: The Cultural Politics of Sporting Celebrity. Routledge Chia, S. C. (2009). Media, Celebrities, and Fans: an Examination of Adolescents' Media Usage and Involvement with Entertainment Celebrities. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 86 Dougherty, D. S. (2006). Alternative Media and Social Justice Movements: The Development of a Resistance Performance Paradigm of Audience Analysis. Western Journal of Communication, 70 Franklin, B. (1999). Social Policy, the Media, and Misrepresentation. Routledge Hills, M. (2002). Fan Cultures. Routledge Kennedy, S. D. (2009). I Came, I Saw, I Tweeted. Information Today, 26 Krajicek, D. J. (1998). Scooped! Media Miss Real Story on Crime While Chasing Sex, Sleaze, and Celebrities. Columbia University Press Shaviro, S. (2003). Connected, Or, What It Means to Live in the Network Society. University of Minnesota Press Read More