Track Title: Communication Technology and Future of Public Relations:
Digitalization, Social Media, and Online Publics
Track Chair: Jeong-Nam Kim, Purdue University, [email protected]
Track Description:
The spread of technology and digitalization affects public relations on both the macro and micro level. Looking toward the future these technological advances and increased mobility of individuals will contribute to globalization and influence public relations at a macro level. On a micro level technology has influenced how corporations communicate with their strategic publics both outside and within their organizations.
As technology aids in connecting individuals, it can also aid publics in making connections and organizing around a problem. Therefore it is important to understand how these new technologies impact and aid the formation of publics and their behaviors as well as forward their voice and agendas. In better understanding publics and their use of these new technologies, it is possible to better address them and find ways to develop relationships with them through these new communication technologies.
Suggested Topics Include (but are not limited to):
- Social media and public relations
- Digital publics and their digitalized communicative action
- Digitalized relationship cultivation and relationship-maintenance strategies with publics
- Journalist – public relations practitioner relationship
- Global public relations
- Roles of corporate public relations manager
- Internal public relations via technology
- Online Collaboration
- Ethics in using digital media for public relations
- New communication technologies and public diplomacy
- Employee communication through social media
- Issue management and digital media
- Online activism
- Segmentation methods of digitalized publics
