Three Ways the Next Wave of Web Technology Will Affect PR Practitioners

Whether dragged kicking and screaming or eagerly embracing the changes, PR practitioners have become increasingly tech-savvy. And it's a good thing too, since more advancements are on the near horizon.

Following closely on the heels of Web 2.0, the "semantic web" (more popularly known as Web 3.0) is slowly taking center stage in the digital revolution. Still in its infancy, Web 3.0 is at the heart of many predictions about the future of the Internet and its impact on media relations.

What is the semantic web, and why should PR professionals care?
Conceived by Tim Berners-Lee, the widely acknowledged inventor of the world wide web, 3.0 in its most basic form acts as "a web of data that can be processed directly and indirectly by machines."^[1]

To help appreciate Web 3.0's applicability to PR, consider the following relational statements:

• PRSA is a well-known organization for public relations professionals.
• Jane Doe is a member of PRSA's Detroit chapter.
• PRSA publishes a monthly journal called Public Relations Tactics.

It's easy for humans to process such concepts, but for computers it's a very different matter. They don't understand syntax and logic the way we do, nor do they link ideas together. The semantic web seeks to "describe the relationship between things (like A is a part of B and Y is a member of Z) and their properties (like size, weight, age, and price)"^[2] in a language recognizable to computers.

Unlike the Internet, which relies on human editing of documents, the semantic web allows information to be digitally pulled from a variety of sources and synthesized with precision.

Thus, if you were to currently search for an article from Public Relations Tactics written by Jane Doe, you'd have to click through a series of separate physical links to individual sources or databases that may contain information about the article or PRSA, their Detroit chapter, or Jane Doe. With Web 3.0, however, you would simply go to one place and access all the relevant information.

Technology enhances the functions PR professionals already perform
In an effort to create an interactive dialogue between businesses and consumers, many public relations professionals heavily use online technology, including social media, podcasts, and viral video. For those who are just beginning to take the plunge or who haven't yet considered doing so, using these communications channels can stir up some anxiety.

But if Web 3.0 does what many predict, PR practitioners can expect to receive a technology that doesn't replace the existing Internet system, but rather allows for the development of a more computer-friendly language connecting infinite sources. With these capabilities in place, PR professionals can zero in on a targeted audience. Each audience member, in turn, can use the same method to find providers most closely aligned with its needs. The high precision and speed offered by Web 3.0 will enable PR practitioners to create closer one-to-one relationships, shedding the one-to-many approach common to traditional outreach efforts.

What's needed to make the semantic web a reality?
In an effort to create a semantic web (and unified Internet) the World Wide Consortium, creates standards and guidelines. To date, the consortium has agreed upon some 90 standards for Web 3.0.

To view the full list, click here.

Measurement: More crucial than ever
With Web 3.0 increasing the accuracy of information, measurement of media-relations initiatives will become both more meaningful and manageable than ever before.

How BurrellesLuce can help
Let BurrellesLuce assist you in planning, monitoring, and measuring the media coverage given to your organization. Here are some of the ways we can enable you to maximize the value of your media relations activities:

• First, we can help you target your messages to those most likely to write about your efforts using the industry's most comprehensive online media directory. Take advantage of free, unlimited e-mail distribution of all your news releases.

• Next, we can monitor your coverage from every form of media. We deliver exactly the news you want to see, complete with all photos and graphics.

• Then, you can gain insight through our automated and customized media measurement services.