Info on the Cheap

I'm pretty sure I don't go a day without talking about, or hearing about, or thinking about the recession. In fact, you can blame everything on the recession these days-- the fact that your coffee is cold, people on the subway are rude or your shoelaces came untied. "The recession made me do it." "It's the recession's fault." "If it wasn't for this recession, I'd be having a better day."

What you can't blame on the recession is being uninformed. Thanks to social media, and in particular the idea of the Groundswell, information is cheaper than ever, blogs are popping up everywhere, and sharing resources through sites like Digg and Delicious is a recession-proof way of having, let's say it together now, a Public Relations Conversation.

Let's back up. I'll admit, when the word/book/idea of Groundswell first came up, I thought it had something to do with gardening. Chances are, if you're reading this, you probably know better. But, in case you're an acquaintance from high school who found my blog on Facebook, here's a short explanation:

According to the book, Groundswell is a trend in which people turn to technologies for information and other resources, rather than traditional entities (such as corporations or advertisers or other "big bad high rollers"). In short, it's a big social media "movement," aimed at breaking down barriers put up by corporate ventures and making things generally more egalitarian and open-ended. At least that's how I see it, but this could be my rather ideological university education talking.

Companies can do themselves a favour by using their traditional PR methods in a new way. The social media news release is a trendy one-- as Canada Newswire noted in their news release to announce Social Media News Releases: "Social Media Release takes the four basic platforms; print, audio, video and Internet, and gives customers access to a host of new, online news distribution features. It not only expands the reach of a standard press release into online channels, it increases visibility among more traditional media by providing features such as pre-approved quotes, links to related content, two-way conversations via a comment box, etc."

So, aside from the fact that this appears to be generally good for consumers, it could do wonders for companies too. Not only does the use of social media make an organization look "sincere" or "with it," it also brings a good chance of benefit in the dollars-and-cents interpretation of the word.

Josh Bernoff, who co-wrote Groundswell with Charlene Li, speaks about the effectivness of social networking in tough financial times. In his post, "Why Social Applications Will Thrive in a Recession," he says that social networking is about consideration, not awareness. To elaborate, he notes that while during a recession, people may tune out advertisements that try to get them to spend money they don't have, but on blogs and social bookmarking sites, where online and "real life" acquaintances can share reccomendations, discuss benefits of products and debate issues. This is a lot more trustworthy than having a TV ad full of sexy ladies telling you that by using Axe, your wildest dreams will come true.

Best of all, it's free. Ok, it's not completely free, and I can't provide exact figures on this SMNR fad or how much running a blog costs for a company, but its cheaper than running full-page colour ads or Superbowl commercials. And, if you're simply looking to interact within the online community, ponder a few thoughts and get some information on whatever you feel like learning about, it is free.

My classmates and I are pretty good examples of this. We all have Digg or Delicious, we read what other people add to their sites and we're suddenly privy to a wealth of information. Everyone in the class has a blog, and our comments to each other help us bounce off ideas and learn more about the field. What do we pay, as budding PR professionals hoping to integrate into the community? Nothing.

It seems like the world is catching on. After all, according to Li, Amazon.com has listed Groundswell as #8 on the list of top business books. This likely wouldn't be the case if people weren't realizing the many benefits of using social media to develop their personal and corporate goals and interests.