Social Media for PR: Implications and Opportunities

Social Media for PR: Implications and Opportunities Mandy Soh The Role and Implications of New Media for PR Introduction With the introduction of the internet comes new media, which in recent years have seen PR practitioners having to adapt and change their approach to cater to the online community. According to Dewdney Ride, new media can be described as â€Å"the preferred term for a range of media practices that employ digital technologies and the computer in some way or another (James, n.d.). New media also provides a wider reach than traditional media, being portable and easily accessible. This essay seeks to explore the opportunities and threats presented to PR practitioners with the introduction of new media. Using a local case study, this essay will also discuss how new media has changed the way PR practitioners engage with their organizational stakeholders, as well as how it has impacted public relations practices today. Case Study – SMRT In 2011, SMRT trains experienced periodical breakdowns during the months October through December. The most prominent incidents being the December 15 and 17 breakdowns, believed to have been the worst train breakdowns in 24 years of operations, sparking angry netizens to take to social media platforms such as Twitter to express their outrage over the unreliability of the train service (Low, 2011). These breakdowns affected some 5,000 commuters during the evening peak hour (Sim, 2011). Netizens were further enraged by the surfacing of a photo on Twitter depicting a photo taken on an SMRT taxi which shows the message starting with â€Å"Income opportunity† before explaining the breakdown (Barimen, 2011). Prior to the episodes, an announcement was made by SMRT to increase train fares starting the following year. This fostered a sour attitude towards SMRT among Singaporeans, and negative comments were buzzing around the various social media sites. Impact of New Media on SMRT’s PR Practice Throughout these incidents, SMRT continued to disregard feedback on their official Facebook and Twitter pages, instead going on to offer vouchers to its subscribers and followers. The only â€Å"official† responses to confused commuters among the chaos seem to be coming from only one SMRT Ltd Feedback, a troll account which emerged during the crisis. Without any clear answers on SMRT’s official channels, the comments from the troll account only further added to the public’s confusion and doubt. Only after 15 hours have elapsed has SMRT began providing information and responding to the situation. The organization, in its failure to communicate timely with the public in times of crisis, has lost their trust. This is despite the fact that there have been no major episodes in their history of operation. The incident has shown that organizations should have a tested plan in place to be able to communicate with the stakeholders efficiently in times like this. Because of the fast transfer of information in the age of new media, employees who manage the social media platforms have to exercise discretion on the appropriate times to put up certain content. In the case of SMRT, instead of responding to queries during the crisis, employees instead put up voucher offers, which was of no help clearing the air of doubts. Opportunities for Better Engagement with Stakeholders Despite the negative impact that new media has on public relations practices, it has also presented a series of opportunities for PR practitioners. Because of its wide reach, organizations can now use new media to launch a direct dialog with their stakeholders with ease. Platforms such as forums and blogs allow for PR practitioners to establish a two-way communication, allowing them to better understand the feedback of the public. When the public is engaged in this process, it creates brand awareness and a word-of-mouth effect. It is also easier for the organization to rally support from the public, by empowering them to make certain decisions. This will result in a higher number of people who would champion the organization’s cause. When there is a need for fast transfer of information, like in times of crisis, organizations can harness the use of new media to get their messages out. This allows for control of the situation on the organization’s part. The organization can even garner the public’s comments and come up with better solutions to solve the problem. Social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook can also be used as publicity vehicles. One such example is from Coca-Cola, which in 2012 released a YouTube video titled â€Å"Hug Me by Coca-Cola†. In the video, several Singaporeans can be seen obtaining a bottle of Coca-Cola from a vending machine. Instead of the traditional vending machine which dispenses with the slotting of coins, this particular machine dispenses upon a hug to it. The video generated more than a million views, with many netizens praising the organization’s creativity. Threats to PR Practices In spite of the opportunities for PR practitioners to effectively use new media as a source of communication with the public, certain threats are present as well. Janal (1998) argues that â€Å"too many companies go on the web without a set of goals†, suggesting that there are no incentives to move the public to be committed instead of just curious. In such cases, Theaker (2004, p. 264) suggests that PR practitioners work with the marketing department to ensure that sites are tested before they are fully launched, instead of conducting such testing on the public. PR practitioners also have to work harder to keep up with the trends to be able to fully understand the social media lingo. On top of that, they have to be more responsive because of the fast transfer of information with lesser effort. Organizations also have to work harder to establish credibility with the reduction of face-to-face interaction, which may create misunderstandings easily. Conclusion In the age of new media, there are many considerations and skills PR practitioners have to be sensitive to and develop to better reach out to their intended public. However, with proper research and strategizing, new media can be a very powerful tool for PR practitioners. Apart from this, PR practitioners also have to remember that having a better engagement with the public will lead to better reach for the organization. Instead of using new media to generate a large number of likes, genuine engagement of the public will ultimately lead to brand loyalty. The use of new media can be a double-edged sword in cases like SMRT. If PR practitioners are able to be well attuned to the sensitive nature of it however, new media can be effectively used to reach out to a wide number of stakeholders, thereby establishing their organization’s reputation. References Barimen, A. (2011, December 21). Not So SMRT: A Case Study of Communications Failure. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://www.skribeproductions.com/2011/12/21/not-so-smrt-a-case-study-of-communications-failure/ James, M. (n.d.). A review of the impact of new media on public relations: Challenges for terrain, practice and education. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 8. Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.academia.edu/1529188/A_review_of_the_impact_of_new_media_on_public_relations_Challenges_for_terrain_practice_and_education Low, I. (2011, December 16). Singapore’s MRT Breakdown Chaos Leaves Thousands Stranded. Straits Times Indonesia. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/archive/singapores-mrt-breakdown-chaos-leaves-thousands-stranded/485081/ Sim, R. (2011, October 18). In Singapore, 5,000 Commuters Affected by MRT Disruption. Straits Times Indonesia. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/archive/in-singapore-5000-commuters-affected-by-mrt-disruption/472390/ Theaker, A. (2004). Using the internet effectively in public relations. InThe Public Relations Handbook(2nd ed., p. 264). England, Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Routledge. Malaria: Causes, Prevention and Treatments Malaria: Causes, Prevention and Treatments Introduction There are over 100 species of malaria parasites the most known to cause death is in Africa called plasmodium falciparum (Malaria No More 2014). Only female anopheles mosquitos can transmit malaria (Malaria No More 2014). The malaria parasite is a member of the apicomplexa they are characterized by a set of organelles (Greenwood et al., 2008). These organelles are known as apical organelles because are located at the end of the parasite (Greenwood et al., 2008). This plasmodium parasite has cycles to develop in the mosquito (Greenwood et al., 2008). When this parasite enters the body through the mosquito it invades the liver there it multiplies 10,000 times two weeks in, the parasite goes into the blood stream where it infects the red blood cells (Malaria No More 2014). Currently 1 million people are dying from malaria and 500 million cases (Greenwood et al., 2008). As of now 2 billion are at risk of malaria mostly affecting poor populations around subtropical and tropical areas because the temperature and rain are better for the development of the malaria causing parasites in mosquitos (Greenwood et al., 2008). Malaria is a mosquito borne disease caused by a parasite (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). It usually causes chills, muscle pain, fever, and flu like illness (Malaria.com, 2011). It can also cause severe problems such as damage to the brain, heart, kidneys, and lungs (Malaria.com, 2011). When malaria is untreated it develops severe complications and causes death (Malaria.com, 2011). Malaria is caused when a mosquito infected with parasites bites a person (Malaria.com, 2011). In some rare occasions people can get it when they come in contact with infected blood (Malaria.com, 2011). Review and Results of Case Study In this study a 46 year old male was admitted to a hospital in Saudi Arabia (Hussain et al., 2008). 10 days before he was admitted had many symptoms which included abdominal pain, vomiting, and loose stools. He also got bloody diarrhea a day before his admission (Hussain et al., 2008). He didn’t appear to have a fever or cold and flushing of face and his medical history was great (Hussain et al., 2008). Once he was admitted he had a report of his blood film which was negative for malaria parasites (Hussain et al., 2008). His examination showed that he had diffuse congested mucosa of the stomach (Hussain et al., 2008). His blood, urine, and stool culture reports were all negative (Hussain et al., 2008). They did find hematological findings which were anaemia with hemoglobin because of the destruction of the red blood cells (Hussain et al., 2008). He had a slightly impaired renal function but his liver function tests were normal. 5 days after his admission on a routine peripheral smear they reported a sexual form of plasmodium malariae (Hussain et al., 2008). They didn’t know if he had malaria because he had no signs of organ damage and didn’t fulfill the World Health Organization criteria of sever malaria (Hussain et al., 2008). The patient had recent history of travel to Pakistan without taking chemoprophylaxis for malaria since malaria is widely distributed in Pakistan (Hussain et al., 2008). This patient was given drugs and blood to correct anaemia from malaria and gastrointestinal bleeding (Hussain et al., 2008). He was later released four weeks later (Hussain et al., 2008). Analysis Malaria is a parasite called plasmodium malariae which starts of in the mosquito (Collins Jeffery, 2007). The mosquito has a small number of sporozoites that go to the salivary duct it is then injected to the venules of the bitten human (Collins Jeffery, 2007). When the parasite enters the blood stream, within an hour the sporozoites attack’s the liver (Collins Jeffery, 2007). Once inside a parenchymal cell the parasite matures in 15 days (Collins Jeffery, 2007). Within this time period thousands of merozoites are produced. These merozoites invade the red blood cells and start the erythrocytic cycle (Collins Jeffery, 2007). After a developmental cycle happens in the red blood cells, for a couple of days some merozoites are released and reinvade more red blood cells (Collins Jeffery, 2007). While the malaria parasite is multiplying in the red blood cells it has to be moving between cells otherwise it will get cleared out by the immune system (Harvard School of Public Health, 2012). In the parasites nucleus there is a gene called virulence which encodes a protein on the surface of the parasite to allow it to enter the blood cells where it can turn off and on to hide (Harvard School of Public Health, 2012). It is able to turn off the gene by packing the gene up into a tight ball in the nucleus to turn back on it simply unpacks itself from the ball (Harvard School of Public Health, 2012). The parasite forms a protein which binds to a specific antigen called Duffy antigen (GenePlanaet, 2012). This antigen is common in our blood cells this makes a Duffy antigen system which is like the AB0 blood system (GenePlanaet, 2012). People with Duffy positive have these antigens Duffy negative doesn’t (GenePlanaet, 2012). The malaria parasite needs these Duffy proteins to enter the blood stream and develop the infection (GenePlanaet, 2012). People with Duffy negative are resistant to malaria because they don’t have this antigen (GenePlanaet, 2012). Symptoms and Tests There is uncomplicated which last 6-10 hours which has a cold stage a hot stage and a sweating stage (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). In a cold stage the person has a sensation of a cold and shivers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). The host stage consists of fever, headaches, vomiting, and seizures in young children (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). The sweating stage is when the person sweats and returns to a normal temperature and experience tiredness (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Some symptoms of this are fever, chills, sweat, headache, nausea and vomiting, body aches, and general malaise (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Some physical symptoms may include increased respiratory rate, weakness, elevated temperature, enlarged spleen, enlarged liver and perspiration (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Sever malaria has different results a person might have seizures go into a coma or other neurologic abnormalities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). They can also experience server anemia because of the destruction of their red blood cells. Acute respiratory distress, abnormalities in the blood, low blood pressure, kidney failure, and metabolic acidosis are other results of server malaria (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Tests that were given in this case study were blood smears, endoscopic examination, and abdominal ultrasound. Blood smears are taken from a finger prick (webmed, 2011). When the doctors do blood smear tests they use thick and thin blood smears to know if someone has malaria (webmed, 2011). It will let them know the percentage of red blood cells that are infected with the parasite (webmed, 2011). When they do a thick blood smear a drop of blood is put on a glass slide for examination (webmed, 2011). These tests are more useful to determine the presence of the parasite because they use a larger sample of blood to examine (webmed, 2011). A thin blood smear is a drop of blood that is spread across the slide this helps them know what type of malaria the patient has (webmed, 2011). In this case the blood film came back negative for malaria parasites (Hussain et al., 2008). They performed an endoscopic exam in which they found a diffuse congested mucosa (Hussain et al., 2008). They also did an abdominal ultrasound which came out normal (Hussain et al., 2008). There are other ways to test for malaria for example there are various test kits to detect antigens form malaria parasites these kits are usually used where microscopic diagnosis is not available (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). There is also a molecular diagnosis where the parasite nucleic acids are detected through a reaction using polymerase chain (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). They can also do a serology test that detects antibodies against malaria parasites (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). This test uses indirect immunofluorescence or enzyme linked immunosorbent (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). This test does not detect the current infection what it detects is the past exposure (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). There are lateral strip tests what these tests allow them to do is to target histidine rich protein 2 of the malaria parasite and its specific lactate dehydrogenase (Kakkilaya, 2011). Theses don’t require any type of machinery so they can be performed anywhere (Kakkilaya, 2011). The kidney and liver are checked to see if they have any damage to see if they have malaria or rule it out. Treatments There are several treatments and that are given to stop the malaria parasite from developing in the blood. Some of them are chloroquine, malaron, lariam, quinine, doxycycline, clindamycin, and quinidine (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Chloroquine helps prevent the malaria parasite to develop in the blood (WebMed, 2014). Cholorquine stops the parasite by blocking the chemical that protects the parasite from haem which is toxic to it (NetDoctor, 2013). This drug is taken orally and it is taken weekly for 4 weeks (NetDoctor, 2013). Malarone stops the parasite from reproducing by blocking an enzyme called dihydrofolate reductase which helps reproduce (NetDoctor, 2013). The dihydrofolate reductase enzyme makes folinic acid from folic acid and this is essential for the parasite to make a new DNA which is needed to reproduce (NetDoctor, 2013). Lariam kills the malaria parasite but it is not understood how it does this (NetDoctor, 2013). This drug is useful for travellers to areas where it is known to be (NetDoctor, 2013). Quinine is used to treat malarial infections it attacks the parasaite once it enters the red blood cells and stops it from multiplying (NetDoctor, 2013). Doxycycline is an antibiotic that stops the parasite (NetDoctor, 2013). It stops it from producing proteins that are needed to stay alive and multiply once it stops it then it is killed by the immune system (NetDoctor, 2013). Quinidine is used for severe cases of malaria it is directly given into a vein for 7 days in a hospital because the person’s heart needs to be monitored (NetDoctor, 2013). In this case the patient was given quinine infusion for 48 hours after the 48 hours he was given 600 mg of quinine orally (Hussain et al., 2008). He was also given some supportive drugs orally for a week which consisted of 500 mg of doxycycline, 40 mg of pantoprazole, and 200 mg of ferrous fumarate for 7 days (Hussain et al., 2008). He was has also given two pints of blood. Four weeks after these drugs were given to him he was discharged from the hospital with a negative blood film for malaria and he did not have any symptoms since his arrival to the clinic (Hussain et al., 2008). He was asked to come back to do further tests to be assured the malaria parasite was gone but he did not return to the clinic (Hussain et al., 2008). Conclusion Malaria can be prevented and if infected it can be treated. It is caused by a parasite that only female mosquitoes can carry. When these mosquitos go and take blood meals they transmit the human it bites. The parasite makes its way to the liver by masking itself from the body so it won’t detect it and eliminate it where later it makes its way to the blood stream and attacks the red blood cells. As of now there are many cases of malaria mostly in the African regions. Although there are treatments for malaria there are still a lot of people who die from it. Children and pregnant women have a higher risk of dying of malaria. Malaria can also be confused with other diseases because the symptoms are similar. This parasite is a very sneaky which likes to hide and wait for a period of time to multiply and prepare to attack the body. Although this might be the case there are plenty of test given to find out if someone has malaria to stop it before it can really do some server damage to the liver. There are some good drugs to help eliminate this parasite from our bodies. Sometimes people might think that this parasite is gone some people that have recovered from the first episode of this illness there might be several attacks called relapses this could happen within a moths or even years of having no symptoms. This usually occurs because they have stage parasites in the liver that reactivate. There are treatments given to reduce the chances of having these relapses. This can be a dangerous disease if not treated on time, but it can be prevented by tests to diagnose it before it is too late.