Welcome Online Communicators
From Steve O'Keefe
For several years, I've been communicating directly with fellow instructors of online public relations -- and indirectly with such organizations as the Public Relations Society of America and the Institute for Public Relations -- about the need for a professional organization for instructors and practitioners of online communications. Why?
* Because our needs are different and more focused than those of existing groups.
* Because legislators are drafting and passing legislation without hearing our collective concerns.
* Because there is too much duplication of effort as each teacher crafts his or her own lesson plans and each practitioner educates and learns from his or her clients.
* Because, after almost ten years with the commercial Internet, many marketers have failed to absorb even the basic principles of online communication.
My hopes for this organization are that it will provide a clearinghouse of information regarding best practices with existing technology; a resource for experimentation with emerging technologies; that we can agree on a few core principles and project them with a unanimous voice; that we can find colleagues to commiserate with and celebrate with as we try to figure out how to coax the results we desire out of these increasingly sophisticated machines. Judging from the overwhelming positive response from the people I most respect in this field, our time has arrived. Welcome online communicators!
STEVE O'KEEFE
Executive Director, Patron Saint Productions, Inc.
Adjunct Faculty, Tulane University College
Author of Complete Guide to Internet Publicity
Vice President, IAOC
