PR Story #8

So, I haven't done the PR Story in a while, since university has been really busy and the updates on here have been more about my achievements at university. However, since this blog is technically due in on Friday for my lecturer to view, I thought I would do another PR Story but also just take this opportunity to explain how this blog has helped me.

For starters, doing the PR story every week for a time meant another of my lecturers took notice of my blog and complimented me on my developing PR skills. This blog has done wonders for my reading and writing skills that honestly were getting a bit rusty... After my English A levels I steered clear of reading and writing for a very long time, which is a shame as I do believe reading and writing are the most basic and yet most powerful tools anyone can ever have and practising them as I have been has been so beneficial.

I have also put Google Analytics on this blog and it's amazing to see that in such a short time I seemed to have built up somewhat of a regular readership from people I'm not sure I've even met! I think this blog has definitely served it's purpose and I fully intend to keep it running all through the rest of my time at university and beyond.

So on with my PR Story #8... Facebook's dead?!

According to Radio 1 Newsbeat and 1Xtra editor Rob McKenzie it is among the younger generation? So I'm reading this and thinking... does this officially make me old now?! I'm 20 and a daily Facebook user to communicate with my friends and keep up to date with the regular gossip(!). Apparently "no self-respecting young person would be on Facebook" and "Facebook is populated by mums and PR staff." Hmm....

Well, I will have to admit that recently Facebook does seem to be populated more and more by people wanting their 15 minutes posting ridiculous and sometimes downright stupid photos and videos that people feel necessary to share, like or comment on. My news feed is full of shares for companies in order to enter a competition, a technique that lacks complete originality and Facebook it basically becoming cluttered and if I'm honest... annoying.

Someone not too long ago told me they had a bet on that Facebook will have died out and something new will take over in the next five-ish years. In a way, I hope they're right. To think that the world has become so dependant on Facebook is slightly ridiculous but then again is it actually dying out any time soon... I'm not so convinced.

Yes, as mentioned by Mckenzie, Tumblr, Snapchat, Vine and Keek, are all preferred platforms for younger people and the first two have been around for a while now and are starting to become more and more popular, however, I don't think these are the answers to Facebook's defeat.

I believe that the younger generation are more open to trying out new social media platforms, but Facebook is still their fail-safe option, along with other uses of all ages, backgrounds, genders and so on. It appears to be the ultimate platform which is not restricted to a certain media type such as video and Snapchat and is very versatile with well designed mobile sites and smart phone apps.

If anything I'd say Twitter is the one to watch out for. People seem to prefer the to the point status and the access to al types of people seem to cause less arguments among friends and connects different types of people on one platform. Not only is it a social media tool, it is also widely recommended by most employers too for business purposes. It is a form of direct selling and can really help people polish up on their communications skills.

I realise this is all personal opinion, and if there is some big new shiny social media platform out there I appear to be unaware of, please let me know via commenting on this post. Likewise if you have any predictions for the future of social media, please let me know!