In light of the unfortunate struggle many traditional media outlets are facing, who can deny much of the future of communications and public relations lies in social media? That’s why I finally began exploring social media.

Guided by Marijean’s social media primer, I dipped my toe in the social media waters with LinkedIn and quickly moved on to Facebook and MySpace (before it became uncouth). I also created a personal blog, which is a wonderful creative outlet for me.  

Yet even with the personal nature of those endeavors, I always believed in my professional excuses for tackling them. A few nights ago my beloved Missouri Tigers were playing in the Sweet 16. It was a “school” night (I don’t have kids, but still find it fun to call work nights a “school” night), plus I’m rapidly approaching 40 … so watching a game at a bar isn’t quite as important as it used to be. Yet, thanks to social media, I was able to experience the game right along with a good college friend. To make the story even better, this friend wasn’t even in the United States (the lucky girl is still in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on business). 

As I mentioned in my comment on Justin’s funny Twitter video post, I’ve easily fallen into using social media for business purposes. However, last night reminded me of the real reason social media is an incredibly powerful tool – because it brings people together.

And getting right back to my professional mindset, I think it’s a great lesson for PR gurus to be mindful of social media’s true purpose as we are developing strategies to leverage this amazing tool. Tactics should be focused on building community, and messages should be authentic.

 P.S. In my most authentic voice … “Go Tigers!!!”