The “B” Word- Will The Web 2.0 Bubble Spread To PR 2.0?
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
My good friend Melvin at The PR 2.0 Universe wrote a great post on how the Bubble may end up popping not only in Web 2.0, but possibly with PR 2.0.  Since this topic applies to both startups and PR Practitioners, I figured I would take some time analyzing the possibility presented in Melvin’s post by answering two questions.ÂÂ
-  Will the tactics of PR 2.0 live on once the Web 2.0 bubble pops? Of course they will.  Like Melvin said, the landscape of media has changed immensely.  If anything, the bubble popping may be a sign that the tactics of PR 2.0 have crossed over to mainstream PR, and not just the Web 2.0 tech crowd.  Social media, blogging, word of mouth marketing, online video, and more are here to stay.  Why?  There is now a pretty clear ROI.  Whether it is measured in pageviews, influence, etc. it is measured somehow.  The way to measure social media influence is a whole other topic, but I won’t digress.  Just because the Web 2.0 bubble pops does not mean these tactics are going away.  Like Melvin also said, there is already such a large investment by PR agencies in social media and web 2.0 strategy.  I wouldn’t reconsider investing less resources in those strategies, but I would consider shifting some of those resources to bridge the gap between old PR/PR 1.0 and PR 2.0.
-  Will the PR industry see a downturn? This is more of an economic question in some senses, but in short, yes the PR industry will see less revenue brought in as far as technology clients go.  When this so called bubble pops, there will be less startups funded, which means less money to be spent on PR.  We saw this with the first bubble, and it will most likely happen again.  I could be wrong as I see the following as a possible scenario: a) Less startup clients b) Tons of resources invested in PR 2.0 c) These tactics must be put to use somewhere. Since there are significantly less startup clients, there will be a huge push to apply these tactics to larger companies. d) PR 2.0 breaks into the mainstream more than ever now, due to the ability to focus PR 2.0 tactics on more mainstream and larger clients than startups. e) This shift keeps revenues fairly steady. Not growing, but steady.
In closing, it’s hard to say what is going to happen.  I think many people blow the Bubble 2.0 issue out of proportion.  On the other hand, it is something we should all keep in the back of our mind. ÂÂ
2 Responses to “The “B” Word- Will The Web 2.0 Bubble Spread To PR 2.0?”
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Thanks Jason, for articulating and answering those two questions so clearly. Love it
If I may add one more that agency leads should be asking: What that happens, how do we react? How do we assure our clients and teammates that just because you hear of MySpace and LinkedIn dying, it doesn’t mean that nobody’s going to read your blog or participate on your wiki.
I often frame business ideas in a sports concept. Let me offer this:
Whether you’re Zuckerburg or Lebron, young success is the exception - not the rule.
No matter what you hear or how things seem, young successful entrepreneurs, like young successful athletes, have talented, smart, connected supporting them.
Just as 98% of basketball players have to complete a specific cycle to reach the pros, so do entrepreneurs [college athletic programs and PR firms alike should focus on assisting the 98% to reach their goals vs the 2%]
Softer rules on the court, like softer rules on the web, create softer players in general. It’s easier for everyone to reach the pros; but the outcome is very predictable when unexperienced talent meets the experienced basic player.
I could go on . . . but I won’t.
My point being that no matter what happens to the web, there is always a place for PR. I am a novice on the industry, but it has been the staple in many of the worlds most successful business and smart entrepreneurs will not reinvent [or omit parts of] the wheel.