I had a chance to join some A-list PR bloggers today on a PRSA technology panel hosted by Eric Schwartzman who reluctantly left his three-year-old in CA to moderate. (Thanks, Eric!)
It was good to see David Parmet again, and meet in person Robert Ricci and B.L. Ochman. All of us had a hand in the Constantin-driven PR Blog Week 2.0, last fall. In fact, B.L. asked whether we’ll see PR BlogWeek 3.0 (or 2.1?). Will we?
The audience of 50 pros — young and not-so-young — many of whom on the corporate side of the PR equation, seemed to appreciate much of what was shared. However, there was one point during the exchange when the issue of “command and control” surfaced. My fellow panelists, almost in unison, proclaimed that there’s no such thing as command & control any longer.
Being the mild-mannered contrarian that I am, I posited that command & control remains valid. After all, what would one call all those media trainers prepping their clients for live TV interview segments or the drafting of message points or a speech? Aren’t these vital manifestations of command and control that remain in practice at most enterprises?
In the end, we all seemed pretty much in sync on this scary, tumultuous and exciting new era of digitally-driven dialogue. I just hope that we don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. There are many core competencies in traditional PR that should never be forsaken.