Richard Edelman of Edelman PR has just posted his predictions for 2008.

Number 4 on his list deals with PR agencies and the emergence of social media. Threat or opportunity?

"The digital aspect of public relations will continue to develop apace, but we need to focus on those aspects of Web 2.0 where we have comparative advantage. Ideas with a public service element, facilitating dialogue with third parties, creating authoritative content linked to credible primary sources, and campaigns asking for stakeholder expertise and experience are the sweet spot. We can compete with digital firms and ad agencies but let’s do it from strength. Let’s also recognize that our biggest job is to convert our account staff into Web 2.0 players, to assure that they are sufficiently broad in their reading/viewing habits, incorporating video content into their work and committed to transparency and quality in content provided to the community. PR is a true growth industry because we rely on dialogue, shareholder engagement and relationships, but only if we truly embrace digital." (my highlighting)

The emergence of social media and customer comparison and evaluation sites means that PR agencies must considering the internet as just another communication platform alongside radio, TV and print. The journalists are now 'citizen journalists' as well as online journalists. PR agencies need to identify what is happening in the blogosphere and social media space and learn how to engage in the conversations.