Share This Part III Response

Part 3 of "Share This", entitled "Networks", is about using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter for PR purposes. The book has chapters on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and blogging in general, listing both the advantages and drawbacks of each medium. The main drawbacks, it seems, are the possibility for users to express dissatisfaction with companies. Of course, this can happen whether or not the company itself is engaged in the site, so it's hardly an argument against companies having Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and so on (and the book does not pretend it is an argument against it).

Interestingly, in discussing Google+, the book notes the failure of one of Google's previous projects, called Buzz. This was perhaps slightly prescient, as Google+ has not been a smashing success and has been mocked in some circles for the lack of impact it made. However, the chapter as a whole discusses it in a rather optimistic way, which isn't terribly helpful in allowing to see why Google+ failed (to the degree that it did fail), not that the book can be blamed for this.

The book did seem a little pessimistic on blogging, in terms of its potential to be used by companies. I can understand this, since blogging is personal and companies are by definition not, but I still think the book undersells the potential use of blogging, as it seems that a company could use a blog to share relevant information about upcoming products and the like. The book seems to worry that it's difficult to come off as "authentic" in corporate blogs, but I personally ask, why try? Corporations don't have personal experiences and their customers are interested in their products and services, so why can't a blog be used for information about said products and services?

The book also paints a rather glowing picture of Twitter's importance, mentioning its role in the Arab Spring. I personally have mixed feelings here, as I think the truth is that it's quite difficult to communicate anything too meaningful or well-thought-out over Twitter, although it did certainly play its role as the book says. Twitter should certainly be useful for companies, due to hashtags in particular, but I think the book might be slightly over-hyping its general influence and power.