Social Commerce Days At Newhouse Gives Students A Look At the Future of PR
- Mar 2, 2018
- 3 min read
Photo obtained from W2O Group Center for Social Commerce Media
Newhouse's close relationship with the W2O Group has fostered incredible opportunities for students looking forward to entering the industry. One of the most celebrated outcomes of this relationship has been what some of my fellow students refer to as "PR Christmas," Social Commerce Days. This year marked the fifth anniversary of the week of engagement and programing that Newhouse and W2O Group facilitate for students to learn from professionals in the public relations field, the pinnacle of which is the Visiting Executives Event, an exciting talk from execs at W2O group and other organizations on the future of the industry. This year, The Herg Auditorium hosted W2O Group founder and CEO Jim Weiss, IBM Director of Corporate Communications Alberto Canal, and W2O Group President Jennifer Gottlieb. The first two speakers each gave presentations on the past five years and the future of public relations, and how AI will be shaping that future respectively, before Jennifer joined them on an expert panel to field questions and give insight.
Jim opened the night with a presentation on "The Seven Characteristics of Highly Effective Entrepreneurial Employees" that was nothing short of enlightening to a hopeful future practitioner. Among his other notable rules of thumb, such as "choose to be in the moment" and "pick up the trash," he mentioned a couple of characteristics that really struck a chord with me.
• Thrive in ambiguity
With a stinging warning that "If you need to be told what to do, don’t come to our shop," Jim drove home to the audience of students that our "Newhouse Name" is not only a networking tool, it is a loft set of expectations. Today's professionals are not here to hold our hands as new practitioners. Coming out of college career ready means being able to take initiative, be a self starter, and not only survive in an ambiguous environment but take it as an opportunity to excel.
• Yes means yes
In the workplace, Jim says, "it is just so simple, do what you say you are going to do." Just like no one likes a flakey friend, no one is going to hire an unaccountable employee. When you commit to executing a project, do so. When you offer to lead a team, assume that roll. And even on the micro-level, when you promise to follow up with a client at the end of a cold pitch, make that call. Something I feel important to add as an asterisk of sorts to this piece of advice, however, is some wisdom shared with me by one of my mentors: A hard no is always better than a soft yes. If you are going to make the commitment to projects, teammates, and clients, you must be sure first and foremost that you are capable of you yes truly meaning yes.
The talk then turned to Alberto, who was able to share some incredibly exciting developments coming from the world of AI. As an executive at IBM, he's at the forefront with his company in the artificial intelligence software Watson. Along with sharing some fun facts about the company's enormous size (larger than Iceland!) and humble beginnings in cheese slicer sales, Alberto took a moment to explain how AI will be changing "100% of jobs," according to IBM.
But this doesn't have to be a scary notion. IBM currently envisions a place for both man and machine in the future of all industries, and Alberto says that while AI will be taking away some jobs, but will also be creating some.
The two men then sat down with Jennifer to discuss the future of public relations, how AI will play into it, and what they are most excited about. The consensus? Things are changing, and they are doing so fast! With new technologies emerging on the market, Jennifer and Alberto agreed that we're going to start seeing a demand for content to not only sell, but provide meaningful experiences to consumers. It is up to future practitioners to be up to the challenge, and to help PR come into the center stage roll that it is quickly being given. As for me, I couldn't be more excited.
Comments