21 things PR is

My last post was about what PR is not. I came up with a list of  21 things and others added great thoughts in the comments.

Today we talk about what PR is. Since PR can be SO very many things, I’ll inevitably miss the vast majority of them. Please leave a comment and contribute to the list.

Here are 21 things PR is:

1. An industry that has enormous growth potential.
2. A craft that requires fundamental understanding of human needs/wants.
3. A field whose practitioners include charlatans (alas).
4. A profession that has been seriously changed by the internet.
5. A profession that is, once again, about relationships with VARIOUS publics and NOT just the media. (i.e. a profession that is finally doing what it originally claimed it would do)
6. Sometimes plagued by dumb, shallow idiotic spin (and always will be).
7. Overly beloved of buzz words.
8. Best conducted by people with high Emotional Intelligence.
9. Starting to understand that it needs to teach its practitioners about business fundamentals.
10. Sometimes prone to taking itself far too seriously.
11. Misunderstood.
12. A craft that once chased media and, now, has become media in many organizations.
13. A profession that requires strong writing skills.
14. Really happy social media came along to renew (increase?) its relevancy.
15. A craft best learned on the job, not in a classroom.
16. Regularly misperceived – especially by journalists.
17. Capable of significantly helping reduce organizational costs if applied correctly.
18. In love with conferences. Sometimes ones where b.s. rules the roost.
19. A profession pretty convinced that it should produce more CEO’s.
20. In need of real, easy to comprehend, standards of measurement.
21. Something oodles of people are passionate about!

There you go. Stuff to add? I’d love it if you would. Thanks 🙂