For Immediate Release
June 8, 1999

Introduction

"The imperatives of technology and organization, not the images of ideology, are what determine the shape of economic society." So said John Kenneth Galbraith.

Technology - and how we in public relations communicate the rapid change it brings - is our subject this morning. We will view this evolving world through the eyes of three expert panelists - Loretta Day, John Gulick, and Robyn Sachs.

Good morning, and welcome to this month's professional development workshop sponsored by the Public Relations Society of America's National Capital Chapter. This is but one of the many professional development and networking opportunities our chapter offers.

If you are not yet a PRSA member, I urge you to talk with our President Mary Yerrick, past President Paige McMahon, Assistant Chapter Manager Sherri Mayerhofer who many of you met when you arrived this morning, or me.

My name is Ed Barks. I am President of Barks Communications, a firm specializing in media training, presentation training, and legislative testimony training. I am also a member of the PRSA/NCC Program Committee which organized today's event.

Time and words - two essential elements of the craft we call public relations. Consider both of those factors when you contemplate whether and how today's high tech revolution has affected our profession.

Time

High tech has vastly accelerated the time element of public relations. No longer do we rely only on mail and phone. Fax machines and e-mail are commonplace.

Furthermore, no public relations firm would be caught dead these days without a web site. And what PR practitioner would dare to say he or she lacks the basic skills to perform research on the Internet and in news groups?

Then there is another aspect of time to consider. PR leaders in high tech, including our panelists today, must make decisions in the blink of an eye or run the risk of losing vital competitive advantages. That is one of the topics we will zero in on here today.

Words

The second critical element for PR professionals - words - has also been dramatically affected by the high tech environment.

Remember the days when PR pros used to take for granted that networks meant ABC, CBS, and NBC? Now we realize a network is something that allows us to communicate electronically. We no longer associate the word server with the PBS series "Upstairs Downstairs." We may not be sure exactly how it works, but we feel that chill go down our spine when we hear the dreaded phrase, "the server is down." Browser - that word is no longer associated with window shopping, but with how we access the Internet.

Think of all the other words that have gained new meaning in the blink of an eye - web, spider, virtual, domain, surf. And, yes, Mr. Webster would turn over in his grave to know that IT pros have transformed "task" into a verb.

Time and words. We all have the pleasure this morning of spending some time listening to the valuable words of our three distinguished panelists.

Conclusion

I thank you for taking time from your hectic schedules to educate our members and guests today. Loretta, John, and Robyn are insiders, colleagues of ours who know the high tech world inside out. They will share their storehouse of knowledge with us, then we'll open things up to a freewheeling discussion.