By Edward M. Bury, APR, MA (aka The PRDude)
Way, way back in October of 2009 — the year I launched this blog — I wrote a (hopefully) humorous post listing three jobs that were on the docket to pursue should “that next great job in public relations” fail to materialize.
(Fortunately, it did land not one, but two great communication jobs since that post was published!)
And, for the record, I remain committed to my current position with a major university here in Chicago. Yet, there may come a time when I will retire, or somewhat “semi-retire,” however that’s defined.
So what to do to keep active and part of the communications industry in the foreseeable future? Perhaps I’ll be come a “social media tracking agent.” What’s that? Well, I am not sure, but let me try to explain.
Turn on a television news program, be it one of the major network gabfests or a hard news report, these days and many segments are structured around or peppered with commentary regarding recent or past posts on popular and not-so-popular social media platforms, podcasts, or some other online source.
The questions for me: Who is responsible for monitoring and categorizing these online communications? Do reporters, editors, or producers maintain digital folders with copies of potentially damaging or salacious Twitter — okay X — posts? Should every public or private figure receive his or her own “social media library?” Does a “controversial” online post automatically merit news coverage?
Back in the day, newspapers kept what was called the “morgue file,” which was a catalogue of past print articles used for reference. Do they still exist in today’s digital world?
Well, I am an active social media participant, regularly posting and commenting on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. I try to be at least conversant (is that word relevant when describing social media?) with the evolution of new platforms, but I have not explored any of the alternatives to X, which has experienced a measurable decline in recent months.
Over the years, some platforms I used may have offered some initial benefits, but as noted back in 2012, I tried out Pinterest, and I have not done much “pinning” since then.
Back to the future prospect of working as a digital wrangler of sorts: My resume also includes experience in the news industry, so I know the factors that comprise a good story. I did google “social media tracking agent,” and got a wide range of findings, including a link to the Hootsuite site.
So to sort of summarize:
- I’m not looking for a new position, but I may be interested in one in the future.
- I don’t know if this position actually exists, or if it’s part of some existing media job.
- Social media continues to evolve, and communications professionals need to remain cognizant of developments.
Finally, to offer some kind of full disclosure, I do not believe there are any potentially damaging or salacious online posts regarding yours truly. At least none that I am aware of.
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