In a recent post at the Holmes Report, Paul Holmes challenges the current myth that the digital revolution is changing the PR industry. Specifically he takes a look at the latest darling in the digital scene, social media. 

First of all, what is PR? If you begin a discussion based upon the notion that PR is simply parroting a corporate dialog to reporters and trying to "persuade" them, then the entire premise is false. Public relations practices are about building a relationship with the public - listening, discussing and interacting with journalists, bloggers, and citizens. 

As Holmes says in his post, "The traditional process of public relations applies to the majority of new media." You tell your story to those that most likely want to hear it and that have influence over others, and you hope that they will share that story with others. 

The digital world we live in speeds process and access. A message that would take days to develop can now be delivered in seconds. Through blogs, Twitter posts, online communities and other digital forums, that message can be analyzed, processed and repeated to millions of people in minutes. 

But getting that message out to those influencers is the same. Best practices in PR are the same today as they were one hundred years ago. And those of us who practice good PR will continue to thrive while those who try to substitute technology for best practices will fall by the wayside.