Google Sidewiki is PR Game Changer
10 November 09

The gig is up.  Any client who thought they could escape social media is now in it, whether they like it or not. Google Sidewiki, launched recently, is a PR game changer - it exemplifies, perhaps more than any other application, how social media has infiltrated all communication and can undermine any PR strategy that does not consider social networks.

Here's how Google spins it: What if everyone, from a local expert to a renowned doctor, had an easy way of sharing their insights with you about any page on the web? What if you could add your own insights for others who are passing through? In other words - what if Google can turn everybody into a content producer and then rank and control all that content?

Now they can, and they will. It means that on your companies web page anyone with an easily installed Google Sidewiki app, can write notes that are then visible to everybody else. The general public - adversaries, friends, competitors, your nephew - can enhance your web page without your consent or knowledge. In a way, every web page is now a blog, with unmoderated comments open to everyone.
Google will somehow rate these Sidewiki comments, through one of their mysterious algorithms, and present the most relevant first. Your Sidewiki comments are then stored in your Google profile.  Sidewiki comments can be Tweeted, emailed, Facebooked.

So, if I want to leave a Google Sidewiki comment stating "Joe Whyte is a big fat idiot," (that's me by the way) on the Mediacontact.ie web page I can. This comment will then follow the site around forever, and can be blasted out through other channels. It's scary really! Only Google could come up with something this insidious and mind blowing. Google Sidewiki is ready for Internet Explorer and Firefox, and soon for Google Chrome. Get ahead of the game and install Google Sidewiki here: http://www.google.com/sidewiki/intl/en/index.html

What does this mean for public relations?

It means that all clients are now IN social media, whether they know it or not. Google is further connecting social media channels and controlling major social networks, such as Blogger and YouTube.  This is further proof, if we needed any, that a PR strategy that does not include social media has a huge hole in it. Three questions to ask:

These can seem like esoteric questions but just asking them moves you in the right direction. The primary function of PR is no longer "How do I get the media to cover me?" It's now "How do we impact our audience through our own media?" Google Sidewiki further re-defines media, when anybody can 'report' their opinions and facts on any web page, or words, phrases, or sections of a web page. What makes this frightening from a PR perspective is that all this content is subject to Google's ever-changing algorithms. It makes Google the most-powerful social media company out there.

If you don't have a social media strategy or want to improve your own maybe you might like to come to our conference, 'Content is King' on the 17th of November. It will provide you with all the information you need on viral movies, podcasts, website content and blogging. Find out more by clicking  here .