As 2006 comes to close, it’s a good time to reflect on the impact of social media (aka peer media, new media) on the marketing and PR professions. So much happened during the year that will significantly change how we will do our jobs in the future. A highlights reel would include such notable developments as:

PR 2.0, Social media press releases, Second Life, Wal-Mart and Edelman, the Dell corporate blog, YouTube, Amanda Congdon and Rocketboom, Robert Scoble leaving Microsoft, Ambushed AOL/Comcast call center reps, Social Media Club, GM's Response to NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman, viral videos (Coke and Mentos), user generated content, customer engagement, Chevy Tahoe ads

Collectively, these news events and trends reflect shifts in who controls the message and how and the message is delivered. To gain some perspective on the year, a group of us bloggers

Todd Defren http://www.pr-squared.com
Dan Greenfield http://bernaisesource.blog.com
Kami Huyse http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com
Eric Kintz http://www.hp.com/blogs/kintz
John Wagner http://wagnercomm.blogspot.com

agreed to share our perspectives on the following question:

What was (were) the most notable PR/marketing social media trend(s) or event(s) in 2006 and why?

I decided to focus on the rise of Company Generated Media.

The economics of publishing have dramatically disrupted by new technologies, allowing consumers to basically create, produce and distribute content virtually for free. As technologies and bandwidth grow, consumers are taking advantage of these trends not only in publishing (personal blogs), but also in audio (podcasts) and video (see the rise of YouTube over the last year). Consumers are increasingly taking control, tuning out of traditional ad rich media and talking back. The most dramatic examples over the last year have been the exploding laptops on YouTube as well as the Comcast call rep Video.

But those new publishing economics are also valid for companies and they are increasingly turning to develop their own media as traditional advertising and PR methods decrease in effectiveness. They seek to engage in an authentic dialogue with customers and provide unfiltered access to their opinions and value proposition. Let me share a few examples of these trends at play in FY06:

- The rise of corporate blogs: more and more companies are jumping on the blogging bandwagon to provide personal authentic expressions of their brand through individual employees and foster direct on-going dialogue with customers. GM’s rebuttal to Thomas Friedman’s article in the New York Times was a great example of a company bypassing traditional media and using its own media to voice its opinion. Besides this blog, HP has also launched numerous blogs this year, highlighting the diversity of our customer interactions from blades to higher education or professional photography.

- The rise of corporate podcasts: similar to consumers, corporations are moving to audio and video to engage in this personal dialogue with consumers. One of the best examples this year are the Whirlpool podcasts – American Family, which features real people talking about daily family experiences. As highlighted by Paul Gillin, Audrey Reed-Granger is an upbeat and engaging moderator and the podcasts are focused more on everyday issues for newlyweds vs. a hard sell for the brand.

- The rise of corporate videocasts: I blogged recently about the investments we are making in this field by moderating discussions between leading CEOs and CIOs around their experience with change. We are only seeing the beginning of this trend.

These new trends will imply that companies maintain an authentic, personal and direct dialogue with customers. A key trend to watch for FY07.