A study on public relations motives for using internet

Abstract

The use of communication technology is ubiquitous In the contemporary business world. The Internet has changed the way organisations do business. Consequently the change has impacted on the role of PR practitioners in the organisation. This study presents the findings of a survey that attempted to determine what motivates PR practitioners to use the Internet. The survey was administered among PR practitioners who are registered members of Public Society of Kenya (PRSK). The study revealed that there are many factors motivating the use of Internet by the practitioners. These are information gathering, e-mail services, web events and global reach. The findings show that the practitioners are frequently using e-mail services to communicate to both internal and external publics. Information gathering emerged as the most used feature. It provides the practitioners with adequate information on business and social issues. The study suggests that the Internet has become the most effective and efficient communication medium for the PR professionals. It has changed and opened new opportunities for the practitioners resulting in increased productivity at work place. Through use of e-mails services the practitioners are able to instantaneously send . and receive message globally. They are also able to gather a large amount of information to learn more about PR practices and benchmark their practices globally. Other Internets tools which are frequently used by the Practitioners include web, publishing and online discussions . . Notwithstanding the aforementioned benefits, the survey results indicate that the , Practitioners also encounter problems when using the Internet. The study shows that the Internet is not a liable medium for transmitting confidential information. This means confidential information disseminated through the Internet can easily be Page 5 of76 accessed by unauthorised people. The study also shows that PR practitioners are unable to fully utilize all the functions provided by the Internet because they lack proper Internet skills.