The article posted by FT.com columnist Michael Skapinker has been a hot topic within Digital lately.

He asks the question, "How will consumers respond if they sense the companies’ hand – or that of their PR advisers – behind future campaigns?"

As a company, we work with many brands and look at innovative and creative ways of engaging with their audience. In the past our services have predominantly focused on traditional media. However, with the change in our social behaviour, which seems to rely more and more on the internet, no wonder as communications agencies we are looking at other avenues of conversation. If we weren't, we would be out of business in the very near future.

However, I do feel that it's more a question of where is the world of marketing leading.  How are brands adapting to this phenomenon of social media and how are we as a society communicate and influence each other? That is the real question, from there it leads us to a world of opportunity of creativity and conversation!

What I do find interesting about his article, is that here he is working within a Web 2.0 world, blogging about his opinions expressing them openly, which is great. He speaks about how brands want to control this medium, however should his readers want to send comments one needs to email them through. What happened to user-generated content and open forum of discussion?

My colleague Guy sent him an article which has not been published as yet and took it upon himself to blog about it...He is definitely a more eloquent writer than myself. Have a read...and let me know what how you feel social media is affecting the PR industry or perhaps how PR is influencing social media...