The A-Team

Summary by Aida Hani Johnston, 2008401348

This paper is about a computer mark-up language for the public relations industry called XPRL. It was developed by an industry backed organization called XPRL.Org. The paper discusses how the creation of the Internet and electronic communication has changed the industry. It focuses on three main points which are how the technology can and should be used, the effect to the industry, and the inherent nature of this type of communication. There are two schools of thought; the first is that these technologies are actually extensions of our traditional communication; the second is that these technologies offer new opportunities for the industry. These technologies offer many advantages to an organization if it is willing to help develop and promote these advances. In this paper, the author gives a few examples of how the internet can help the public relations processes. How XPRL can integrate public relations information into a common language so as to not lose data and so that people can easily find and understand the information given by organizations. Basically, XPRL is software developed by the industry to help the industry. In XPRL, there will be different domains which are divided by the types of publics which are being targeted for example, investor relations or community relations. After that organizations will have to fulfill three success prerequisites to communicate with these publics which are strategy, resources and control. Then an organization will come to the communication implementation and tactics, where choices will be given which are best suited to the targeted publics. The implementation and tactics are then divided into four more categories which are message, production, delivery and impact which will determine the effectiveness of the tactics. The author discussed the value of XPRL, which gives practitioners a framework to work from. XPRL can help communication between an organization and the management and also other interested groups. The creators of XPRL created this language to facilitate two-way communication between an organization and its publics. After the creation, they realized that this software only helps organizations initiate and maintain contact with their publics, and that a mirror application needs to be created for use of the public. The opportunity presented by this software to automate the public relations process has infinite possibilities for the industry.