Have Real Life Informants been swapped for Virtual Information?

In reading this chapter I came across the section about informants.  An informant, as described by Babbie, is someone who knows about the social group you are trying to study and can tell you about it.  The key ingredient here is that an informant is an actual person.

This stunned me because although this is true, PR professionals and almost anyone 'who wants to know anything about anybody' has taken the personal attribute out of the meaning of informant. 

Everything is done virtually through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,YouTube, or any other social media outlet.  If we want to know something, we will get it- sometimes without the informant even knowing we are paying attention!

J Public Relations is a company I would LOVE to work for so I have been following their Blog when I can.  One entry written by Sarah Evans, dated March 18, 2010, "Twitter and PR- It's Complicated" directly displays this exact social media phenomenon.

Sarah states, "I recall not even a year and a half ago boldly (and proudly) proclaiming, "I’m not joining Twitter.”.....A year-and-a-half later, Twitter has become part of my everyday life. Through Twitter, I access breaking news, I connect with like-minded industry folks, I follow my favorite brands, I book travel, etc..... I love Twitter. There, I said it." 

This is true of most people I know, including myself!  Sometimes I secretly think about deleting my facebook page, but then laugh at the thought.

If our PR clients don't start using these social media sites to run with society, they're not going to fit in- or make money.  But what happens to the personal connection?  "Twitter is so incredibly valuable because it offers the opportunity for authentic, raw communication and conversation. Followers want to connect directly with the source, and feel duped if they’re communicating with anyone who’s not on the “inside,” so to speak."  This is true, however as a PR agency, we must inform our clients about all the social media outlets and also create a Twitter page that is user friendly with personal information on what is going on with our client rather than a general page.  Interaction and an engagement level with the social network user is what keeps them interested."

. Tweet . Tweet .