21 things public relations IS

Public relations can be so many things, which means I probably left out a few (or a lot), so please add to my list.

Here are 21 things PR is:

1. An industry that has enormous growth potential.

2. A craft that requires fundamental understanding of human needs and wants.

3. A field whose practitioners include charlatans (alas).

4. A profession that the Internet changed profoundly.

5. A profession that is, once again, about relationships with various publics and not just the media. (That is, a profession that’s finally doing what it originally claimed it would do).

6. Sometimes plagued by dumb, shallow idiotic spin (and likely always will be).

7. Overly enamored of buzzwords.

8. Best conducted by people with high emotional intelligence.

9. Starting to understand that it needs to teach its practitioners about business fundamentals.

10. Sometimes prone to taking itself far too seriously.