The document summarizes key findings from a Pew Internet Project report on the impact of digital technologies on public relations and health communication. It outlines three digital revolutions: 1) broadband internet, 2) mobile connectivity, and 3) social networking. These changes have led to more health information seeking online, through search and social platforms. For public relations, it means more sources of information and audiences to reach, but also less control over messaging and more demands for transparency. Health apps and social platforms now facilitate monitoring, support and even amateur contributions to research.

1. PewInternet.org
Public Relations in the Networked Age
The new information ecosystem of e-patients
PRSA – Health Academy
Indianapolis
May 3, 2013
Lee Rainie (@Lrainie): Director, Pew Internet Project
Email: Lrainie@pewinternet.org

2. What is Pew? A “fact tank”?
“Tell the truth, and trust
the people”
-- Joseph N. Pew, Jr.
http://bit.ly/dUvWe3
http://bit.ly/100qMub

3. 3
“Tweckle (twek’ul) vt. To
abuse a speaker to Twitter
followers in the audience
while he/she is speaking.”

4. 4

5. 5
“Tweckle (twek’ul) vt. To
abuse a speaker to Twitter
followers in the audience
while he/she is speaking.”
we need a tshirt, "I survived the
keynote disaster of 09"
it's awesome in the "I don't want to
turn away from the accident because I
might see a severed head" way
too bad they took my utensils away w/
my plate. I could have jammed the
butter knife into my temple.

6. Networked patients and the triple
revolution
1) internet/broadband
2) mobile connectivity
3) social networking; social media

8. Lisa Kimbell email:
“If you're reading this it's because I
managed to convince Peter to send it
which makes me very happy even tho
I'm sure it makes Peter feel
uncomfortable. I'm sending a check out
to Oregon today…. Since most of us are
far away, we can't do much of that but
we can provide some cash to reduce the
stress of figuring out how to deal with
the day-to-day while they're dealing
with something way more important.”
Blogger Jessica Lipnack:
“… because you are reading this
post, you are connected to P+T.
Without their pioneering ideas and
frameworks, this kind of connection,
between you and me right now,
would be very different.”
Then she quotes Lisa Kimbell’s email
text

10. Meaning of P+T for public relations
• Social world has moved from tight groups and
organizational hierarchies to looser and more
diverse networks – “networked individualism”
• Networks have risen in trust / institutions have
declined … but institutions can become network
“nodes”
• Networks have segmented and layered
• Social media is a part of networking behavior
• Amateurs stand beside experts as teachers and
helpers

11. Three tech revolutions

12. Digital Revolution 1: Broadband
Internet (85%)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
June
2000
April
2001
March
2002
March
2003
April
2004
March
2005
March
2006
March
2007
April
2008
April
2009
May
2010
Aug
2011
Dec
2012
Broadband
at home
Dial-up
at home
68%
3%

13. Networked creators and curators (among internet users)
• 69% are social networking site users
• 59% share photos and videos
• 46% creators; 41% curators
• 37% contribute rankings and ratings
• 33% create content tags
• 30% share personal creations
• 26% post comments on sites and blogs
• 16% use Twitter
• 15% use Pinterest
• 13% use Instagram
• 14% are bloggers
• 6% use Tumblr
• 18% (of smartphone owners) share their locations; 74% get
location info and do location sharing

14. Internet and health

16. Other key facts
• Women do many things for e-health at greater
levels than men
• Search engines are by far the most likely
starting point for health queries
• Half of health searches are for someone else
• Better educated folks are health-seeking
omnivores

17. Impact on health public relations
• More volume, velocity, and variety of
information
• New pathways to customers / tastemakers
• Rise of “fifth estate” of media actors (including
citizen “vigilantes”) – harder to control
message
• More arguments and harder to assess threats
• Collapsed contexts of messaging

18. Revolution 2: Mobile – 89% of adults
51% smartphones / 31% tablets
321.7
Total U.S.
population:
315.5 million
2012

19. Apps > 50% of adults
22%
29%
38%
43%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Sept 2009 May 2010 August 2011 April 2012
% of cell owners who have
downloaded apps

20. Mobile Health Information: Demographics
31%
(among all cell owners)
45%
(among smart phone owners)
Men 29 46
Women 33 45
Age
18-29 42** 66***
30-49 39** 59**
50-64 19* 34*
65+ 9 11
Race/ethnicity
White, Non-Hispanic 27 42
Black, Non-Hispanic 35* 47
Hispanic 38* 49*
Annual household income
Less than $30,000/yr 28 35
$30,000-$49,999 30 42*
$50,000-$74,999 37* 56**
$75,000+ 37* 68***
Education level
No high school diploma 17 21
High school grad 26* 36*
Some College 33** 50**
College + 38** 61***

21. Health and mobile – self-tracking
21% use technology -- 7% use apps

23. • Attention zones change
– “Continuous partial attention”
– Deep dives
– Info snacking
• Real-time, just-in-time searches and availability
change process of acquiring and using
information
– Spontaneous activities
– Be “ready for your closeup”
• Augmented reality highlights the merger of data
world and real world
Impact on health public relations

24. 9%
49%
67%
76%
86% 87% 92%
7%
8%
25%
48%
61%
68% 73%
6%
4%
11%
25%
47%
49% 57%
1%
7%
13%
26%
29%
38%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
18-29 30-49 50-64 65+
Digital Revolution 3
Social networking – 59% of all adults
% of internet users

25. Health and social networks

26. • Composition and character of people’s social
networks changes AND networks become
important channels of …
– learning
– trust
– influence
• Organizations can become media companies
themselves …
• … and “helper nodes” in people’s networks
Impact on health public relations

27. • More demands for
transparency
A few more thoughts
• More attempts at
hacking, breaking
and entering, and
messing with you

28. Health outcomes payoff
• Monitoring
• Interventions and
reinforcement
• Skills training – meds/devices
• Emotional and social support
among peers
• “Information prescriptions”
• Amateur research
contributions – online
recruitment, communities and
clinical trials

29. Be not
afraid

30. Thank you!