One of the major joys of my participation in the debate and discussion going on in the communication industry is my membership in a listserv called "Young PR Pros", which has about 4000 members who email each other on a variety of pertinent topics. 

Even though I see myself as an "internal communicator" and not a typical "PR" pro, the repartee on "YPRP" is sufficiently punchy and often witty, and the intent of YPRP--of providing guidance and perspective to young practitioners around the world, is right up my alley.

One of the unofficial YPRP ringleaders is Greg Brooks of Kansas City, who is very perceptive and witty, or perhaps more accurately, has some of the sharpest smart-ass tendencies in the profession.  His recent contribution--the "YPRP 3 weekly questions"--is a notable shift, and his questions cut to very big issues.

That's why I'm sharing my response to this week's 3 questions:

1. What are the likely impacts of virtualisation, outsourcing and offshoring to the communication professions?
2. What do you do when you realise you've made a deal with the devil (in client terms)?
3. It appears that blogging may have hit its peak.  Do you believe that or not?

Here are my comments--am interested in your thoughts:

* Virtualisation:  definitely the wave of the future, perhaps centering around coalitions of minifirms rather than simply remotely located sole proprietors.  The communications professions are all by their nature social, and productivity/measurements of productivity will become more and more intense as costs and returns continue to drive client pressures.  In-house hires will likely be people who understand both the corporate work ethic and the virtualised work ethic, and serve as a bridge between the two.  

* Offshoring:  In the communications world, there are a number of trends leading towards greater internationalisation:

- The advance of "World English", namely English as spoken by non-native speakers, as the leading spoken language in the global economy

- The need for corporate communications to adhere to US or British norms in written English, even in "World English"  environments

- Clusterisation of global functional activities (finance, elements of IT) in certain locales for no particular reason, other than perhaps the presence of corporate infrastructure

- Incorporation of communication staff in "offshoring" countries into organisational communication functions

At the same time, there are a number of advantages that "first-world" communicators currently have relative to their brethren in "The East"

- The western approach to business communication is aligned to western political, economic, and commercial values--freedom of speech, religion, opportunity, choice.  Very few of the popular offshoring countries have even a degree of embedded appreciation for these values

- While entry-level work from offshoring countries can be acquired cheaply, the price difference narrows considerably for work requiring more seasoned professionals.  Offshoring countries have very young workforces, and senior pros demand near-western pay in the local market, or take advantage of their expertise for Western postings

- In external communication, the key is being able to speak credibly to a subject with external audiences, understand market/political conditions, and place any messages into an appropriate context.  Sure, a press release can be written anywhere and distributed from anywhere.  But follow-up requires confidence in one's knowledge of the targeted reporters and their context and the ability to deal with their skepticism when it inevitably arises.  I doubt a 20 year old university graduate anywhere outside of Chicago and London would be remotely prepared to do battle with their respective city's press corps.

- In internal communication, user needs are often far different.  Newsletters in offshoring locations--particularly for major organisations or major operations--tend to focus heavily on employee news and community-building content, while in the West, the trend is towards more strategic and "punchy" channels and tools.

Until the "offshoring countries" begin to develop serious consumption patterns that rival those of Europe, the US, Japan or Australia, they are unlikely to develop communication industries to rival our own.  I would suggest, however, that YPRP members check out the "Image Management" Yahoo Group, which is India based and will offer some startling perspectives from PR pros in that region.

Deals with the devil:  I've worked for companies and candidates across the ethical spectrum (including trial lawyers, casinos, and Republicans.  If anything, I find the more ethically-challenged organisations easier to work for--they appreciate the help more.  

Blogging hitting a peak?  I think it's hitting A peak, but not THE peak.  Blogging is the standard for self-publishing, and as much as I love Facebook, I don't just want to communicate with my friends.  I want to reach people outside the perimeter of my life--and particularly to reach decision-makers in the organisational comms industry.  I'd suspect that non-serious bloggers will start packing it in, and more serious bloggers will perhaps increasingly drift towards aggregators and blogging platforms used by top sites in their respective fields.  But blogging is not going away.