ABSTRACT
This chapter maps out the conceptual themes that have explored the relationships between social media and public relations. Theorizing public relations as a socialization agent focuses attention on the sociopolitical and promotional objectives that are pursued through discourse transformation efforts. Drawing upon critical theories that conceive of cultures as sites of contested meanings, identity politics, issues of power, ideology and difference. The chapter argues that public relations interventions in social media are complicated by cultural clashes. Not only does public relations have to develop risk communication strategies that addresses usual types of political, technical, economic and cultural risks, now the discursive challenges and risks that arise from working in social media must also be addressed. To work effectively each partner needs to presume that they must listen first, and acknowledge points of view rather than turn the discourse to their interests. Failure to adapt or change, argued is likely to render public relations powerless and eventually irrelevant to social media.
