ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how public relations may interact, engage and respond in social media by critiquing notions of one-way, two-way and every-way communication. It also discuss, the concept of engagement, which allows us to examine governance issues where organizational initiatives and responses either align with or diverge from public expectations. The chapter is more concerned with meaning, engagement and the social impact of communication, than advocating the use of directional modes of conceptualizing public relations. It also analyzes how contemporary studies of public engagement may inform such a change. The chapter discusses that directional approaches have value for theorizing public relations interactions within social media but that such theory should not boilerplate the ethics of one direction but rather the dynamics of engagement. If public relations wishes to insert itself within everyday social media networks, it must be able to demonstrate positive, productive effects and impact.
