This week I’m in New York for the Counselors Academy winter board – or excomm – meeting (that’s executive committee). I’ve said it many times, but Counselors is one the gems of the PR industry; where agency leaders get together and share information, ideas and best practices about the agency biz. The annual spring conference is my PR highlight of the year.  

The organization has other useful resources including webinars, white papers and ‘From the Desk Of…’ – an online publication featuring perspectives for senior practitioners.

It’s only available to CA members, but I thought I’d share the piece I contributed last fall in the hopes that it will interest you enough to consider looking into the organization.  And if you are interested, I’d be happy to tell you more!

Recovering print junkie turns to social media

It wasn’t long ago when I would read Toronto’s four daily newspapers in the morning before I arrived at work. I knew which reporters were covering which beats, what other stories they were following and the best way to approach them if I had an idea for one of my clients. Friends and family not in PR couldn’t believe how I was able to absorb all that information on a daily basis.

I considered myself a media junkie and I was proud of it. And my home recycling overflowed.

Flash forward to 2010. Now I peruse one newspaper before work and one of the free subway dailies on the way in.

So what’s changed? In a word – OK two – social media.

I currently subscribe to and read about 125 blogs via RSS (really simple syndication). They’re mostly on PR, communications, social media, marketing and leadership and each blogger is a thought-leader; a (social) media empire of one. I follow a lot of people on Twitter, including many of those same bloggers, and get relevant links, useful information and breaking news. And I make time to share the things that I find particularly interesting with my network, so I become a minor info source too.

I’ve gone from being a media consumer to becoming a creator (via my blog), an aggregator and a curator. And while my newspaper consumption has gone down, my volume of ‘media’ as well as the sources I’m exposed to have definitely increased.

So how do we cope with the volume? Here are a few tips:

  1. Be strategic. We’re all pressed for time and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. We need to make smart choices based on what we’re looking for and what works best for our individual tastes and needs.
  2. Find blogs that provide you with valuable insights. It can be on any subject you like. And start to build relationships with the bloggers. Of course that takes more time… Set up an RSS reader – I like Google Reader – to subscribe and organize your feeds.
  3. Take a similar approach with Twitter. Find people who provide you with meaningful content. The Counselors Academy Spring Conference list is a great place to start. Then follow people that folks you trust are following. It’s not about how many followers you have, but who you’re following that makes all the difference. Oh, and until you find about 200 people, you won’t get the full Twitter effect.

I’m happy with my shift from MSM (mainstream media) to more social outlets. But let tell you a secret: on the weekend, I still look forward to poring over the print edition of the Sunday New York Times.

About Martin Waxman


Martin Waxman, MCM, is a digital communications strategist. He conducts AI research, leads digital and social media training workshops and speaks at events across North America. He's co-founder of two PR agencies, president of a consultancy and has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years. Martin is a LinkedIn Learning instructor, teaches digital strategy and social media at McMaster University, the Schulich School of Business, University of Toronto SCS and Seneca College. He's a member of the Institute for Public Relations Digital Media Research Center and a past-chair of PRSA Counselors Academy. He has a Master of Communications Management (MCM) from McMaster-Syracuse Universities.