As I write this post much of the world is caught up in one of the most universally recognized holidays of our calendar year - Christmas. For someone like myself, who makes a living from managing public relations initiatives on behalf of clients, this is an interesting and wonderful phenomenon.

No matter your faith belief or lack of one, you are to some degree affected by the overpowering message that is shared at this time of year. "Good will," "Kindness," "Charity," are just but some of the sentiments and messages we hear along with the overarching clamor to buy or purchase your way to happiness.

This mass messaging has one good outcome. We are made to realize that people as a community, as a region and as a nation are part of one living entity. How we live, give and address each other has meaning and impact on the quality of lives - whether we choose to buy in to the Christmas/Holiday messaging or not.

So if you were ever skeptical about the benefit of importance of strategic messaging or public relations, I encourage you to think again. Public relations is reflected in the amazing success of vehicles like You Tube, Facebook, Twitter and the dozens of other social media tools out there. Paid advertising has its role, but it is diminishing. How you you communicate with others in the web 2.0 world is gaining significant importance and is becoming the engine driving effective public relations now and into the future.

I'll be posting more about my ideas, thoughts and suggestions on the topic of public relations and web 2.0 so check in regularly or visit my website at www.sharonwrites.com

Happy Holidays!

Sharon