By Dylan Frusciano
Vice President, Southwest
Business Wire

Business studies have shown that for every interruption one receives while trying to accomplish a task the cost is 15 minutes for that person to regain their momentum. My first prediction for 2010 is that the next interruption I receive while writing this prediction piece will prove this theory indeed correct. At its current pace this very well could be a 3.5 hour project.

I believe the quick pace of change makes the future less predictable in many respects but in turn that much more exciting. It’s my belief that 2010 will continue to be a transformative time just as I felt 2009 would, but with an ever changing environment come ever changing thoughts and predictions:

• In 2010 people will be glad it is no longer 2009.  Perhaps that is stating the obvious.  In seriousness, while I personally believe 2010 will be much better than 2009 was for much of the public relations community I still firmly believe that those who overreacted in 2009, for example making panicked decisions such as shedding their tenured work force or cutting back on their communications, did indeed see negative ramifications from those shortsighted moves.  I see this as only continuing for them in 2010 as we move further into recovery mode.  For those who did not overreact, it will be all the work done in 2009 by those key people and their consistent communications that makes it possible for 2010 to be a good year.
• There will continue to be a convergence between social media tools and traditional tools available to public relations practitioners.  However, while some continue to predict the complete demise of the traditional tools I believe you’re only going to see an evolved but continued growth in the use of those tools.  I don’t see the tools in the tool box getting thrown away, just evolving and getting better.
• The mind numbing, lackadaisical misuse of words such as “their,” “there,” and “they’re” on Facebook and Twitter could cause such a tremendous backlash that those outlets actually implode upon themselves.  You heard it here first, so when you see that bright flash of light over the mountains emanating form Silicon Valley think of me.  Speaking of these applications, there could also be a backlash against the vomiting of one’s every thought, the use of “LOL,” etc., but that could just be me.  And don’t even get me started on Farmville.
• I believe that you will continue to see the pendulum slowly swing back towards people seeking credible news sources, especially as it pertains to breaking news.  While people will remain attracted to outlets such as Twitter they will seek further confirmation of important news stories from established, credible resources.
• While providing a great lesson as to why sound public relations counsel is so important, the Tiger Woods story will ultimately fade but only because he will be able to thank some other well-known man for hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2010.  As predictions go this might be the prediction I feel most certain about.  However, to paraphrase Rick Reilly, in 2010 Tiger Woods will still remain the only person in history to run his car into a hydrant and set himself on fire.

(Note: The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily that of Business Wire.)