Scope and structure of public relations: A technology driven view

The Internet and electronic communication has transformed public relations. However, a significant barrier in impeding further progress towards the free interchange of content, is the incompatibilities that exist between the plethora of hardware and software systems. XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language) is a universal computer mark-up language that overcomes these barriers, but it has to be customised for each industry that seeks to use it. XPRL is the public relations specific XML that is being developed by XPRL.Org, an industry-backed not-for-profit organisation created specifically to undertake the task.To develop XPRL, the industry has to have scoped and defined its processes so that they can be fitted into a framework that denotes activity. This paper describes the work done by XPRL.Org in this area.