What comes in the way of great communication? The very devices that connect us so closely with people.
As I listened to Rajiv Makhni (more popularly known as the NDTV Gadget Guru) on March 13, the first day of the Public Relations Council of India’s 9th Global Communication Conclave it became evident that while technology has evolved dramatically it has left communicators behind. The unpreparedness of this onslaught is now causing many communicators to go back to the basics and organizations to rethink their approach to digital media.
Social media, according to Rajiv (@RajivMakhni) is an opportunity and a weakness if not handled with care. He cited a few examples of organizations who took their eye of the ball with their carefully curated social media campaigns only to withdraw when audiences shared negative feedback. The strength of an organization comes from their courage to accept feedback and to continue engaging audiences even when the sentiment isn’t in their favor. Our behaviors have changed due to the devices that now control our lives. Rajiv cited how he observes people in restaurants texting others afar while losing out on ‘real’ conversations with those in front of them!
He felt that organizations and communicators take themselves too seriously. He urged the audience to be intelligent, witty and conversational. Rajiv also touched on topics such as data privacy and how our inability to read the fine print when we sign up for apps authorizes companies to use our information in ways that will come back to haunt us. Also, in the future everyone will in some form use the cloud and that is inevitable.
Education and awareness are crucial for communicators to get ahead of the curve with tapping technology, managing audiences’ expectations and crafting suitable messages that engage. Learning from the native digital communicators (the millennials ) is probably one way to get started.
You can read up a few lessons I gathered from his session onhttps://twitter.com/aniisu (@aniisu).
If you are wondering what the gorilla featured in the blog photo has got to do with the post; the Melbourne Zoo has an interesting art installation on how recycling old mobile phones can help reduce the impact to these animals. Incidentally, Kimya – the gorilla featured likes a social media site – Gorillabook!
Humbled to receive the PRCI’s 2015 Hall Of Fame recognition from Union Minister For Tribal Affairs, Jual Oram (@jualoram) the chief guest at the 9th Global Communication Conclave on March 13. A great honor to receive it front of seasoned communication leaders.
