I am spending a lot of time thinking about how Public Relations can manage a future where the the platforms and channels for communication are changing fast.
That TV viewing figures fall when homes get broadband is interesting, not startling. It will be a bigger issue when broadband is 50 meg instead of 8 which is happening in places where there is cable (not in the hills about Stonehenge you understand).
What is important for us is to be able to identify the new and next media journey, the next process in relationship building and an ability to evaluate the new as well as its implementation, effect and possible outcomes. These are tools we must have and they must be part of the PR management package at every level of practice.
What we have to do is look at some of the thinkers in this area like Malcolm Gladwell Author of Tipping Point and Blink.
In addition, we can call on the techniques used in engineering, mathematics and management.
People like Karl Weick and Kathleen Sutcliffe with their five essential qualities for 'Managing the Unexpected' : preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify, sensitivity to operations, commitment to resilience, and deference to expertise, are invaluable.
Of course, part of this thinking includes how we approach risk management.
These are things we now have to put into PR planning and management.
They do need a lot of thinking about as part of a managed strategy for PR
I think we also need to look at complexity and chaos theories. A managed strategy traditionally means thinking in a linear way and assuming that b follows a. In the modern interconnected, dynamic, 24:7 type of world, being able to plan for, and operate in, complex situations and chaos is vital.
ReplyDeleteYes Yes... very good point. It is interesting to see how these theoretical constructs are now becomming significant to PR.
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