Technophobe in PR…Your Days Could be Numbered

A recent Facebook post by a friend caused me to think about how the change in the “mediascape” and its impact on PR could leave some PR pros on the dark side of the digital divide.  Her post said,

“How does a two year old learn to use every piece of electronic equipment in the house?”

My answer:

“They make the technology so intuitive... Technology is the great equalizer. Sad thing is that I know adults that are afraid of it. And then here comes the little one making them look crazy!”

For the purposes of this blog, I’m lumping social media, mobile technology, electronics and applications all into one bucket—even Wii, XBox, Playstations, the new fangled security systems that they have for homes, flat screens and the like that engage touch technology—all of it.  Not only is it not chic not to know how to operate your own smartphone let alone your DVR, the fact that the manufacturers are making this stuff so intuitive that your tot can roll up on it and become a superuser overnight should shame us all into figuring this stuff out on our own. For goodness sake, your Grandma has figured out Facebook!

Which leads me to my current rant about PR pros that are expecting to remain relevant while leaning over to the resident geek-chic colleague to obtain all the answers all the time.  My charge to PR people who are stuck in their fear of all things technologically happening right now, stuck in their superficial, basic user mode:

Put down your crutches or whatever is holding you back, reach for your inner child—not jaded by fear--and dive into this new era of blogging, apps, smart phones, social media, touch, live streaming, locating, tweeting, bluetoothing, gaming, Netflix-ing, touch screening etc. Do your career a favor and take the time to learn a little for yourself.

You will feel better about yourself, your career potential and your craft.  You need not be a technophile, but you mustn’t be a technophobe. Otherwise, you will be left behind.

Some encouragement for you—it’s not as hard as you may think.  My six year old gets it, and he started when he was four with smartphones.

Comments

[RSWUS]

Love this post, great advice.

Lee McKnight
www.rswus.com

[L. Michelle Humphress]

Thanks, Lee. Appreciate the feedback, and thanks for reading. Feel free to share or re-blog.