Appifying The World

Do you ever feel like the social world is moving faster than you can keep up with? I will admit, I often do. And since beginning to daily expand my horizons to the newest and latest social media happenings in my current Ryerson course, I'm amazed at how seemingly behind I am, when I thought I had a good grasp on things. One area that I still am not completely in tune with, but is spreading like wild fire, is the explosion of applications. The makers of these are truly "appifying our world". There are millions of apps available, some of which many don't use, others that are must-haves and more that are set to come that are going to break technological grounds.

While having lunch with a girl friend earlier this week, who has just announced she's expecting, she began telling me that he baby is approximately the size of an avocado, to which I replied, "Pardon? And how do you know that?!" Well, after a lengthy discussion, I learned that she, like many other women who are expecting, downloaded an app to her iPad (I'm Expecting - Pregnancy App, seen here: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/im-expecting-pregnancy-app/id383565674?mt=8). Now, rather than reading many hundred page books or sitting there confused and worried about all of the changes shes experience, she has access to information at her finger tips like never before. She receives a weekly email that lets her know the approximate size of her baby (comparing it to a particular sized fruit or vegetable), can read information daily about what to expect during each week and an exact countdown of when her baby is coming, letting her know how many days are left.

I also read this week about the launch of iBook from apple - the appification of textbooks. After reading a number of news articles about the product, I can already see how it is going to completely revolutionize the way future children learn in the classroom. Apple has already secured four of the nations biggest textbook publishers who will make their textbooks available on the iPad.

So while these are only two examples of the appification of the world, they stand out quite a bit. And while we, as PR practitioners, must remain current and in touch with the ever evolving social world, I can't help but think about how older generations (who may not be as with the times) react to this. For instance, my mother who is a teacher, simply cannot fathom an education system without physical textbooks, but it is becoming a stronger reality that textbooks could be a very distant memory in the not so distant future. Also, trying to explain to my grandmother that there is an app for pregnancy that keeps you informed throughout each trimester, she absolutely cannot comprehend the idea, saying "why would you ever need something like that?"

And this makes me think: Does the advent of the app world make us more reliant on technology and feel less and less like we can't live without it? Because the truth is, everyone got by just fine before us.

Why PR’s Shouldn’t Fear Change

PR is an ever-changing industry – probably the reason many professionals get into the career. If you’re on the hunt for daily change, excitement and newness, then PR is the world for you. But just how much are PR professionals willing to accept change?

One area that has become more and more intertwined with PR, is social media. The advent of social media and the online world has made many industries re-think the way they conduct and strategize campaigns for their organizations, PR being one of them. The issue is that many PR professionals are very traditional and set in their ways, not very willing to accept change.

This needs to stop. The world is ever-changing and the social world is changing by the second. While change can be scary, it is also exciting. The web has created numerous ways in which messages can be communicated, consumers can be reached and PR campaign can be disseminated.  What is tough is staying on top of the changes and being willing to accept change.

A great example of an organization that might not be as willing to change with the times is Timothy’s Coffees of the World. The Toronto Star recently reported (here: http://tinyurl.com/7x7khzf) about a Facebook promotion that Timothy’s conducted which quickly spun out of control. Put simply, Timothy’s asked Facebook followers to “Like” them on Facebook and the company would send fans four free 24 pack boxes of single serve coffee. This was an incredible deal, and one of the first problems is that Timothy’s underestimated how many people would actually sign up. In the current social web, we have to be prepared for anything and everything.

Timothy’s also accidentally sent an email to all of the Facebook users who “liked” them saying the coffee was on its way when it really wasn’t. Clearly this was a technical glitch; however the handling of this situation, especially in the social web, was not thought through. It took Timothy’s one month to post an apology video. PR professionals have to change their line of thinking to understand that social media is instantaneous and therefore needs to be addressed immediately. Like the Toronto Star article says, days and weeks are not acceptable. It is great that organizations are willing to change and let social media into their strategy, but if they are not willing to learn and keep current with the changes, then campaigns are not going to be as successful as they could be.

The issue surrounding Timothy’s Coffees of the World this week is a great example of how imperative it is that public relations professionals change with the times, especially when dealing with social media. While it might seem like a daunting task trying to take on an understanding of the social web, it is more and more becoming an essential component of staying on top of the public relations industry.