The Wired World

Mobile technology has become a necessary and a crucial part of our everyday lives. Mobile phones are fundamental to keeping schedules, maintaining a social life and are an essential part of business. It is now possible that with a touch of a button we are able to communicate with someone across the other side of the world. Individuals are so reliant on mobiles, that many feel completely lost without one. 

An international survey conducted by Synovate in 2009 found that most individuals would rather lose their wallet than their cell phone. A UK study additionally discovered that women would be more distressed about loosing their  mobile phone than losing their vehicle. This raises questions as to how previous generations affectively conversed without any form of cellular communication technology. 

It is imperative for PR practitioners to constantly communicate and mobile makes conversing that much more accessible. 3G mobile is extremely useful for updating social media sights, responding to emails and rescheduling appointments when absent from a computer. When studying behaviour, it is also clear that using mobile technology could be the most affective way to reach a client.

For example, PR Log illustrates how a basic PR press release can be easily submitted and distributed utilizing digital communication online. 

Online Press Release Submission

HTML links in the press release body. Search engine optimized web page. PDF version. Multiple categories & tags. Free press release account. Video Press release. Spam protection on your email address.

Press Release Distribution

Distribution to Google News. Distribution to Bing News. Distribution to numerous search engines. Numerous javascript, html & RSS feeds. Customizable realtime/daily/weekly alerts. Social media integration. Your own Press Room.

Mobile technology is advancing quicker than ever. The 1980’s saw the first generation of mobile technology and the second in the 1990’s. We are now in the age of 3G technology with 4G creeping up on us. Author Jason Trandle comments “The advent of 4G wireless will see those media functions expanded upon and improved upon to an unprecedented degree. People will be able to use functions like video calling and video conferencing in perfect quality, and will be able to do it from anywhere with connectivity and coverage.” Forth generation technology is considered to be the 'fastest mobile communication method without cables'. It is predicted to transform how people communicate and interact with mobile.

Japan have advanced mobile technology to such an extent that it is rapidly overriding the internet phenomena. Many predicted that Japanese mobile technology is four years ahead of that in the UK.

Terrence O'Brien describes the mobile invention of QR Codes as ‘barcodes on steroids.’ O’Brien comments,
on an article concerning BlackBerry 101, “QR codes are used for encoding information in two-dimensional space -- like in the pages of magazines, in advertisements and even on TV and Web sites. They were originally used to track auto parts, but have become popular (especially in Japan) for much broader, often commercial purposes.”

According to Mobile Media Japan (2011), “Almost 10% of all Japan's mobile users (9.8m) used their mobile wallets in December 2010; 7.6m Japanese paid for products on their phones at retail or convenience stores, while 3.2m used their mobile wallets at vending machines in December. Other popular venues for making mobile payments include public transport (2.7m people), grocery stores (2.6m) and restaurants (1.5m).”

Verganti (2010) argues that radical innovation (such as that of third generation technology) is one of the major sources of long term advantages on competitive advantage.

Restrictions to Mobile Use

Numerous jurisdictions prohibit the use of cell phones while driving due to distraction. Whilst many countries such as the UK and America disallow the use of hand held mobiles whilst operating a vehicle, Israel, Portugal Singapore and Egypt also banned hands-free technology. The common practise in mainstream schooling is to prohibit the use of mobile phones especially during teaching periods. Mobile phones are also thought to cause serious health problems such as cancer and electromagnetic pollution.

Complications for the PR Industry

Although fantastic for promotion and campaigns in Japan, complications and challenges can arise when developing and implimenting PR strategies because of the large cultural devision in mobile technology. This has also resulted in a number of print publications resorting to taking content and opomising it for mobile use.

Interactivity – An Ambiguous Term

How do we determine what is interactive? 

Chris Crawford (2006) relates interactivity to the archetypal example of human conversation. He explains that for a successful discussion to take place there must be at least two participants. Does this mean talking to oneself is not interactive? (My mother will be displeased) According to Crawford, each individual should “exhibit 3 competencies” consisting of listening, thinking and speaking. Presented below is a graphical illustration of this process.

Modern interactive technology

Technology has produced new opportunities for individuals to communicate.  Interactive media ranges from basic mail, to gadgets such telephone and mobile, and developments including the Internet, interactive TV and computer games. 

American Express has launched a new interactive campaign titled ‘My Live Story’ featuring recording artist Mark Ronson. The campaign has been designed to "uncover the UK's best music experiences – the memorable stories behind the shows, in celebration of American Express' involvement in live music and its award-winning 'Preferred Seating' programme launched last year".

To inspire individuals to submit their images and video’s online, twenty-one of the best applicants will have their experiences produced into a short film that will be revealed nationally on television. The person who enters the best ‘life story’ will win a trip to Los Angeles.

Director of brand at American Express, Tara Looney, comments: "Engaging with consumers in non-traditional ways is the most important aspect of our brand activity."

Film

Howard Rheinold, a writer, teacher and critic regarding implications of new media technology, suggests that knowledge and influence over others equals power. It could be argued that this is a possible reason as to why film and cinema is still incredibly popular despite the availability of flat screen televisions and home cinema systems. The cinema creates an environment where people get engrossed by movie. Interaction between the audience and film sparks memory and imagination. Why do I cry whilst watching The Note Book or P.s I Love You? Why do I desperately close my eyes and hide in my boyfriends shoulder to Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Exorcist? The answer, because we process different parts of films and put ourselves in the position of diverse character persona's. 

Television 

It could be argued that TV programs such as The Million Pound Drop are using the concept of interactivity to gain viewer attention.  Although the game show is live, they also provide an online version so that home viewers can participate at the same time either for money among users, or just for fun. 

Although (according to Crawford) some forms of new media technology aren’t strictly classed as interactive, examples demonstrate that companies can utilize digital media to enhance their presence online and gain brand awareness. It could be argued that this blog is ‘technically’ interactive as you are free to write comments and we are both in a position to read, think and speak. However, would the conversation have to take place in a certain time frame for it to be truly interactive?

The Digital Divide

Technology had greatly advanced since the first email was sent in 1971 or earliest mobile telephone call made two years later in 1973. Many would argue that one of the most popular creations was a result of the Nintendo games console launched in 1985, with 2008 statistics revealing that the average child aged 8 to 12 plays a staggering 13 hours of gaming each week. Countless individuals view this development in digital media as a negative trend responsible for ‘dumming down’ and socially isolating young people. A scientific study conducted by Anderson and Bushman in 2001 indicated that children regularly playing violent video games are more liable to having increased aggressive feelings, thoughts and behaviours. 

Jenkins (2006) writes in his book on convergence culture, “the 1990’s, rhetoric about a coming digital revolution was going to push aside old media, that the Internet was going to displace broadcasting, and that all of this would enable consumers to more easily access media content that was personally meaningful to them.”

The revolution certainly began as predicted in 1991 with the launch of the World Wide Web, a “network of pages of images, texts and sounds on the Internet which can be viewed using browser software” (Boles 2008). Early browsers of the fantastic innovation consisted predominantly of physics laboratories and university-based scientific departments although by 2000, 361 million were accessing the web. Today there are over 1650 million using the Internet with a growing interest from the elder and retired population.  

Many would feel that the Internet has enriched their lives, with the ability to source knowledge, provide entertainment and develop our capability to participate in two way communication, conversing and interacting with others. Recent statistics reveal that the majority time spent online is on social media sights such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. Another innovation to change millions of lives was the creation of online dating.  Shutz (2006) discusses our need for control and affection form social media. How many of you have turned to Facebook when feeling low and in need of conversation or distraction? The Internet also allows for personality or identity exploration. With a social media account, you can be anybody you want to be and although sometimes dangerous, for many it is an ideal form of escapism.

 Understanding how and why people use the Internet can assist organisations to apply effective Public Relations strategies to help target specific audiences. For example Pixar and Disney created a viral video alongside traditional forms of Advertising such as billboards and banners for the promotion of Toy Story 3. The video relied on nostalgia of their complete demographic and was extremely successful, not just at targeting children, but adults reminiscing about childhood toys and memories. A Facebook application was set up so that people could connect and share news streams after purchasing a ticket for the film. In addition to this, the catchy tag line “the whole idea is that no friend gets left behind” was created to be memorable and add imagination. 

Another way that social media can be implemented to enhance communication is if a company cannot afford travel expenses to send a colleague or client over seas, Skype could be used for a video conference meeting. Although I find this interactive technology is best for catching up with distant friends. 

However there is still only 30% of the world’s population accessing the Internet. This brings us on to the topical question, how do we reach the other 70% with many living in unindustrialised countries?

My Very First Blog

PR revolves around the concept of improving reputation and maintaining a positive public image, but how can this be enhanced by the likes of digital communication strategies? I’m sure many of you contribute to the 500 million active users of Facebook, or are signed up to Twitter (a phenomenon I’m yet to brave) although as the development of Web 2.0 evolves, are businesses forced to utilize social media to compete with other organisations? 

Whether we like it or not, advanced technology has become a critical part of our everyday lives. As a society we are obsessed and extremely dependant on electronics including Television, mobile’s and the internet, and are unlikely to decrease usage, despite numerous health warnings of phone radiation, risk of sexual predators and scam artists within social networking, and obesity rates suspected from an increase in TV and video game interaction.

This blog will explore a variety of digital media and give examples of companies that have implemented different strategies for their campaigns. I will discuss the impact of digital media on the Public Relations industry and the best way to reach your target audience online.

If I’m being honest, initially I wasn’t looking forward to joining the 113million blogging out there, but now I have started, I hope to become the online Carrie Bradshaw. After all when Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web, he intended it to be "a collaborative medium, a place where we all meet and read and write".