We all have moments, where that light bulb in our heads turns on, where we hear, read or see something and it resonates, strikes a chord and moves us to action, or at the least begins the wheels of thought turning. I call these ah-hah moments.
Another befitting word is parallax, as it denotes a new line of sight because of a shift in observational position. This is what is happening in PR right now. The blogosphere and its relative technologies—RSS, wikis, podcasting, etc.—are requiring a shift. A shift in view; a shift in perception; a shift in counsel; a shift in execution.
What’s exciting about all this and why I love PR is that we have the power to be change agents. We bring about the parallax. We catalyze the ah-hah moment.
I spoke at the PRSA Chesapeake Chapter Conference a few weeks ago in Linthicum Heights near Baltimore. While my presentation focused on establishing a voice of reason amidst crisis, I felt I would be amiss if I didn’t bring up the potential of blogs and RSS in our crisis communications arsenal. To my surprise, these thoughts were met with dozens of blank stares. Not one person was familiar with RSS and only a handful of others had heard of blogs. How is this possible?
Part of me wants to attribute this response to the fact that we’re still in the early adoption phase—just on the cusp of this thing tipping among practicioners—and its still slowly spreading through the ranks and different segments of the industry, beginning of course within the tech field. But the other part of me thinks it's an evangelism issue.
While I may have been met with blank stares, it was this small part of my presentation that sparked the most reaction and dialogue from the group. You could literally see the gears turning in their heads, as they hurriedly noted some Web sites and suggestions I shared. Perhaps we gained a few converts that day, or more simply catalyzed ah-hah moments that changed views of how our role as communicators is changing.