From talking to tweeting: How the world of communications has changed over 20 years

Pulse was launched in 2002. Since then, the communications industry has seen a dramatic shift. Below, one of our consultants, Simon Taylor, explores some key game-changers that have shaped the industry across the years:?

When Pulse Brands formed in 2002, the world of communications was a very different place.?The changes that have taken place in just 20 years have transformed the way we engage with one another, and the consequences are still being felt and discovered in the wider world.?Arguably, not since the advent of the telephone and later on, television, have these consequences been so profound.

It’s hard to imagine, but 20 years ago people still talked to one another, and looked up when they were walking along the high street or sitting on public transport.?There was still room for listening, balanced debate, compromise and changing your mind if necessary.?There were different shades of grey, as well as just black and white.?The media wasn’t scared to challenge authority and call out poor behaviour or standards in public office.?The internet had been around for some time of course but it was still essentially a one-way virtual library.?

Social media as we now know it was still waiting for its big break.?Then, in 2002 Friends Reunited, at least in the UK (similar versions existed elsewhere at about the same time) was created.?It was the first social platform that many had ever encountered and created huge excitement as former classmates found a simple way to nose around what erstwhile friends/enemies/love interests were now up to.?Hours of illicit fun could be whiled away on the computer at work.?Innocent times!

And then, in 2007, the iPhone arrived.??From that point on, everything changed.?

Everything began to converge on that one device (and its many subsequent clones).??Every piece of information you ever needed (or didn’t for that matter) was there in the palm of your hand.?It turbocharged the development and uptake of Twitter, Facebook and all the rest, with many not lasting the pace before a new kid came onto the block.?

The pace of change was – and still is – relentless:?Whatsapping became the new texting; 140 characters were usurped by emojis; photos had a moment - before finding that video clips were far more alluring; permanence gave way to one-view disposability; investigative journalism gave way to research by social media;?politicians discovered it was far easier to govern by tweet.??

The consequences of all this for anyone trying to engage with an audience are significant: attention spans have shrunk to virtually nothing; the choice of channels, routes and platforms has fragmented into an unholy mess;?society has become increasingly atomised and tribalised, with people less and less willing to tolerate opinions that vary from their own.???

Yet, the coin has another side.?Arguably, people communicate more than they ever did.?Top down has become bottom up.?Control of communications has moved from the hands of the few to the smartphones of the many. Social media is frequently mobilised for good, with much faster and more powerful results than were ever possible before.

Who can say whether these changes are for the best or not.?The reality is that they are here, like it or not.??The key for the future is to use them responsibly.??

As for the next 20 years, who knows where we’ll be.?And whether that small, desirable handheld device will still be at the centre of our world in 2042.??

?

"Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com"