"The Times, They Are A'Changin'"

Remember how the world breathed "a collective sigh of relief" when the ball dropped in Times Square on December 31, 1999? Growing fears of the impending "Y2K Crisis" turned out to be unfounded, and global computer networks did not crash as many had predicted.?Five months later, there was growing buzz about technology once again -- this time in tones of positive excitement -- as "GPS" (Global Positioning Satellite) tracking began to be widely available to the public.

Tapping into the novelty of GPS (Imagine having a personal navigator in our car!) a number of hiking enthusiasts invented an activity called "Geocaching," in which containers of trinkets or other objects were hidden in a container, and then those participating in this activity used GPS technology and clues -- much like an "old-fashioned" scavenger hunt -- narrowed down the hidden "cache" of goodies. It was fun while it lasted. By 2017, the chat forums dedicated to Geocaching had become the online equivalent of "ghost towns" and all stores selling supplies for this activity closed.

All this leads me to an important thought for you to reflect upon: When it comes to the message you want to deliver to a wider audience, how you deliver your message is just as important as the ideas you wish to share.

As my friend Jairek Robbins noted the other day, in "Back to the Future," Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) was "wracking his (circa 1985) brain" to figure out just how that magical McLaren sports-car/time-machine worked, and he was completed blown away when he learned that the road conditions really didn't matter; the darn thing could actually fly!

Over the years -- much like the hero of that entertaining film -- I've had to adapt my thinking to the best way I can serve my clients. I do believe that great storytelling -- pursuing a dream, overcoming adversity, and other concepts we can all relate to -- has a "timeless" quality to it. At the same time, the way the public "consumes content" (i.e., gathers information and learns things) has changed dramatically, and it's essential that we "keep up with the technology!" I've embraced this as a creative challenge, rather than opting to see it as a source of frustration!

My favorite, most recent, example of a "though leader" (influencer) making this point is the iconic Kim Kardashian and one of the comments she made during her opening monologue when she served as guest host of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," recently. “I’m so used to my 360 million followers watching my every move,” Kardashian said. “How many watch SNL? Like, 10 million? Tonight is a chill intimate night for me."

By now, I'm sure you probably share my certainty about the importance of delivering your message to your audience in the right way. Aside from the content of your message, you need a strategy that embraces the latest "delivery methods" (perhaps Instagram or TikTok!) and keeps in mind the way people really live their lives and "consume content."

In my desire to move people out of inertia and into action, when it comes to growing their audience, I recently wrote a concise "Jump Start Guide to PR." In this brief guide, I offer a few simple-yet-strategic ideas that can put you on the path of building a larger audience and connecting with journalists.

(Let me know if you'd like me to send you a copy!)

Meanwhlie, let's say a silent "thank you" for the fact that?-- even during this challenging time -- change can often take the form of positive innovation that improves our lives and makes it easier to engage?in meaningful conversations with others.?Personally, that's something I'm very grateful for!