Recently, there was a splurge of references to J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, mostly politicians and pundits comparing Tea Party members to “hobbits” and the battle over the deficit akin to the war on Mordor…which goes to prove that it pays to be well-read if you’re in public relations. Chances are, accounting majors would have NO IDEA what these references were about, so yet another reason to have a liberal arts education, like I did. But I digress..
If you studied English Literature in college, you perhaps understand why I’m mentioning hobbits, given the title of today’s PR blog entry, “There and Back Again,” the alternate title to Tolkein’s—or better, Bilbo Baggins’—tale, “The Hobbit,” soon to be a major motion picture now that Peter Jackson is safely at the helm. In this case, however, my reference is not to Master Bilbo’s trip to Mirkwood and his battle with the dragon, Smaug, but to my recent vacation in Cape May, New Jersey.
Yes, I actually took a week off in August to attempt to relax, rejuvenate, and otherwise gird myself for the fall push which for me includes teaching my Introduction to Public Relations class at Loyola University.
I was actually, literally, under “doctor’s orders” not to check my Outlook emails while I was away. During my annual physical earlier this month, my doctor quite seriously—“no joke!” he insisted—foisted this prescription upon me. And like any public relations professional worth his or her salt, I duly ignored it.
To be fair, I really had no choice. Within very short order, my Iphone had amassed so many new emails that it interfered with my smartphone’s function, turning it into a rather dumb phone, incapable of making a single call. So I was forced to access and clear out emails…and once you start doing that, well, once down that dark path, forever shall it dominate your destiny…if I might switch from “Lord of the Rings” to that other vaunted fantasy trilogy, “Star Wars.”
We live in a 24-7-365 world with more media sources, online or otherwise, than ever before…and as we in PR know, one of our first jobs is to be as informed as possible, to stay abreast of breaking news, new trends and issues that could impact our clients. There’s really no way to disconnect. And in fact, I found that I had LESS STRESS by accessing my emails than if I had not…if only for the fact that by taking time each day to review and clear out emails (not a long process by any means), I could take comfort in knowing I wouldn’t have to face 1,458 new messages upon my return to the office today. And that’s a good thing.
So, what did I accomplish during my sojourn in lovely Cape May, besides cultivating an interest in pastel-colored Victorian homes, the beach at sunset, and a marked decrease in my finances (SO many shops, SO little time! But hey, now I’ve got all my holiday, birthday and anniversary shopping done for the next decade)? I learned the value of understanding our global market...
...Specifically, the fact that more and more, we in PR are going to have to “get up to speed” with what’s happening in other countries, understanding different cultures and nationalities, as what plays in Peoria likely won’t in Peking or St. Petersburg. I found Cape May to have a “United Nations” flare as so many shopkeepers and retailers appeared by accent or by their own account to be from foreign soils.
One shop I visited (buying some interesting glassware and soaps) was run by a young Polish couple. We also noted all manner of visitors speaking French, German, etc. I work in the health care field and it is extremely important for medical staff to be cognizant of the traditions and cultural mores of patients of varying nationalities--on a related note, check out the interesting text, Caring for Patients from Different Cultures by Geri-Ann Galanti.
Galanti notes that Asian patients rarely insist on pain medication while those from the Mediterranean seek pain relief for the most minor discomforts.
Our new technologies have made our world far more accessible than ever before. With the internet and social media, what you say online can suddenly have a global audience…so being cognizant of what other cultures consider proper (and IMproper) is more important than ever.
Speaking of new technologies, I spent part of my Cape May vacation reading—something all PR people should do. Reading is like yoga for the mind…it’s good exercise, but also relaxing. Anyway, I read Erik Lawson’s Thunderstruck, a double-edged story that looks at the rise of the “wireless” phenomenon as led by Marconi at the turn of the century, and the murder case of one Dr. Harvey Crippen, and the quite intriguing way these two gentlemen’s stories ultimately intertwined.
In case you haven’t read Thunderstruck, I won’t give it away, but let’s say that the advent of wireless technology was a major step toward today’s world where people expect to hear about news as it is happening rather than after the fact.
Now vacation time is over, and time to get back to work…a mantra all those in PR know by heart!
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