IABC Belgium: What strategic communicators can learn from geeks, and vice versa

Jamsheed attended the event "What strategic communicators can learn from geeks, and vice versa" at the International Association of Business Communicators in Brussels.

The speaker was Danny Devriendt, Managing Director at Universal Media's Brussels office. He discussed how communicators need the 'quant wisdom' of social media savants in order to understand how to use modern social media outlets for business. Drawing upon humorous anecdotes and real-world case studies, Devriendt concluded that without a clear understanding of what social media is for, and how it differs from traditional media (or how it can be incorporated into mixed media) a business communicator cannot effectively utilise this technology. This makes a compelling case for business communicators, PR consultants, etc. to know not just the mechanisms for information dissemination, but also how others are using these mechanisms.

With an audience of perhaps 80% communicators and 20% geeks (self-professed or otherwise!) the conclusion among audience members post-event suggested that having command of the conclusions of 'big data' from social media, i.e. a way to quantify how the medium is used, is a crucial component of the geek's toolbox that communicators require.