All Around the World

The growth of social media and mobile technology means that we are in a much more inter-connected world than ever before. More so than perhaps we realise.

Last week I Chaired The Retail Conference. One of the speakers at the event was Asda’s Clive West.

Clive told us how his former sixth form tutor, living in New Zealand had sent him the picture above, of an Asda home shopping delivery van stuck on a bridle path after their Sat Nav had sent them the wrong way. The picture had been sent to Clive’s tutor by a friend in San Francisco, who in turn had received it from the cyclist in the picture in the UK.

These days the global route of the picture should no longer amaze us….which in itself says a lot about how connected we are. What is truly incredible is that when Clive subsequently called the store to let them know that this picture was in circulation, the store had only just received a call from the driver informing them of the incident.

It appears that it was almost as quick for the cyclist to take a picture, send it to a friend in San Francisco, see it sent onto New Zealand and then back to Asda’s head office, than for the driver to call his office and let them know about the trouble he was in!

There are both good and bad sides to this new globalisation. The initial reaction is for such exposure to strike fear into most people and businesses. Reputation management is tougher than ever before and we have less control than ever over what is circulated about us. We need to be more aware than ever of how we act in public and what we are doing when photographed or saying when filmed. The old saying of ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’ may well be out of date now.

Firms who embrace new media, however, recognise that there are tremendous positives to be had. Managed effectively, you can send positive messages across the World in seconds. Last year I saw one of my blogs posted in four different continents before the day was out. Only a few years ago such global PR would have been out of the reach of a small business such as ours.

Word travels far more quickly and far more widely than ever before. You can be fearful and hide from the potential PR disasters this attracts, or you can embrace it and build your brand globally. Only last week I saw one of my articles published in the magazine of The Retail Association of India, an opportunity that came about because of the power of my brand online.

Social media gives us the chance to be talked about around the World and, if we manage the conversation effectively, those conversations can lower barriers and open up new opportunities and a new world for us.