Two-Way Street

Have you ever accidently gone down a one-way street the wrong way? I have, it was fine until a car came the other way lights flashing and horn blaring with the additional bonus of a few choice hands gestures. I quickly realised my mistake and slid as far down behind the wheel as I could and offered an apologetic wave. I felt very small and completely in the wrong.

School's the same, teachers are always right, experts in everything from the mating habits of glow-worms to theoretical physics. Well at least they gave that impression, now I realise they either bluffed or were simply one page ahead of us in the text book.

Communications used to be a bit like this. Journalists and commentators always seemed to be the definitive experts on everything. The role of normal people was simply to watch, listen to what was said and accept it as simply 'the way things are'. We didn't have a say, a voice or an opportunity to give our opinion, or share what we knew.

The internet has revolutionised this in the most basic sense - power to the people. Citizen journalism has created a vast array of comment, opinion and expert advice. The challenge is now for companies and brands to work out how they interact with that anymore. They can't just send information out on the one-way media street because it's now two-way. If consumers don't agree or don't like they'll let you know about it, and in a very public manner, from facebook groups, fans forums, comments on news sites, comments on the brands' site it all mounts up.

Companies cannot just send information out 'there' and think that's the job done, they need to recognise it's now a two-way street and actively encourage and create dialog with the opinion formers, whether those are bloggers, forum contributors or online news sites. It's actually a very exciting time for Public Relations firms you can get instant, honest reaction from consumers about everything you are doing. And in the process you build a stronger relationship and affinity with your consumers. It's really a no-brainer.

Admittedly there are a myriad of possible routes you can take and potentially a number of dead-ends but this is no different to traditional communications in print or radio. But with so many people living 'online', companies run a real risk of being left behind if they never manage to get off the virtual starting blocks.