It is tempting to think, wouldn’t it be great if all of life’s problems could be solved with a simple app?
This question occurred to me as I read a NY Times article yesterday; About to be Hauled off in Handcuffs? Press Send. It described an app, inspred by the Occupy Wall Street movement, that can help you if you are getting arrested.
According to the article, the I’m Getting Arrested app:
… allows users to write a message and identify recipients — friends, family, a lawyer — in advance. Then… they can push a button to send a text message blast.
So, how is this relevant to PR? The rise of smart phones has led to a growth in apps (see my post It’s an App, App, App, App, App, App, App World). Apps and tablets are now transforming how people receive, consume and share content. These trends mean big things for PR:
- If you are in tech PR, you may have an app company for a client one day
- New ways of computing mean new tools that can support our work
- People are using these apps and tablets to receive and share news
No, there is not (for better or worse) simple apps that can solve all of our problems, including the challenges that we face every day in PR. However, through this series, I hope to help readers better understand the app and tablet world, and what this means for PR.
Please stay tuned for the next installment (and lots of bad app puns too!).
