Text by Marina Grihović, Founder And Director Of ‘Headline’ Pr Agency And ‘Dkit’ Digital Communications Agency
Countless times I’ve written about the future of our profession, and the trends ahead of us. With a nearly three-decades-long career in media and communications, I have witnessed numerous changes, revolutions and evolutions. The topic of “what’s coming next” is a perennial standard in our profession. Throughout all those years we’ve successfully switched from typewriter to computer, from off to online communication, we have digitized, we have become bloggers, vloggers, we integrated communications… All in all, it is very exciting to be part of this story. It could be that we, the so-called seniors, were not even aware of what was happening to us in the very beginning of these shifts and transformations, but were still intuitively conquering new technologies and finding ways to convey messages faster and more clearly. I always wondered, and I still do, if we missed something during that constant chase after trends.
Have we become alienated from each other, but also from the basic idea of communication [to remind you – that is the “thing” when we convey clear and true information]? Where do we find time for creativity if we’re responding to 150 emails every day, constantly posting to social media, proofing press releases and arranging interviews? Or is that even our job? Should we set up a much more segmented division of assignments? The expressions that the future begins now or that the future has already come are often associated with AI and the challenges it presents. Please don’t think I’m jumping from topic to topic [or promoting a client, an IT giant] – I just want to open a discussion on how artificial intelligence can help us. There has been much talk and books written – from adventures to serious sociological research – about this. Some people are scared and others eager to embrace it. But we, the ordinary folk, and in terms of technology, I belong to this group [I am neither expert nor ignorant], need to enter this story prepared and ready. Let’s be of use to the people filling databases with all sorts of data and creating so-called brains that think a little faster than ours do.
I propose that we propose. Let’s be a part of the development and say that we need to communicate better; let’s address the problem of the onslaught of fake news and the role of technology in spreading them; let’s be integral to humanizing what many call artificial. I do not doubt that time-saving technologies are our allies in easing the burden of day-to-day time-consumers and freeing us to address the important ethical principles and save our profession. We need to pass on knowledge to the younger generations, and, above all, the fact that it is critical that they promote the truth and not the “filtered” news; that it is our job to highlight the important over popular. Education holds the key to the future.
ABOUT HEADLINE AND DKIT
PR and Media Consulting Agency ‘Headline’ was founded eleven years ago, in January 2008. It is the co-owner and partner of Dkit Digital Agency, specializing in digital communications, promotion and advertising on digital media, founded in 2012. Headline and Dkit consist of experienced teams of experts with professional skills in media and public relations, consulting, event management, public affairs, brand advisory, marketing, digital strategies and solutions. By combining knowledge about media, and experience in working with domestic and international clients, while knowing the rules of online and offline communication and changes in people’s habits in terms of modern technology, we are precise in determining who we are addressing, in how to create and customize content, and what kind of messages to send out. Our diverse teams of communication experts, strategists and creators combine a data-driven approach with knowledge gained from years in the communication industry to deliver outstanding results to our clients. We are dedicated to every client, journalist, blogger, web/mobile user. We build friendly relationships and do not see clients as ‘big’ or ‘small’. And the most important thing – our agencies exist because of Sandra, Tanja, Jelena, Jovana Senior and Jovana Junior, Jelisaveta, Nenad, Bojana and all our colleagues and friends.