The Technology Umbrella: All Roads Lead to Rome
By Carole Bersillon, Intern
This is not a blog post about a new high-tech umbrella that would be hands free or rain forecasting, although it would be useful. It is about technology and how it can lead you anywhere, especially through PR disciplines.
Am I a Generalist or Specialist profile?
Choosing a career path can be stressful because nobody wants to be restricted to one specific area. As a young graduate, before selecting an internship I always asked myself: is it going to make me a generalist or a specialist? Not that I do not want to become an expert in a specific field. In fact, I would appreciate to be known as a reference in Crisis Communication or Issues Management for example. I believe that at this early stage of my career, keeping the door opened to a variety of opportunities is a wise choice that will pay off in the long run.
I think that from my former choices I am a generalist with a focus on technology, though I did not always have a strong interest in the field. Technology applied to certain industries can be really fascinating and as a Fusionite was telling us last week, “technology is the right umbrella for those who want to do PR because you will find tech in every PR discipline.”
It was hard for me to believe first, but with a closer look, it appears to be true.
Why can you work in every PR discipline with a technology background?
Financial public relations: Technology is crucial to manage business and make it effective. Transactions and orders, networks of actors, databases, computer clusters, statistics and risk management, they all require software and business solutions. Technology also plays a very important role regarding security.
Consumer/lifestyle public relations: The future of fashion will be based on technology. Researchers are focusing on new ergonomic designs to fit the body, new textiles or even new body scanning machines for made-to-measure fashion and accessories and virtual try-on. Technology is also exploring intelligent packaging, which once finished with, can be dissolved under hot water to form a gel in which seeds can be grown (isn’t that fascinating?).
Government relations: It was harder for me to find relevant applications of technology here but think about markets, sells, customs, cyber security, export controls or environment and I am sure you will understand.
Healthcare and Science: From wheelchairs, pacemakers, orthopedic shoes, spectacles and contact lenses, prostheses, condoms, oxygen masks, MRI scanners, pregnancy tests, surgical instruments, life-support machines etc. to the use of supercomputing to manage medical information and suggest patient diagnosis and treatment options, it is all about technology and innovation.
Food and Beverage: Technology is involved in the manufacturing part but also in research and development of new flavors, colors or textures or healthier food like fat-reduced or anti allergenic ingredients. Safety and food regulations and compliance also deal with technology. Look at the trend of molecular food that is about physical and chemical processes and that gathers chefs, scientists and technical innovators.Of course the list is not exhaustive. But it gives a good insight on how technology can be leading to different PR disciplines. And I sincerely think that after managing to understand and being involved in accounts dealing with supercomputing, spectrum and broadband, or aerodynamics and fatigue tests, I could successfully fit in any PR discipline. Just saying…
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