Healthy Conversations

Have you noticed recently how the more old fashioned and Grandad-like something is, the more popular it is becoming? It seems to be more than just the revolving cycle of fashion but a genuine trend that’s been sticking around recently. It’s been something that’s been knocking around at the back of my mind for a while and only really surfaced when I saw this viral video doing the rounds:

The clip was first posted on Mashable as a calming antidote to the excitement and hype around the iPad2 launch as “basically the most soothing thing ever” (who can disagree?).  But apart from being a lovely interlude to your day, it seems to touch on something consumers are increasingly seeking. Namely elements of the tactile, the nostalgic, the honest, the home-made and the retro. You only have to walk around London’s trendy East End to see how this is influencing fashion. Nobody’s really sure whether it’s ironic or not anymore, but wearing dubious knitwear is a big deal for this not insignificant youth sub-culture…

I suppose what I’m getting at is that while people are becoming increasingly technology-literate across the generations, they are also increasingly looking for the human touch in their experience. And despite what you are told, largely by people with a financial incentive, not everyone wants to immerse themselves in new technology. A manifestation of this can be seen in the way people are abandoning search engines to access online content and clicking through links their peers have recommended to them through Facebook or other social networks. My point is that ‘human’ interaction and genuine engagement is more important than ever if you want to make people really sit up and listen.

Also, looking for the ‘next big thing’ in technology might just prevent you from fully grasping the current one, both as a consumer of online content and as a provider of it. It goes back to that old chestnut of what the point of investing in a bells and whistles website or forum is if there is already an active community just around the corner? Wouldn’t it be far better to listen to that community in an attempt to understand the interests and concerns of those people, and perhaps even engage with them yourself, before even thinking about launching a me-too marketing or awareness initiative to them?

And what about the technology itself and the healthcare setting? Yes, there are numerous new apps and opportunities to optimise technology for healthcare purposes, whether it’s a disease information app or a platform to help doctors manage their patients. But these are no good without fully and truly understanding the audiences that use them. For example, you might think of using Twitter to communicate to a group of young adults about contraception. But the average Twitter user is more likely to be in their 30s than tweeting in school, and unless they ‘choose’ to follow you may be tweeting to yourself!

The worst thing you can do is assume that just because something is new and shiny, people will like it. In fact, the worst thing you can do is make assumptions at all. So why not take a long hard look at that expensive looking digital media proposal and ask the question, is all this technology relevant? If the answer is ‘yes’ then all you have to do is put your best foot forward down the intended path. If the answer is ‘no’ then you should congratulate yourself on your honesty, go back to listening to the people you want to engage with and then get thinking about what you have to bring to the party.