Message from the IPRA President: The social media black-out October 2021

(Comments)

2 years, 6 months ago

I hope you and your loved ones are well. It's October already and I, for one, didn't see September fly by. Just a couple of days ago, 2.89 billion users of Facebook, 1.38 billion users of Instagram and about 2 billion WhatsApp users were cut off from their favorite social platform. Companies and organisations worldwide could not communicate internally via their Workplace environment (including employees of Facebook themselves). Tens of thousands of live stream events, influencer gigs and mobile commerce bots were affected. CEO Mark Zuckerberg lost about $6 billion off of his net worth in the hours following the crash.

A crash-proof future

My take on this is that this is just another proof point for an alternative approach to online communication based on crash-proof blockchain technology. Blockchain has the potential to change all aspects of our lives. The backbone of blockchain is decentralized trust, which makes it different from centralized systems like Facebook. For those who think this technology is all too new check out minds.com or BitClout.com (Facebook alternatives), Twetch.app or D.Buzz (Twitter alternatives), or Odysee.com as one of the many blockchain based YouTube alternatives.

Eventiada 2021

Our regional partner, Eventiada IPRA GWA, the largest PR awards competition in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, is open for entries. Why not show to the whole PR world who is the best in the Eastern European, Russian, CIS or Central Asian region? The programme now includes awards for outstanding campaigns supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals as well as new corporate categories. Besides the Grand Prix, the international jury will award the Sustainable Development prize. In addition, in 2021 Eventiada IPRA GWA awards best campaigns in several ESG categories. You can still register your entry untill October 15 at www.eventiada.com

Next Thought Leadership Webinar

I am thrilled with the success of our free webinar series, especially when we already see an agenda taking form for 2022! So don't miss the next one on October 14. The webinar with Dr Takashi Inoue, will explore relationship management and reflect on how this is complex in a world characterized by hyper-globalization. The webinar draws on Dr Takashi Inoue's book published in 2018 and his experience in the Japanese high-tech industries. You can register for the free webinar here.

Till next time, stay safe.

Philippe Borremans

President 2021

• ← Did you enter the GWA? Do you do business in the East? Then send the same entry to the Eventiada IPRA GWA
• Invitation to an IPRA webinar on cyber security: 11 November →