CNM Forum: Be adaptable

Tan Tze How Kelvin | tzehow@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication

“Creative” used to be the buzzword for the job market.

But it was not mentioned even once at the “Future trends in Communication and New Media” forum on Jan. 25 at LT8.

The panelists from various industries
(Photo by Tan Tze How Kelvin)

The annual forum is organized by the CNM Programme to help students engage with top executives in the fields of new media, public relations, advertising and new media policy.

Amongst those present were managers and directors from Google, Singapore Airlines, IBM and the Infocomm Development Authority.

The take-home message today seems to be “adaptability.”

All five speakers talked about changes in the media landscape, and how future media practitioners should tune their mindset and attitude.

For example, Stephen Forshaw, vice-president of public affairs in Singapore Airlines, said that there is a lesser reliance on mainstream media today. Consumers now turn to social networking and interactive media for information; they decide what they want to read and participate in the discussions.

“[It is about] managing a landscape that you can no longer control,” Forshaw said.

In addition, Director of International Game Developers Association (Singapore) Allan Simonsen, said that the speed of change is increasing.

So how do we change then?

Derek Callow, regional marketing manger of Google, said that one needs to experiment; understand devices and have a good understanding of how people consume media.

“Be open to changes,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the state, chief technology officer of IDA Tan Geok Leng, said that his department looks at technology trends and anticipate what is coming up next.

Tan thinks that the development is a societal effort, the government will help to facilitate it, and “try not to stop it.”

But being adaptable is not always about changing.

Being unique and compelling and a good understanding of target audience are some of the things that have not changed, according to Callow.

“Customers are not always looking changes, said Forshaw, “and you got to see when is the right time for change.”

“It is like a game, it gets harder as you go up each level,” said Simonsen.