Sunday, August 14, 2016

Feeling Secure 2 Go

Hey everyone,

I wonder, were any of you initially scared of the PR internship unit? Feeling nervous that what you learnt at university will be put to the test? Critically analyzing yourself whether you’d be fit for the company or not? Thinking that you’re not good enough because of your lack of experience? Well, I was.

Secure2Go is a Perth-based wearable technology start-up company. Now, when I learnt that the company was a tech company, I was immediately intimidated. I’m not someone who is particularly fond of technology or its industry, nor do I have much interest in it. But I thought this would be a great opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone and learn more from this industry that’s quite alien to me.

Yet, it was from the moment that I had my interview that my views changed about technology and already I was learning so much. For me personally, technology connotes cold, hard metal with complicated software and coding that you would see in the Matrix. However, the Managing Director of Secure2Go, Wes Lawrence shared how he aims to change this common attitude and belief towards technology. His goal is to humanize the term ‘technology’ and show how it can improve the lives of people and give them a peace of mind. Therefore, the company’s vision statement is ‘to give peace of mind through technology’.

Imagine if you completely forgot where you’ve left your car in a huge parking lot, and were able to find it with a single click of a button. Or imagine being able to discretely alerting your loved ones through your smartwatch when you’re in danger, maybe even a hostage scenario. I don’t know about you but when I heard about these gadgets and what they can do for people, I was extremely impressed and inspired. 

By giving me these hypothetical scenarios involving technology, I was able to completely relate to the story and see technology as a solution, and therefore, completely understand the objective of the company. This form of storytelling reminded me of last semester’s Transmedia Storytelling unit. A unit that taught me how story lines are an effective communication technique to broaden the lifecycle of creative content to a mass audience. Seeing the way it changed my view and attitude against technology, I knew that transmedia storytelling will be an effective communication technique to humanize technology and change people’s attitudes and beliefs.

That’s when I realized how public relation fits to all this. Despite hearing numerous times of the definition of how Public Relations ‘builds relationships’ and ‘changes attitudes’, it was only at that moment that I truly understood.

Despite my lack of knowledge with wearable technology, I quickly learnt from thorough research and the people in the office. There is a lot happening for this small company. Every day, I would wake up at 7 in the morning and be the first person to be in the office, but it doesn’t take long for the office to get busy. There is always something to do and it’s simply exciting to be on board with this growing business.

-          Heidi

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