LECTURE
By Patrick Ukah
 |
| Mr. Ukah |
We live in an information age, which according to
Wikipedia is a period in human history characterised by the shift from
industrial production to one based on information and computerisation.
The invention of telephone, the printing press, radio
and television gave birth to mass media: marking the earlier phase of the age
of information. But it was the computer and all its evolutionary forms which
gave rise to the internet that made information ubiquitous and easily
accessible, thus opening the floodgates of information to the greatest possible
number of people. It doesn’t stop there. Advances in nano-technology and
bio-technology among others, will soon further raise access to information and
knowledge to a level of ubiquity that only our imagination can limit.
Our world, as we know it, has been innovating since the
dawn of time, which has witnessed a period of transition from the nomadic era
to the agricultural era where land was the main capital and produce was the
main trade. The bi-product of the agriculture era was the usefulness of
invention. The invention of the engine paved the way for the factory, which
gave rise to the industrial age. In the industrial age, factories were the main
capital and labour was traded for money. The bi-product of the industrial era
was the focus on communications technology. Computers brought forth the
internet, which ushered in the information age. The information era has
information and data as its main capital with knowledge as the main product
that is being traded for money. The bi-product of the information era is the
speedy spread of knowledge. Knowledge-born innovativeness hastens the pace of
problem-solving and facilitates our transformation from mere consumers of
knowledge into creative users and prolific producers of knowledge.
In the age of information, it is not anymore simply what
you know and how much you know; but also how you can use what you know to
create something that produces value for others as well as for yourself.
The rise of a new era
However, there is an on-going argument that thanks to
mobile screens, micro-computers and internet everywhere, we are entering a new
era that some call it either the experience age, hybrid age or the era of innovation.
What is important is that it is an era where creativity is its main capital
with innovation as the main product. While these innovations can come in the
form of something tangible such as a physical product, or something intangible
like an idea, they may also come in the form of a service that is a mix between
the two. Regardless of its form, what people will be paying for or interested
in are essentially fresh ideas, never-before-tried solutions, original
concepts, unique services, new products, unusual experiences, etc.
I am glad that the emphasis of this gathering is on how
to leverage information and digital technology to sustain the change agenda. It
will interest us to know that the historical elements of the change agenda took
its present form with the aid of communication technology, which includes the
traditional media (print, radio and television) and the new media (i.e. social
networks especially Facebook and Twitter). They are the icons of the
information age, a period dominated by desktop computers and an organisation or
government’s mission to organise all the world’s information. The icons of the
new era look much different, and are born from micro-computers, mobile sensors
and high-speed connectivity.
In the information age, the start of communication was
information. In the new era there is a shift away from information towards
experience – the stories we tell each other now begin and end
visually, making the narrative more literal than ever. The central idea of the
new era is this, I’ll show you my point of view, and you give me your
attention.
The role of Mobile devices
What’s driving this shift? Mobile phones and tablets
have changed how we interact online. With a connected camera televising our
life-in-the moment, the desire for continual self-expression has taken the
driving seat. Today, the feedback loop connecting sharing and attention starts
and ends on mobile devices; in the future it could start with contact lenses
and end in Virtual Reality (VR).
Two billion people use mobile phones, according to James
Katz, professor of communication at Rutgers University. Mobile internet
capability allows them to check into social media websites, read communications
from their friends and colleagues and send quick replies. At times, the communication
isn’t text but a photo completely removing the needs for words to convey a
response, feelings and even location. Also, people use the mobile camera in
order to capture the funny, intense, memorable moments. Mobile phones certainly
replaced the market of camera, now people do not buy additional camera because
they have their mobile phone with them.
There is a decline in the sale of desktop computers,
according to the latest figures from IDC, a research outfit, the worldwide PC
shipments totalled 71.9 million units in the fourth quarter of 2015, a
year-on-year decline of 10.6 percent. The research noted that one of the causes
of decline is attributed to competition from mobile phones and tablets.
If we are going to leverage on information and digital
technology to sustain the change agenda, our primary focus should not just be
on information dissemination but on the creation of unusual experiences – employing
new media applications like Snapchat Live, Facebook Live and Twitter’s
Periscope – to get those who are not part of the change agenda
conversation to join in the conversation. The benefit of these applications
unlike Twitter and Facebook platforms is that they were built to take advantage
of mobile phone cameras and high speed connectivity (4G Cellular).
Why are my bullish about mobile technology (in this
context mobile phones and tablets)? And does it relate to the Nigerian market?
Internet penetration in Nigeria and its users
According to 2013 World Population Review report, Africa
is the second largest and second most populous continent in the world. However,
despite its size and population, Africa, according to the internet world
statistics accounts for only seven percent of the world’s internet users. At
the same time, some parts of the continent have developed a robust
technological culture: Egypt and Nigeria for instance, were ranked among the
top 20 countries in terms of their number of internet users in the world. In
2012 Nigeria occupied the 11th position on this list with a total of 48.36 million
user.
This high level of internet penetration can be
attributed to the use of mobile phones; Neil Gough writes that "the number
of subscribers in Nigeria, the world fastest-growing market according to the
International Telecommunications Union, increased by 143 percent in the 12
months to June 2003." According to the Nigerian Internet User Survey, the
highest users are students at tertiary institutions who fall between the ages
of 18-27 (Jidenma 2011). It is only logical to expect that with such a high
level of internet usage among Nigerians, especially students, our method of
approach should not dwell on heavy form of media but should instead be focused
on providing them the opportunity to see our point of view and they to give us
their attention.
The Digital Culture In Nigeria
Nigeria as a developing country witnessed a rapid change
in the last two decades after the government opened her doors to technological
investors from both within and outside the country. Prior to this time, the
Nigeria Telecommunication Plc (NITEL), the state-owned communication agency,
monopolised the communication sector and few Nigerians had access to computers
and the internet. However, with the deregulation of NITEL in 1992, the
information technology sector boomed; investors like MTN, GLO, and Econet
emerged to invest in modern telecommunication infrastructure. This also
increased the level of technological awareness as many Nigerians gained access
to a range of telecommunication /technological products and services, including
mobile phones, smartphones, digital tablets, the internet, and PC computers.
Nigerians now engage in various web-based activities for both academic and
non-academic purposes. Many of these web-based activities, especially social
networking, are performed via mobile phones. Emil Protalinski reports that at
the end of June 2012, 56.86 percent of Facebook total user base connects via
mobile devices (2012). According to a report by Techloy, Nigeria topped the
list by accounting for 80 percent of this group (Loy Media 2012).
Creating change agenda contents for the millennial
There is growing evidence that Snapchat, Periscope and
Instagram are three visual social networks popular among Millennial. These are
the target audience that though they may be hard to sell, if we get them hooked
to the change agenda, they can sustain our cause. For the uninitiated, there is
a need to breakdown the three social networks and how to make use of them.
Snapchat is a messaging
app which allows users to share photos or short videos along with captions to
their friends or groups of friends. It is the fastest growing social network
with nearly 100 million daily users watching a staggering eight billion videos
every day. Out of those, over 70 percent is made up of Millennial. Snapchat is
great for sharing-in-the-moment, real experiences. We can create a "change
begins with me" content by doing a day-in-the-life of well-meaning
Nigerians as it relates to the change begins with me campaign. Viewers will be
intrigued to get a sneak peek on how their story evolves and the messages
behind them.
Periscope is a video
streaming platform which allows users to share live video with real-time
interaction. Periscope boast an impressive 350,000 hours of video streamed
daily. Around 50 percent of Periscopes users are between the ages of 25 and 34.
For us, Periscope can be the perfect window into the government’s change
agenda. We can engage live with Nigerian users for feedback or give them the
opportunity to ask questions related to the change agenda.
Instagram, the photo
(and video) sharing application is the most established platform out of the
ones mentioned, with 85 percent of the top brands engaging some of its 300
million monthly active users. Taking advantage of people’s love for great photography,
incorporating storytelling, and interacting with our followers will give us an
ideal platform for engaging with Nigerians. Instagram is great for
competitions, "like for a chance to win" is a quick and easy contest
for Nigerians to enter. Alternatively, we can ask Nigerians to take a selfie in
chosen locations and tag a theme in the photo to be in for a chance to win. We
can use Instagram to build a community around the "change begins with
me" campaign by encouraging them to take photos of how they hope to effect
change that will be of great benefit to Nigeria using the "change begins
with me" hashtag and featuring the best photos shared each week on the
instagram account.
To succeed, there is a need to make sure that whatever
content is created is unique to the employed platform. What is important here
is that we are telling a change agenda story by engaging and inspiring our
users. We can also cross promote these platforms with our traditional media and
existing social media assets. An Instagram contest can easily be used to drive
traffic to our Facebook page; we could use a Periscope stream to encourage
visitors to our website; or ask our Snapchat followers to head over and engage
with us on Twitter.
The Essence of Leveraging on Information and Digital
Technology
To create an unusual experience, there is a need to join
some innovative governments who have realised that their primary
responsibilities is not only to improve the lives of the people they serve, but
also to demonstrate their value and increase civic engagement by using
technology and a customer-focused mind-set to innovate and better serve
citizens.
These innovative governments have realized this and are
using technology and a customer-focused mind-set to innovate and better serve
citizens, whether for setting up a business or renewing a driver’s license. In
my opinion, the governments who really get it understand three key things,
borrowed from the consumer digital/technology sector:
Scale matters. It sounds
obvious, but it’s so important that it has to be said. In the consumer internet
sector, we understand that a large audience is everything: social networks
become more valuable when more people sign up for them, and websites have more
influence when more people read them. To have a substantial impact, government
services need a substantial audience. When new apps allow residents to buy
fishing licenses, check transit schedules, or pay their local taxes on time,
the impact adds up. Too many governments measure impact in terms of thousands
of downloads or impressions, rather than tens of thousands or even millions.
The ones who are really innovating aim bigger.
Engagement depends on smart segmenting. To attain private-sector standards of engagement and
conversion, we must also segment and target our audiences —while also
respecting citizen privacy. Communications specifically tailored to audience
interests are more relevant, which makes those communications more likely to
capture attention and engage citizens in programs and initiatives of value.
For example, to better coordinate sanitation services,
government can offer junk pick-up reminders to residents through the central
communication platform, segmented by location. More households can sign up to
receive text message alerts one week before and one day before junk is
scheduled for curbside pickup.
Influencers improve engagement. Getting the right message into the hands of the right people
creates a viral effect, and we can and should tap into this phenomenon. A 2014
Pew Research study showed that fewer than 30% of adults completed common
government services digitally. The key component here is that many citizens may
not know about the digital offerings available to them. That’s where advocacy
marketing, finding key influencers to help drive our message across, can help.
But uncovering and leveraging these advocates can be a
challenge. By identifying and speaking differently to highly engaged audiences,
those who are more likely to share content with friends and family, we can
capitalize on members of the public to help further disseminate their
information. For example, government can leverage insights into top sharers of
digital content to determine cross-promotional campaigns they may respond well
to.
To sustain the change agenda, there is an urgent need to
establish a digital central communication platform exclusively for government,
which will house the right technology and well thought-out communications
strategy that would churn out streamlined, consistent experience to creatvely
engage the public through proactive multichannel communications – including
email, SMS, social media and RSS feeds.
When we have succeeded in drawing people’s attention to
the change mantra through the information and digital technology, there are
three important consequences. First, we need to become masters of
"attention management", which is making sure that people are focused
on the right set of issues, and not distracted by the dozens of equally
interesting issues that could be discussed. A surplus of, as Nobel Laureate
Herbert Simon noted, creates a deficit of attention. That is the real scarce today.
Second, we have to get the right balance between
information and judgment in making important decisions. As Jeff Bezos, founder
and CEO of Amazon, observed, there are two types of decisions: "there are
decisions that can be made by analysis. These are the best kind of decisions.
They are fact-based decisions that overrule the hierarchy. Unfortunately
there’s this whole other set of decisions you cannot boil down to a math
problem." One of the hallmarks of Amazon’s success, arguably has been its
capacity to make the big calls based on judgment and intuition.
Finally, the ubiquity of information means a careful
balance is needed when it comes to sharing. Keeping everything secret isn’t
going to work anymore – but pure transparency has its risks as well.
We have to become smarter at figuring out what information to share with the
media or online influencers, and what public information to keep track of for
their own benefits.
We have to build a competitive position on harnessing
information and knowledge more effectively than our predecessors. And with
information now ubiquitous and increasingly shared, it is of necessity that we
are present everywhere, online and offline, to retell our story from our point
of view.
·
Mr. Ukah, who Delta State
Commissioner for Information, delivered this text at the 46th
meeting of the Nigeria Council of Information (NCI) held in Asaba.
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