I?m a little tired. Not physically. I could always do with a little more sleep, but then so can everyone.
No.
I?m more tired about the constant ?The End of PR?, ?The End of?Marketing?, ?The End of Print? and ?The End of Advertising? missives? that seem to be flying about at the minute.
I can?t open my email subscriptions without the latest link shouting?out ?The end of?. Where now for Industry X??.
I?m an avid blog reader?and use Alltop regularly?to find interesting stories from my industry and beyond. Yet it seems?that there?s an ?End of?? blog post for every *normal* one at the?minute.
Why?
Why do we have to bang the nails into the coffin of industries that?are still very much alive? Why do we have to look at an industry that?s been around for years as ?ending?, just because there are new tools?available? Is there really such a thing as an ending, anyway?
End or Mend?
Instead of saying an industry is ending, how about we say it?s?mending instead? If an industry is really viewed as being broken, should?we be closing the door on it or helping it back on its feet?
If your pet breaks its leg in an accident, do you immediately want to? put it to sleep or do you love it back to health? If you break the?point on your trusty pencil, do you sharpen it or throw it in the bin??Even when that pencil eventually writes its last word, you don?t stop using pencils ? you start afresh. But it?s still with the same type of?pencil.
When you?ve taken your last step on a particular journey, it doesn?t mean your travels are over ? it simply means there?s a new journey to? begin.
It?s easy to say something is finished ? you don?t have to worry?about it anymore as it heads for that big garbage bag of irrelevance.?The harder part?is making irrelevant into relevant.
It?s not easy, but if there are solid enough foundations already there, isn?t it better than starting again?
image: Black Glenn