We are media, says Maxim Behar |14 November 2013

“Public relations is about the truth the way people like it. When we talk about social media, the new media and modern communications, at the end of the day it’s all about the content and not anymore about the packaging. The content is the substance of what we are doing everyday and is critical in the new media.”

These were some of the key points raised during a lecture yesterday on ‘Public Relations and Social Media – A New Era of Communications’ by Maxim Behar, Seychelles’ honorary consul in Bulgaria, at the University of Seychelles’ School of Education’s auditorium.

Organised by the department of information in the President’s Office, the lecture was attended by chief executives, government officials, media and public relations officers from both government and the private sector.

Mr Behar said he has noticed changes in Seychelles since his last visit, not only in infrastructure but in the fact that people talk and behave in different ways. Even the publicity has changed in a way that has never been done before.

“Who was public in Seychelles eight or 10 years ago? Maybe politicians, businessmen, sportsmen or high profile people, but now everyone is public,” said Mr Behar.
He added that nowadays in Seychelles even a driver has a laptop tucked away in his garage where he logs on Twitter or Facebook. He can be much more public than a politician or he can reach a wider audience.

Before a journalist has to ask permission for an interview with an official, but today this can be done through social media and it brings the society from a vertical to a horizontal position.

“Social media has created unlimited opportunities for the people to communicate and share knowledge. This is a big advantage even in a small country like Seychelles. It has enabled us, especially in the business society, to be more honest and more transparent. The fact that we are transparent puts us in a position where we have to be more ethical,” said Mr Behar.

The new media has a lot of advantages. People do not lose time, do not wait for the newspaper the next morning and can follow the events as they happen. Another big advantage of the new media is that it is absolutely interactive compared to the newspaper.

“140 characters on Twitter may express what we print on a whole newspaper page. But we have to exercise our responsibility because the message may influence other people and it can change the life of other people. This message can change the world,” continued Mr Behar, who added that the social media can help bring political changes in the modern world as people know they have the power to express themselves.

“Nowadays, we all see ourselves in the social media so the most important fear is how to manage our transparency. All human beings are managers of their own lives and of their own profiles. So if we think we can manage our own life, our business, we can control our transparency. For example, if you use your name and not a nickname you will have more followers,” said Mr Behar.

He also explained that people should understand how to communicate in different social media and to different people.
Moving to public relations, Mr Behar said public relations officers should know how to create stories.
“If you want to promote a product, you have to create the news about it,” he said.

Apart from being Seychelles’ honorary consul in Bulgaria, Mr Behar is also chairman of the Board of World Communications Forum in Davos; vice-president of the International Communications Consultancy Organisation; chief executive and chairman of the Board of M3 Communications Group; Bulgaria; chairman of Hill Knowlton Strategies, Czech Republic; founder of news agency Novinite.com; author of the best-selling book ‘Generations F – They Rule the World Today’.

In 2012, he was named communicator of the decade by the Association of Business Communications of India.