TEETH CHATTERING TWITTER TATTLING TALE

In a chat at a gathering of Western Cape dentists well-known Joburg-based media man Mixael de Kock said that the time has come to make peace with the fact that social media is here to stay. The professions can only benefit from participation and engagement on social sites, provided it is done in an appropriate and planned manner.

This past weekend, Mixael spoke at the Summer “Chattering” of the South African Dental Association (SADA) Western Cape Branch, hosted at a Cape Town City Bowl hotel which was themed the “Star Wars of Dentistry”. Despite this upbeat take on social media, he remains of the opinion that the mainstream media will retain the edge in leading public opinion for many years to come.

“Specifically in Africa, traditional newspapers, television and radio will continue to show positive growth until such time as mobility connects the majority of Africans to the web”, said Mixael. “Also, until bloggers’ posts are perceived to be as credible and responsible as that put forward by qualified journalists, the mainstream media will retain its pre-eminence in the shaping of worldviews.”

“While conventional advertising is being displaced by social media, it will never replace informed and educated opinion which, for now, largely remains the preserve of the time-honoured traditional media.”

Mixael made reference to his colleague Anton J van Rensburg’s views expressed in the December issue of the marketing industry’s mouthpiece, Advantage and said: “I fully concur that the social media mix is an extremely important and a relatively low-cost option that can have a direct impact on public perception but at the same time, I must stress that it is not the silver bullet that many makes it out to be.”

Mixael is of the opinion that there is a tendency to over-value opinion expressed in social media. “In the good ol’days, organisations did not rush to public lavatories every morning to refute the previous night’s graffiti. Cyberspace today fulfils the role of the toilet walls of yesteryear and a lot of reaction to these social media scribbling boils down to overreaction by over-zealous public relations and marketing practitioners.”

But he also stressed that there are many pitfalls awaiting the unwary and stated that one should never underestimate the downside of the social media. Mixael used as a case-study, the huge public fall-out that followed the recent Duren debacle when a junior ad agency employee twitter-tattled on God’s intention with male private parts.

“Another one of the key problems with cyberspace is that it creates virtual and surreal worlds which serve as the hide-outs for the mentally disturbed and the socially inept and where unsuspecting users may easily fall prey to cyber criminals.”Mixael concluded his chitchat by stressing the importance of erring on the side of the conservative when evaluating social media and warned that one should be realistic as to what may be reasonably achieved through time spent on the net.

“The most important thing to remember is that when on the web one should take special care in meaning what you say and saying what you mean and that you should always do so accurately, in good taste and mindful of impeccable manners and common sense.

If this is done, the chitter-chattering can’t go wrong!”

Johannesburg, 6th December 2011

SOCIAL MEDIA: Applications for Dentistry (Full Text)

Hereunder follows the full text of a paper delivered at the South African Dental Association (SADA) Western Cape Branch SUMMER MEETING, held on Saturday 3 DECEMBER 2011 and themed “Star Wars of Dentistry”.

Mixael de Kock initially was skeptical about the value of the social media. However, he has revaluated his views and in this paper highlight the positive spin-offs that may be achieved from participation in Web-based communication. He will also gives some perspective to the limitations of and what may be reasonably achieved through the social media.

JOHANNESBURG PRESS CLUB 2011 NEWSMAKERS OF THE YEAR

The Johannesburg Press Club wishes to announce that Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and the Public Protector, Advocate Thulisile Madonsela, jointly have been nominated the Johannesburg Press Club’s 2011 Newsmakers of the Year.
Mixael de Kock, Chairman of Johannesburg Press Club said, “Both the Archbishop and the Public Protector have displayed extraordinary courage, commitment and consistency in fulfilling their respective duties to the people of South Africa and, in particular, they have been nominated for the excellent manner in which they interacted with and made themselves accessible to the media.”
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is receiving the award for being the most quoted social commentator and social critic, for his Census 2011 ambassadorial duties, for his continuing moral leadership and, in particular, for his courage in addressing the issues around the Dalai Lama incident.

Adv Madonsela is being honoured for her unfailing, direct and courageous stance against immoral activities, her particular work ethic and her veracity and devotion to leading the Public Protector of South Africa’s office. She is particularly being lauded for her ongoing maintenance of cordial and positive working relationship with the media.

The Johannesburg Press Club Newsmaker of the Year has become a most sought-after award and last was bestowed in 2005 on Trevor Manuel for his handling of the media in communicating the issues of the South African economy.

Mixael de Kock said that the Johannesburg Press Club’s decision was not solely based on how much news a nominee generated during the year but also on how the news was communicated and to what extent the country benefitted from such news.

De Kock continued: “Both the Archbishop and the Public Protector responded immediately, accurately and with integrity regarding issues during 2011 and, in their respective fields of influence, they ensured that the values of democracy were upheld and that freedom of speech and access to information were assured at all times.”

Today the Archbishop and the Public Protector noted their delight in being nominated and will be accepting the award at a gala event to be announced.

Advocate Madonsela said in a statement that she would be accepting the award on behalf of her team at Public Protector South Africa. “I would like to express my gratitude to the Johannesburg Press Club for the honour bestowed on my team and we are humbled by the gesture. We hope that we will continue to serve the people of South Africa with courage and commitment”.

Johannesburg, Monday, 5 December 2011