8 Questions for Bob Belinoff.

Bob is a nationally known speaker, writer and film maker on health and social issues.

How has the media changed in the past five years?

The media landscape has flattened. There is a new communication model. The message has moved from push to pull. Bits and Bites and ten minute educational programs down load, upload, out load and will soon move through the air in no time. Over 90% of all computers now can play video on Quicktime.

Will the web change health communication?

The web is a movie screen, TV screen and distribution point, a powerful moving image message that can make an issue real and compelling in a few seconds or a few minutes. All kids, and more and more people at all income levels have access to the internet now.

You talk about “The Edge of Chaos”. What’s up with that?

That’s where change happens in an organization, or in a healthcare system. At the system’s edge there is enough innovation to keep things vibrant and enough stability to keep things from collapsing into chaos. It is often a battleground, but without the upheaval – and the outsiders - at the edge of a system there is no change.

What does “human potential” have to do with public health?

Much of the western bio-medical model, from which public health sprang, is based on putting health in the hands of the “experts”, giving up personal power to a doctor, a pill or a procedure. Meanwhile much, certainly not all, of public health has to do with people taking care of themselves, and knowing they can do this. Our minds, our bodies have incredible power. Belief, we now know changes things on a cellular level. Marketing and communication that builds self-esteem and personal power may not be the strong suit of public health and the science on which it is based.

What’s the role of video in health communication?

Video is an emotional medium. Without emotion information is just data. People are moved by emotion…and demonstration, and real people talking in a voice they can relate to. Video can do this.

Why do you do the work you do?

I love words and pictures, moving images and people. See my Two minute movie, link above.

How can leadership use new media to communicate with other change agents?

You don’t need an audience of fifty million to make a change. You need a small audience of the right people. Digital leverage. There are niche broadcasts on the web right now, video programming done from a desk and a chair that attract larger audiences than some programs on CNN. Everyone can have their own niche universe, a family of like-minded people who want to hear what you’re saying.

Final words on social marketing campaigns?

Think big. Take calculated risks. Keep it real. Keep it simple.