Maxim Behar: Facebook Is Fading Away before Our Eyes, and Its Successors Are Struggling Madly for a Place under the Sun

Interview | January 3, 2013, Thursday // 18:44|  views

Photo from personal archive

An interview with Bulgarian PR expert Maxim Behar published by NewTrend.bg

Maxim Behar is a Bulgarian PR expert. He majored with excellence in international economic relations at the Economic University in Prague. He has 20 years of experience as a journalist, and is one of the founders of the Standart Daily.

In 1994, he set up the Communications Group, Inc. PR company, which has been the exclusive representative for Bulgaria of global PR leader Hill+Knowlton Strategies.

In 2010, Behar was elected the Treasurer and member of the Executive Board of the most influential PR association in the world, ICCO. He has been a member of the board of the international PR forum in Davos, Switzerland, "Communication on Top", and has also been one of its keynote lecturers.

In 2011, his company M3 Communications Group, Inc., achieved an astonishing hat trick, which was unprecedented in Bulgaria.

Maxim Behar is a well-known fan – in both personal and professional capacity – of the social media – and is developing concepts and strategies for their application in business. In August 2011, he took a special course, entitled"Thought Patterns for High Performance 3.0." with the founder and President of The Pacific Institute in Seattle, Lou Tice.

 

Would you tell us about yourself and your work? What are you looking forward to in 2013?

2012 was unexpectedly hard, unexpectedly interesting, and unexpectedly creative. We developed projects I hadn't even dreamed of developing, and I am now looking forward to 2013 so that we can enjoy the fruits of their application.

Of course, social media and their innovations, developments, applications, and characteristics are the foundation of everything. What's happening is truly incredible.

Facebook is fading away, and its successors are struggling madly for a place under the sun right before our eyes. 2013 will be a decisive year in that respect.

What is the most valuable thing that your work in the field of communications provides you with?

The opportunity to be creative, to risk, and to do things that nobody expects me to do.

Public communications at present are the one field on this planet that is undergoing the most dynamic development, and working in this field is a great delight – with all of its sleepless nights, tenders won or lost, joys and problems.

However, if you've survived, and you're riding the wave, then you have succeeded.

How do you view the development of the PR field in Bulgaria in the next 10 years?

Ha... That is a good question. Today's pace of development is so swift that I can only look five years ahead into the future.

Social media will take over our business, they will be dictating the rules, and unless we create these rules quickly ourselves, we will be forced out of business...

More specifically, PR professionals will be relying increasingly on real time video exchanges, preliminary preparation on how to tackle a crisis situation in just a few seconds, and quick changes of the language that we use in different online media.

What is your advice for people who want to organize their first special event?

То assign that task to an experienced event management company. The same way I would advice somebody with toothache to go see an experienced dentist instead of trying to treat their teeth on their own in front of the mirror.

What led you to become a member of the Eventex Awards jury?

There had been a need for such awards for a long time. I have been in the event management business for 20 years, it was only logical that I would take up this invitation.

What are you final lines?

Keep your eyes and ears open – the interesting things in social media are yet to come, and the classical so called event management will disappear in five years, and will be done entirely online. I am ready to place a bet on it. Any takers?

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Tags: Maxim Behar, PR, M3 Communications Group, Hill & Knowlton, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, social media, Facebook

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