On Public Communication with Pokémon

I had the idea for this post a couple of months ago, but in a way, I wasn't sure how I would go about discussing it. I wanted to discuss about public communication that involves Pokémon - that much being certain as the topic for it - but I wasn't sure what else I'd include. However, given that now I have a podcast in addition to this blog, that seems to have indicated a new direction for the topic. There's a certain social quality about communication made in recent times, including for a pop culture item such as Pokémon. And that seems to tie in well to public communication involving it. 

In my personal case with this blog and the podcast, the social quality becomes quite apparent. With this blog and the podcast, I have the potential to reach not only a select number of people, but a great number of them, as is true of just about any social media in current times. There is a need to be rather expressive in communication using them, in particular according to their constraints. On this blog, I can write to extended lengths and stand to include a variety of media, but with the podcast, at least for the current moment, the spoken word becomes the most important thing. Either way, I need to say many things and say good things as well in order to preserve my good standing.

Because Pokémon is a pop culture object, I and others can stand to talk casually about it. This would be rather evident and obvious for the podcast, which essentially involves me in casual conversation. And it's no surprise that most social media posts about Pokémon that are designed to engage fans have a casual tone to them. If the topic is more weighty, such as the state of official competitions, then a more formal tone is likely in order. I'm inclined to think of the posts on this blog as being somewhere between the two: I don't have to be too casual if I can be objective about things and I don't have to be too formal if subjectivity is involved. Still, as this blog is written and partly due to my training in formal writing, it may sound a bit more formal than it should be.

Not every Pokémon fan has to communicate about Pokémon, of course - at least not broadly. Those who just need to work on playing and enjoying the games or anything else Pokémon may need no more than to talk to one or a few people for assistance, or to corroborate on certain matters. Those who do want to get more involved in broader matters - like helping out many fellow players or like me in delivering perceptions and updates on Pokémon things - will certainly have to communicate publicly. In this latter case, consideration of ways to publicly communicate is important. That's what led me on this blog since I consider myself to have a way with the written word, even if at times it may not be the case (three years ago, see below). The podcast will also surely have its influence on my spoken word abilities as things progress.

In general, people are social creatures. They need to communicate with one another in order to be able to survive. If they happen to be Pokémon fans like me, then Pokémon will likely be involved. More specifically, for a select number of them, public communication will be involved, and this will force them to consider how and in what way messages regarding Pokémon are to be conveyed. This is very much true for me with the two communicative initiatives I now have going. And for as long as the fans are there and the content is there, much will continue to need to be communicated to reach out to them publicly.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 9/15/2019

Two years ago: Pokémon Go Trading Stickers

Three years ago: Am I Writing-Challenged?