Zeno Thinks: Boring but important: the art of communicating uninteresting news
In a week when Taylor Swift weighed in on an explosive U.S. presidential debate, another piece of news emerged much more quietly.
“Data centres in the UK are to be classified as critical national infrastructure,” read the BBC copy, “joining the emergency services, finance and healthcare systems, and energy and water supplies.”
In contrast to the razzamatazz of Trump, Harris and the single most famous woman on the planet (who declared her endorsement of the vice president while clasping an adorable ragdoll cat), the news was almost mundane.
Step away from the spotlight, however, and a different reality emerges. Admittedly, data centres are the opposite of sexy, but that BBC story – replicated across all the respectable broadsheets – is arguably of far greater importance than a presidential debate which will barely shift the needle of public opinion.
If ever there was a textbook example of “boring but important”, it’s the government’s decision to categorise data centres as critical national infrastructure.
The public should care about this, but it has been outshone by light-hearted stories such as Ant and Dec winning another National Television Award (their 23rd) and the re-emergence after illness of the Princess of Wales.
So how do we get people to pay attention to the boring but important stuff? Call me a communications geek (guilty as charged!) but for me this is where it gets interesting.
- Share the story in human terms
Think of the disruption when you are left without gas or electricity. I can remember all too well the few days earlier this year when Storm Ciaran left my neighbourhood without water for several days. Normal life was put on hold.
The same applies to data – which fuels our economy and social infrastructure just like electricity and water. Cut off the supply and hospitals will grind to a halt, supermarkets won’t function and you won’t even be able to watch television, because the broadcasters will be paralysed.
- Back it up with facts and figures
Did you already know this about data? If so, bravo, but I would confidently assert that the vast majority of people have no concept of the hugely important role data plays in the smooth running of their lives.
In the UK alone the data centre industry generates around £4.5 billion in revenue. This country is home to more data centres than anywhere else in western Europe – and they store vast amounts of critical data, from the pictures you take on your smartphone down to financial information and NHS records.
- Recognise the exceptional businesses which are driving the data revolution
While the government is playing an important role with their first critical national infrastructure categorisation since the space and defence sectors were added, the heavy lifting is done by the private sector.
AI has turbocharged data, and we are only just getting started. As an agency, we work with organisations which are at the cutting edge of data centre technology, ensuring environmental efficiency is at the forefront, while speeds and capacities continue to grow exponentially.
- Stay focused on what truly matters
As the captain says of Paul Newman’s anti-hero in Cool Hand Luke: “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate: some men you just can’t reach.” Indeed you cannot, making it all too tempting to use a sprinkling of stardust as a way of elevating your message.
Everybody loves a sexy celebrity tale. And anybody can throw money at landing a big name or a flashy marquee moment. But in doing so you run the risk of eclipsing the very information you are seeking to communicate.
So yes, data centres may be the very archetype of “boring but important”. But such is their potential to transform healthcare, education and feeding the planet, everybody deserves to hear that message.
