We are at a time in the world where media convergence is here, and we as professional communicators and business leaders must figure out how to utilize the technology to communicate with customers and stakeholders. Understanding how to utilize communication technologies is so important in fact, that the BBC new agency conducted a multi-year study to find out how they were doing in adopting technology and how they could do a better job of connecting information to people.
In the BBC study, a quote from an interview with Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor, blogger and writer, really stood out to me. Jeff said that success should not be measured in antiquated metrics such as how many eyeballs saw a story or program. Instead, success should be measured by how journalism helped improve someone’s life or improve a community. That’s a powerful message and I think why we have seen media convergence increase in recent years. Many silicon valley startups create an app, website or program with the thought that their product will improve a person’s life. The mindset of these organizations is focused on the user experience versus making big profit. It’s a culture shift that has occurred and is still happening with the expansion of media technology and communication.
Twitter, like many recent communication tools, is now an avenue that can affect real change. Take what was called, the Arab Spring, a cultural revolution that began in December of 2010 and spread to Egypt and Syria in 2011. The revolution took place online as well. Twitter, as a platform, played a role to overthrow the governments that were not in the best interest of the people. While some media trickled to the countries to cover the story, you could watch the story and change unfold in 140 characters or through linked YouTube videos. It was the people who became the reporters, citizen journalists, who understood the importance of gaining support world wide for their efforts. The story, told directly by those involved in the uprising, and aided by western journalists helped bring real change. A media convergence on a global scale.
The culture shift also refers to how users are interacting with communication technology. The emphasis for mobile/tablet-based experiences is growing and traditional media is slowing adopting ways to keep users engaged. You see this a lot with TV shows that ask to “continue the conversation online” using a hashtag related to the show content. The NFL is jumping on this where those with tablets can enjoy different camera angles, more player stats, online conversations, all geared to build a greater user experience. Make no mistake though, the NFL sees this as an opportunity to make more money through advertising dollars and advertisers see this as an opportunity to engage an already committed audience.
Over the summer I ran two Facebook ad campaigns for a school to help with enrollment. Although the campaign was successful in that in drove traffic (500 clicks) to their website, what was most compelling was how people were viewing the ad. About 99 percent of the views came from Facebook’s mobile platform, mainly through their app. This leads back to the user experience.
It all comes back to a cultural shift in communications and how media companies attempt to keep up with their audience. Can newspapers keep up with the digital divide and post stories online when they happen, tease them on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Tumblr while publishing a more in-depth analysis for the print edition.
I think, as a person who grew up as the technology grew, WE are being looked at to usher in the change, continue to the culture shift. We as communicators have the ability to direct the next phase of this process. What will media convergence look like in two years or after the next Moore’s Law cycle comes into effect? Let’s make this discovery together. After all, “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking." -Albert Einstein
Hi Stephen,
ReplyDeleteAllow me to start off and say that this was a great read. I can relate to this because majority of these aspects, I used them working for my company, Alabama Media Group. I feel that in this digital age one point was right on the head. It is very important for a company to know their audience. How can a company be effect if they do not know who they are communicating with? Once a company knows exactly who they are talking to, they can develop a message that can speak directly to them. Content customization is also imperative for a company to look into. This is the company’s opportunity to tell their story and build a connection with the audience. The shift in communications in changing daily and it is important that a company knows what is going on in this web based world. Once a company is strong enough to communicate, cross channel promotion is needed. In order for this to work, the message must remain the same across all platforms. You don’t want to send different messages across your platforms to confuse your audience. Content is a very important tool, because Google pays attention to content when a person is searching for a company. The more content that Google can find, the easier a company can be found. Also, when it comes to responsive websites, it is important that your website is up to date and up to par with the rules of Google. Google rules basically run everything in the internet world. Since it is the number one search engine website, why wouldn’t you want to cooperate with the site that can help change your business around? I completely agree with your post and look forward to reading more of your blogs.
Great job,
Whitney Butler