Web 2.0 Is Weaving a World of Melded Media . . .
and Weaving in the Masses, Too
By Nicholas Scibetta, Partner and Global Director, Ketchum
Global Media Network
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The lines that once separated media are virtually gone.
People used to look at a newspaper and expect certain things—facts, context and analysis. We visited shopping Web sites simply to buy things, social networking sites to interact with one another, and search engines to seek out specific information. Nowadays, it’s just as easy to find much of that and more in one place and in many places at the same time.
Newspaper Web sites offer not just the stories from their physical pages, but also video content and reader comments. Shopping sites like Amazon feature consumer-generated product reviews alongside merchandise. And search engines like Google deliver daily news headlines just as well as search results.
A common thread running through these and other online media is that consumers aren’t just consuming them—they’re participating in ways that they never could have before. The result is that pockets of social networks are popping up well beyond Facebook and MySpace.
Look at Amazon and you will find that users are posting their thoughts about products, but also responding to the posts of other users. Similar consumer conversations are taking place on sites as varied as The Huffington Post and YouTube. And as media becomes more participatory, it becomes even more fragmented, too.
Our 2008 Media Myths & Realities survey shows a fragmentation in media use like we have never seen before. The proliferation of cable TV channels, blogs and other Web sites continues to give consumers countless choices and enable what was once a mass audience to disperse. And in many instances, consumers may be using multiple media channels at once—keeping one eye and an ear on television while also reading blogs online.
What’s more, media is just as ubiquitous as it is fragmented. Ross Dawson, chairman of Future Exploration Network, put it this way: “Today almost every business and social activity is a form of media. An increasing proportion of our social interactions happen across media channels.”
So how can communicators be sure their messages are heard?
Despite consumers’ divided attention, a communications approach can’t be scattershot. Communicators need to take a broader approach in their marketing mix—targeting multiple channels and outlets—while at the same time paying more attention to detail. They must intimately know their audience and understand where they are going for information and—perhaps more importantly—participation.
Consumers are a vital part of today’s melded media landscape, and it’s critical to understand that pushing out information at them simply won’t cut it. But neither will passively waiting for consumers to find out about your organization, its products or its services. Organizations should be viewing themselves as content providers if they are truly going to ignite conversation among stakeholders.
Today’s communicators should be asking themselves, “How are we contributing to the conversation?” And “Where do we want to join in?”
