I have been a part of ‘new media’ since it was barely even new back in 1994. In all that time I have only met a few Mainstream Media ‘oldtiimers’ who really understood the impact that the technology was having - more so lately of course, but I am still in awe at those who vehemently resist change. The good news is that many of those who get it have all been working for the BBC over the past year on a blueprint for their strategic vision called ‘Creative Future‘. I highly recommend that you follow that link and read it in its entirety, so I won’t be including much of it here except…

Some key points from BBC Director General Mark Thompson

“The second wave of digital will be far more disruptive than the first and the foundations of traditional media will be swept away, taking us beyond broadcasting.”

“We can deliver much more public value when we think across all platforms and consider how audiences can find our best content, content that’s more relevant, more useful and more valuable to them.”

According to a report from Mark Sweeney of Media Guardian, the BBC’s plan for going “Beyond Broadcast” calls for a “a three-pronged approach to refocus all future BBC digital output and services around three concepts - ’share’, ‘find’ and ‘play’.” It would seem that share is really at the heart of these efforts as they hope their audience will be using the BBC site for customizing their news experience, writing blogs and posting video content. “User generated content” has often been of late a key element of business models designed to keep costs of operation down, it is a pleasure to finally see someone use the concept in its proper context. Apparently, the BBC is taking the idea one step further, asking their audience to submit their redesigns for the BBC home page.

Ben McConnell over at the Church of the Customer Blog makes a great point, which is one of the reason this story interested me so much:

“The world is changing for advertisers who hope to insert themselves among the networked community masses, too. They must also cede traditional expectations of control not only to be heard by the community, but to be relevant.”

As I have been telling all my friends and associates for the last year, the key aspect of remaining relevant in the era of social media and user generated content - as a media company or as a brand - is to understand you can’t control what people do or say, but you can participate in the conversation. Or at least, you can participate as long as you are honest, helpful and authentic. So rather than thinking like someone who controls all aspects of the situation, think about media as being a facilitator instead of a dictator. What sort of conversations do you, as a human being, want to have with people you trust? with companies you trust? with companies you don’t trust?
It would seem this sort of understanding will go a long way towards ensuring your, and your client’s relevancy in the future - Beyond Blogging and Beyond Broadcast.

Categories: Conversation, New Media, User Generated Content