The imminence of next generation reporting
A couple of events have inspired me to write this blog post, most recently the stepping down of Steve Jobs from Apple (relax, only for a couple of months while he recovers from an impending health concern) and the US Airways crash into the Hudson River, both occurred 2-3 days ago. What I realized is how quick I came to know of these events, and more importantly, how I managed to be informed in such a short period of time. In more traditional times I probably would have been privvy to such news from word of mouth, when I pick up the newspaper on my way to work (which, I have never done but i’m taking you through a typical user journey), or if I just so happen to turn on the TV for some news (which again, I *rarely* have done… work with me here though). Now, not only am I able to be in the know as it happens, I have access to a much richer library of resources to accompany the news: People, Live, Meaningful. I wouldn’t have been able to be part of a real time reporting unless I accompanied Christiane Amanpour from CNN during the siege of Sarajevo, for example. Whilst on Twitter last night, I came across a live Twitpic (a Twitter program that allows you to snap shots on your BB or iPhone, which then automatically embeds itself into a link that you can automatically send through on a Tweet/post.) Anyway, I came across a live Twitpic of someone who was part of the rescue aid for the US Airways crash. He was on a boat approaching the crashed plane, took a photo of what he was approaching and sent it to his followers on Twitter, which virally resulted in me seeing this! This picture was realtime, it was personal. Beat that New York Times!
So what’s the point? There is one. The Financial Times yesterday reported on emerging digital media trends that are prompting agencies to re-think their current brand communications and adjust to the online world. The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, which will publish the “Social Media Futures” report compiled by Future Foundation next week, has warned that advertising agencies face growth of just 1.2 per cent a year by 2016 if the industry fails to tackle the changes to the media created by sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
The article highlights the imminence of next generation reporting through social media, with specifics to Twitter in this case. I think this exemplifies quite nicely the power of conversations online and how this opportunity should affect brand communication agendas. Over and out.
