Quiver & Quill

I attended the Future of Advertising tonight, and I just returned from the RAB in Dallas. Here’s a few observations to share:

1. Many panelist viewed ‘new media,’ as a misunderstood force to which they must respond. In actuality, new media isn’t a force. It was created by changes in peoples’ demands. Blogging, podcasting, consumer generated content and other new media types would have no validity unless they resonated with people whom they serve.
   
2. Traditional media’s response to marginalize new media treats only the symptom of the real problem.People lives have changed, not just their media habits. Consumers have higher expectations, more choices and greater ability to act on them than ever before. These forces are manifest in new media.
3. A panelist at the Future of advertising used the phrase, “Discover mechanism,” to describe traditional media. He argued that it won’t be obsolete. It “centralizes how we learn about new products and services.” Let’s examine this from a different perspective. Search, tagging and social networking changes how we discover information. Think of the power of number one organic search spot in Google for any category. Do you think any amount of traditional media could replace owning the number one spot on Google for “Boston Mortgage.” We could figure it out: impressions * conversions…Think tagging. If you’re picture is tagged in Flickr, or your blog is linked to network of other blogs, you’re creating information channels that can’t be purchased. Why? Because the credibility that comes with them isn’t for sale. Think social networking: the power of the Myspace/Facebook consumer to share sites and drive traffic. The connected online community user has word of mouth credibility to build or destory a brand.

Traditional media doesn’t understand that new media isn’t a passing trend. It reflects deep shifts in our culture. 85% of college students are on the Facebook. Myspace claims 55MM users. 37% of consumers text message. 4.8 Million podcasts were downloaded from radio stations…and the lists go on…Traditional media may lose to new media unless it embraces and extends the opportunity.

New media is our media.

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