Thoughts on the Changing Media Landscape

The Changing Media Landscape

Jack Sedman

‘Old’ versus ‘New’

Extinction substitution

/

Fragmentation evolution

?

Trends not Categories

• What can recent developments tell us?

• Are current trends lasting trends?

• What does the future hold for Media?

1. User Generated Content

• Each word is significant:– ‘user’: rather than ‘consumer’ or ‘C2 Housewife’– ‘generated’: the process as much as the product– ‘content’: engagement is personal (win it and win an

advocate; fail and make an enemy)

• What does UGC actually mean?– it is not a phenomenon, and certainly not ‘new’, but the

natural evolution of internet + technology– the upshot of a shift in power from institutions to the

individual is the need to engage the individual directly, and on a personal level

UGC is a Running Commentaryfor better…

…and for worse

PayPal – four negative matches in Top 30 search results, including two dedicated websites

2. What am I subscribing to?

• Guardian v. Times – when comment is free, the narrative continues once the

story’s over– people won’t pay for their own active engagement, but

they may do for niche information (e.g. Financial Times)

• Spotify v. iTunes– competing business models: purchase v. rental v. streaming

– streaming / On Demand will become the norm for music and TV

– people want to discover new experiences – not consuming but engaging

3. Communal Experiences( more than just ‘social’ media )

Linking, and blurring, the physical and virtual

• The Twitter Election – debating around the debates

• World Cup 2010 – 365 betting – advertising responds, but can TV?

4. Enhanced Experiences• From HD to 3D– of course people want to be closer to the action– the experience will become the content – just look at those

proliferating 3D movie franchises!

• Better screen + new design (+ faulty antenna) =

• Digitizing the physical space– motor shows– underground– stores

…and much more to come

What People Want

1. An unlimited desire to engage, as well as thirst for new technologies

2. Own less, experience more – whether online or offline. The most effective advertising will increasingly combine the two

3. A sense of ‘event’

The survival of a medium can be strongly linked to its engagement potential

[ physical + digital + community ]