Media Ramblings
Rambling About the Media and Using the Media to RambleArchive for online experience
Media in 2020: Allie Osmar
Today I interviewed Allie Osmar, a Social Media Analyst (cool job huh?) at Edelman Chicago, regarding Media in 2020. This is the second interview in the series and be sure to check out her blog and podcast at www.thecreativecareer.com
The interview was done on Skype and this is my first interview using that application. The audio sounds very “tinny” so I apologize upfront for the sound.
If anyone can shoot me some tips on making Skype sound better please don’t hesitate to send me an email or leave a comment.
Media in 2020 Q/A: Cara Carriveau
In the coming days you will hopefully see more posts like this one. I recently sent out a questionnaire to various people I find to be interesting, intelligent and curious about media.
These questions were regarding the future of media in the year 2020. As the answers come in they will be posted here so whenvever you see a blog title “Media in 2020 Q/A” that is what it’s all about.
If you would like to participate shoot me an email and I will be in touch.
Here is the first one. Thanks Cara!
Cara Carriveau is a multi-media talent. Besides being the midday host on 101.9 fm The MIX in Chicago (one of my old stations), Cara hosts two podcasts, provides blog content to a local TV station, interviews artists for “The Chicago Music Guide” and does various voiceovers such as the voice at Rosemont Theatre that welcomes you inside!
Q: Do you feel that the way media is experienced by consumers will be totally unrecognizable in 2020 or do we just like to think the future holds secret advances that may or may not come about? In other words, do you think there will be any real changes in media consumption in the next 11 years or just variations on a theme already utilized? Will something jump out to us that we aren’t even thinking about yet?
A: A big change will be internet accessibility in moving vehicles. Automobiles and all forms of mass transit will have it. Advertisers will sponsor broadcasts on commuter trains, boats & planes and have a captive audience. I can’t imagine people still going to stores like Blockbuster to rent movies. It will all be digitally downloadable, even more convenient and affordable than it is today. I’m sure there will be something new and incredible developed that I can’t even imagine. Cell phones will surely be even more common and able to perform a wider variety of functions.
Q: What does the newspaper of 2020 look like?
A: There will be no such term as “newspaper” by then. Because of the internet and environmental concerns newspapers will have gone the same way as the “8-track”. I imagine by 2020 there will be light & affordable portable devices that most people will have with them on trains, etc, to read instead of an ink & paper newspaper. I also imagine wifi access will widely accessible and free (likely paid by advertisers who will somehow get their logo and/or recorded message on everyone’s PDAs).
Q: Will media be accessible in more places than today? If so, where and how?
A: Yes! The internet will be standard in automobiles and all forms of mass transit. It will also be standard in cell phones and common in several rooms of everyone’s home. Café’s and other business will likely offer free wifi to keep customers, who will be accustomed to 24/7 internet access, happy.
Q: In what ways will the Internet have changed in 2020? Are laptops necessary? Is WiFi an old technology? What replaced it?
A: If I knew the answer then I’d develop the new technology myself & rake in the $! I do think laptops will be necessary.
Q: Can you imagine any new departments created at PR/Advertising/Marketing firms due to the changes in media delivery and consumption in the year 2020? If so, what?
A: If the internet is standard in all forms of transportation then there’s a whole new era of advertising and PR. Especially in cars, where folks can’t necessarily look at an ad but they can hear…and even smell…it. Maybe there’s a way for ads to become more interactive and more specifically hit a certain target. For example: Macy’s buys ad time on a commuter train and I am exposed to an ad for womens clothes while the man behind me is exposed to an ad for mens cologne.
Q: Finally, if you could have one thing come about in the year 2020, media or otherwise, what would it be?
A: I’d like to see more advertiser-sponsorships enabling free access/enjoyment by the consumer. Folks are sick of being nickeled & dimed to pay for wifi and internet access only to be besieged with all kinds of advertising (in emails, on blogs & websites, etc).
Show Your Stuff
In a recent email conversation with Brooke Murphy, who works at Edelman in New York, I was made aware of a very cool site that is giving EVERYONE the chance to contribute their ideas to real PR campaigns.
Edelman Studios is where you can sign up and submit your original ideas to be considered for actual production. Companies like Burger King, Expedia, Butterball and Philadelphia Cream Cheese have projects listed on the site and you are encouraged to come up with an idea to fulfill the premise. You can simply write up a pitch for your idea and submit it right there on the site and even support it with video, storyboards, word documents and more.
Sometimes the line between advertising and public relations can get blurry. I always try and remember the saying, “Advertising you pay for and PR you pray for.” If nothing else remembering that makes it very clear I have never been in advertising.
I have already submitted one idea for Butterball’s project and have another idea in the works for BK. However with this next idea I am going to try and get some video together to support it. I think it’s a winner and if it is I may be flown into New York to pitch it myself and even make a couple grand in the process.
I know the odds of actually winning something like this are pretty far fetched but it isn’t so much about winning as having the opportunity to work on a real project for a real company and have your idea be evaluated. I think it’s great.
Edelman Studios also has a Facebook group so check that out as well for some more information.
I’ll let you know if I hear anything, wish me luck!
Get it Your Way
Now first of all I want to state upfront that I know this may be very old news to many people out there reading blogs like this one. After looking up some information I learned that these things have been around since 1996. However I don’t believe they really started taking off until 2005 and I haven’t really incorporated them into my online experience until this week.
1996? Wow. I thought in 1996 there was only AOL chat rooms and Instant Messenger. I guess I was more concerned with girls and beer back then.
Okay, so what am I talking about?
Personalized home pages.
For those out there who are NOT familiar with this concept, when I say personalized home pages I am referring to things like iGoogle, My Yahoo, Netvibes etc… These are all pages you can customize with content that YOU choose so that when you log onto the internet you are no longer exposed to whatever someone else deemed worthy. Instead, you are the master of your domain and control your experience which is what makes the web so great in the first place.
Your page can have a local weather section, a NY Times section, your local paper, local movie times, your favorite sports team can have its own place, all of the blogs you like to check out will be right there and updated etc.. I really can’t think of a reason not to have one of these things set as your homepage.
Obviously for websites and bloggers the goal is to get as many subscribers as possible to your content in order to indicate a large influence and impact. I can proudly say that Feedburner is currently indicating that this blog has a mighty 11 subscriptions.
Watch out Perez Hilton…or not.
This is just another example of the web empowering people to create their own experience much like the iPod enables people to basically program their own commercial free radio station. Unlike old media platforms like radio and TV, consumers are truly driving the market online which is another reason it is so exciting and great.
With radio, advertisers are determining everything you hear. If a song or personality is deemed offensive or inappropriate for a certain demographic the advertiser is trying to reach based on some outdated and mind-numbing research it is never going to get airtime. Have you ever been asked what you think of a personality or a song on the radio?
I haven’t.
When it comes to regular radio are you hearing whatever you want to hear whenever you want to hear it? Are the personalities you hear relatable and interesting to YOU? If not then radio programmers are falling short in the competition with the web.
It will always be like that whenever someone else is determining what you get.
Satellite Radio is becoming more and more popular because it is making money from subscribers for the most part so they don’t have to answer to advertisers in the way terrestrial radio does. Instead, they have to focus on creating more interesting content to entice people to pay for the service instead of relying solely on keeping advertisers happy.
Creating great content? What a concept!!!
On the web it has been like that for a while because you completely determine your environment. For a guy like me that comes from radio that is such an exciting idea. I believe that is what really fascinates me about this new media experience. The freedom of it all is insanely liberating.
Take advantage of it and set yourself up a personalized homepage today. I went with “My Yahoo” but of course you can choose whatever you want.
Here is a list of some of the top options that might help you get started.
