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Democratization of Media

During the past 5 years, one of the most profound social effects of the Internet has been the democratization of media. Nowadays, anybody with a computer and an Internet connection is  ready to start broadcasting to the whole world, for free. Online tools such as the well known Blogger (created by PyraLabs in 1999 and acquired by Google in 2003) make publishing on the Internet extremely easy and accessible to people with hardly any technical knowledge. For those with no interest in blogging, the world is still poised to hear their thoughts, likes and dislikes through powerful social media channels such as Facebool, Twitter and now Google Plus 1.  The phenomenon of democratized media results in a landscape of millions of micro-media, most importantly in the following forms:

* Blogs
* Social Media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…)
* Feeds (RSS, Alerts, News…)
* Podcasts

Combinations of these technologies are leading to a complete democratization of media.  Individuals find themselves with the same possibilities as mayor newspapers, groups start weblogs that compete with global content distributors, and online radio stations emerge. The cost of broadcasting has never been so low. Everybody with a PC and an Internet connection can not only access all traditional media from all over the world, but also the micro-content added to the media landscape by individuals. Millions of people have evolved from being mere media consumers to being media producers as well.

How effective are mass media when we all have a medium of our own? It is very clear that traditional media outlets are losing their grip on their audiences. As a result, consumers will be extremely difficult to reach, as they will be scattered all over this landscape of micro-media. Instead of reading the mainstream local newspaper, they will read micro-content written by someone with the same  interests they themselves have. For news, they will rely on RSS feeds/ Alerts and Google news or Yahoo Pipes from local and global news sources, directly to their RSS readers (they will click through to the newspapers website, but only if they find something interesting). In their cars, they will be listening to a podcast about a topic so specific that mainstream radio  could never afford to spend time on it.

So where does this leave the small and large business owner? In desperate need of ME, someone who can guide, develop and implement cost effective web based advertising that integrates Social Media and search engine optimization to create a flawless, organic web presence.

Find out more with Edmonton Advertising