There is a new player in the media business. It is staffed by hundreds of thousands of people all round the world, creates miles of varied content, is highly trusted by its readership, has almost zero overhead and is growing fast.
It’s called Citizen’s Media or Consumer Generated Media (CMG) and is the result of cheap, accessible digital publishing tools being available to a mass market for the first time in history.
Or as respected US commentator Jeff Jarvis puts it, “people now own the printing press and the broadcast tower and the barrier to entry to media has been blown away.”
The upsurge in activity is being driven by the rapidly growing range of tools being offered to the public. Blogging tools allow people to start quickly and cheaply publishing to the world, digital cameras allow them to add images and video and 3.1 megapixel phones turn individuals into one man roving camera crews.
Like MP3s before them blogs have been seen as a niche activity pursued by navel-gazers and geeks. However, they are growing fast. Online blog monitor Technocrati.com tracks 3 million blogs and adds 15,000 a day to its register.
The professionals have tended to write citizen’s media off as amateur and poor quality and of course some of it is. However, enthusiasm for these new media tools is infectious and many amateurs are striking cords among their audiences in ways that traditional media struggles to do. One key element is the trust that people have in this new type of media. If someone’s blog raves about a new product people take notice because they know the publisher has no vested interest. Jonathan Miller, Head of AOL in the US, says that 60 – 70 per cent of the time people spend on AOL is devoted to audience generated content.
This has created an audience of independently-minded critics who constantly publish their views to faithful audiences. They can be thought of as the ‘5th estate’. And if there is a story to tell they will be publish and be damned.
In September of this year a customer of US bicycle lock manufacturer, Kryptonite, found that his super-tough lock could be opened with a ballpoint pen he immediately published his findings on bikeforums.net. The post was read by more than 400,000 people and a video showing a ballpoint in action which was downloaded more than three million times in just a few days. Within days Kryptonite retailers were clearing their shelves, thousands of products were being returned and the New York Times had picked up the story.
For executives who already feel they are living in a goldfish bowl the idea of their own consumers turned watchdogs can be concerning. However, as with any stakeholder these individuals can be also be helpful to brands. Google and Ebay spent nothing on above the line advertising when building their multi-billion dollar brands, but took great care to consult with their customers at every step. Ebay’s CEO, Meg Whitman, has described her job not just as a chief executive, but also partly as something like a mayor running a town-hall meeting.
In some ways Citizen’s media is just a new version of consumer-lobbying groups. However, they are greatly more accessible, spark more passion and have global, instant reach.
The PR industry is very familiar with the challenges in dealing with stakeholders and lobbying groups on behalf of its clients. Is it ready to deal with the 5th estate ?
Comments