So there’s a couple of things I’ve noticed about “broadcast media” lately. First off, hardly anyone is talking about it, particularly in relation to the far-more-sexy “social media” topic. While it’s a bit of an unfair test (given that Twitter is a social media platform itself), I find it notable that a Twitter search for “broadcast media” garners 15 hits in the last 7 days, while a Twitter search for “social media” garners 15 hits in the last 2 minutes. Similarly, and probably a fairer test, a Google search for “Broadcast Media” yields 2,150,000 hits (312 in “news”), while “social media” yields over 18,000,000 (4,592 in “news”) – even though it hasn’t been around nearly as long.
Second, when you do read about broadcast media, the message is rarely good – the new conventional wisdom seems to be that it should go the way of the Dodo bird, with the more participatory, collaborative, conversational social media platforms taking its rightful place at the top of the heap. To be totally honest, my company has probably helped proliferate this message as much as anyone. But here’s the thing – the more that I think about it, the more I realize I actually like broadcast media. Don’t get me wrong, I like social media as well, but I can’t help but think this “broadcast media is dead” thing has gone a little too far.
Now I originally went into great detail on this, but decided to scale it back substantially and just look at one basic fact – how much time I spend digesting what I’d consider “broadcast media”, versus how much time I spend participating in “social media”. I found it to be an interesting thought experiment, and any way I sliced it broadcast media came out on top. More importantly, when I thought about whether I wanted that broadcast media experience to change much, the answer was actually no – there are many, many cases where I simply prefer to absorb information or entertainment, rather the engage with people around it. And when I talked to people who’s jobs don’t allow them as much freedom to explore and participate in different types of media as mine does, I’ve been coming to the conclusion they like broadcast media even more, and might want it to change even less. Of course, you rarely hear from these people in the various conversations and stories about the topic, as they’re off doing things like teaching, building, etc.
Now again, that’s not to say I don’t like using social media – I do, and I expect to keep finding new ways to enjoy it. But the more that I think about it, the more I’m convinced that broadcast media has a very important place, and that once some dislocation and business model issues are sorted out it, we will be inundated with stories about the “resurgance of broadcast media” – probably a few years from now, but sometime. I would also hypothesize that not only will many “social media” platforms start to take on more broadcast-like properties, but many of them already have without people noticing… a topic I’ve been spending a fair bit of time researching lately.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
As I come from a broadcast media background, I have been positioned firmly in the “broadcast media is not dead” camp for some time.
I have always considered social media to be a layer. It sits on top of traditional media channels as a conversation that surrounds it, rather than replaces it. Now, not only can I watch “Lost”, I can find other people who are talking about it in the various social media channels, thereby enhancing the experience of the broadcast medium rather than surpressing it.
Is broadcast dead? No. Is it changing? To be sure. In the end, I predict it will be better as a result.
As I mentioned in person, I’m completely on board with your thesis here, Denis. What has changed? The content or the medium? At the end of the day people still want that content – how it’s delivered, or what’s layered on top, is important but secondary to the core purpose…
Now all this does raise an interesting issue (and top of mind for broadcasters, marketers, etc) regarding the future of advertising – where does it go? And in what shape or form?