Wake up and smell the internet

Not a lot of substance in this piece, other than that the brave new world of the world wide web/ Web 2.0/social media is changing mainstream media (though social media, I think that's essentially what's being referred to here, can't really be said to be all that brave, or new anymore), but I just loved the intro that appeared in my newsreader: Alexander McNabb on why traditional newspaper publishers and marketers need to wake up and smell the internet.

Cartoon courtesy of Hugh MacLeod

Comments

[ashok]

I've always wondered what your full opinion on the future of print is, esp. since you bring up freesheets so often. I kinda feel you're hinting that print media can't give itself away for free, it needs to brand itself differently and more exclusively, but I dunno. I'm sure you've written on this before and I missed the entry.

[Dave Lee]

I LOVE that quote. "Wake up and smell the internet". How fantastically put!

I dare any print hacks out there to go up to your dinosaur news editor and say that nice and loud. :-D

[Kristine]

Ashok: I don't know about the future of print, but I love the internet and all the things it enables me to do.

I think perhaps we'll see what the political scientist I keep forgetting the name of, roland inglehart I believe, called "The Silent Revolution": as the younger internet-savy generation replaces the older, paid-for print titles will loose out.

We're already seeing the contours of this happening in Denmark where freesheets now are the most read papers with a great appeal to the young, while the paid-for titles explicitly are targeting the 30+ segment. But the average reader of e.g Berlingske is a 45 or 50 year old, I forget which, white male. Brutally put: the paper's readers will be gone in a generation or more.

But in general, I'm more interested in tracking the change we are seeing in the media, than to opine about when and if print media will die.

Dave: yes, that was a great quote, but guess - perhaps since I've worked with several great editors who've been sceptical to the web but still great editors - I'm more inclined to try my best to translate and mediate, open their eyes to why the web is so great. On the other hand, perhaps it's just my nature: taking the role of the mediator...

[ashok]

btw, before I forget - what exactly is The Guardian's problem with Facebook?

[Kristine]

I've been planning to write something about it, but time keeps escaping me, link is here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/14/facebook