What does the sea change in the use of media mean for the future of media and communications to people in the market? I found on Social Media Today some comments worth paying attention to.
The notes about media are from just one of 10 categories in Richard Edelman’s blog summarizing his experience at Davos. Here are the points (lifted directly).
- Distribution is the new hot area (YouTube is now the #2 search vehicle); content, which was king, now is not.
- There is expectation of free content, which may well mean more consumer-generated and aggregated material improved by democratization. Media companies must provide a “live” experience, allowing more continuous updates.
- Subscription models, such as Thomson Reuters, only work because they are aiming at professionals with inelastic demand for high-grade material at their fingertips.
- The display model for advertising is broken; the ad agencies need to find better ways to reach specific audiences through more targeted, measured advertising.
Richard concludes his post, saying he leaves Davos “convinced of the centrality of public relations to the rebuilding of confidence in companies and government.” Here PR appears to be equated with having credible messengers educating the masses.
No argument here, being that our firm is a micro version of Edelman, “the leading independent global PR firm.” I also believe that in its larger context PR has an exciting role to play in energizing a new world of free, multi-media, two-way conversations that will replace the paid, push advertising model of the past.
Meanwhile the points above are really worth giving some thought.
After eight years of Bush administration secrecy, it’s remarkable to read how an architect of President Obama’s success in winning the election presents a public lecture at the 
With all that’s being written about the economy and the current struggle of mainstream media, the plight of what we’re looking at really hit home this week.