New Media: Time to tame it by Vineet Madhukar

The Twentieth century is responsible for a lot of things. That part evil, part awesome thing called globalization has given us a lot to chew upon…Literally.

Now take for example the Web 2.0: a tiny word with a massive world behind it. There is no limit to the scope the virtual world offers us. A plethora of information and knowledge with capacity to store even more! There is no better way to reach out to the target audience and connect with various stakeholders unless we take over their dreams.

But most of us neither understand the significance of New Media nor do we realise its tremendous power. Like the rest of the newbies, this medium too is a child of the Twentieth century. Broadly termed ‘New Media’ or the ‘Digital Media’ in PR parlance, to distinguish it from other forms of media; it has since its inception, turned the world on its head. To put it simply: New Media is the perfect blend of Print and Broadcast media with the added advantage of its global reach, much longer shelf-life and on-the spot –feedback from the viewers

One feature that distinguishes New Media from other forms of journalism or media is its ability to constantly update itself. Unlike the world of the printed paper where words once printed, cannot be changed and unlike the world of television and broadcast which can only showcase moving pictures; New Media has no such hassles. In case you still haven’t got what I’m trying to point out: it has the elements of traditional media forms like videos, films, still images, music and the written word along with the added advantage of the communications technology of a computer.

Take the example of micro-blogging sites like Twitter, Digg, Facebook or MySpace. Now skeptics might scoff at what on first glance seem like networking sites for the every young or the very bored…wrong on both counts. The ‘Pink Chaddi’ campaign is proof that if you have publicized right, you have campaigned right.

Unlike in other streams, through the internet you reach out to even those audiences that traditional marketing misses. Even if you are only connected to a group of close friends on a blog or a networking site, through them you are also connected to hundreds of potential target audience. You never know who might ‘share a link’ or ‘social bookmark’ your blog post ultimately creating that new clientele base you had hoped for. Add to this the one-to-one interaction with end user through their comments which in turn gives you the opportunity to improve your products and services as per public demand and it seems like sunshine on the desktop!

But beware! Social media marketing is more demanding than any high maintenance socialite you could think of. The content needs to be supervised constantly, correctly and updated as demands change. You need to be on the top of your game because your Public Relations strategy is there for all to see...or steal. It will also invoke criticism from rivals and critics alike. The Web 2.0 in other words is no docile Indian house-wife. She is demanding, fast, ever-changing and extremely moody. High time we learnt to tame it.