Summer 2008
From the Chair
New members
Sci Comm news
Eurochat
Feature: Publicising non peer-reviewed science
Feature: New media, new opportunities
Feature: Spinning science
Event Report: Science and the embargo
Event Report: Podcasting and new media
Interview: Emma Morton, The Sun
|
Stempra newsletter
FEATURE: New media, new audiences, new opportunities
I remember an episode of Grand Designs where Kevin McLeod
followed the construction of an extraordinary futuristic house cut into
the side of hill. When it was finished the couple moved in along with
their depressing 1930s furniture. Kevin couldn't believe that they
could have such vision when designing and constructing their house,
only to fill it with such dated garbage. Something similar is happening
with the web at the moment. Many organisations are creating very slick
websites and populating them with amateur audio and video files.
Perhaps change is creeping in though. Recently, Lizbeth
Goodman, professor of digital media at the University of East of
London, won Outstanding Woman in Technology at the 2008 Blackberry
Awards. In her address she remarked that, "When we use technology to
empower – to enable voices to be heard and ideas to be expressed
creatively – we enrich the world in every way."
So why then do we hear and see so much really poor material on so many mainstream university and charity websites?
It's a little like a flashback to twelve years ago when I
worked for a feature and documentary making department in the BBC. I
was sent on a website design course. It lasted two whole days and when
I returned to the department, having struggled with clunky HTML, my
boss exclaimed that I could now build the department a website to
complement our programmes. She could tick that box – Website done!
Needless to say, I was saved my blushes when BBC Online was born.
Ten years on you'd be nuts to assume that someone would do a
professional job of your website with such a pathetic working
knowledge. Website design is now a major artistic profession. The same
evolutionary process is underway when it comes to audio and video
material on the web; it's just lagging behind.
Just as I wouldn't expect my mechanic to design my next car,
but I'm happy to let him keep me on the road, I wouldn't expect my
webmaster to create quality audio and video for my website. Yet this
tends to be what's happened till now. And that's often why even high
profile organisations end up with audio and video that does more damage
than good to their image. Happily the penny is dropping and one or two
universities and charities now understand that investment in expert
help to realise their new media dreams ultimately pays dividends.
The timing of this couldn't be better. Never before have there
been such fantastic opportunities to connect with audiences in such an
effective and rewarding way. I recently did some work for a rapidly
expanding firm of Scottish auctioneers. They were organising their
first London sale, to be held in the Royal Academy of Arts. The entire
Deloitte Corporate Art collection was going under the hammer. I made a
vodcast showcasing seven of the pictures. It was very simple. The
modern art expert told me stories about each picture; why they were
important, their provenance, the materials used to make them, the
artist's state of health when the picture was produced, etc. Most
importantly, he explained why he rated them. The result was
astonishing. On sale day the works we had featured in the film made
many thousands of pounds more than their estimates. In one case a
single picture estimated to make between £20,000 and £30,000 sold to a
telephone bidder for £155,000. In contrast, much of the art that wasn't
featured in the vodcast sold for around its estimated price or slightly
below. Clearly there's an audience for value added through the web and
in this case tangible financial benefit. But to reap this fully you
have to give your audience a quality experience.
In "The Attention Economy", Umair Haque argues that "Across
consumer markets, attention is becoming the scarcest - and so most
strategically vital - resource in the value chain. Attention scarcity
is fundamentally reshaping the economics of most industries it touches;
beginning with the media industry." This dovetails with the rise and
rise of Web 2.0. It's not long ago that Web Version 1 brought us page
upon page of static HTML. It gave us "look-but-don't-touch" websites.
Not surprisingly many thought the web was over-hyped. Then along came
Web Version 2. Radio 4's "In Business" programme was quick to recognise
the potential of this interactive development, "Power is moving from
the old information providers in the press and broadcasting and handing
it to a new democracy of bloggers and communicators now numbered in
millions." The new breed of have-a-go heroes embraced user generated
web content in all its forms. They could share photos with each other
or contribute to an online user generated encyclopaedia. Suddenly
everyone had an equal voice and through a blog, or web log, they could
share their thoughts about anything (and I really do mean anything)
with anyone who had enough time to listen. We'd moved from publishing
to participation on a global scale.
With this came "Radio Userland" or podcasting. A new
vocabulary was born – podcasting is derived from iPod and broadcast.
Add moving pictures and you have a vodcast, or is that a vidcast, or
even a videocast? and so it goes on.
At its simplest, podcasting is the method of distributing
multimedia files, such as audio or video output over the Internet,
using syndication feeds (a way of publishing constantly updated
material so the user automatically receives new episodes). This output
can be played back on mobile devices and personal computers. What this
means is anyone can have a shot. And many have. And with that has come
the most tremendous amount of tripe. Why? Because very few people
actually possess the skills to create compelling audio and video. I
remember the Controller of R4, Helen Boden, commenting at a staff
meeting that radio producers don't grow on trees and that the BBC would
do well to nurture and reward the good ones.
I've just spent a couple of days exploring the websites of
many of our "A"-list universities and charities in search of well
produced, technically excellent audio and video. I've been
disappointed. It's clear that there are not many trained producers
contributing to the output. There's a misconception that getting a
professional to create brilliant audio or video will be expensive. And
yet the tradition of generating many tons of environmentally unsound
paper reports persists, along with substantial design and printing
costs.
Podcast audiences are massive, and growing. eMartketer
estimates that the US podcast audience reached 18.5 million in 2007. It
projects that this will rise to 65 million in 2012. It's time to make
your website work harder for you. For many, your website is the first
point of contact the public will have with your organisation. It should
be central to your marketing strategy because it's where your business
opportunities will originate.
Through sophisticated use of well produced audio and video
distributed through your website you can inform and fundraise; core
activities for any charity or university. But, a note of caution, think
carefully about the content. When I started working for the BBC twenty
years ago I was told by my mentor that it took only 13 seconds for a
listener to decide whether to stay with your programme. Presumably this
was the time it took to plod across the room to the Roberts radio and
press the OFF button. Now that the mouse is in our hand, the decision
to click away is taken in less than a second. Remember, holding the
attention of a listener or viewer = money.
On the websites I visited I found so many missed
opportunities. Moments where I could have been inspired and
entertained, or learnt something new, or felt included or enriched were
lost. When Ricky Gervais started podcasting, his weekly show on
Guardian Unlimited averaged 261,670 downloads a week in its first
month. Don't tell me that you wouldn't be pleased to have that sort of
traffic. Traditional broadcasters can be forgiven for feeling
threatened by the podcasting revolution. After all, the web audience is
instant and global.
I noticed a delightful quote on one website, "The experience
of cycling in our [charity tee] shirts to the Eiffel Tower, to be
greeted by tears, champagne, yells and the tinkling of over 100 bicycle
bells was fantastic." Wouldn't it have been even more fantastic to have
heard this? The moment is ripe for you to extend your brand through
professionally produced audio or video on the web equal to anything you
hear or see on the BBC. Right now the opportunity is there for the
seizing. And, as the pod and vodcasting revolution gathers momentum,
rest assured if you don't grasp the nettle someone else jostling for
attention will.
Louise Dalziel is an award winning producer who worked for
the BBC for 20 years before establishing her own media company,
Matchless Content. She now specialises in the production of
professional pod and vodcasts.
www.matchlesscontent.co.uk
|
<< Back to
current newsletter
|
