making up media stuff

Campaign from last week, and below is for people not equipped with bionic vision:

If I had to start all over again I'd be a Communications Planner. Well actually I'd be a Jedi, but in this universe I'd be a Communications Planner. It seems like they're the people who are at the most exciting coalface right now, dealing with the most turbulent shifts in economic relationships, coping with the most rapid overturning of preconceived ideas and observing the most frequent changes in people's behaviour. People are not dramatically changing the way they buy milk or cars or aftershave (unless I'm missing something) but they are substantially shifting the way they consume 'media'.

This struck me as I read another article pointing out that attention spans are contracting and the future of communications lies in a short burst of video via computer or phone. At first glance that always seems plausible, but even a quick examination of our own media habits makes you realise the real world is way more complicated.

To start with there's media binging; the contemporary practise of completely immersing yourself in a single media property for hours and hours; people buying a box-set of The West Wing or 24 and spending the whole weekend watching it. Or doing it via Sky+ or Tivo. No short attention span there. You get the same thing with video games, most of which demand a substantial investment of time. I once heard a panel of arts supremos blaming the decline of high art on short attention spans until one of their number asserted that the kind of immersive, sustained experience offered by Grand Theft Auto or World Of Warcraft is perfect preparation for Wagner's Ring Cycle.

Or think about plot-surfing, something many of us have probably done - watching a programme on 12x speed just to familiarise ourselves with the broad thrust of the story so we can stay up to date with the series. Or there's the willfully obscure media selections we make, as some sort of trophy media choice. I'm partial to a Deep House internet radio station in Moscow partly because it seems exotic, partly because I think it makes me seem cool. (It doesn't does it?) Or there's the way ex-pats use media to connect with home, or groups of friends pass media files and links around as a way of maintaining contact, or the viewing parties that occasionally pop up around media phenomenon like Sex In The City. This is complicated and fascinating stuff. And most of it's very new. Navigating the changing media tides must be the most challenging job out there right now, I hope it's as rewarding as it should be.   

Comments

[Faris]

Nice. I reckon they nicked media bingeing off me - as they should - no doubt I nicked it from somewhere else ;-p

http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2006/08/media_binging.html

Have you read that Everything Bad is Good for You? Seems like bingeing and wow are parts of the same drive or drivers towards complexity, immersion and that.

Can't wait until they do a Wow television show or movie.

And nah - deep house ain't cool. Jungle is cool.

Well it is to me. ;P

[Faris]

O wait that City of Sound piece mentions Johnson already. Nevermind. Carry on.

[Charles Edward Frith]

Jungle? We talking old school with bad-ass ragga layers or do I sense a slight genre slippage to the all encompassing (and mighty) Drum & Bass?

Anyway, samurai.fm for those who want it all including those very dirty but stripped down East European/Russian beats/squeaks and twiddles. Live streams are Tokyo and London and of course oodles of mashup sets, which is where the term came from before Life 2.0 got hold of it I believe.

In any case. Great post. Media consumption/interaction is easily the most dynamic, exciting and potent variable in peoples lives right now. It's tricky keeping up with real time changes never mind trying to predict things. But it is fun. I did nick Faris's 'passive massive' thing for a prez a few weeks back... erm thanks for that ;)

[Carol]

You're absolutely right about us ex-pats - I watch tv all night Sunday just to keep up with Ugly Betty and American Idol plus I'm always double screening these days.

[Faris]

Old school bad ass - Congo Natty run ting.

But to be honest I decided when the whole 'intelligent' thing happened to keep calling the entire genre jungle. Drum and bass always felt a bit anaemic and jungle reminds you of the Jamaican toasting heritage from whence the aesthetic sprang.

Emperor Selassie I!

Steal away mate. It's all about sharing.

Plus I stole it from IBM and just moved the words around.

Just make sure you link ;)

[Dino]

Faris said: And nah - deep house ain't cool. Jungle is cool.

Do not believe a word of it. Deep House is supremely cool! And I'm not biased, either.

[Conno]

I can tell you Russell, it IS an amazing space to be working in.

Consider also:

Partial attention - eg: World of Warcraft has integrated iTunes functionality into the game so that you can change tunes while playing without changing applications

Authority - in the "old days", if you were an author or journo, you had AUTHORity because the assumption was people had invested time and money into your ideas. Now? What does this mean for authority?

Production - Edelman's Trust Barometer talks about how tech companies are the "most trusted". Why? Transparency of production. Consumers are at the very core of tech production, from open source to Alpha and Beta testing. And as for v1, v1.2, v2 etc - how many non-tech companies would rather kill off a product rather than make it BETTER? How will bilateral and multilateral communications harnessed properly change production and product development?

[harshalg]

Brilliant post, and relevant across the globe.

Just got back from a smallish stint in the hinterland, researching mass markets. (In my country) We're hooked to serialised entertainment and the (seemingly) endless supply of news channels.

Binging is a really good pointer, users want to break down the deluge coming their way. How does one create viewership by engagement instead?

As is the sheer expansion in other media, particularly, print. How much of information is enough? Is there aactually a "dumbing down" or is it simply the response to the deluge?