One to Watch for 2012: The Social TV Convergence

There was a time, a long long time ago before the internet, The X Factor and Pringles existed, when the phase ‘water-cooler moment’ was coined. This was a moment of community and shared experience, where the tele-visual event of last night was watched by the majority so they could be involved in the conversation. Then, as time passed, the number of channels grew and digital recorders such as Sky Plus and online catch-up sites like 4oD and iPlayer evolved, and the relevance of the event diminished to a point where advertisers withdrew and ratings dropped.

Now, however, an online revolution is changing all that, it’s no longer the water cooler but the social media moment, and it happens live, as the programme is broadcast. Suddenly a two screen revolution is under-way as internet access and multi-platform applications such as Twitter and Facebook are used in unison with the television to analyse, discuss and ridicule the exploits of soap characters, reality ‘stars’ and world events. No longer does it take any great effort to access the social media platforms for the average viewer, of a certain demographic, has mobile phones, tablets and laptops at their sides while they watch TV. There are even services like Zeebox springing up that embrace this trend and give users a one stop social media stop.

This is a sign of the future where all forms of media channel (YouTube, ITVPlayer and Sky TV) are viewed within a web environment that is not confined to the window of that company. So what does this mean? Well, for the consumer it means more feedback which could lead to better programming but also more power to those who air their views. For the businesses involved, the broadcasters lose control over image but have more metrics by which to show value to advertisers and these advertisers will no doubt be the target of the social media platforms collecting opinions.

Technology, Life and our addiction to smartphones

Last Saturday evening I had the misfortune (or luck) to place my low-battery mobile phone in a “safe place” at home (I think). Mid-way through the week and I still hadn’t managed to locate it but as a persistent and positive PR I refused to give in and report it lost.

Coincidentally, this also happened to be the week that RIM went into meltdown, leaving millions of Blackberry users without access to the internet so at least I wasn’t suffering alone. An Ofcom survey released this summer highlighted that a quarter of adults and nearly half of teenagers admitted to being highly addicted to their smartphones. We spend hours with them and rarely have them out of arm’s reach (even if we are in the bathroom). A Sheila’s Wheel’s survey found that partners love their phones more than their partners and on the average night out 48 minutes are spent on these techy toys. I, for one, admit to spending an unnecessary amount of time with my phone, whether it’s keeping up with the latest news, looking at Twitter, playing games and emailing not to mention normal calls, texts etc. Pre loss I was checking my phone for news in the bath, slept next to it, checked it in bed once the alarm went off in the morning, in the bus on the way to work, on the way home, at lunch with colleagues and the list goes on. This is not a unique situation and though colleagues say that checking my emails in the bath is a little on the extreme side, most admit to being unable to cope without their mobiles.

So what is it like not having a smartphone? I have to say, after the initial feeling of missing a limb wears off, it’s actually not that bad. I had to use landlines, traditional maps, be on time and started to read again. My tech hits were limited to laptops and my work PC, but I noticed a sense of freedom, better concentration and that my eyes weren’t as strained. I also talked to people without worrying about what my trusty little electronic pal was up to. I went to an event in Shoreditch called Slow Tech last month, which examined ways to detach from tech for a while. Whilst recognising that technology plays an important part in our lives, the event also looked at our inability to not check phones every few minutes. Interesting solutions included the Tamagochi style living plant which is looked after when your phone or iPad is plugged in and not touched, the innovative pulley system which lifts your phone out of reach until it’s fully charged and a tech blocking gizmo which blocks signals and apps – very handy when you’re having a dinner party. A friend and I had dinner the other night and I found myself increasingly irritated with his need to reply to texts and check his phone. Slow Tech speakers argued that no one’s going to die when you don’t look at your phone for a couple of hours – something that I agree wholeheartedly with. I may have caved in and finally ordered a replacement phone, but I certainly think it helped me realise our obsession with being constantly connected is unnecessary. I wonder how many Blackberry users feel the same?

What’s the influence of social media on PR and journalist relationships?

A recent survey analysing the rise of social media within journalism caught my eye. Over 900 journalists were surveyed by Darly Willcox Publishing and the results have been analysed in a white paper by FT journalist Martin Stabe.

According to the survey, 75% of journalists claim social media is important for their work with 90% using it more than they did a year ago.

But what got me most interested was what the survey has to say about the effect of social media on how PR professionals and journalists interact.

A finding of the report is that ‘communicating with PR professionals currently has a relatively insignificant role in journalists’ use of social media. What’s more 44% of journalists believe  PR professionals aren’t making the most of the medium.

Reasons cited included some PR professionals failing to understand the need to build genuine relationships using social media, and lack of resources to respond quickly to journalists.

Working in PR, the value social media is immeasurable. We take pride in developing and maintaining relationships with journalists but traditional methods of contact remain essential. That’s what PRs said in the same survey with use of email and phone significantly exceeding contact by social media. Of the social media PRs use most to communicate with the media.

Social media is paramount in keeping engaged with journalists yet unless combined with traditional communications, from picking up the phone, to face to face drinks, no amount of Tweeting someone would be effective. It is all about maintaining the right balance of new and traditional ways of engaging the press.

Oui ‘We’

Language is not static but ever evolving. Words come and go and fashions change. Yet a recent study of the US Presidential State of the Union messages, found one word has seen a dramatic increase in popularity since 1900s. This is not ‘Government’, ‘Congress’ or even ‘United States’ as you might expect but ‘We’. In fact, ‘We’ was used more times in these addresses than ‘Public’, ‘Country’ and ‘America’ put together. A massive total of 10,960 times since 1790 (see graph).

Presidents since the turn of the century have truly leveraged the power of ‘We’ and used the media to spread this message, emphasising their role as voice of the people. ‘We’ conjures up a sense of togetherness and shared values, whether Republican or Democrat.  It binds everyone together under a banner of national identity. Almost 43 million Americans tuned in yesterday to watch President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech live on television.

So, what does this teach us about the nature of language and the media?

It’s a good lesson in how communicators and the media can shape language. To do this, we need to get the media on our side so they (literally) ‘spread the word for us’.  For instance, the media and PR world’s proliferation of the buzz word ‘App’ maybe why the American Dialect Society has voted it the Word of the Year for 2011.

So we need to be savvy wordsmiths but also have our ears to the ground – listening out for that linguistic gem.  When it’s found, and accepted by the media, like Presidents have found with ‘We’, it becomes one of our most powerful communicational tools.

*Here’s the text of President Obama’s State of the Union address (a prize to the first person who counts all the ‘We’s'): http://news.hereisthecity.com/news/news/business_news/9870.cntns

Net Neutrality – what it means for PR?

Recently there’s been a wave of stories around the issue of net neutrality and its wider implications. Such as the release of a “joint policy proposal” by Google and Verizon concerning hardline and wireless net neutrality.

This is a concern for many – and especially communications professionals.
Net neutrality keeps the internet fair. It provides a medium through which any of our clients can, with a relatively small amount of capital and the right skills, make their voice heard.

This value is being challenged with some network operators rumoured to be advocating (again) the prioritising of certain types of traffic for a charge. If this happened, a domino effect could ensue with charging creeping into business models across the net. So pay walls could pop up everywhere as big content carriers or blogging platforms seek to claw back network charges. The impact on online media and bloggers could be immense and strike at the heart of why the Internet has flourished as a source of information for all, rather than the few.

Resistance to ending net neutrality is huge. So any shake-ups of this magnitude are going to be difficult to progress. But the issue does keep on returning to the agendas of both network operators and content players. As communication professionals we have interest here too and we need to be vigilant about where this debate is going.