Related to my extend the conversation post and my recent conversations with one Mr. Andrew Keen about his upcoming book, The Cult of the Amateur, and a random survey of people in NYC last night, wherein which I asked them some questions (Do you know what Twitter is? Do you know what podcasts are? Can you name a podcast?), I’m still convinced that we’re in a complete and utter fishbowl.
This might not be bad.
I think the trick is this: we’re VERY much where the old web world was, when people were logging on, creating Geocities accounts, and trying to learn how to change the background from olive to yellow. I think blogging is getting much closer to mainstream, especially as almost all the mainstream media outlets have succumbed and built their own blogs. This, by extension, gives us even more of a chance to make a difference and build our own blogs into something of quality.
Learn the Tools
There’s still time to hone your abilities, to pick up some technical knowledge and understanding of these tools. I’d say that if you’re just thinking of jumping in to this part, audio is probably already too far gone. Too many people are out there helping folks get audio shows together. Video might be the right curve to jump into.
Create PROGRAMS
In almost no time, “talking about nothing” shows are going to dry up. You have to deliver value. In video, audio, and even a blog, if you want to bring your message into a larger circle of people, you’re going to have to give value back for what you’re doing. “Catblogging” (talking about your day, random links, funny video clips) will forever be okay for blogs/podcasts/videoblogs that aren’t particularly targeted or aiming to reach a huge audience. (And sure, there are some famous people who pretty much catblog, even if they’re on TV, but we’re not them- yet).
Spend some time making your “product” better. Think of it that way. Ask yourself relentlessly, “Does this appeal to the people I’m hoping to reach?”
Outreach
If we want out of the fishbowl, we have to scale the shiny clear walls. There are ways besides sending emails and posting to forums to reach new people for an audience, ways completely outside the computer. These vary for your demographic of choice. But for instance, if you’re a financial aid podcast, you might contact all the financial aid advisors and guidance counselors in all directions (That’s what Christopher S. Penn did). If you’re a show about gardening, you might swing by the local garden store or join a local club, and find opportunities to talk about your show, or better still, invite guests.
Gather
If you’re in new media and you’re not seeing my prediction from May of 2006 about content networks being the new blogs coming true, look again. PodTech and PodShow and Next New Networks are just some examples of groups of content producers gathering together to build stronger branding. Some are successful, and others are just trying their damnedest to figure it all out. But they’re together, and that’s building an awareness that isn’t there for many standalone applications.
Build Platforms
Your standalone success is one thing, but building a content network where you can empower an audience to truly interact with your media – to contribute, to partner with, to build something out of – that’s where the secret sauce will be. Without it, you’re yet another property without a lot of audience-building tools built in.
Fish Should Stay In Bowls
There are lots of people who think new media / social media are doing just fine by its own. Perhaps that’s true. Perhaps we should just let things stay the same. Verizon and Comcast want you to stop making video shows, because it’s too tricky for them to deal with you. They need things in big bunches, not a grape at a time. Newspapers want you to stop. You’re eating into their attention trust. Magazines are annoyed they have to blog. They’re sick of the format. It’s nothing like their previous systems.
So just stop. Stop making media. Leave it to the pros. Right? There’s a reason reality TV is all over the place. It’s easy. Doesn’t take a writer, really. (Yes, someone writes the shows, I know, but pffff).
Or not
Or you can make the best damned media you can make, strive to get out of that fishbowl, and reach out to the people who need you, who want you to find them and save them from enduring the same old thing. You can bring the message inside you to the people who need to hear it most.
Which is it? What’s your choice? How will you get out of the fishbowl?
Photo credit jaboobie
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