Web 2.0 is happening now, and its here to stay. I have probably been aware of this fact for quite some time but I never got round to giving it any serious consideration until recently. Whilst many of my peers remain sceptical about the application of new technologies and remain unsure about their relevance and their future, I found myself agreeing with the comments made by Huw, who rightly in my opinion, explains that if any proof was needed to show that web 2.0 is here to stay we need to look no further than certain establishments along the San Fernando Valley.
What the web has achieved is to fundamentally change the way we consume news. It would appear that laziness has spread from the school playground, and the masses of obese children that now reside there, into our homes. No longer must we actively “surf” the web to find our news, thanks to web 2.0 it comes to us.
So what does this new breed of technology actually change? It strikes me that web 2.0 empowers us as consumers. No longer are we tied down to purchasing our daily intake of news from corner shops, supermarkets or newsstands. No longer must we hang around for the 6 o’clock news jingle to find out what’s happening in the world. With web 2.0 creating interactive news available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week we can now control exactly what we consume when we want to consume it. It is apparent to me that this means powerful media organisations are now chasing after us, rather than the other way around. Having the latest video clip or poll tracker on a website can now make the difference in the amount of hits it receives, and therefore how much advertising money the powerful media organisation makes. Enticing us, the active consumer, has never been so important.
However despite this break-up of the “traditional media”and the increasing importance of services like Twitter, Flickr, Wikis, Mento and Facebook, I still believe that there is a place for Huw Edwards and John Humphrys. I still believe that people in society enjoy having a certain comfort blanket, knowing that periodically the same faces are telling them what’s happening. Audience members have built up a relationship with these faces over the years and trust their judgement, and therefore despite being able to go and get their news whenever they want, they would prefer to wait and see what Huw has to say. With BBC News retaining solid viewing figures of around 5 million, we can see that for some, the old ways are the best.
I have embraced the future as best as I can, I am the proud owner of an igoogle page with my personalised news full of RSS feeds, I Twitter and I bookmark my favourite sites for all to see. I appreciate the importance of having good networks to be able to learn more, share things and tell stories in every possible way. But at my core I’m a bit of a traditionalist.
What the future holds is a mystery but I can foresee more of the same, more interactivity, more fancy applications, and more personalised news. I can also foresee new household names, the next Natasha Kaplinsky and more from Huw and John. Ultimately I feel that despite the emergence of these new and exciting technologies we humans are creatures of comfort, and there’s something comforting about meeting and old face, that we know and love, and listening to what they’ve got to say.
Hwyl Fawr
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