New media, social media, web 2.0, digital media - whats it all mean and why should you care?

Several new words and phrases have entered our vocabularly in recent times. Over the past decade a stream of innovation has occured in the digital realm forcing an
innovation in the language to describe it. Arguments surrounding the definitions of terms like
'new media', 'social media', 'digital media', abound, which can lead to quite a bit of confusion.

Digital media basically refers to electronic media, as opposed to analog media, i.e. CDs, MP3s etc.
Generally speaking, 'new media' is a reference in opposition to 'old media' - newspapers, radio, tv etc. The new media includes things like podcasts, blogs, websites, although many old media giants are utilising all these new mediums to much profit and advantage. For example, consider the fairfax group, who also publish their newspapers online, some for a subscription, and sell a great deal of advertising, and have integrated with a number of other sites to create a one-stop shop. Yahoo!, mircrsoft and many others also engage in such partnerships.

Social media and web 2.0 (almost used interchangeably), are again difficult terms to define, and are those forms of new media that involve social interation between the participants, user-generated content, and little control by those who facilitate them. Examples include myspace, facebook, wikipedia and youtube.

So, these are all big corporates. What does all of this mean for your business or organisation? People are no longer satisfied with looking at online brochures, which is what many websites are. Customers and consumers want to interact, want to choose what information they receive, want to be able to talk back, and have a conversation about things. The organisations that allow customers to do this, engage with them in meaningful ways and provide useful and interesting content, are the ones who will win market share in the new media scene.

Whats the value of something that costs you nothing?

Most web 2.0 technologies will cost the user nothing, so whats the value? Further, how can companies utilise free technologies for profit?

Firstly, there is great value in these free technologies. Blogging, podcasting and social networking are great free forms of self expression, communicating and networking for people. People are out there sharing information and knowledge every second of the day. This has the dual benefit of serving as a form of expression for those who produce the content, and a source of information, interaction and advice for those who consume the content.

Secondly, companies gain the benefit of having content created for their sites, and the ability to track consumer trends by hosting these services, plus they sell advertising space. The gain for the consumer here, if you are comfortable with it, is this targeted advertising. Advertisers are able to save money, targeting their messages to people who match their specific criteria. That means that if you have to see ads, at least there is a greater chance that they will be relevant to you.

For more information about leveraging new and social media and web 2.0, visit us at www.thompsonmarketing.com.au