Can you say “New Media” without saying “Web 2.0″?
If you thought the Internet rollercoaster had slowed down, it’s only because we’re cranking up to another big rush. This week has seen two news events which signal this. The first is that The Economist has seen this week as the right time to publish a survey of new media. The second, and much more significant, is Mark Thompson’s speech on the outcome of the BBC’s Creative Future initiative — effectively his vision of the BBC’s future.
The Economist survey is characteristically calm and intelligent, and quite self-explanatory. Mark Thompson’s speech couldn’t exist without national chin-stroking and philosophising. Emily Bell’s appraisal, then, is an insightful start to this.
The fascinating thing for me is picking out the pearls from the bubbles. How active will Mark Thompson’s “active audience” be? I don’t think he’d claim to know for sure, but he wants the BBC to be well in place as the answer evolves. The Economist spends some time discussing permalinks and even elevates them into its headline (“It’s the links, stupid”), while Mark Thompson makes “findability” a key theme of his future vision. That’s the kind of unglamourous operational component of a business that can be easily overlooked and so be its undoing. It’s good to see him place it where he has. It was impressive that The Economist was able to run 12 pages on new media without using the dread phrase “Web 2.0″ even once. Mark Thompson not only used it but is clasping it to his chest: “work on [user generated content] is already underway in a project called BBC Web 2.0″.
Of course, Mark Thompson and The Economist have very different aims. The Economist only has to survey the landscape; Mark Thompson — and more significantly the BBC — has to do something about it. The Economist has done its job, but the BBC has mighty ship to turn, and works have only just started grinding now.
