Almost every day, one or other of the traditional media features a “big story† that had its origins in social media. Readers-cum-reporters provide images on disasters and police activities, Syrian opposition fighters smuggle videos out of the country that were filmed secretly, bloggers uncover fibs or lies of politicians, VIPs and media.
Social media present themselves to journalists as almost inexhaustible source of news from around the world while posing a big threat to the good reputation of traditional media: many are the non-verifiable reports, the stories on staged scandals and even falsifications that find their way into editorial offices every day. Should traditional media fall into the trap of a “canard†, their reputation as trustworthy source of news is in jeopardy.
Nothing less than the truth is at stake.
Nevertheless, traditional news cannot and do not want to ignore sources from the Web 2.0. Without the help of blogs, short message services, video sharing platforms and communities, most news desk would look stale. Osama Bin Laden’s killing, to name one incident, was twittered long before President Obama stepped in front of the television cameras. But blogs and communities increasingly offer key background information for a good story.
A new era has begun for news media: to be able to find the “good† news in the maze of reports, they need journalists that combine proper training in researching information with high standards on reports corroboration and verification. Because the readers at the end of the day don’t care where the news comes from – they only care whether it’s true.
„The people formerly known as the audience“ titles The Economist and describes how media users have transformed from consumers to providers of news and how editorial offices around the world are dealing with this phenomenon. Having overcome the initial reluctance, print and electronic media have learned to use social media professionally in their everyday work. They have had no choice but to do it.
Social Media concern companies as much as they concern the media.
The same goes for companies: Times are over when social media could be done away with as kids’ stuff. To companies, social networks offer a lot of valid information stemming from their stakeholders. To ignore them can truly be fatal for a company. Today, managers at all echelons must deal with social media as proficiently as journalist do it. Media competence is needed – but often sorely missed.
There are still companies today that pretend social media don’t exist and hope against hope that they will be able to keep in check the information flow around their brand and products. They will often treat their Web and social media platforms equally negligently. Feedback channels for customers are difficult to find and often neglected. Regardless though, people will gossip – in those instances relying on unknown and unsure sources rather than transparent information provided by the manufacturer.
The IT giant IBM and many others have embarked on the opposite direction: they encourage employees to actively engage in social media. To that effect, they draft easy to follow guidelines on how deal with social networks. In the end, companies like IBM win in a two-fold way: social media users experience transparency thus buildung up their confidence into the company and their employees turn into reliable brand ambassadors.
Christian Gartmann, gartmann.biz
Further Links:
gartmann.biz: How Twitter & Co bungled Obama's Show
The Economist: The People formerly known as the Audience
gartmann.biz: Turn your Company into a Hotel!
IBM: Social Computing Guidelines
IBM: Video zu Social Computing Guidelines