Disqus
There’s a nice piece by BBC News columnist Bill Thompson which talks about how the web is changing the way that journalism works – you can find it here – and which I thought I would pick up on.
The central thread of the piece is that the web has had a massive effect on the way that news is generated, delivered, and most importantly, consumed. It has led to the re-invention of things like Radio, for example, in to audio “streams”, and podcasts. It has changed TV from minority channel broadcast, to long-tail “channels on-demand”. And over all of these bearers (and more), “news” comes closer everyday to being more “real” – because the web empowers us to connect with the news source, rather than receiving it through a broker (and editor) such as the major news corps.
What I would add to Bill’s article is that where the Interweb changed the game in one dimension, Mobile is having as big an effect, if not greater, and will ADD another dimension altogether. What happens when you change the delivery channels and formats from the ground up (web), and then on top of that, Mobilize all the tools you need (camera, video, blog, audio, text) in to a device that can run for days, and get online anywhere?
I believe we are on the cusp of a seed change to the way media is created and consumed – readers of this site are amongst the “first wave” who are trying things out, seeing what works, and deriving the best-fit models which are feeding through to the critical-mass – that is, the point at which media creation and consumption is in the hands of the masses.
For Bill’s well-written article on the effects of the web from his perspective, check it out here. For the Mobile side of things, we here at IntoMobile would love to hear your thoughts…
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
