NewMediaStar

Joined-up Thinking

Let me start by stating that there has been a lot of nonsense written about new media and technology on the web today, where non-stories are presented as if they were major scoops, but beyond the attention grabbing headline, there is very little in terms of substance to the actual story itself.

I will be using this blog to cut through the mass of this type of media hype to focus on the real deal stories, propositions that really matter, technologies that will make a difference to our day to day lives in the short or medium term.

If like me, you have a passion for digital technology and social media and spend anytime in the blogosphere, you might be weary of the constant stream of opinions and arguments for an against new services, products and technology as they emerge. I need to be clear here, this is genuinely good, the discussion around such things creates excitement and a buzz which contributes to the eventual success or failure of each of these products or services. This is the essential reason for companies to engage in Social Media. What I am particularly weary of, is the bits and bytes analysis of the platforms and their technical evolution and software integration that comes as standard but without the same level of focus on what these technologies could actually mean to us in a real world setting.

If, via this blog, I am going to add meaningfully to the general tsunami of opinions, I have to be significantly different from the other bloggers that dominate this important sector. My focus will be on the technology, and social media futures, trying to add insight into how these technologies will actually impact on and contribute to, our everyday lives and also from a small business perspective.

”Getting information from the Internet, is like drinking from a fire hydrant!” Mitchell Kapor

There is so much information available today that sometimes you need to put a meaningful filter on it, in order to sift out the real stories from the hype and the fanciful. I will act as that filter!, I read so much during the course of any given day that I am in a constant state of information overload, being both a news and tech junkie and a closet geek means that I have the perfect personality for this.

I will outline the areas which I will be focussing most of my intention on, but before that, I would like to talk a little bit about the Internet.

The Rise of the Internet
The internet is where it all started for me, I was never interested in computing or computers until the Internet entered the mainstream consciousness. Since the early pioneering days of the web when I remember paying for Netscape Navigator and spending  eight hours downloading it over a 14.4 kbs US robotics modem, I could see, even then, the amazing potential power of this new medium.

Internet Explorer was just a spark in the eye of Bill Gates and the web was a great undiscovered wonderland of opportunity, we where quite literally, on a brand new road which was still being laid as we walked. The superhighway was still to come and the people looked at you funny when you said you were surfing the web at home. Do any of you remember those days? Learning HTML at the long gone, Syberia Web Cafe in Googe Street in central London, if you have any memories of those early days, then please contribute by adding your comments.

Come fast forward to today and the web is now ubiquitous, but has still retained much of it’s pioneering and anarchic nature even though it has gone through a process of heavy commercialisation and much needed sanitisation in terms of search engine responsibility. The element of anarchy still exists and this is on the whole is very healthy, we see the web being used more and more in political debate and increasingly as a channel for uncensored reporting from repressed people under unenlightened political or religious leadership.

The sheer volume of content can be overwhelming to the non-converted, hence the need for a credible and trustworthy filter.

The key subject areas which will be of particular interest to me in this blog are as follows;
Branding and the power of brands

• Social Networking
• New technology
• Politics online
• The Internet
• Digital Marketing
• Online Business
• Blogging and Micro Blogging

I will be actively encouraging people to add their comments and thoughts along the way. I will aim to write a new piece twice a month and of course welcome your participation and feedback.
My first blog subject will be on what we can expect to see in 2010 and how it could affect our lives. Please subscribe now ready to contribute.