Is It Really New Media, or Simply New Mediums?

I've noticed an interesting phenomenon of late. Many businesses are expressing a strong desire for those in key marketing roles (including PR) to have familiarity and experience working with so-called 'new media,' such as Facebook and Twitter.



No doubt about it, these two start ups are certainly creating a big 'buzz' in the business community, and as more and more savvy companies of all shapes and sizes embark on so-called "social media" strategies to increase their awareness and positive exposure to the public, the leaders of these companies would be wise to note (along with you, if you're a PR or marketing type working for one of them), to understand that while Facebook and Twitter are indeed new vehicles to help drive publicity, and thereby promote, position and mass market products, services, and corporate messages, the key media themselves (i.e., the actual human beings, or journalists, that ultimately analyze, examine, write and broadcast about these things) haven't really changed--at least not the lion's share of experienced, noted veterans in their fields.



What I'm getting at is sites like Facebook and Twitter are basically significant, new delivery systems, or new mediums for existing journalists and other media types to publish their messages, product reviews, opinions, etc.



The bulk of well-established, respected journalists themselves haven't been suddenly wiped away and replaced by some huge chunk of 'new media' experts that have taken over the media landscape. Sure, there are various journalist wanna-be's who have started blogs, and created modest followings, etc., in addition to 'early adopters' who quickly embraced new media and subsequently designated themselves as new media experts. But don't think for a second that the veteran journalists (at least the smart ones) and their employers aren't fully embracing Twitter and Facebook as simply new tools to publish their content, in part so they can continue to maintain a following/readership/viewership and ultimately keep themselves relevant and profitable.


For example, in the high-tech arena, no less than the following 'top tier' media folks are regulars on Twitter: Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher of the Wall Street Journal; Paul Boutin, John Markoff, and David Pogue of The New York Times; Steve Wildstrom and Rob Hof of BusinessWeek--and the list goes on and on and on. Do a search for yourself on Twitter and you'll find many long-time journos are micro-blogging on that site alone. In fact, there's even a handy new website you can reference, http://www.mediaontwitter.com/. BusinessWeek provides its own website to research who on their staff is on Twitter: http://tinyurl.com/6ycuhd. There's also http://wefollow.com/, another excellent resource for finding well-established media (and new, up-and-coming new media types, too) who are actively engaged on Twitter.


Certainly, it's important to research, seek out, and add new journalists and bloggers you discover and believe can help you effectively help promote your company, via traditional media and on Twitter, Facebook, et al, but don't embark on your "social media" strategy by seeking just the "newbies" with little or no reputation, background, or following at the expense of ignoring the many, well-established media folks that you've historically worked with and pitched to successfully in the past.


They're still as relevant as ever. Facebook and Twitter are basically the two most prominent, new mediums to work to get coverage on as a result of successfully pitching your story to these same folks.


To quote a classic Led Zeppelin song, "The Song Remains the Same."



That's Mark's Mark for today. Have a great week!