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The blurring lines between mass and social media

Yesterday I shot with the host of a TV food show for an episode of her show.

The episode is going to centre around a couple of food bloggers. The idea of the show apparently came up when the host realised that she was increasingly using blog posts to decide on where to eat rather than mass media reviews.

This evening in The News Hour on Times Now Arnab Goswami suddenly looked at the camera and exhorted the audience to go viral and protest against police performing odd jobs for politicians or something like that. 'Go to Facebook and twitter and register your protest' said Goswami.

Incidentally while Times Now has a twitter handle, Goswami doesn't.

A bit later I was watching Barkha Dutt chat with Salman Rushdie and Deepa Mehta and their conversation suddenly turned to twitter.

Rushdie pointed out that for him twitter is the fastest way of finding out what's happening around him.

Barkha herself is on twitter and unlike other big TV journalists on Twitter, such as Rajdeep Sardesai, actually engages with folks on twitter.

The issue of mass media versus social media is becoming increasingly irrelevant if you ask me. Lines are blurring. The empire is striking back with mass media coopting social media rather than trying to ignore it, fight it or try to bludgeon it.

The lines definitely are blurring. Blurring a lot faster possibly in the world of news media than in brand marketing. Marketing efforts on TV, press, radio and social often seem to be discrete.

Every brand is 'doing' social media these days.

What they need to realise is that social media marketing can't be 'performed' or 'executed'.

It should flow naturally.



The broadcasters of news have got that. Question is when will the custodians of brands get this too.

Comments

barkha dutt is one of the best and most down to earth journalist in the country today
Anonymous said…
Barkha is agressive as a reporter and certainly one of the best in the field. Though I disagree with her at times, no one can deny her qualities. Today, social media has taken over print media and one has to push the envelope further to survive.
Vishal
www.vishalbheeroo.wordpress.com
Every brand is 'doing' social media these days to get an edge over others. Social media has power to reach to mass with little amount of time, everything goes viral. And it doesn't cost much.
WOW CABS said…
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