- Image via Wikipedia
Change the world or go home.
What does it really mean?
Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in the 15th century changed the world, fed the Renaissance and powered the scientific revolution – where once the pre-Copernican earth was a flat disc in a heliocentric universe it was now a mere spherical satellite at the dependent mercy of the ever raging Sun, the death of God, Aristotelian physics, and the triumph of Paine’s Age of Reason.
Gutenberg’s invention also precipitates the archetype of mass communication where publishing power remains squarely in the hands of the elite. If we consider that modern advertising perhaps had its foundation in the military propaganda created during World War One, but was really born through the spread of television in America, propagated through the NBC introduction of the commercial break rather than a single programme sponsor then technologies such as television and radio support elitism & further transform media into commercial opportunity.
The current media overload, saturation, and the whole ad` space shouting match basically means that advertising and marketing has been forced to evolve from the interruptive, intermittent, high frequency, WOW factor linearity of the early Fifties and the ungainly mass media signals of print, billboards, radio-television commercials, and even online banners to Permission based programmes that build upon reciprocal loyalty, and in doing so ethically and respectfully, create greater permission and therefore increasing opportunities.
Intelligent conversational media projects illuminate just how smart, positive and responsive technology becomes socially responsible, or even how mobile technologies, for example an iPhone or digital camera are intrinsically creating new social fabric; that both social change and technology seem to have become reciprocal entities built upon choice, consent, collaboration and inherent networks that grow smarter & faster. The mobile phone may provide the next truly big ad space, and perhaps bolster a new elite in Telecommunications companies.
Social media sites depend upon integrating technology with and creating interaction and conversation between people to build shared-meanings, values, dialogue and to challenge inertia through the power of collaborative conscience (embedded in the web) to create change. Closed social habitats like MySpace hinge upon the almost televisual, hermetic relegation of choice, freedom, movement, compatibility, independence, and transparency to concepts of audience numbers & advertising.
For example Buzz the people is a New Zealand website that makes it very easy to help charities whilst informing New Zealand companies what you think about their advertising, products and service. Have your say on politics and current New Zealand issues, influence media and corporate organisations, win prizes and donate points to the charity of your choice just for giving your views. Great!
This is a very clever method of market research [& unbelievably, positive social engineering] conceived by BuzzChannel, an Auckland agency. Making communication between government, companies and their customers, the general public, seamless, desirable and socially responsible is something to be recommended…
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