Only invent social media, that’s what!

Confused?  Well check out this keynote speech from The Economist’s digital editor, Tom Standage (@tomstandage) for the full story http://bcove.me/ulp1qhsk, or read our take on his musings right here.

Tom asserts that “new media” is very much “old media”.  In fact, it’s only in the last couple of centuries that social communication has taken a back seat to what we commonly call mass or traditional media; broadcast and print.

Back in Roman times, a single ‘notice’ would be on display in the forum.  Along came the scribes with their laptops or early iPads, as this photo demonstrates, http://www.flickr.com/photos/axle81401/4007487843/, select the information they wanted, and off they went to spread the word further.  Letters were exchanged, comments were added, information was forwarded, and people were ‘liking’ particular texts.  All sounding a bit familiar, isn’t it?

The invention of shorthand by Cicero’s scribe was the equivalent of higher bandwidth and heralded the start of information overload; Cicero began to complain about being exposed to information he didn’t want, like the gladiator results.  

Romans shared information on their walls – literally!  Then again, Mark Zuckerberg excelled at classics so it’s likely that Facebook’s status updates and walls are founded in reality.

The next social media maverick was St Paul, who used open letters, to reach a wider audience with a common interest.  His Epistles, are still read today – a solid demonstration of permanence.

During the reformation, Martin Luther used pamphlets to air his views on the church’s policy of ‘indulgences’.  His views were popular, and reprinted over and over again.  His critics responded with comments, and he replied back.  The entire correspondence was public.  Twitter spat anyone?

Luther also composed hymns in German (rather than the traditional Latin), to promote his point of view among the wider public.  Hmm, a form of participation and entertainment … could we compare this to YouTube?

Over the following years printing fell out of the hands of the crown, and became more mainstream and accessible.   Scientists printed results of experiments so that they could collaborate – heralding the beginning of the OPEN SOURCE movement as early at 1660.

All a pretty solid case for early social media which worked effectively, allowed free speech, collaboration, freedom of information, debate and innovation.

So what changed?  

In 1833 the first mass newspaper, the New York Sun, was launched.  It undercut the cover price of all other papers at the time, changing the business model from subscriber-funded to advertiser-funded.

And with it came a change in the way information was traded.  Now, a very small number of people (the editors and reporters) controlled the message which became a one-way push out to the public.  Mass media was born, and continued to dominate for the next 200 years.

But the mass media model has been upended by the internet, as it steals attention, and advertisers, from the mass media.

Social media today is as powerful as it was pre-mass media, with the benefits of being instant, global, searchable and permanent.

As before, it promotes innovation and freedom of expression, challenges authority and promotes collaboration.

“New” social media – not a fad, but a form of communication based on a very long heritage and tradition … and it’s not going away.

Compiled by Gosh PR from Tom Standage’s keynote speech at Drupalcon London, August 2011

View his presentation here: http://bcove.me/ulp1qhsk 

Tom Standage is the digital editor of The Economist, twitter.com/@tomstandage