Clay Shirky: how new media will make history
Currently we are in one of the greatest revolutions mankind faced. It is the revolution in which every person has the opportunity to express himself in front of the whole world. Clay Shirky talked about this revolution on TED.
Clay Shirky spoke on TED (June 2009) about how new media is changing the world fundamentally. In my opinion this is not something we can ignore. It is indeed a fundamental change in society and this change will affect the way organizations, politics and institutions are being organized and how they can survive in the ever changing markets. Politics has never had it so tough and organizations are burdened by the prosumers.
We are increasingly in a landscape where media is global, social, ubiquitous and cheap
The change lies in the many opportunities new media offers us. And this while new media is still in the development phase. Much is going to happen in the upcoming years. Within a couple of years we will not recognize our communication landscape any more. But still lots of organizations hide behind the traditional media and are afraid to face their consumers.
The last decade the media available for consumption was published by professionals. Those days are over!
Well the main question is not how or when the organizational landscape is going to change but the question is which organizations are able to change? Here are some steps every organizations has to do today to be ready for the near future:
1. Be a part of the conversation
2. Facilitate the dialogue
3. Listen and act on what you hear
4. Do what you promise and do not shout that you are the best
5. Be fully transparent
6. Be honest in your business
7. Let consumers participate in your organization
When I wrote this list I thought about a lot of other additional tips. But these first seven will be hard anough to realize for every organization.
The really crazy change is not that people can talk back to organizations but the fact that people are no longer disconnected to each other. The fact that former consumers are now produces and can talk directly to each other