Media innovation
Introduction
Innovation in the simplest definition can be viewed as a new idea, product or a method of performing a specific task. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines innovation as the “act or process of introducing new ideas, devices or methods (Merriam-webster.com, 2016). Innovation is the use of improved resolutions for countering new challenges, untended needs or fulfilling the already established markets better. One of the most important market that human race has delved in is the acquiring of information. Despite decades of improvement in the communication sector, the need for doing more to satisfy the informational needs of the population still stands. From the development of speaking, using gestures and tools such as drums and smoke to communicate, to the age of using the internet to communicate, humans have undergone a massive transformation in the communication industry. The growth in media is all aimed at making easier the process of communication.
The influence of innovation on media
With the recent advancement in communication technologies, media has been at the center of the advancements. The rise of new communication technologies has impacted the way media operated and changed even the methods of communicating media messages. For instance, before the advent of the internet and its wide adoption, the only way to communicate a message to mass, a widespread audience was through radio, television or newspapers (Flew, 2008). The rise of the internet and the dotcom era revolutionized the way mass information was distributed as World Wide Web became a means of distributing and accessing information.
New media has changed the way information is coded and decoded by the source of the information and the audience respectively. New media brought hundreds of formats to decode media information into for easy access by the audience. DVDs, CDs, and computerized apps are all means of distributing information that came about with the advent of new media (Bleyen, Lindmark, Ranaivoson, & Ballon, 2014). Through these means, media information can be stored and accessed randomly unlike with the traditional media where information is presented in an organized order with the audience deprived of the ability to skip the information they are not interested in. for example in television programming, the audience has to wait until the specified time when a program is set to air to view it. With the advent of new media, the audience is not only empowered to record the programs or movies in DVDs but also, smart televisions allow the audience to record their favorite programs and view the later.
Nonlinear presentation of information is one of the creative ways of media in the digital era. Presentation of information in different formats for the audience to access the information is one of the strengths of the new media. For example, the same story can be illustrated using pictorials and infographics, have a video attached to it, an audio file and text. Hyperlinks are also used to help the audience navigate to other related information to what they are reading. It requires creativity and innovation to find the different way to utilize the way media information is decoded and sent to the audience with the aim of informing, educating, persuading and agenda setting information in the media (Dal Zotto & Kranenburg, 2008). The role of computerized information technology in providing endless opportunities in the media industry is immense. The modes of communicating information in new media present a challenge to the various media houses to be imaginative enough to compete with others in the same industry.
The core business of the media is educating, informing, entertaining and persuading. The new media has changed these essential functions of media, making even the traditional media change the way they perceive and operate. One of the aspects of traditional media that have been revolutionized by the new communication technologies is the time required to deliver the news to the audience (Cunningham, 2012). With social media and websites, real-time update of what is going on is possible. The time that it takes today for news to become stale news is a fraction of what it is in the traditional media where news of today are read tomorrow (Liff & Steward, 2003). With new media, as soon as the information is acquired and formatted according to the specific format of the delivery mode such as a video or text, the information can be accessed by the audience at the push of “send” button.
Innovation and success of media
As per the definition of innovation, innovation in new media can be interpreted to mean adoption of better ways to serve an underserved niche in the media industry or innovation that changes the audience experience in information delivery. Innovation in the delivery of information to the mass audience is one of the success stories in the new media industry. From the use of cable televisions to the current use of digitalized satellite signals for television is a huge advancement in the field. Digital signals help in the delivery of television without the need to have a cable line installed (Kim, 2009). The quality of digital signal used in the modern televisions is not comparable to the traditional signal that is used in the cable television or the UHF television regarding clarity and controls. Using the digital signal, the bandwidth required to operate a television channel is increased and hence allowing for more diversity in the content delivered to the audience. The choice of content for the audience is also raised as the number of channels is increased.
Used of new media and social media for delivery of information to the audience allows for participative audience. News websites allow for the audience to comment on the stories published therein while some allow the audience to use text messaging and electronic mail to communicate their opinions on programs aired on television. The participative audience in media is also the concept used by novel and play writers to post the completed parts of a novel and ask the potential readers to contribute to what is their expected discourse (Olivas-Lujan & Bondarouk, 2013). This is also applied in the entertainment programs where the audience is allowed to decide on the direction that the movie is to take. Participative audience allows the audience to have a degree of control on what they consume unlike the traditional media where the audience had no control over the course of a media program.
Importance of analyzing macro and micro environment in success of marketing in digital age
In the digital age, the key to successfully communicating marketing information to the audience is the analysis of both the needs of the client and the industry in whole. The client in the digital age has the chance of analyzing the qualities of a product before trying to purchase the product. Using social media in the marketing industry need one first to understand the qualities of the social media to be able to tailor the marketing goals to its capabilities (Ramzan, 2013). For example, if you want to advertise product A on social media, the presentation and organization of the advert in YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is different. It is, therefore, important to analyze how to best present the intended information on the platform for maximum effects.
Understanding the target audience segment is also important in order to select the way you introduce the message and on which social media site you post your advert. Different segments have different likes and therefore based on this, it is possible to determine where to post information to have them read it. For example, if you are advertising a Sports bar on Facebook, you can advertise the information on a Facebook page of a sports website such as goal.com.
SWOT Analysis of external environment to understand Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Strengths
The main strength of carrying out a study on the external environment for innovation is understanding what other people in the same industry one are planning to venture in. By understanding the external environment, one is able to design new innovative products that will attract the interest of the clients and give a business proposal. Another strength of understanding the external environment, one is able to read the positives of understanding the internal environment that one is operating in and hence be able to navigate through any problems that are more likely to occur.
Weaknesses
The external environment is not controllable by the entrepreneur and therefore investing in researching it does not help much. Lack of control of the external factors also means that the entrepreneur does not control the effects that the external factors will have on the business. For example, the occurrence of floods can be predicted by the metrological department, but this is not the case with terrorism or thieves. The government policy is also not very predictable especially in the long term, and hence, it is possible that in the long run, it will come and affect the business.
Opportunities
Examination of the external environment is a possible source of a business idea for an entrepreneur. While examining the external environment, one may come up with inventive ways of getting around a natural disaster such as floods or hurricane. Such an idea will have monetary value to the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs see opportunities where ordinary minds see chaos and in the chaos of external environment, a good entrepreneur will find a good product differentiation method that will make the company stronger.
Threats
The threats in conducting an analysis of the external environment include the selection of the factors that may affect the invention. Considering that many of the external factors in the external environment are not controllable by the entrepreneur, selecting what poses a risk to the invention is very hard.
In conclusion, media has undergone tremendous change, and it is still changing. Innovation in the media industry is greatly driven by the need for more efficient ways of communicating the messages and having the message have maximum effect on the audience. Personalization the message, timely delivery, costs of creating the message, quality of the message and the participation of the audience are some of the indications of the innovations in media today. Social media and other forms of new media created out of innovation have revolutionized the way messages are communicated. Analysis of the external and internal environment in the media industry like any other sector is the key to success for any entrepreneur.
References
Bleyen, V., Lindmark, S., Ranaivoson, H., & Ballon, P. (2014). A typology of media innovations: Insights from an exploratory study. The Journal Of Media Innovations, 1(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.5617/jmi.v1i1.800
Cunningham, S. (2012). Emergent Innovation through the Coevolution of Informal and Formal Media Economies. Television & New Media, 13(5), 415-430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1527476412443091
Dal Zotto, C. & Kranenburg, H. (2008). Management and innovation in the media industry. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Flew, T. (2008). New media. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Garcia, R. & Calantone, R. (2002). A critical look at technological innovation typology and innovativeness terminology: a literature review. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 19(2), 110-132. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-5885.1920110
Kim, P. (2009). Internet Protocol TV in Perspective: A Matrix of Continuity and Innovation. Television & New Media, 10(6), 536-545. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1527476409340908
Liestøl, G., Morrison, A., & Rasmussen, T. (2003). Digital media revisited. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Liff, S. & Steward, F. (2003). Shaping e-Access in the Cybercafe: Networks, Boundaries and Heterotopian Innovation. New Media & Society, 5(3), 313-334. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448030053002
Merriam-webster.com,. (2016). Definition of INNOVATION. Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 1 May 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innovation
Olivas-Lujan, M. & Bondarouk, T. (2013). Social media in strategic management. Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Ramzan, N. (2013). Social media retrieval. London: Springer.
