A photographer joke running on the web these days makes a bit of fun at the expense of a dinner party host. The host compliments a guest's photos, saying "what a great camera you have." At the end of the night, the shooter in turn compliments the host's delicious meal, saying "what a great stove you have."
Kidding aside, it's a truism that some of the strongest content in history was made with primitive equipment. This persists despite the fact that almost no one judges writing technology ("that's a great word processor you have").
Gear can be important, of course. And yes, like many media folk, I talk tech all the time, from microphones to lights. But the story always remains at the center. So, while I'm hardly the first to note the web publishing revolution nor to advise every organization to publish (and publish often), I hope to be at the forefront of a wave of trained 'all format' storytellers who will empower businesses and employees to get their own stories out. Sometimes it will be with images we make -- but it could easily be a humble smartphone selfie if it fits the story.
The old days of the town crier are in some ways coming full circle. When organizations publish, the most loyal readers and viewers are naturally the 'townies' in our own virtual town square. This audience stands in sharp contrast to traditional mass communication, with a twist: the power of "share" button. We all know that if your stories are good, your reach will expand. Your firm'sfollowers definitely want to hear your stories. We want to help tell them well.
What are the economics of this? That's what the major broadcasters, cable providers, newspapers, magazines and ad agencies are all trying to figure out. Some thoughts on this in the next post.