Bnn And Social Media

Trends & Strategies in the Creative Industries Pre-Master Media & Culture / Erasmus University Rotterdam

BNN and social media Introduction In this essay we need to discuss and stress out what is ‘new’ and what ‘is not’ regarding our question we received from BNN’s senior vice-president, Marc Adriani. In order to clarify and to support our points of view and findings we will apply theories and information we found in the literature linked to our lectures, as well as other additional sources. First, we will present our central question. As we explained before, we received a question from BNN. We will try to elucidate how we interpret this question and how we will deal with it during our research. After this, we will examine the two main subjects of our research, that is to say: interactive TV-programmes and social media. Each of these subjects will be introduced and explained whether we see it as something new or not. This is followed by an attempt to bring these two topics together. Ultimately, we will summarise and draw a conclusion to our findings. As we have already introduced on our blog, our topic of research is provided by BNN and is also related to this broadcastingcompany. BNN wishes to be and to stay interactive with its audience. BNN and its TV-programmes are already represented on social networks such as Hyves and Twitter. In the future, BNN wants to integrate the information provided by these social networks into their TV-programmes. This led them to the question: “How can we (BNN) use social media to enrich the TV-programmes we broadcast?”. After examining the central question we concluded that this question can be interpreted in several ways. In order to be and to stay in line with eachother and with our main object and to avoid any miscommunications, it is important to agree on the main idea of our central question. Therefore, we came up with basic principles which will form our general interpretation of the central question. First, we established the primary role of BNN’s TV-programmes. With this we want to emphasise that broadcasting TV-programmes is and will stay one of BNN’s core-businesses, we do not want to change this during our research. Furthermore, because BNN expressed their desire to integrate social media into their TV-programmes, our final proposition to BNN will probably be some sort of advice to expand their business to social media more intensive. However, our basic principle here will be that none of these activities will obstruct BNN’s activities on TV. With this we want to highlight that BNN's ratings are and stay the most important aspect. With the final results of our research, we do not want to decrease the amount of spectators of BNN’s TVprogrammes, instead we want to increase the interactivity between BNN and its audience, which is integrated into their TV-programmes.

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Trends & Strategies in the Creative Industries Pre-Master Media & Culture / Erasmus University Rotterdam

Let us now begin with discussing the 'newness' of our question. For this we have to dive shortly in the history books. Because "any attempt to understand new media requires a historical perspective" (Lister, Dovey, Giddings, Grant & Kelly, 2009, p 46). That is why we first have to look at recent developments of the seperate mediums television and social media before we can look at a combination of these mediums. Television: and the rise of interactivity From the invention of the television untill the end of the nineties, the role of the television was simple: people put their television on, they watched programs which were broadcasted and they were getting informed and, often, entertained. The supply of information was just one-way communication, from sender (television) to receiver (the audience). People had no input in television programs and were only able to watch it. At the end of the nineties, a big change appeared when we speak of the transport of information. A new phenomenon was born: interactive television. The rise of interactive television did not just drop out of the air: it was a process of invention of new technology. New inventions There are a couple of examples how it became possible for the audience to have interaction with the program they are watching. Popularity of the mobile phone In the nineties, mobile phoning became very popular. Because of the new technology,

“TV on mobile devices is emerging. In

people could not only phone to an other

addition, user generated content (UGC) is

person on (almost) every place they were,

important to both Internet and TV. UGC will

but could also send small text messages

not replace professional images, but an

(called SMS).

additional perspective to offer items.”

Producers

of

television

programs

Marc Duijndam, Country Manager Google

came up with a new idea: involve the audience in their program. An example of this involvement is the television program Idols. The idea of the program was simple: creating a new pop star. There were different rounds where people had to prove themselves of their singing- and entertain performances. The best ten of all those people could make it to the last round: the finals. And that is where the audience of Idols could have their part of the show. In the rounds before, a jury decided which singers where passed and which had to leave the program. But in the finals, the audience could decide which persons would go on to the next round. The producers of

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Trends & Strategies in the Creative Industries Pre-Master Media & Culture / Erasmus University Rotterdam

the program made it possible for people to vote with their mobile phone by texting the name of their favourite singer. In that way, we can speak of interactive communication between sender and receiver.

Digital television Another example of interactive television is the rise of digital television. Digital television (also called ‘TV 2.0’) makes it possible to receive a lot more television stations than cable television. Furthermore, it makes it possible for the audience to participate with television programs. An example of this participation is the Dutch program ‘Nationale IQ Test’. In this program, viewers could test their intelligence (IQ) by means of all kinds of questions. With the possibility of digital television, the people can participate in this program at home. The candidates of the program have to deal with questions: the people at home can answer those questions by clicking on a red, blue, green or yellow button on their remote. At the end of the program, they could see what their score was. Other examples of interactivity with digital television are an electronical program guide (EGP) and services like IPTV and 'uitzending gemist'. These services archive TV programs or parts of TV programs. Digital television is becoming more popular, from over 2 million digital connections in Holland in 2006 to over 3 million in 2007 (Statistiek, 2008). But there are still a lot of households who still have only traditional cable television. As we have seen, there have been a lot of technological developments in television which have led to the possibility of more interactivity. Social Media It has never been so easy to share your opinions or to publish your ideas to a global audience. The speed of online media, the instant-information update and the easy accessibility make social media a popular tool. Social media is the collective name for various Internet applications with the user as central point. In social media, users have the ability to create their own content and share with other users. As said there a lot off different

types

of

social

media

such

as

social-

networksites, videosharing sites, blogs, wiki’s, podcasts and more.

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Trends & Strategies in the Creative Industries Pre-Master Media & Culture / Erasmus University Rotterdam

The most popular are the social networking sites. In The Netherlands Hyves is the largest one followed by Twitter and Facebook. Hyves is a free Dutch profilesite with the focus on maintaining and developing a network of friends. Today Hyves has almost 9,5 million members. With 150 million pageviews, the Hyves-network uses 5% of the total daily internet traffic in The Netherlands. The version for mobile phones has 15 million pageviews a day. Through the microblog site Twitter there are eyewitness reports and opinions published, often before the professional journalist spot new happenings. While the journalists are checking their stories, uncontrolled messages are posted by the public on the internet and are read massively. For example the rumor that the Dutch bank DSB was bankrupt started on Twitter and was taken over quickly by the public which led to panicked people who were pulling their money away from their DSB accounts. But sharing of textual messages is not the only way of communicating via social media. YouTube is a website for uploading, viewing and sharing videos by users. The slogan of the site is YouTube, Broadcast Yourself. On this video website will be uploaded every minute 13 hours of video. Some organizations or even individuals have their own channel. From the Vatican and Disney to the Ministry of Defense and the Dutch Photo Museum, all have their own piece of YouTube. The best viewed movie has been seen by more than 70 million people around the world. Some new artists even have their growing popularity due to their videos on YouTube. The Dutch Esmee Denters is a good example. It is because of the popularity of her videoclips on YouTube she now has a record contract with Justin Timberlakes' label. All these types of social media can be used via the internet, both by PC and mobile phone. The mobile phone is becoming more popular and is catching up fast with computers for the use of social media. Many companies block the internet connection to the social media for their employees. Which results into people finding other ways to find their content. It should be clear now, social media play an increasingly important role in daily life. Television programs can not ignore the success of social media, it is time to start using a mix of the possibilities of both.

The Combination of TV and Social Media As we have seen in the this essay, there are some very interesting new technologies rising, which leaves us with countless possibilities. Mass media communication does not have to be a one way street anymore. With the help of internet and web 2.0 we can not only consume media products but also produce them ourselves. Thus we are not only

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Trends & Strategies in the Creative Industries Pre-Master Media & Culture / Erasmus University Rotterdam

consumers, but so called ‘prosumers’ (Bloem, Van Doorn, & Duivestein, 2008, p. 15). Many of the ‘production’ done on the internet has to do with some other media content. For example Youtube where people can react on posted videos, Hyves where people can post or link to their favorite content or Twitter where people often discuss the content they have seen, heard or read. This is why people often go on the internet to get their bearings before they buy or go see certain media. It could be a real opportunity for Professional mass media content producers, such as producers of television programs, to use this interactive critique on media content. It is a possible marketing instrument with which professional media content creators can influence the opinions of people. For example, TV producers can use a channel on Youtube where they can post ´behind the scene´ material, bloopers and/or promo’s to create awareness of their programs and create positive opinions in the mind of potential viewers. And not only the computer has to be a target of this content. Also the fast growing mobile market has to be targeted. We will of course elaborate on this possibility in our further work. But this is not the only way these ‘new’ media can be useful for professional content producers. As we have mentioned before, interactivity is a key aspect of new media such as interactive TV and social media. Marketeers are using this factor to bond people to their brand and are letting the people be part of the experience of their brand. Nike for example let people design their own shoes which they can buy. This is an aspect which television producers can also use. For example they can let people vote in a social media like Hyves on how a certain program should progress or even which kind of

“The user has to be tempted to watch extra

program should be created by the producer.

material during, before or after a TV show on

Another example could be that the audience

the fixed or mobile web. That extra content is

of a certain TV series can help decide which

also especially suitable for the medium type

ending a series could have. Or the audience

on which it is placed. People look no full

could even help writing the script of a series

movies on their cellphone, but trailers.”

by constantly interacting with the writers of

Rik Rensen, Cross Media Director SBS

the show. In this way the audiences are really involved in the process of making the programs. Though there are negative factors of this involvement, such as ruining the surprise or taking away creativity of the writers, this interactive function of social media should really be looked into. The audience is given an experience which they are right in the middle of. And we should consider this as entertainment of the highest degree.

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Trends & Strategies in the Creative Industries Pre-Master Media & Culture / Erasmus University Rotterdam

It would of course be great if (interactive) television in the future will be integrated with social media on one medium. In this way there does not have to be a transition from audiences behind the computer and audiences behind the television. But we think a future wherein (interactive) television is integrated with social media, will not come anytime soon and will not come sudden. We think this change is a gradual process, or as Croteau and Hoynes put it: “Change will be evolutionary, not revolutionary” (Croteau & Hoynes, 2003, p. 322). New media are not only defined by technological advances, they are defined by society as a whole, with technological advances on the one hand and social psychology and economics on the other hand. Radio for example was not made to listen passively, but as an improvement or replacement of the telegraph. The combination of economic possibilities, controlling rules by the government and audiences’ acceptance of radio has selected how the new technological possibilities of the radio were used. As Lister et al put it: “new media are not born in a vacuum and, as media, would have no resources to draw upon if they were not in touch and negotiating with the long traditions of process, purpose, and signification that older media possess.” (Lister, Dovey, Giddings, Grant & Kelly, 2009, p 48) Thus we expect a radical future with new media integrations will not happen suddenly.

Conclusion To answer the question: what is new about our topic and what is not. As we have seen, in the last decade there have been technological developments which give people the chance to interact with TV programs via interactive TV. Also, the rise of social media has been and still has influence in our daily life. Both the development of interactive TV and the rise of social media have been present in our society for several years. We consider these phenomena as already integrated into our daily routine. Because of this, we regard both as not new. However, when answering BNN’s question, we will mingle social media with interactive TV in a new format. This will result into something new.

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Trends & Strategies in the Creative Industries Pre-Master Media & Culture / Erasmus University Rotterdam

Bibliography Books: Bloem, J., Van Doorn, M., & Duivestein, S. (2008). Me, the Media. Groningen: VINT. Croteau, D., & Hoynes, W. (2003). Media Society. London: Pine Forge Press. Lister, M., Dovey, J., Giddings, S., Grant, I., & Kelly, K. (2009). New media: a critical introduction, second edition. London and New York: Routledge. Statistiek, C. b. (2008). The Digital Economy 2008. Den Haag: Centraal bureau voor de Statistiek.

Internet: http://www.artivisuals.nl/articles/Interactieve_TV12-01.pdf http://www.social-media.nl

Publications: Price Waterhouse Coopers, Entertainment & Media Outlook Towards 2011, 2007 ABN Amro, Media in beeld, 2007 Fellinger, S., Televisie is dood, leve Televisie, Adformatie 14-02-2008 (page 55) Nap, E., Commerciële TV-zenders worstelen met innovatie, Adformatie 24-01-2008 (page 24)

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