ITV to 'incorporate social media'? Meh

Isn't it time we got over ourselves when it comes to getting excited at yet another traditional business jumping on the social media bandwagon?

The latest 'reason to get excited' is that ITV is going to 'incorporate social media into the news'. Gee.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are busily getting on with sharing what we think about 'the news' (or more potently, that which is relevant to us and our peers) every day via - you guessed it - social media. We've self organised, you see. We aren't waiting for permission to join in from them's that used to be in control. (image courtesy Matt Hamm)

And the more we engage with each other (at the edge) the more we discover we don't need that someone in the centre setting our agenda for us.

But I've banged on about the bankruptcy of the broadcast news model more than once.

We should no longer be excited when yet another company decides its going to use social media. What we should applaud is when one commits to participating in it - understanding that the deal is not all take, and it's not to broadcast through.

What should earn our applause is an organisation participating in social media not as a means of gathering free 'user generated content' and not as a means of getting its messages distributed, but instead as a way of finding people who care about the same things it does inside and outside, and supporting them in shaping better-fit outcomes for all.

There's the return on investment. Make better things, not better messages. Together.

Better things make better messages.

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