Take notes, those eyeing Social TV and Web 2.0 extensions. He wasn't wearing a scarf and he didn't have a crystal ball but David Wood from EBU (the European Broadcasting Union) shared with the audience at the KOBA (the 20th International Broadcast, Audio and Lighting Equipment show) 2010 conference just how we can predict the future of broadcasting.
Interesting in the keynote speech for the 2010 conference was the observation that the future of broadcasting media can, in part, be predicted by human needs and behavior. Specifically, how an audience looks for identity, what attracts a segment or age group to mediums and larger generic forces operating such as a general investment environment. While all very abstract to the individual consumer, given the entreprenuerial environment in some sectors such as Apps, it may have never been more relevant. For those contemplating the likes of social TV or other web 2.0 media it says that the littlest things tell of much. Consider for a moment that Twitter is in a way a mere abstraction of wall posts in the likes of Facebook or Cyworld or the innovation that is caused by conglomerate ownership of airwaves.
So how can we make the future of broadcasting Conspiracy theories aside, the future can be partly constructed by looking at how new media changes behavior. How do you want to change a segment's behavior Video killed the radio star according to the song, but has twitter killed the newspaper And it isn't an age debate. These are the types of questions that strategists and product developers are asking in order to determine next steps and the same questions are also asked at industry and sector governance and regulation levels.
David's summary was that, "we can predict trends and tendencies of the future of broadcasting but not all of the detail." So surmise away but remember the saying... the devil is in the detail.
The conference is run in conjunction with the KOBA 2010 exhibition where many of the details of the near future of broadcasting are on display.
