Life by 1,000 slices: Navigating media convergence

If you were too busy letting newspapers die to pick up the New York Times last Friday, or you didn’t see it online, you aren’t alone. But behind the scenes, it underscores the need for the Davids with a message to work their way through — and around — the Goliaths.

You certainly couldn’t depend on broadcasters to inform you about a federal action that will subvert them, too, as media convergence morphs around the Internet and leaves the makers and users of the old hardware in an “adapt-or-die” frame of mind. Why should TV news cover the Federal Communications Commission’s intention to treat their owners as second-class while expanding the availability of bandwidth to the Internet?

The Times article in question, lays this out for us: The internet is taking over, so why not let it? By 75-year-old law, the FCC stands as guardian of the “airwaves” that are supposedly the property of the public, even though recent administrations have done their best to give our property away to the large corporations who control both the means and the messages.

Of course, it’s not only “airwaves” we talk about today. Communications is on an energy spectrum that may travel by air, but it now arrives by pipe in the form of broadband and cable television, as well as from your dish or – if you are hearty – a rooftop antenna. The spectrum of frequencies is increasingly crowded by all the outlets for television, specialized radio communications and internet bandwidth.

“According to F.C.C. officials briefed on the plan, ,” the Times reports, “the commission’s recommendations will include a subsidy for Internet providers to wire rural parts of the country now without access, a controversial auction of some broadcast spectrum to free up space for wireless devices, and the development of a new universal set-top box that connects to the Internet and cable service.”

The article goes on to discuss direct Internet delivery of health records and classroom educational materials that could bypass current handlers, including companies heavily invested in more traditional technology. More and more of the broadcast spectrum would be allocated to other means of communication, including mobile applications.

Couple this with the notion that entire cities are wiring (with help from Google grants, among other sources) to ensure universal coverage for rich and poor, urban and rural, and you have the government accelerating the reality of convergence around the Internet for message delivery for everyone.

Already local-access cable stations are embracing the use of the Web to provide on-demand content for even the likes of “Wayne’s World” and more serious hyperlocal programming.

What do these moves signal for smaller voices trying to communicate?

Quite probably, the death of advertising as we know it. Ditto for public relations, which has already become a guerilla war as outlets publish less and use bland or cost-based formulas to determine what airs or prints. From TV clickers to general media overload, it is more vital than ever to mobilize direct, trustworthy contact via word of mouth and familiar sources.

I refer to it as guerrilla war because it is, as Malcolm X said, “by any means necessary.” It varies from infiltrating the garden club newsletter to a viral campaign on Twitter, depending on the demographic you are seeking – and sometimes it is both.

So as the media “converge” around the internet, your chosen means of getting your messages out may actually have to splinter, taking many smaller paths.

Flexibility is the key, measurability of results remains the challenge. Effectiveness is always the goal, and perseverance the only way to get there.