CHALLENGES OF NEW MEDIA

DRIVERS  CHALLENGES OF NEW MEDIA

What do we mean by new media?

As the word media can mean different things to different people I think it important to define the meaning of the word in order to put thoughts and suggestions into context. The Collins English Dictionary gives the definition of media as ‘a means or agency for communicating or diffusing information’. I think of media, in the context of technical communication, as the means for compiling and delivering information to the end user.

I refer to new media as being new to you rather than the very latest media. What is a new media to one person may be a familiar media to another.

New media can take many forms but can generally be broken down into five different categories:

Environment

Transmission

 Format

Hardware

Software

DRIVERS

The need to face the challenges of new media will be dependent on your individual circumstances, but the underlying principle is that you will be facing the challenge because it either offers cost savings to your company or provides a better product for your end users. In many cases it is likely that both your company and the end user will benefit. Whatever the circumstances the adage of ‘if it is not broken do not try to fix it’ no longer applies as business today is conducted in a ‘how can we improve it’ culture, essential to survival in competitive markets.

If you are not continually striving to improve your efficiency in generating and delivering information then you could be left behind.

A large technical publications department can lose its internal business to an outside company that can demonstrate cost savings simply by using new media. A personal service company may lose the next contract to another personal service company that can do the work quicker by using better tools or win the business by offering a better solution using new media.

There are usually many reasons why we have to face these challenges. Typically these may be summarised as:

Client driven

Market driven

Business driven

Client driven

Some customers look to us, the technical communicators, to produce their documentation on the media that is most appropriate for the job. In this case, as Manager, it is up to us to seek continuously to improve the service we provide. The challenge here is to continually review new media.

Other customers, internal as well as external, are aware of what media are available on which to generate and distribute information and hence they will dictate to us the media to be used for their work. If the media required is not one we are familiar with then the challenge is to implement the use of the media.

Market driven

The market place in which our companies operate is continually changing. Our competitors are always seeking better ways to work. Certain industries revolve around large corporations who set the standards within their industries, thus dictating the market. Smaller companies in the same industry are often forced to follow the market lead set by the large corporations. The challenge then is to implement the new media within your own company.

Business driven

In some cases it may be that you need to introduce new media in to your working practices as the result of a business merger or directive from director level. It is likely that business driven initiatives are given to standardise media across the company, and it is not likely to be a decision in which you can participate. The challenge here is to implement the new media in to your working practices.

                By ULAYA SIJALI A, BAPRM 42681