Why Use Social Media?

I've had a few people these past few months wonder out loud why I would do what I'm doing with GadsdenMetro.com and BrotherPhilTV. Its simple, if you think about it...

I like playing in the middle of the road. :)

No, really... I do... you don't get ahead of the game if you stay on the sidewalk. The REAL speed is in the road! And where is the road in journalism, ministry and media? As much as we all will probably hate to admit it, its on the "information superhighway."

As much as the internet has done to shuck that nomenclature, it really is a good visual explanation of what is going on with all of those 1's and 0's that pass through the ether.

There are people who are traveling on the frontage roads who like to turn off the road regularly to see what they might find. Those might be my mom, who tries Facebook and skype to see if they will help her communicate with her grandchildren and children.

There are those who get on the interstate because they have a long commute. These are the people who use the internet as a replacement for long-distance communication. Skype users, for instance, who would much rather use the screen sharing tools and video conferencing tools available to avoid traveling an hour to handle one small consulting job. Or, technology users who use video conferencing tools to expand their business around the globe without ever having to leave their homes.

Power users are more like drivers on the German Autobahn. They speed up and down the various paths of the internet, using everything they can, getting on and off of ramps as quickly as possible. These people have multiple webmail accounts, multiple social networking tools, several tabs open on their browser (which, more likely than not is the latest open source browser available and NEVER IE) of choice, is chatting with people using several chat applications, uses open source software as much as possible, and dreams of the day when smart phones and the high-speed wireless networks required to handle them properly are just a part of everyday life for everyone.

All of these users use the information highway to some extent or the other.

Each type may interact, on various levels, with each other. The difference is the degree to which they use the internet to do so.

In the years to come, I believe that everyone will use the internet completely for communication.

Even the casual observer recognizes that traditional print newspapers are on their way out. Heck, even the government toyed with the idea of bailing out the newspaper business this past year in the US.

Some in the industry predict that the daily newspaper will be essentially an extinct species (see graph). I think the death knell for local daily newspapers is abou 5-10 years away.

But, I don't think newspapers are the only mass communication businesses that will suffer at the hands of the internet. Radio stations are already fighting the Recording Industry over charges to pay for music, now that the internet has really hurt the old, traditional model of music distributorships. The increased costs of doing business will force radio stations to make hard, economic choices.

Which will it be? A large, expensive radio transmitter that limits their signal to a small piece of this terrestrial plane, or $500 or so per month to push their programming out all over the world? The scale of economy is quite unbelievable, if you ask me.

Who needs LPFM, or LPTV for that matter, when you can do everything you were doing with those signals with an audio or video stream for exponentially less costs? No more expensive transmitters, and no more expensive power bills each month. Eliminate those two expenses, and paying RIAA and the rest of them becomes much more palatable to a business owner.

That's why I believe that websites like hulu.com and others will force local tv stations to leave their transmitters behind within about 15 years (when they pay off that HUGE government mandated HDTV transmitter they just purchased).

So, why would I want to WORK for a business (newspaper, radio, TV) that probably won't be around when I get of retirement age? ESPECIALLY when I can work for myself and lead the pack?

GadsdenMetro.com and BrotherPhilTV.com are, as of yet, unrealized leaders in the market of global community oriented niche sites. I can focus only on Gadsden news at GadsdenMetro.com because I know that the al.com's of the world will cover the state news well. They can focus only on aggregating the best state-wide news because they know that the FoxNews.com and CNN.com's of the world will cover the national and international news.

We all do what we are experts at and maximize our partnerships with each other, as well as our individual profitability!

GadsdenMetro.com will continue to expand. We're already looking at how to add sports and entertainment coverage to our websites. We're studying and trying to set up a way to quickly, efficiently and effectively add video news coverage to our site. BrotherPhilTV.com will eventually be a local programming source for online video.

Already, BPTV is using this philosophy with the BPTV: Live at MoonSong Thursday night web-show. This musical variety show features (mostly) local musical acts who are already performing, some who are also writing their own music. Local acts like Danny Moon, Jim Cox, Shonna Burgess and 17 year old Mandolin player Josh Palmer have all performed at BPTV: Live at MoonSong.

In the next few weeks, that show will be turned over to Danny and his friends at MoonSong, giving him an opportunity to showcase even more local musicians and promote his business and website without the current host (me) forgetting something and getting in the way. But, that content will be a regular addition to Gadsden's first online only TV station - BrotherPhilTV. It will be available as a running stream and for on-demand viewing through BrotherPhilTV.com.

Other programs are in the works: a technology help-desk program, a sports talk show, a political talk show, and, maybe even some comedic shows featuring area high school students as writers, actors, producers and production crew... its all part of the vision of BrotherPhilTV.com

Eventually, content producers in Hollywood will recognize that it doesn't matter WHERE their video is seen (TV or internet), as long as it is seen... even then, I still like the idea of allowing local producers to develop family-friendly programming for the general public to see!

And THAT is why I'm doing what I do with BrotherPhilTV.com and GadsdenMetro.com

Phillip