Ph.D. Pros(e)A blog on the intersection of academics & industry.

The classes I’m taking this semester are focused on communication in this new media world. Whether it is about how advertisers reach their consumers via online methods or how online technologies have changed communications, it has caused me to ponder a few things.

Take a recent class discussion. We were studying theories of the Longtail, proxemics, and presence. Now before you get all glassy-eyed on me, let me break it down.

In a nutshell the Longtail is how technology has changed what we sell, where we sell it and how we sell it. Take entertainment. Services like iTunes or Amazon have made it possible for artists and writers to make money on their creations that are perhaps long forgotten by the mainstream. Let’s say you liked Def Leppard (and what 80s child doesn’t). Let’s also say you have both Pyromania and Hysteria on CD, but you may really want to hear the “Rock of Ages Medley: Not Fade Away/My Generation/Radar Love/Come Together” as recorded live in Tilburg Holland. Well thanks to services like iTunes you could probably find it. That song isn’t mainstream (the head or top part of the normal distribution curve) but is considered to be part of the tails section of the curve. The theory finds the niche areas where businesses can sell back-catalog or b-side content to people that wouldn’t normally find it on store shelves.

Proxemics is how we recognize facial patterns and interpersonal distances with other people. You know when someone gets in your personal space and you feel uncomfortable? That’s proxemics. Para-proxemics is how we do that through some type of media lens such as television. So instead of listening to the weather guy talking to me in person three feet away, I see him on the TV screen talking to me. I can evaluate his position relative to me through the screen (and of course because he’s looking right at me I think he’s talking directly to me). Para-proxemics has also been a part of cinema studies for years.

Presence is relating to technology and content as if it were happening in reality. This is similar to getting so involved in a TV show or video game that you feel as if you are really there. It is either being transported to the place in your mind or being immersed in the experience.

Each one of these things has a role in this new media environment. Our class discussion also focused on social media’s role. And to be honest, it’s called new media but is it really new? Just like these theories aren’t new, they are just reapplied in a new area. Take the Longtail, isn’t it good ol’ market segmentation? Proxemics has been observed since man began observing each other. Presence was probably even experienced back when there was nothing much to do except watch clouds pass by. Or just think about getting lost in a book.

The same holds true for new media. It isn’t new at all if the truth be told. It is the same song, second verse. Instead of communicating face-to-face, we talked ear-to-ear with the telephone. Instead of writing a letter to a friend, we type one and then send an email. Instead of watching a concert live, we watch it on TV, record it on a VCR, and now record it on a DVR.

Social media is just an extension of what we’ve been doing forever. Most of the same rules apply. In advertising, a campaign starts with a brand and a marketing plan. That doesn’t change just because someone wants to start a Twitter account or maintains a Facebook page. The relationship isn’t new just because social media is the latest buzzword. The same thing is still taking place, but instead of it being in person, it’s on-line.

So forgive me if I’ve offended any social marketing gurus. I’m not sure exactly how these consultants “do” anything differently than advertising/marketing people have done for years. Getting a client to think about new methods of communicating with consumers and new ways to build relationships isn’t a novel idea. Sure there are people that are out there actually doing it, but the things we’ve learned about advertising and marketing in the past hold true whether your target market is found locally or in some online community. There’s nothing truly new under the sun. If you know the tune, just sing the next verse of the song.