Technology evolves at lightning speed and in a world where presently you can talk via webcam to a friend halfway around the world or draw millions of viewers to a video shot on a cellphone no bigger than your palm, it is often impossible to predict where we will go next. As renowned communications scholar Marshall McLuhan once put it, “Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media than by the content of the communication.”

Darren Krause, editor of Metro Calgary, has attracted more than 350 followers to his Twitter account, which he uses to generate story ideas, interact with readers and find sources.

Twitter photo

For local media outlets like Metro Calgary, the key to successfully integrating social media into a business model is simply reacting and building upon the latest trend, according to editor Darren Krause. For example, his publication is heavily involved in Calgary’s Twitter community — where estimated figures put the number of users locally in the tens of thousands — using the tool for everything from generating story ideas and finding sources to interacting with concerned readers. But that’s simply the preferred approach for today, and Krause is well aware the Metro’s social media strategy could change in a heartbeat.

“We have yet to discover what the next best social media tool will be — so it’s difficult to say what the relationship with it will be from a media perspective going forward,” Krause said. “What I can say with some amount of certainty is that traditional media’s relationship with social media will continue to expand and new avenues to collaborate with and engage readers will definitely be uncovered.”

And while Metro Calgary’s Twitter account (@metrocalgary) has more then 850 followers, Krause has taken the tool one step farther and created his own account (@Darren_Krause) that allows him to both conduct business and also show a bit of his personality. He says the greater a publication’s exposure, the more likely they are to succeed in the social media realm.

Content overload

“Social media in itself is an exercise in repetition and oversaturation,” Krause said. “For example you see the same thing ‘retweeted’ (a term used when one Twitter user reposts content published by another in hopes of generating further response) on Twitter dozens of times even though most people have seen at least one of the tweets already.”

And the fight to gain exposure on Twitter and other online forums is not just coming from larger scale publications like Metro. Local bloggers like Michael Morrison, creator of Mike’s Bloggity Blog, can be found interacting on various social media sites every hour of every day in hopes of attracting newcomers and communicating with established followers.

“I don’t think people anticipate how much time it takes to do this,” said Morrison, who started the Canadian entertainment blog in 2006 and has spent an average of three hours working on it each day since on top of his regular full-time job. “The key is to constantly have fresh content up for returning visitors and that takes a lot of time every day.”

Morrison has also begun his own trials with new social media practices, including conducting a “Twitterview” with Canadian artist Jann Arden earlier this year and using Facebook to garner votes for national media awards. For all of his efforts, the New Brunswick native’s site has earned the title of Canada’s No. 1 entertainment blog twice at the Canadian Blog Awards and now averages roughly 15,000 page views each month.

“It’s been increasing every month,” Morrison said of his web traffic. “I always said, because it’s so time consuming, that if I ever noticed it fall off even slightly that I would finish it off but over the past three years that hasn’t happened once.

Mike Morrison, creator of Mike’s Bloggity Blog, does not hide from public view, appearing on television routinely and writing for National Post blog The Ampersand.

“Initially it was just a way for me to keep writing and stay in touch with my friends and family. I never intended it be so successful.”

Turning hype into dollars

Morrison admits that his blog has yet to bring in any significant revenue but says plans are underway to capitalize on the commitment of his dedicated readers.

“I am still learning all of the technical aspects of a blog. I have felt for the last six months that I probably could be making money out of this. I just have no idea how to start,” Morrison said, noting that the site is currently undergoing a professional redesign in hopes of drawing interest from advertisers.

If upstart bloggers in town like Morrison are able to start cashing in on their perceived success it would likely come at the expense of larger publications like Metro, the Calgary Sun and the Calgary Herald; however, Herald columnist Robert Remington doesn’t seem too worried.

“Unlike many casual bloggers, we are schooled in legal issues related to copyright infringement, youth law, libel, defamation, contempt of court, etcetera,” said Remington, who has been with the Herald since 2003. “And unlike many bloggers who cowardly hide behind a cloak of anonymity, we put our names out there so people know who we are.”

Credibility debate

The issue raised by Remington concerns the credibility of blogs, and Morrison admits that he constantly fights to maintain the reputation of his work.

“I don’t think necessarily if I broke a story that people would believe it right away the same way they would with the Herald or the Sun,” Morrison said, noting that he often has to provide a written letter of intent and references before being granted accreditation to cover events. “I think as more of the older reporters get out of the business that blogs will continue to grow and gain more credibility.”

As well, Morrison does not hide behind his words. in fact, he does quite the opposite. His blog writing has garnered attention from publications like the National Post, which now enlists him to write an online entertainment blog called The Ampersand, and Entertainment Weekly. Morrison also appears as a regular on Breakfast Television, a morning show put on by Calgary’s CityTV, where he weighs in on the latest news concerning Canada’s entertainment industry. He has never faced a lawsuit for something printed on Mike’s Bloggity Blog and believes the fairness and accuracy of his work will continue opening doors in the future.

“I think my blog, based on the feedback that I have gotten, is more what people are thinking but don’t necessarily say,” Morrison said. “I think I have the luxury of being able to write whatever I want without an editor or anything like that.”

Remington, meanwhile, remains skeptical that the blogging community can have any significant impact on traditional media outlets, noting that the Herald is constantly evolving with technology and now provides readers with dozens of blogs of its own, covering everything from tips for new parents to the latest happenings in the world of curling. The columnist himself also updates his own blog, robertremington.wordpress.com from time to time.

“As for traditional journalism being replaced by social media, I have this to say: some guy at home in his bathrobe isn’t going to spend $15,000 on a lawyer for the right to attend a refugee deportation hearing or to get access to exhibits in a young offender trial,” Remington said. “Traditional media organizations do that on a matter of journalistic principle. If there comes day when they can’t afford to do that because the economic model is broken — and it’s happening now — it’s the public that will ultimately suffer.

“It’s the dedicated full-time journalists that are doing the heavy lifting, like knocking on the doors of suspect gang members and tracking down accused Ponzi scheme scammers in Central America. That’s something society isn’t getting from the vast majority of bloggers and tweeters.”

Adding to Remington’s feelings on the matter, Metro’s Krause finds the notion of any downfall in his industry as a result of social media amusing, saying if the media does fail, “It will be the fault of the media companies themselves — not because of the advent of the Internet and social media.”

Instead, Krause reiterated that publications like his must strive to keep up with the latest online trends and react accordingly, something he believes is not necessarily being done well at this point.

“Most media companies have yet to realize and embrace the uniqueness of each platform — be it print or online — and how both can be used to complement and enhance one another rather than be carbon copies of each other,” Krause said. “Will Twitter and Facebook fade out? Perhaps, but they will no doubt be replaced by something else. Individual social media platforms may ebb and flow but social media is here to stay. It will continue to evolve and innovate as technology and creativity integrate.

“The beauty of social media and the Internet is ability for individuals and organizations like ours to create, collaborate and innovate — and engage our readers in the process.”
Part 1:Social media’s ‘evolution’

Part 2: The race for Calgary online supremacy

Related stories:

1. Engaging the Masses: Social media’s ‘evolution’
2. Engaging the Masses: The race for Calgary online supremacy