Session I
Digital age: Content is king

Technologies have rapidly enabled transformation of content flow across media. Internet penetration is increasing exponentially as companies strive to leverage new access points for content delivery.

In the fast emerging scenario, the energy of digital media is breathtaking. Each project demonstrates an extraordinary combination of creativity, technical expertise, commercial potential, and passion.

Speaking on the adoption of mobile technologies worldwide, CEO, Mobile TV Platforms, MIH Group Kim Reid said "We live in very interesting times. It’s been fascinating to see the tradition as innovation, fast deployment, mass penetration and a sustainable eco model take centerstage."

Out of the box thinking holds the key to the new media space. Executive Vice President, Reuters Azhar Rafee spoke about the need to accept and appreciate the changing consumption patterns.

"Reuters is analyzing macroeconomic figures. India has an edge over every other country in the world in its desire to be global. There is a constant need to acknowledge the scope of mobility. At Reuters we are constantly adopting new marketing methods and touch points to keep pace with domestic competition."

The session took a fascinating turn with President, SUP( Live Journal.com), Andrew Paulson speaking about the growing social networking base. The social network analysis has moved from being a suggestive metaphor to an analytic approach to a paradigm.

A group of individuals with connections to other social worlds is likely to have access to a wider range of information. ""Whatever you do, should be market driven and not idea driven. During a visit to the Silicon Valley, I came to know about the importance of advertising and connecting people through social network. And this gave birth to Live Journal.com"said Paulson.

"Many people in the media accept the importance of social networks. But across the world, there are different communication patterns like in USA, pedophiles is forbidden and in Russia, neo-Nazis"

"MySpace is working towards displaying how cool the user is, or how cool his friends are. And Facebook is for people who have no work and nothing to do. So, it’s like who your friends are, their friends and so on. You can start a blog, make new friends. It is a platform to create content and share it. You also have topic based communities here. So, people don’t just aggregate, they add and interact"

Yugal Sharma, Regional Director India & South Asia, Polycom joined the panel through video conferencing to shed light on how technology enablers have helped bridge the gap between health, education and eniironment.

"Environmental agenda is gaining momentum in the present scenario. The media, ranging from Times of India to NDTV, has been catering to the causes and issues of environment in the new scenario"

"For instance, an article has suggested that air travel accounts for 2-4 per cent emission. It is getting significant worldwide awareness. Companies have been going eco-friendly. Almost 90 per cent of employees work in different locations from their headquarters and the decentralization of work floors are viable for the concerns of the changing scenario"

As new media saturates modern societies, consumer behaviour and technology have become focal points of a vibrant media industry. Constant innovations in the way content is created, distributed and consumed have made it possible to extend the reach of one’s message beyond the immediate range of bystanders.