The World is a Big Place. Media Makes it Smaller.

When we are feeling lost or lonely, ofte the media that we gravitate towards will help us through or push us over the edge. As media professional and general consumers of media, we have a responsibility not to misuse the power of the media.

In 1999, we saw the rise of The Blair Witch Project. This small film used the media to its advantage in its marketing campaign.

“In October 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary…

A year later their footage was found. “

It has been reported that the film cost anywhere between $25,000 to $350,000 to make and in its first week grossed an estimated $28.5 million and as of August 12, 1999 had grossed $92.4 million. Even at the high end of $350,000, Blair Witch is one of the most profitable films of all time.

Social Media is very similar to the marketing campaign of The Blair Witch Project. It is the word of mouth phenomena that propels the message through various web sites that have been linked together by the web site designers AND the consumer with several accounts.

Facebook had 300 million registered users in October 2009 of which, 97 million users are active. Twitter has 85 million registerd and 27 million active users.

If someone wants to spread the word, it will not take long with Social Media, especially if it is a topic that resonates with the viewers.

I dare say that if people do not embrace the web, the mobile revolution, the media, tv or computers, they will be left behind.

They will be left out of events…they will lose fans, they will not know about important events, they will not be involved in the network that we are coming to lean on. They will not be part of the Matrix. They will get left behind.

Interdependance vs Independence. Can you do everything alone? I don’t think so. Groups that connect, are part of a network often flourish.

The world is a big place. Media makes it smaller.

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