Media Values Are Written in Dollars Even in Web 2.0, Other Companies Are Becoming New Ethicists
Posted on August 30, 2006
Filed Under For Argument's Sake, Advertising/Marketing |
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel winning economist, is touring Europe assuring Governments that the spread of capitalism has not been matched by a comparable spread of social values. It’s the kind of thing European Governments actually like to hear. Stiglitz talks on a day when Web 2.0 deals have begun to spiral. Oh no - are we headed to the IPO cloud again?
Media old and new are responsible for spreading and maintaining values so let’s look at the arguments.
In the UK retail supermarkets are fighting to grab the high ground on ethics - and Walmart is making comparable noises. Corporates are beginning to acknowledge we’ve had twenty years where value has been driven by a narrow range of objectives - money, profit, personal advance. These very successful companies are looking to engage with customers’ social and ethical values - at last.
In my view those values were abandoned by old media and that’s the real reason for its rapid decline. The new ethicists can’t afford to tolerate it. Whether Web 2.0 companies success or not could depend on how they differentiate themselves ethically - as Google has tried to do with questionable sucess.
Over the past 20 years old media has fragmented into broadcasters and independnet prodcuers - that means every decision taken - from the inception of an idea onwards - is now driven by profit/capitalist considerations. That’s what’s killed old media and ironically it is dying in a pool of fake reality.
A new non-capitalist outlook is growing and gaining momentum so I’d be looking for those services I use to espouse and keep espousing a social good as well as a profit motive. Of course Web 2.0 companies rely on a social model of networks so implicilty they appear more ethical. Be interesting to see how those ethics match up with what industry and comemrce are looking for.
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