Stephen Waddington, Managing Director of Speed Communications and digital wunderkind has asked me to define my media consumption habits. A heady task. I’ll first begin this with a definition from the OED:
media, n.2
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈmiːdɪə/ , U.S. /ˈmidiə/
1. The main means of mass communication, esp. newspapers, radio, and television, regarded collectively; the reporters, journalists, etc., working for organizations engaged in such communication. Also, as a count noun: a particular means of mass communication.
Right. So, we’re all clear on what media is? Great, I’ll elucidate on my habits…
Hello. My name is Lynsey, and I have a confession. I am a media addict. I spend most of my waking hours engaging with media: watching television, listening to digital radio, my ipod or record player (I like variety), listening to podcasts, and then usually subscribing to them. Reading a variety of newspapers, usually The Guardian, but I’m not averse to picking up a tabloid or The Metro and I profess, I visit The Daily Mail website for celebrity tat. I read magazines, typically music or fashion, or some hip amalgamation of both. This is done online rather than offline due to cost: I prefer spending money on actual music or fashion items rather than acquiring printed commentary of them. I am a subscriber to literary magazine, Granta as I’m an avid fan of innovative literature and think a lot of great ideas are to be found in the works of great writers. I follow countless blogs, Twitter accounts, download Apps and check music blog aggregator HypeMachine and fashion blog aggregator Lookbook daily.
My consumption of media doesn’t have a structured habit; it’s more fuelled by a constant desire for information. Usually this focuses around the arts, politics and culture; but this isn’t definitive. A breaking news event could end up in a dark corner of Wikipedia, researching something arbitrary. This probably says more about me rather than my generation as a whole. But, most certainly, a breaking news event is now turning into an opportunity for PR. Global news events create a slipstream for brands to latch onto and generate publicity; for example this article: http://bit.ly/fvn5WB on Cher Lloyd’s supposed ‘Harajuku’ style, worded as ‘street-style of Japan’, meaning The Daily Mail were virtually benefitting from the tsunami which happened in Japan a day earlier.
I digress. Drawing back to my addiction. This varied range of constant incoming information requires summarising. I select particularly riveting informative nuggets from the range of aforementioned media and feel the need to share it. I tweet, Facebook, blog or Foursquare (not as popular, mind) depending on what I deem the best outlet to put it on.
The list of media I consume is grows on a daily basis (I intend to get a flickr account once I get a decent digital camera) and will undoubtedly flourish into endlessness. Until the age of virtual enlightenment cumulates, I don’t intend to abate the addiction in the foreseeable future.
