THE PHILIPPINES, AUGUST 30, 2012 – The recently concluded 6th IMMAP Summit 2012 began with the aim to understand the heart of digital – what makes digital so influential? What makes it helpful and destructive to most brands at the same time? In other words – what makes digital tick?
Thirty-two speakers ranging from digital experts to business magnates converged in Rockwell Power Plant Mall on August 23 and 24 to talk about hitting the heart of digital.
Digital changes journalism
Maria Ressa, CEO and executive editor of Rappler, a social news network which uses a hearts and minds approach to news through a unique mood navigator, talked about the nature of today’s digital consumers. She notes the changing behavior through social media, citing scientific and social reasons for the shift – from social media’s addictive qualities to the mechanics of terrorism that has galvanized many a revolution, but this time, arranged through technologies.
Because of this change, the way news is being gathered has changed too. Crowdsourcing has become the new operative word. The public can now make news-gathering faster and more varied. Since social networks made it big in 2009, Ressa notes, “Journalists’ gatekeeping duties are dead.”
Tyson Wheatley, senior digital editor at CNN, agrees with this, saying, “News from Twitter is part of how we gather news now. The gates have been crashed.” However, Wheatley also assures the audience by saying that CNN is still about telling the truth. Stories are fact-checked and editors are still doing what they’re supposed to do, but with the help of social networks.
Engage consumers
This real-time connection the public has with news agencies and, ultimately, with brands, changes customer service. Lucy McCabe, consulting services vice president of the Asia Pacific, OgilvyOne Worldwide, emphasized building relationships as a significant foundation between brands and consumers – spark a conversation, engage your Facebook fans. Because ultimately, McCabe quotes David Ogilvy, “You can’t bore someone into buying your product.”
Revolutionizing business
As brands flock to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, among others, brand engagement is not the only thing that’s changing – digital has revolutionized the way people shop. In fact, the revolution was so big that social networking site Mutiply recognized this trend and is now going full e-commerce before the year ends.
Philippines started the facelift of social networking site Multiply to being an online retail site. Stefan Magdalinsky, Multiply CEO, has reasons for being bullish about e-commerce in Southeast Asia – “Vastly better technology and a more capable audience.”
Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company, Smart Communications, and MERALCO, among others, readily admitted in his keynote speech that although he is not a digital native or a certified techie, he has realized that he is more digital than he imagined. “My day-to-day life is enveloped by digital technologies,” he said.
As technologies change, a digital tsunami is upon us. His response? “Embrace, rather than resist it.”
“We all know the worlds of telecoms, Internet and media are converging. We want to be at the heart of that convergence, because that is precisely the space where new and exciting opportunities lie. This represents the first point of our convergence – and underlies our investments in media – TV5, Cignal TV, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star and Business World,” Pangilinan added.
At the end of the summit, all the presentations came down to this conclusion: “Technologies will always change but the human heart remains.”
