[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ojXV26_YAc&NR=1[/youtube]
To be fair, the internet, email and rudimentary websites had only been around a few years (4) when Catie Couric was attempting to describe the internet; however, she should have known more, much much more . Back in San Luis Obispo, we had only been accessing our email from home starting in early 1992. And does anyone remember Prodigy? Prodigy was one of the early web service provider that opened the door for many others. Soon, the more adventurous were learning basic computer languages then HTML and finally building their own sites.
Our daughter Karen had started her first website in 1995 as an unofficial Val Kilmer fan site which evolved though her athletic, academic and professional experiences. In high school, it was a great way for college coaches to see what she was doing without breaking any of those vaunted NCAA rules!
Going back a little farther, I also remember in the very early 80’s that a computer ‘upgrade’ required knowledge and use of a soldering iron. Do you remember the first innovative 5 1/4 floppy, and daisy wheel printers? The ‘typewritter’ was on the way out! Imagine my surprise when computer alterations and up grades became plug and play! We are very spoiled today with advances in technology and the abundance of information.
However, the NBC video brings home a tragic truth about how far behind many formerly great institutions have dropped since their once great leadership roles. It’s not only the traditional media that has fallen woefully behind, but also many academic institutions in responding to and understanding new media applications and the changing realities and expectations governing our world.
Although I will resist making any comments like “NBC News saw a huge increase in it’s audience with the vintage leaked footage on Youtube“…. it reminds me how really long ago that I had any reason to watch ABC, CBS or NBC…. and I am really not alone. The target audience of these stations is getting older and older. It’s not just demographic changes but lack of content that is killing the old ways.
BTW, I would like to thank the poor NBC employee who was fired over the leak and I wish them well… however, any PR professional worth anything could have given them advice on how to handle this better and … maybe …make it a plus… but NBC is very old school and they have forgotten that the world has changed, offering information to the public has become competitive and what you do privately ( as in firing employees) will be seen by all quicker than you can say YouTube.
Roger Freberg