Megatrends among the media industry vary greatly to that of the fourth industrial revolution, however the manner in which they rapidly change and alter the media industry is where parallels can be drawn. The long-standing truth of the building industry that “Subtractive Manufacturing” to obtain the desired shape or object has been radically altered with the arrival of 3D printing. The same can be said for the media industry in how content is created. To become a director or producer or content producer, you no longer require a studio or a budget or sound booths.
With the rapid innovation of smartphone andwebcams content creators can come from the bedroom and on the budget and with the use of social media and the internet their audience is borderline limitless. Social media here is the key factor in innovation and revolution in the media industry. It plays a vital role in how content is now produced and consumed.
Due to the everyman nature of content creation, the term “going viral” is one that the media industry now sees as the new gold standard. Traditional media members like late night talk show hosts are always seeking for their content to be shared and created and “Go viral” online as it is the new manner in which content is now consumed. The same can be said for the advent of podcasts, where traditional radio is now being challenged due to the accecible nature of appealing content in podcasts. There are many of these strange and interesting trends happening everyday accross so many media platforms. Some of those that come to mine are Instagram Models, Snapchat accounts, Vine channels, Youtube channels, and even just your local footy teams social media manager. It is a rapidly changing and innovating industry, and exciting times and opportunities lie ahead for all of us, as long as we are looking in the right direction.