From Follower to Leader

By Anita Malik
February 2, 2009 04:53 PM

I hardly think of myself as a leading-edge technologist or innovator, but I am relatively fearless when it comes to the Web. I exude the curiosity all good journalists should have, no matter what the topic.

Unfortunately, not enough of us in the media industry embrace these qualities. We are not fearless and inquisitive about what’s next and so the industry as a whole has taken a beating, in my opinion, primarily because of a deep-set “follower” mentality.

True, we aren’t technology gurus, we are journalists. But who said journalists and those that employ us can’t think like innovators?

This train of thought came to me recently as I found myself once again on the receiving end of an email about the media and Twitter. My inbox has seemingly become a place of refuge for Twitter-related media news. From primers on how to use it to journalistic applications, Twitter is just the latest pacifier for a scared industry.

The articles, commentary, analysis and general fascination are certainly warranted. Twitter and other simple-yet-powerful social networking tools deserve study. Our readers are engaged and so must we be. The tool can potentially drive traffic and even help to produce/source stories. It is common sense. But my concern lies in the deeper pattern unfolding. Our Twitter fixation is just the most recent example of an industry’s inability to move beyond playing catch up and move into the role of innovator.

I sent my first tweet ( a Twitter message) nearly two years ago, in April 2007. Not because I knew much about it or I had a tech-geek advantage, but simply because I was curious. I discovered this new tool called Twitter on an entrepreneurship blog, and within seconds, I had set up an account. I tweeted a bit, implemented the tool into my magazine Web site at the time and then moved on to the next thing. I was ahead of the curve and also ahead of audience acceptance of the tool. But the effort wasn’t wasted. It was preparation for what was to come. By the time Twitter accounts surged, we were an established, credible presence. I wasn’t playing catch up, I was comfortably current.

And in the meantime, between the early adopters and the late majority (picture Everett Rogers’ S-curve and the five categories of product adopters: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards), I spent time digging up and scouting out other potential tools and/or innovating in-house to serve my audience beyond the present, but into the future.

Traditional media companies must do the same. It isn’t good enough to fall into the category of late majority or even early majority for that matter. Media houses need to be innovators and early adopters, social leaders instead of guarded naysayers. We must engage innovators and bring them into our folds, ask for help and new tools. And it is time to keep a close eye on the entrepreneurial community, even if some ideas seem outlandish. As business journalists, we have the networks to do this - that is our job after all.

So go ahead and tweet. I’m not against it. But don’t get stuck on it. Start thinking about what happens when our readers are worn out on snappy one-liners. When the masses move on will we be simply following the next big thing or fearless in the face of innovation? .

Please enter your friend's e-mail address

Please enter your e-mail address

If you would like to include a message, please add it here:

Copyright © 2009 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism