Ready or not, the world of "consumer journalism" has arrived thanks to Web 2.0. Despite the name, Web 2.0 is not a software update, but rather the "second generation of the World Wide Web" complete with blogs, vlogs, RSS feeds, wikis, podcasts, and a whole host of user-generated content. The key is open-source software, which allows individual users to become journalists, opinion makers, and community organizers. The risks can’t go unnoticed—content can be readily changed by anyone, discussion is free form, and vocal opponents may appear at any time in this ever-changing media world. And yet, social media offers tremendous opportunity for those willing to step out of their "first generation" comfort zones.
In the Web 2.0 world, social media allow individuals to become "consumer journalists" and to spread their opinions to large audiences with ease. In turn, a collective intelligence emerges as individual, like-minded voices aggregate and grow exponentially in cyberspace. Take communications on food biotechnology, for example. The reality is that the current online Web 2.0 world is often about online community creation first and content second. While this hierarchy of community over content may not proliferate sound science information by itself, it is likely that a community will form through emotional connections and similar interests. It then becomes theoretically possible to communicate credible science information that is broadly accessible and relevant to that particular community.
Smart users of new media take steps to ensure their voices are heard. They routinely update their site with new content, link heavily, and encourage comments and postings to stimulate active discussion. In this world of "consumer journalism," the dialogue component is as critical to the credibility piece of the equation as peer-reviewed publication is to the research scientist.
The other key step to reach the new media crowd in particular is to use humor. College students and recent graduates are 40 percent more likely to respond to a humorous message than a fact-based one. To reach this audience, the International Food Information Council Foundation recently made its foray into new media by creating a humorous video short (~5 minutes) on YouTube and hosted on IFIC’s Web site. “What’s for Lunch?” is designed to share an informative, yet funny take on food biotechnology and features "on the street" consumer interviews interspersed with expert interviews from an academic, a dietitian, a farmer, and a school principal. The video is designed to prompt discussion and debate on the issues of food production using new technology.
The idea that transparency becomes the true measure of credibility when communicating science using social media is supported by the popularity of Wikipedia, a user-generated, user-maintained online encyclopedia. Despite controversy over the reliability of the content, Wikipedia is visited by 36 percent of American adult Internet users. Wikipedia and other wikis are full of hyperlinks, and one of the main determinants in Google’s search results algorithm is the number of links connected to a given Web page. Therefore, the numerous internal and external links allow Wikipedia material to soar up the Google rankings on keyword queries. For better or worse, Wikipedia is representative of the new online community where transparency and user interactivity are viewed as the true measure of credibility.
Given this dynamic landscape, the following guidelines apply:
- Be open and adaptive to whatever arises each hour in your corner of the online world. This dynamism is what ultimately confers credibility. By being open to discussion and open to divergent points of view, the individual user senses there is nothing to hide, which in today’s world of information overload, creates instant credibility.
- Recognize the limitless potential to communicate science using new media. Once online credibility exists through transparency and a willingness to engage, then it becomes possible to communicate on a deeper level that pushes the science forward, even as it bumps up against the often more emotive voices of consumer journalism.
- Accept that community formation supersedes content creation. The drivers of behavior change and consumer acceptance of new technologies are increasingly becoming the online consumer communities themselves. Ultimately, purchase intent will be informed by other like-minded consumers.
The overlap of science and "consumer journalism" is an unfolding process, with no absolute certainties. This, however, does not preclude the importance of considering the possibilities. While the Web 2.0 world may feel like the Wild West to the uninitiated, it is studded with rewards for those who choose to gallop forward smartly.
