Multimedia: the key to survival
Written by John Macpherson
I think multimedia is absolute key to survival in the future. The ones that get multimedia will win, the others will disappear. A lot of media organizations are complaining that people don’t want to pay for online content. But that’s simply not true. The problem is that these organizations are not offering anything worth paying for, and they have no easy way of paying. We never actually paid for content we paid for access to content. And when the newspaper was the only place to access news we would pay for that. Straight, hard news is a commodity that we are all part of producing on social media and with our camera phones, and that everyone can access everywhere – so why would anyone want to pay for that? However what we do want to pay for is highly refined experiences that stays in our hearts for a long time. And multimedia can be really strong at this. Why are people spending millions buying movies, music and books online? It’s because companies like Amazon and Apple are providing exclusive access to some really great content.
Bjarke Myrthu speaking to Olivier Laurent in the BJP online. The New Economics of Photojournalism: Storyplanet’s bid to simplify multimedia.
Author — John Macpherson
John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges, trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.