Hello, News Xchangers! I am absolutely delighted to be able to share a few thoughts with you over our creatively re-vamped NX platform.

I am honoured to address You, the thought leaders, the privileged few who have the knowledge and intelligence to identify the rising trends in the Media industry and the ability to shape the global public opinion. As Media people, we are the messengers; the storytellers; the news producers; the opinion makers.

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, truth be told, we are not alone in this anymore… We have lost our exclusivity; in some cases, even our credibility.

The barriers of our profession have been squashed under the formidable pressure of millions of people who are eager to do (and are doing) what until three or four years ago, you and I were seeing as prerogatives for journalists (and journalists only): spreading the news, informing the public opinion, effecting change.

Apologies if to some of you I am only repeating old news; apologies if to others this comes as an unpleasant surprise, received with disbelief.

In any case, I trust we all agree that our Media world has changed.

Today, messages can reach audiences and target groups in real time and they can generate changes, trends and even upheavals. Crowds are becoming more powerful through technology, because technology has the ability to unite them. Consequently, this reality will eventually take enormous dimensions. As growing numbers of people discover the innovative potential of the World Wide Web and as they become active parts of it, while technology further advances, current forms of communication will expand and they will change seriously affected by the “Crowdsourcing” phenomenon.

Today, people have become contributors to anything they wish. The evolution of the New Interactive Technologies (NIT) is here to stay and to reform the Media in our semi-globalized societies; human networks will have a powerful role to play now and in the future.

It is important to note that while the Internet is a sphere where every contribution, every view and idea can be found, for the sake of any healthy democracy information should be processed and analysed in ways that will facilitate sensible decision-making based on a complete pattern of changes and social trends and not fragments of information and misinterpreted facts.

This is where the role of Media people becomes critically important: as the guardians of truth, justice, human rights, freedom and democracy, Media people need to understand and embrace Innovation. We need to creatively integrate New Technologies into editorial policies and develop the ability to expand beyond the familiar territory of known media networks to the unexplored territories of real human networks, where the intelligence of the crowd is to be found. We need to break our moulds, abandon the conventional modus operandi and challenge the unexpected allowing Innovation to catapult us into the future. You see the future is moving towards us anyway, so better do something about it!

Elizabeth Filippouli is the Managing Director of Global Thinkers, a UK based Media Intelligence, Audience Monitoring and Online Reputation Management Agency with international operations. Global Thinkers designs and implements strategic campaigns for companies, corporate groups and individuals. The News Xchange Team is honored to have Elizabeth as part of this year’s Executive Team.

www.globalthinkers.com