By Naseeru Taneemu Annuree
A quick search on Wikipedia reveals the Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, or New Media Age) as a historical period that began in the mid-20th century, characterized by a rapid epochal shift from the traditional industry established by the Industrial Revolution to an economy primarily based upon information technology.
As the internet continues to evolve and change overtime, the way we seek and interact with online contents has also changed drastically. Online media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and the world wide web consistently provide cheaper and effective means of information dissemination in real-time. A single post on Facebook, a tweet, or a video shared on YouTube can go viral in a matter of seconds making millions around the world consumers of either good or negative contents.
Individuals, organizations and governments the world over are hitherto investing heavily in online media considering the fact that it is fast, cost-effective and has a strong network of connectivity providing opportunity for real-time feedback compared to conventional media like newspapers, magazines, radio and television among others.
In a situation where there is concurrent feedback, individuals, organizations and governments around the world can act swiftly on the responses received to make improvement or adjustment where necessary. In this case, both the sender and the receiver of information contents can save ample time which is otherwise lost in conventional media engagements.
The power of online media is indisputably beyond what anyone can imagine. It is a powerful and unstoppable tool of social, political and economic change. Any campaign sustained by online media rarely fails to achieve the desired results. Sometimes, the unexpected even happens. The Arab spring of 2011 that spread across much of the Arab world in late 2010 after a vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in front of Tunisian government building in protest against maltreatment meted on him by corrupt Tunisian policemen is believed to be fueled by online media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
As pictures and videos of the uprisings were shared live, more people became aware and joined the protests. Arab powers tried in vain to suppress the combined force of online and live protests which eventually resulted in regime changes in most parts of the Middle East.
It is imperative to note that online media plays a significant role in facilitating communication and interaction among participants of #EndSARS and #EndPoliceBrutality protests which started in Lagos penultimate week and spread to major cities in Nigeria. The protesters took advantage of online media to disseminate information about their movements hence, raising local and global awareness of the ongoing protests.
We live in an age of instant messaging and unlimited access to information content on the internet. Governments around the world have been struggling to keep pace with the ever changing online media. With citizens taking over control and authority of communication from their governments and with the former unable to secure full control of internet contents, there is no doubt that the indispensability of online media in all aspects of our lives can not be questioned.
Interestingly, Nigeria currently ranks 7th and has the highest number of active mobile phone users in the world with 182.70 million users captured by the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, at the end of 2019. Out of 182.70 million users, more than 120.80 million have access to online media.
There is no doubt that individuals, organizations and governments at all levels in Nigeria can take advantage of the ever increasing popularity of social media for the proper enhancement of their performance. For instance, marketers have seen phenomenal growth and expansion in their businesses through a careful and consistent use of online media platforms manned by capable media experts via online marketing and branding tools specifically Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Online media not only provides help to marketers on branding equity, but it also results in low cost advertising options as compared to the high cost of running adverts in conventional media.
In addition, it is worthy to note that the increasing number of entrepreneurs around the world owe their sustained presence and relevance to online media platforms for providing opportunity to connect with large and heterogeneous populations simultaneously and on low cost advertising options. This drastically alters the conventional media advert paradigm so much that entrepreneurs can now add or adjust advert contents posted online.
More so, online media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook among others make it easier for marketers and entrepreneurs to attract and sustain their potential consumers to provide instant answers to consumer's queries, and to know first hand the wants of their potential consumers. This is an essential component of any business strategy which is being adopted globally at high speed.
Furthermore, the continued rise in the consumption of digital contents worldwide has resulted in the online media increasingly becoming an indispensable part of today's politics, business, education, governance and down to individual's daily lives as a whole. To a contemporary politician, online presence is a must if they do not want their political career to suffer damaging setbacks. Every politician needs to get hold of his/her people's attention in order to maintain a constant presence, relevance and acceptance. This therefore points to the main reason why nearly all politicians nowadays employ the services of competent media aides to handle their online profiles. And thus, as expected, Mass Communication and Public Relations became some of the most sought after disciplines of the 21st century.
Whether online media in its entirety can be regulated or not remains uncertain and debatable. However, regardless of how countries around the world particularly the United States impose regulations on the influx of online media contents, the online media which has since metamorphosed into an even bigger storm than it was 20 years ago, will continue to alter how we connect, communicate, store, and share online contents whether good or bad.
Naseeru Taneemu Annuree
08137284277
taskarnta@gmail.com
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