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MEDIA MARKETS
Twittering to
new heights
Smart
and young
A few figures about micro-blogging
service Twitter from comScore:
in June 09, it gained about 7m
new visitors; total of visitors was
over 44m; in June 2008 its world-
wide audience was just 2.9m.
Since more than half of Twitter
users don’t even go to the Website
but use Twitter apps to consume
and publish Tweets, Twitter’s
total audience is even larger.
Interestingly, a Harvard study
of 300,000 users in May 2009
found that just 10% of Twitter
users generate more than 90%
of the content. More than half of
all people using Twitter updated
their page less than once every
74 days, and most people only
ever "tweet" once during their
lifetime.
This is backed by research
from Nielsen which suggests
that many people give the service
a try, but rarely or never return.
Harvard researcher Bill Heil says
Twitter is a broadcast medium
rather than an intimate
conversation with friends - a few
people are creating content for a
Channel of choice
Since its launch in March 2004
UK-based Islam Channel has
continuously increased its
coverage and footprint, and
expanded programming content.
Its website receives more than
7m hits a month.
In September last year Islam
Channel launched in West Africa
on the MultiChoice platform to
DStv audiences in Ghana, Togo,
Benin, Cameroon, Niger,
Nigeria, Burkino Faso, Chad,
Cote d’ Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea
and Sao Tome.
MultiChoice research carried
out prior to the launch revealed
that 85% of Islamic viewers felt
the channel would add value to
the DStv Bouquet, and 79%
indicated that the Islamic
Channel would be their channel
of choice.
To provide relevant content for
viewers in Africa, Islam Channel
is investigating opening studios
and offices there, says CEO
Mohammed Ali Harath (below).
The next step is launching in the
USA and South East Asia.
International organisations
wanting to reach a younger
audience are turning to news
production company Linx to
deliver content to the smart
phone mobile generation – such
as UN.GIFT which consists of six
international organisations:
UNODC, ILO, IOM, OSCE,
UNICEF and OHCHR.
With the success of the
iPhone and the introduction of
competition from Google's
Android platform, Linx create
and deliver directly to the youth
audience through the development
of mobile based applications.
These applications can access a
vast array of features such as
GPS, 3G data and untold interactivity
that is currently unavailable in
the broadcast and web experience.
Linx managing Director
Faridoun Hemani says "Clients
recognise young people don’t
watch TV, and information on
topics like Human Trafficking
needs to be communicated
though a different medium, so
we have now added this service
to our menu of video production
and distribution."
'Pure news' wins
News channel euronews has
won the European
Communication Award 2009,
which was presented on behalf
of the European Association of
Communication Directors
(EACD).
Philippe Cayla, Chairman of
the executive board of euronews
said: "It's an honour for us to
receive this award which I
dedicate to all the journalists in
the news room, and also to the
dedicated team who worked out
the new design."
euronews is the only
international news channel
which does not defer to a
national identity. The preferred
international news channel of
the Europeans, worldwide the
channel is seen as a European
product with a "Made In Europe"
branding that stands for
independence, honesty,
transparency.
These values are reflected in
euronews' "pure" signature – a
clean image on screen, no frills,
no emphasis, nothing to distract
attention.
Euronews’ “pure news”
means news without expression
of a particular opinion, just the
facts and the most reliable and
cross-checked information.
The channel's “pure" editorial
line is best illustrated by its
famous programme 'No
Comment'.
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ISSUE 2 2009
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THE CHANNEL
few people to read and share.
Some "super users" can have
thousands or even hundreds of
thousands of followers.
The growth of social
networking has been
phenomenal: according to
Nielsen, Facebook - already the
largest online social network –
grew 228% in February 2009. Not
surprisingly, companies are now
capitalizing on online social
networking as a tool for
marketing and for providing
customer service.