Says who?

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

Buddhist doctrine may not have many direct links with digital but this particular gem has a particular relevance as digital grows and evolves

Things change. People change. And when this happens, if we don't change what we're doing in response we get left behind. None of us interacts with digital the same way now that we did 5 let alone 10 years ago. Whether it's due to advances in technology or familiarity with the medium, the landscape has definitely shifted and has by no means settled.

So how much use is an approach based on where we were, rather than where we are now? Certain principles will always be relevant, at least in informing our approach, but if we are doing what we're doing based on assumptions rather than observations, how do we know that we're doing it right?

If we are to believe what we were told just a few years ago (and are still being told now by some lazy marketing and communications professionals), the best way to communicate with the 50+ demographic and specifically the retired communities was certainly not via digital.

This was the generation who didn't grow up with a mouse in their hand, the generation who liked to receive information in the post and to live their lives offline. So presumably Radio 4, that favourite of the older generation, is wasting its time with its blogs, podcasts and mash up Google maps of listeners' locations?

The truth is that, unsurprisingly, the BBC has done their research and gone out to see for themselves exactly what it is that their target audience wants and how they want it. Many of Radio 4's audience are professionals or, if they have retired, used to be. These people aren't scared of computers. In fact the silver surfers are embracing technology and digital. Many older people, especially those who retire and want something to keep them active and connected during their retirement, are finding that online communities such as the one building around the Radio 4 website are exactly what they want and need.

What I'm driving at with this is that the landscape has changed, and so have the rules. The best way to deliver what your users want is to go out there and ask them. But remember don't believe what you're told, no matter who tells you, until you see it with your own eyes. Observation is one of the best weapons in your armoury and if you've seen it for yourself, even if it goes against what the received wisdom says, you can be confident that if you're delivering what your users want in the way they want it; you're onto a good start.

Send us your opinion on this by email to: ideas@fsnm.co.uk.

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