I think America moved forward last night. The CNN-YouTube Debate was an excellent exercise in technology and presentation and, I believe, highlighted for the mass market what the tone of America should be all about from here forward... While I assume that behind-the-scenes the debate wasn't as spontaneous and random as one might wish it to be, I still hold it up as an excellent use of communication. One thing is for sure: give people the tools and the opportunity and they will prove that we are diverse, creative, genuine and courageous.
Beyond this, I think we'll see several things become more accepted at the mass market level:
1. Short Format Videos (and other alternative ways to present information) will Finally Permeate Corporate Cultures. So far, this has been slow to take off, but I suspect that will come to an end. Employees throughout organizations will be more expected to look for better ways to communicate ideas rather than simply defaulting to bullet-pointed PowerPoints (which I can't believe how often I still see). Many of us have been waiting for this for years...
2. Mass Acceptance of Humanity over Formality. I got a better "look" at the candidates last night than I ever had before. Why? Hearing a moderator ask a question about health care creates a far different environment than hearing the question directly from someone affected by it first hand.
3. Wholistic Presentation Trumps Details. 39+ people officially put their entire well-being out for the world to see last night. They can never take that back, and it's there, for all of us to revisit, whenever we want, forever. And given all that, viewers didn't analyze the parts and pieces of their questions, but rather the entire delivery as a whole. Let's learn from that. As marketers, we can over-analyze the details of our communication so much that we take our eye off the complete message, and end up diluting the impact.
CNN and YouTube jointly pushed mass market America into the 21st century. There are people out there (probably 20%) who already practiced the points above, but that leaves 80% who needed the nudge.
Collectively, we all benefit.
Cheers.
Comments