New year’s resolutions for the new media industry

I was at the gym on 2 January, like many others, and I bumped into the New Media Industry. He was puffing away on a treadmill. After our workouts, we had a coffee and he started telling me about how he’s turned over a new leaf. This is what he said:

“I can’t keep calling myself ‘New Media’. It’s unbecoming in an industry of my age. My voice has broken. I’ve grown hair in places I can only hint at and I’m in a serious relationship with business. Time to bin the Converse and t-shirts and start acting like a grown-up.

“One of the signs of growing up is to stop using stupid made up terms. Adding the latest buzz words to your dictionary, saying 2.0 a lot and sticking ‘ability’ at the end of perfectly good words doesn’t help you talk to business. It makes you sound like a professional footballer.

“My second resolution is to start being honest about my limitations. When I really was a new industry, I could get by doing everything. A bit of website design. A bit of marketing. The odd bit of usability. Now, I have to accept that I can’t do a good job of it all. I must not tell people I can do usability and accessibility if I’m really a design specialist, or vice versa. Customers understand the distinct skills the different disciplines need and won’t pay for substandard work any more. Companies that can’t be honest or aren’t good enough to specialise will go out of business, and the rest of us will then be able to charge rates that fairly reflect our experience, expertise and value to the customer.

“2007 will be a year for more serious relationships. I’ve had it with these one-night stands, throwing together a website and never hearing from a client again. I’ll focus on quality work, and build life-long partnerships with my clients. We’ll understand each other intimately, which will be a solid foundation for continuous improvement of the online experience. I want clients to talk to me when they have problems or ideas for improvement, not start shopping for a new vendor.

“My final resolution is to stop biting my nails and be more confident. I created some fantastic online experiences last year, and got much smarter at interactive advertising and multichannel campaigns. I should be proud of what I’ve achieved and let it inspire me to even greater heights in the year ahead.”