BBC: The year of the digital citizen – Here’s a great summary by Jo Twist, formerly of the BBC now at the think tank, Institute for Public Policy Research, about the impact of digital technology on the media and government in the UK.

The UK has long worried about the relationship between government, media and the public. The erosion of trust and democracy is feared above all.

The question is what happens to social cohesion in this quickly evolving landscape and how can the government negotiate consumer-led media.

Some might argue that the remaining ties binding government, media and the public will be eroded further by the decentralisation of media.

It will be interesting to see how this develops during 2006. There’s no reason to suspect the pace of change will slow as technologies such as video cellphones, video blogs, podcasting, broadband, 3G and content search/tagging become more widespread. It’s an exciting time to be involved in media and communication as new business models are formed. Those in PR must try to stay abreast of these developments and understand their implications for the companies and organizations they represent. That’s daunting since the trusted approaches of the past will now start to falter, but it’s also a great opportunity to help guide those companies through these dynamics.

It’s gonna be a great year. Good luck – and hold on tight.

Technorati Tags: BBC, Jo Twist, Media, digital citizen