Seriously...it's completely not like that.
Yesterday San Antonio media professionals had the amazing opportunity to explore the new extension to the famous San Antonio Riverwalk. This exclusive "sneak peek" brought together traditional journalists and new media professionals to explore, inquire, and document all they could in a two hour tour that was granted to them by the City.
I could sit here and rehash the entire event, but I won't. There's a lot of coverage out there that is far better than mine, from a first hand perspective, and if you're interested in really seeing what was said live as the tour was happening, do a Twitter search for the hash tag #sariver, this will give you a first hand account of what was experienced as it was experienced.
I'd like to discuss the bigger implications of media coverage, specifically new media and the opportunities it availed to the community of San Antonio and use that as an example that any city anywhere in the world can capitalize on.
Implications of Last Night's Event
I like a few others that were invited were unable to attend this amazing opportunity, but instead of feeling the disconnect of not knowing, I joined the rest of the City of San Antonio in the live stream of the event step by step, word for word of what happened. I never felt like I was left out, I heard all I needed to hear and saw all that I needed to see. Now I probably did not get the same overwhelming feeling with some of the sights that I would get when seeing it in person, but I was able to participate unlike any other time that I can remember.
Technology is such that even from home I can participate in the experience, and anyone who was able to catch the live stream was able to participate in the question and answer session as well since the chat room was being monitored. Sound powerful? It was. While the city may have extended the invitation to only a handful of people, the entire community was welcomed to follow along via the stream and their concerns were still addressed.
The opportunities that something like this shed light on was completely overwhelming, as it also dawned on a few people during the tour, so I'm not alone in my musings.
Tourism the World Over Can Change
The idea that someone from anywhere in the world could have tapped into the stream and watched this video is testament to just how small our global community really is. New media has truly torn down the boundaries of borders, distance, and location and brought everything to us with a click of a button.
As someone who enjoys traveling, I realized the implications of yesterday's event are bigger than just a one night opportunity. Too often the chamber will send tourism packages for attractions and sights around the city they represent. Typically pre-packaged material, staged video recordings to provide information, all nice and neatly packaged into what they hope will attract people.
For starters nothing attracts people like word of mouth, and the days of staged videos, and professional voice actors are long gone. Last night I saw, like a few others, an opportunity to record river tours online, capture the same information as the chamber will capture but through the eyes of a community member. Someone who lives here, or visits here should be allowed to be a part of encouraging others to visit our city, or any city in the world for that matter.
The city government should embrace new media tools and opportunities and allow for a tourism page that allows the posting of vids, audio, photos, and such that tells the story of what it's like to live in that particular city. I truly believe nothing speaks more powerful than the voice of the community, and by releasing that control over the message, the real story told by the voices of real community members and videos will outshine the staged videos and brochures that the city is spending so much money on.
I'd like to hear thoughts and ideas on this. Perhaps I'm missing something, or the idea can be expanded upon. Leave your comments and lets get to chatting!
Photo Credit cbcastro
