Is Time Warner Keeping Up with the Net Generation?

Today if companies really want to “WOW” their customers they have to use new forms of media. New Media also helps a company to reach its employees and stakeholders. So what exactly is new media? According to Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary of English, new media is any interactive media, esp. electronic mass media combined with computers. If you are reading this blog you are interacting with a form of new media!
Companies must use new media on their Web site in order to maintain an advantage over competitors. Time Warner has incorporated some types of new media on their Web site to drive traffic. Lets’ take a look at what Time Warner is doing to keep up with the Joneses.

RSS Feed- The Time Warner Web site gives viewers the option of subscribing to an RSS feed of Time Warner press releases. According to WebReference.Com, RSS (Real Simple Syndication) is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other web content. An RSS feed is a distributable “What’s New” for your website. Time Warner’s RSS feed is located under the Newsroom page on their Web site here: http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/rss/index.html. I subscribed to the RSS feed when I decided to write this blog and I have found it extremely helpful. I added the feed to my Google homepage, so whenever I want to see what is new at Time Warner I go to my Google homepage where headlines from the feed are conveniently listed.

Blogs- Time Warner does not use blogs on its Web site however; I typed in blog in the search bar and discovered that many of the Time Warner businesses such as AOL and CNN do use blogs on their Web sites. Here is a link to a blog that was recently launched by CNN: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/blogs/paging.dr.gupta/.

Podcasting- Similarly to blogs, I discovered that Time Warner does not make use of podcasts on its Web site, but many Time Warner businesses do have podcasts on their individual Web sites. CNN has a detailed page on their Web site that is dedicated to podcasting that you can check out here: http://www.cnn.com/services/podcasting/.

Flash- Flash is a tool that is used for creating interactive and animated Web sites. The use of flash really catches a viewer’s eye and makes them want to spend time exploring a Web site. Time Warner does make use of flash to keep you hooked to their Web site. The Homepage continuously changes colors from blue to gray to purple to red. There are words that are related to Time Warner’s business such as digital journalism, DVDs, and trailers that scroll the screen on an angle. Above the words pictures from Time Warner movies and television shows scroll in the opposite direction of the words. A mouseover (another form of new media) will tell you the title of the movie or show. You can then click on the picture and it will link you to the corresponding Web site. A bar on the bottom of the screen lists the names of the different Time Warner businesses. You can click on each name and the pictures on the screen will change to ones that relate to the business you selected. You can then click on the pictures to learn more about what the picture is displaying. Check out Time Warner’s use of flash on their Homepage here: http://www.timewarner.com/corp/.

I think Time Warner is doing a good job keeping up with the Net generation. I think Time Warner is using the just the right amount of new media to compete with other companies in the industry and reach customers, employees, and stakeholders. I think Time Warner has chosen to not bombard its Web site with new media because it wants to maintain a corporate image. I believe this is why they use more forms of new media on their businesses’ Web sites than they include on their own Web site. If I were the PR person for Time Warner I would suggest the company adds the use of blogs and podcasting to their Web site. I think these forms of new media are excellent ways for the company to spread news and messages to their audiences. They are both extremely effective and relatively cheap forms of public relations that I think would be very beneficial to the company.

Who is Time Warner and What do They Stand For?

I will be updating this blog weekly with the latest news about Time Warner. I chose to keep a blog about this company because I would like to pursue a career at Time Warner when I graduate. Over the summer I completed an internship in the public relations department of PEOPLE magazine at Time Inc., which is a division of Time Warner. My internship was an amazing experience that left me with a love for not only the magazine, but the company as a whole. I think keeping a blog about the current operations of the company is a great way to keep track of what Time Warner is doing in order to prepare me for seeking a career within the company.

Time Warner is a leading media and entertainment company whose businesses include interactive services, cable systems, filmed entertainment, television networks, and publishing. To read more about the company take a peek at the company's website here:http://www.timewarner.com/corp/aboutus/our_company.html I think Time Warner has been successful in carving out an identity that makes it stand out amongst other entertainment companies. Every Time Warner brand is the most successful in their categories and pride themselves on excellence. You can read more details about each brand in the handy dandy fact sheets provided on the company website here: http://www.timewarner.com/corp/businesses/index.html Time Warner details the values and principles the company prides itself on here: http://www.timewarner.com/corp/aboutus/mission_values.html I think most people expect only the best from Time Warner divisions because of this identity it has established. I think Time Warner’s reputation has both positive and negative attributes. Time Warner has a reputation for being a company that is committed to providing enjoyable entertainment and high-performance services. However, I think people also see Time Warner as a sort of large company dominating the industry and stepping on the smaller entertainment companies. My experience interning at the company proved to me that this negative side to their reputation is not true and I hope that I can demonstrate this in my blog.

In order to emphasize the positive aspects of their reputation, Time Warner publicizes achievements and financial earnings on both their website and in the news. You can access Time Warner's newsroom on the company website here: http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom I think their open policy with the media is partly responsible for their reputation. In addition, they host many events to celebrate their successes with the public and their employees. The company also makes an effort to minimize the negative aspects of their reputation by emphasizing their community service to prove they are not only concerned with the success of their company, but also their community. The company honors its employees for outstanding individual contributions to the community and public service. Time Warner hosts events at which these employees are honored in order to generate publicity about the efforts the company is making to serve the community.

I think a large obstacle that exits for the PR people in their effort to improve the company’s reputation is the large amount of layoffs PEOPLE magazine experienced last year. This Time Warner brand let go of 300 employees in order to concentrate more of their budget toward improving their website. I believe this affected the reputation of Time Warner because people become concerned that this could happen at another branch of the company. I think it is a challenge for the PR people to prove Time Warner cares about its employees and would not have made this decision if it was not necessary. I think an opportunity for the PR people in improving the company’s reputation is the increasing popularity of the entertainment industry in our culture. Americans donate so much of their time toward entertainment and are always looking for changes and improvements in the industry.