WIRED editor David Rowan: “Technology makes me an optimist”
David Rowan, editor of WIRED UK, has used a key note speech at Media Playground to speak of his optimistic world view brought about by giant leaps in technology.
At the sell-out event in central London yesterday, Rowan said that exponential advances in technology means that small teams of people can now achieve what only governments and multinationals could once accomplish.
Speaking to over 200 media executives he showcased some of the most startling technological and entrepreneurial achievements in the last few years and offered compelling arguments that showed how the rise of accessible technologies had “democratised” everything from manufacturing to space travel – promoting a new era in which good ideas could flourish almost without constraint.
The journalist, who also writes for GQ and Conde Nast Traveller, offered a host of case studies in which technology is driving cutting edge innovation, from SpaceX’s rocket launches and plans to mine asteroids, to the 3D printing of synthetic meat or the delivery of medical aid via remotely controlled drones.
Rowan told delegates it’s making millionaires out of smart kids with a love of science and musicians that dare to do things differently. “The nerds have won,” he said. “For the first time in history mathematicians have more chance of getting laid than Hollywood stars.”
The entire process of launching products, competing with established brands and innovating has now changed, Rowan says, referring to crowd-funded projects such as the Pebble watch that secured millions in funding with not much more than an online video of a good idea.
“So you can see how technology makes me an optimist; it solves problems and promotes good ideas – but we must always be restless; we’ve got to continuously innovate. Everything you currently presume is being challenged by someone, somewhere else.” And it is precisely this, he says, that is the reason why “nerds” are taking over the world.
Quizzed by Newsline columnist Raymond Snoddy, he was asked about his own projects. WIRED magazine might report on technological wonders, but in an industry that is facing a serious crisis as readers ditch print to ingest content – often free of charge – from the Internet, was the editor just as restless as the technological entrepreneurs he so admires?
“Magazines need to innovate,” he says, telling the audience that WIRED has used its brand to expand into new commercial areas, particularly in consultation, conferencing and in digital – but always sticking to what they know and making such ventures “true to the WIRED brand.”
“[Traditional print] media is still a multi-billion pound business,” Rowan said, “but, simply, we must add value to the internet. Everything we do is already on the internet for free, so we must be innovative about what we offer alongside that.” He said this will be true for other print brands too.
Worried that large chunks of of the newspaper and magazine industry are not working hard enough – if at all – to counter the threat posed by the internet, Rowan said that newspapers and magazines need to “work out what they are good at, what they know and then add value based on that knowledge,” citing the Vice brand as the perfect example.
Vice, which started as a free printed magazine in Canada has, in a very short space of time, become a global youth brand involved in film and music production, live events, clothing and online TV amongst its growing portfolio.
Indeed, WIRED is also now a multi-platform brand Rowan says. Everything they do commercially is not a “discreet business, but part of a growing ecosystem,” and other print brands will have to do the same if they expect to survive in the digital age.
@RaymondSnoddy