Humans vs machines: the publishing world's tech tango

Andrew Webb is the founder of Connectopia, a consultancy that supports emerging technology in the early stages of expansion into the UK market. With a career spanning over 20 years in news, consumer publishing and adtech, Andrew’s market knowledge and insight into the publishing industry give him a unique perspective on how to build game-changing connections between innovators and media owners.

In a nutshell:

• Newsrooms must take a human-centred approach when bringing in new technology. That means understanding the needs and pain points of the people who will be using it and involving them in the decision-making and implementation process

• "Tech fatigue" in newsrooms is real - technology can strain people, resources, budget, and strategic goals, making it unsustainable

• The fragmented and noisy landscape of media tech start-ups makes it challenging for publishers to make the right technology decisions and build a cohesive tech stack

• To make tech adoption successful, providers must support the publisher's goals, not just push their own products

This is a story about humans and our relationship with technology.

I want to understand the human aspect of technology in the publisher workspace. How do leaders ensure their people get what they need from technology, how do they ensure tech gets what it needs from their people, and is there such a thing as tech fatigue?

Where are we now?

In Europe alone, there were over 6,000 media tech start-ups in operation in the first half of 2024. Not all of them fall into publishing, but it demonstrates a strong market despite the tougher climate.

Read more: How the BBC is using artificial intelligence

Tech is a fundamental part of media. It’s embedded in our newsrooms and content hubs and integral to monetisation and staying competitive. We are in a landscape of seemingly endless digital transformation; there has been a lot of innovation to meet audience demand. Add AI into the mix, and you have a cacophony of tech entrepreneurs promising to revolutionise the industry. It is a noisy, fragmented market.

So, it is fair to say that building and sustaining a tech stack has become a challenge for publishers. Decision-making traditionally sits with a few people, and their stress levels grow in proportion with the number of new products and services on offer. This is why we need to consider the human approach.

What do humans need from technology?

How we define a problem has a lot to do with the solution we come up with. So first, you need to be clear about what problem you are trying to solve: increase data, productivity and performance or just plain old making money?

Whatever the objective, it is important not to be blinded by the outcomes and to consider the humans involved in the journey. Let’s take AI, for example. It has the potential to dramatically change workflows and transform productivity. But how do you build the case for your team?

I caught up with Fergus Bell, CEO of Fathm, a consultancy helping newsrooms all over the world build sustainable business models using AI.

He says: "It’s essential that we use technology to enhance our work, not the other way around – building our processes, products, and outputs around tools just because they’re trendy or because they suit someone else’s needs is a fast track to frustration.

"At Fathm, we make a point of involving the people involved in these processes every step of the way. Too often, I’ve seen new tools that promised to streamline everything but ended up weighing down teams with constant upkeep just to justify their existence or because a senior manager had fallen in love with something that didn't make sense for those who actually had to use it.

"When we take a human-centred approach, we ensure that the tools we adopt make space for fresh ideas and authentic engagement."

Read more: Four steps to building an AI strategy for your newsroom

Other than understanding what drives decision-making, what is clear is that humans need to be part of the process. The risk of not getting the user group on board is potentially a cause for frustration.

Tech fatigue, what is it and what can you do to avoid it

Technology is meant to be an enabler, ideally making everyone’s lives easier. But is that always the case? Can there be too much technology? Does some technology create a gravitational pull on human interaction? Is the technology sometimes bought to serve the leaders and not users, that requires endless input by users to justify its existence, taking them away from their actual jobs?

Stuart Duncan, senior director at CMS platform Arc XP, says: "Tech fatigue is a real challenge. It happens when technology starts to put a strain on a company’s people, resources, budget, and even its strategic goals—so much so that it becomes unsustainable."

What does it all mean?

Tech is about providing solutions to human problems. The size and complexity of the current tech market have made it harder for publishers to make the right decisions about their technology. If you do not understand the dynamics between your team and their tech, then there is a good chance that the investment will not fix your newsroom’s problems.

Training is key, as is diversifying your user groups to create a blend of experiences to truly capture the potential of your newly acquired tech.

Finally, ensuring that the tech innovators you work with are there to support your success will mean you are creating a great environment for your team to work in.

Tech is for humans and humans are for tech. That is the answer.

If you want to learn more, join us at Newrewired on 27 November 2024. Andrew will lead a workshop on "How much tech do we really need?". More info and tickets here

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