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Theatre on the Web - 2003Dateline: 12th January, 2003I am reliably informed that in 1994 there were only 400 websites. Now no one knows how many there are: the figure certainly runs into millions. It's hard to believe that only nine years ago the web was so small. In 1997, when I first started the site that was to become the BTG, I listed some 300 British theatre websites. Or, at least, I listed some 300 sites that had some connection to British theatre, for not a few were actually based in the US and run by American enthusiasts for theatre in the UK. Now we are listing around 2,000 British theatre sites and there are many more which I just haven't managed to visit or even find yet. Certainly in 1997 there weren't many theatres in the UK which had websites, and the majority of those which did clearly had no idea what they were for - they just knew they had to have one! At that time, probably the best of them was the Royal Court's site, which was rather odd for, in 1997, it would not allow reviewers from websites press accreditation, even at the Edinburgh Fringe. Now, of course, it's different and most theatres welcome internet reviewers with open arms. Many companies now, in fact, quote 'net reviews alongside reviews from traditional print media - I was quite flattered to see my reviews quoted on quite a number of Edinbugh flyers last year! You notice I said "most": incredibly there are still a few theatres (or their PR firms) which will not accept internet journalists as the equals of their print colleagues, and so will not provide press tickets. The government has just released its third annual report on online Britain and it reveals that
What does this mean from a theatre point of view? Simply that a significant proportion of its UK audience is online and is therefore likely to follow its interest on the 'net. In addition, the majority of its target audience - those it will have to reach if it is to have a future (i.e. the young) - makes a great deal of use of the 'net. If the growth continues - and with the measures the government is taking to provide broadband services for all schools, to set up Internet Kiosks, to bring the 'net into libraries and to encourage the growth of Web TV, it is likely to - it will not be long before the 'net equals newspapers in its importance as a communications medium. In fact, for most young people it is already the first port of call when researching a topic. Theatres and their press officers should draw their own conclusions! The statistics in this article are taklen from the
website of the government's e-envoy at Articles Indices:
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