By far the biggest event of the year and possibly of the decade, the Royal wedding has received immeasurable attention globally with a vast array of media coverage. Perhaps this is unsurprising considering it concerns the future King of England. But significantly, it is also the first Royal wedding to be fully digital and interactive - across the internet and through social networks, digital PR teams and journalists have barely been able to keep up. This has massively broadened opportunities for people to experience it, in just the way they want to.
Like no other Royal event in history, the tone was set when William and Kate's wedding was announced via the Clarence House official Twitter feed, even before the news was uploaded to the Royal website. The whole process has subsequently been highly technical as the Royal household has embraced social media with information and details posted on their various social networks. This is a light years away the wedding of William's parents, Charles and Diana, some thirty years ago. Before social networks and smartphones, this was mainly experienced by the masses through television, presented as package, with all the editorial controls and decisions that went with it. Now, the public are more demanding and expect to be informed of the minutiae instantly through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube - significantly, with the opportunity to share with friends and comment upon.
This not only illustrates the acceptance and integration of technology by the Royal family, it also shows the increase in the public's thirst for information and capacity to interact. On one side there is the official output by the Royal family who have supplied updates and released information encouraging interaction through Facebook and Twitter, giving people the opportunity to upload messages, video and pictures of their experiences of the big day. On the other, is all the user generated content and 'unofficial' social media sites created by the public, PR agencies and businesses hoping to benefit. Digital PR agencies specifically have maximised the surrounding commercial opportunities and associations with creations such as Royal wedding Apps and YouTube spoof videos. One of my favourite websites to have appeared is www.canimarryharry.com, a compatibility survey for all those girls across the world who dream of becoming a princess, and it's no surprise the fake Harry has an amusing Twitter account. The fact that this medium has opened up all these opportunities for social media agencies to tailor marketing and PR activity, highlights its power to reach out to the public.
The Royal wedding as a national and global event has demonstrated how people want to use technology and social networks to personalise their experience at their convenience. Rather than just watching television footage, people have been able to view and understand elements of their choosing, in their own way. It has done more than just unite a nation, the technology has allowed people to be involved, interact and share an event like never before - this digital marriage seems to have united a planet.