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Hayley Pearson started at Digital Next in July having previously worked at a web development agency, she hadn’t previously intended to pursue a career at a digital marketing agency. She recently completed a BSc Geography with Ecology Degree at Hull University and is currently looking to graduate with a MSc Ecology and Conservation degree from Lancaster University. Now you wouldn’t think that Digital Marketing, Biodiversity and Conservation could be combined but in the 21^st Century, all 3 are going to play a very prominent role on the centre stage.

This current century will be referred to as the digital age with so many technological advancements that have benefitted mankind. It is also a critical point in the history of life, where biodiversity is key to the future existence of all life on earth. Failure of conservation success will almost certainly lead to further biodiversity loss, subsequent ecosystem collapse and the extinction of life as we know it. So a few questions to address are; can digital technology and nature co-exist? Can digital marketing be used to promote conservation and save biodiversity? Or have people entered a digital age and lost their connection with nature?

Digital Marketing in one sense, has been used by major organisations such as WWF to highlight the issues faced by biodiversity and through the vast information shared which wouldn’t normally be available, it has also created a huge fundraising opportunity. Blogging has provided a unique platform for these issues to be discussed, arguments to be put forward and even to formulate solutions to the aforementioned concerns. Researchers and policy makers have access to a vast array of information with leading research published on a daily basis. Additionally, researchers have access to a pool of resources and subsequently work together in synergy piecing together greater issues through the correlation of data.

Social media marketing has also played an integral role in promoting conservation by the sharing on Facebook and Twitter of campaigns and petition, although a vast amount of important issues are still overlooked. In particular, insects are the labourers of the natural world and David Attenborough signifies their importance; “If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world’s ecosystems would collapse”.

With cost effective technology available on a mass scale, we now see ourselves in an age dominated by connectivity and data. It has provided the opportunity for individuals to harvest data and promote it through social sites and portals. The more data that is available to scientists, results in a better understanding of the effects of the way in which we live and have on the wider ecological system.

The digital age has the potential to change the world and our philosophies towards the natural world. Consequently, a world dominated by data ignorance is the only excuse for not understanding conservation and the implications it can have on the way we live.

Hayley Pearson 

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