So what is happening to content -- the broad word we use to describe everything from data and articles to video and audio --be it songs or news or movies?
With the coming of broadband, social media and blogs in a big way, the future could be "atomised" for piecemeal consumption of what used to be sold in big packages -- such as newspapers, TV channels and magazines. Here is my take on this after meeting Google's Nikesh Arora last week.
Showing posts with label content. Show all posts
Showing posts with label content. Show all posts
14 June 2010
Newspapers are out, online is not (yet) in. OECD ponders
The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has conducted a study on the business of newspapers and the future of news in an evident response to declining advertising revenues in the backdrop of a relative unwillingness of readers to pay for online content.
I found it interesting that governments are thinking about helping newspapers--because they help democracy. So, after rejecting government support for ad cash, will newspapers and news gathering machines accept government patronage again? Interesting question.
I do think the world of news is going to be more varietous, as the report itself is suggesting. In fact, it already is. But revenues and money? Ah, we are still wondering where this is all going.
I found it interesting that governments are thinking about helping newspapers--because they help democracy. So, after rejecting government support for ad cash, will newspapers and news gathering machines accept government patronage again? Interesting question.
I do think the world of news is going to be more varietous, as the report itself is suggesting. In fact, it already is. But revenues and money? Ah, we are still wondering where this is all going.
12 April 2010
Awesome--you have to read this!
I don't usually gush, but this piece from Harvard Business Review's blog is a must-read for anyone interested in the Internet from the point of view of business, marketing, social media or strategy. Also offers brilliant insights for media people. I am not going to elaborate. Great food for thought.
22 February 2010
The Journo Trap: Who reads your stories?
Imagine a world where there are no television rating points (TRPs) for news channels.
Imagine a world where there is no broad circulation or readership metric for newspapers or magazine.
Imagine a world where journalists cannot quite claim their stories drive the business -- or one in which they can do EXACTLY that!
We seem to be getting there. But on the Web
AOL has started a new experiment in which stories on the Web are measured for popularity and the traffic shared. It is the closest journo stories got to post-paid billing a la telecoms.
Is that good for journalists?
Yes, if you are really good, and cribbing that your organisation does not take note of you. Or for you to fine-tune your work.
No, if your stories are meaningful in a larger social sense or giving you some personal fulfillment, but held accountable to some scoreboard.
Transparency is a two-way sword, I tell you.
Imagine a world where there is no broad circulation or readership metric for newspapers or magazine.
Imagine a world where journalists cannot quite claim their stories drive the business -- or one in which they can do EXACTLY that!
We seem to be getting there. But on the Web
AOL has started a new experiment in which stories on the Web are measured for popularity and the traffic shared. It is the closest journo stories got to post-paid billing a la telecoms.
Is that good for journalists?
Yes, if you are really good, and cribbing that your organisation does not take note of you. Or for you to fine-tune your work.
No, if your stories are meaningful in a larger social sense or giving you some personal fulfillment, but held accountable to some scoreboard.
Transparency is a two-way sword, I tell you.
18 February 2010
ABC of Indian Media-Advertising, Bollywood, Corporate Power
P. Sainath is a firebrand activist, and incidentally a journalist.
But he is understandably a spokesman for journalism and journalist issues these days, for good reasons
1) He is at The Hindu, which likes to discuss media-related issues on its pages, especially those that relate to ethics
2) As a methodical prodder passionate about rural and social issues, Sainath comes from the "development/activist" school of journalism, and is thoroughly disturbed by the trivialisation of many serious issues
3) He writes well, with a strong tendency to marshall facts and use telling phrases which can match any lawyer or public orator.
Here he is, arguing about how the Indian media is almost systematically being held to ransom by the superficial troika of advertising, movie glamour and corporate agenda. Good, essential reading for media watchers.
But he is understandably a spokesman for journalism and journalist issues these days, for good reasons
1) He is at The Hindu, which likes to discuss media-related issues on its pages, especially those that relate to ethics
2) As a methodical prodder passionate about rural and social issues, Sainath comes from the "development/activist" school of journalism, and is thoroughly disturbed by the trivialisation of many serious issues
3) He writes well, with a strong tendency to marshall facts and use telling phrases which can match any lawyer or public orator.
Here he is, arguing about how the Indian media is almost systematically being held to ransom by the superficial troika of advertising, movie glamour and corporate agenda. Good, essential reading for media watchers.
8 February 2010
Content goes the service way
Content is King, yes.
Murdoch says it is the emperor. Yes.
But there is an interesting insight. Just as a still is not a moving picture, content is not about static stuff on the Net. Increasingly, it is a service.
Here is a fine piece on that.
Murdoch says it is the emperor. Yes.
But there is an interesting insight. Just as a still is not a moving picture, content is not about static stuff on the Net. Increasingly, it is a service.
Here is a fine piece on that.
8 October 2009
Is social media a threat to journalism?
Here is a piece from Chris Cramer, a BBC and CNN veteran and current Reuters Global Editor, Multimedia, on what social media and "citizen journalism" means to the media. The bottomline: credibility and integrity matter, and profits follow.
I agree with a lot of what he says, having worked at Reuters-- with its commitment for some basic principles. But there is a chaotic universe out there and we need more innovations -in products, services and business models.
I agree with a lot of what he says, having worked at Reuters-- with its commitment for some basic principles. But there is a chaotic universe out there and we need more innovations -in products, services and business models.
7 August 2009
Why Murdoch is right on charging for online news
The Web is abuzz after media baron Rupert Murdoch of New Corp said that his group's newspapers planned to charge for online news/content.
I have no problem with that. Though obituaries and criticism of such a move are afloat on the selfsame Net.
As an experienced journalist, I make a few simple observations.
It costs money to make people do reportage
Credibility comes from known sources that employ processes
Bloggers and others who simply extract published news from the Web and repeate it have no viable business model and breaking news cannot be ad-hoc.
If it is offered free, it has to be accounted in financial terms somewhere--at least by cross-subsidisation.
For more than a decade now, newspaper publishers have been shooting themselves in the foot in order to understand the new medium better.
They have tried to behave like news agencies, reporting 24/7
They have offered content free, only to find their own revenues and circulation falling.
They have invested in technology and branding, but online ads have not got the traction to take it beyond a point.
Above all, they have to suffer sites like Google News that looks like a newspaper and rides on free content from the papers and other online news sites.
Something's gotta give.
If Murdoch charges, will other newspapers see it as an opportunity or a threat? I don't know, but I do know that sooner or later, viable models for both credibility and profitability in online news has to come in.
I have no problem with that. Though obituaries and criticism of such a move are afloat on the selfsame Net.
As an experienced journalist, I make a few simple observations.
It costs money to make people do reportage
Credibility comes from known sources that employ processes
Bloggers and others who simply extract published news from the Web and repeate it have no viable business model and breaking news cannot be ad-hoc.
If it is offered free, it has to be accounted in financial terms somewhere--at least by cross-subsidisation.
For more than a decade now, newspaper publishers have been shooting themselves in the foot in order to understand the new medium better.
They have tried to behave like news agencies, reporting 24/7
They have offered content free, only to find their own revenues and circulation falling.
They have invested in technology and branding, but online ads have not got the traction to take it beyond a point.
Above all, they have to suffer sites like Google News that looks like a newspaper and rides on free content from the papers and other online news sites.
Something's gotta give.
If Murdoch charges, will other newspapers see it as an opportunity or a threat? I don't know, but I do know that sooner or later, viable models for both credibility and profitability in online news has to come in.
2 June 2009
Murdoch thinks newspapers will go digital --and won't be free on the Web
Rupert Murdoch should know -- it costs money to produce news and content. Why should newspapers give it for free--especially when the Web is what is putting them into trouble?
Here is the baron telling us how things should move--or the way he sees them moving.
Here is the baron telling us how things should move--or the way he sees them moving.
6 February 2009
The Future Of Newspapers: Are micropayments the way out?
First came print advertising because people read newspapers.
Then came TV advertising, that took away some of those ads
Then came the era of advertising-supported content, as readers became more of "consumers" being targeted by advertisers who signed large cheques.
Then came the part about newspapers adjusting to the demands of advertisers, and addressing readers as "target segments"
That phase is still on now, but the Web is changing --or has changed things--all over again.
Classified ads have migrated to the Web.
Newspaper Websites are not really getting that much ads.
Digital ads are growing,but are they the way out?
How do we price content? Journalism is a costly business, involves travel and credibility -- and unbiased coverage that is under constant pressure from politicians or advertisers in some form or the other.
In the age of the Internet, the business has become more complicated. New York Times has its property on mortgage, and Chicago Tribune filed for bankruptcy.
So what is the future of the newspaper?
This article in Time magazine discusses it, and apparently bets on micropayments. Oh well, let us see how it all goes.
Then came TV advertising, that took away some of those ads
Then came the era of advertising-supported content, as readers became more of "consumers" being targeted by advertisers who signed large cheques.
Then came the part about newspapers adjusting to the demands of advertisers, and addressing readers as "target segments"
That phase is still on now, but the Web is changing --or has changed things--all over again.
Classified ads have migrated to the Web.
Newspaper Websites are not really getting that much ads.
Digital ads are growing,but are they the way out?
How do we price content? Journalism is a costly business, involves travel and credibility -- and unbiased coverage that is under constant pressure from politicians or advertisers in some form or the other.
In the age of the Internet, the business has become more complicated. New York Times has its property on mortgage, and Chicago Tribune filed for bankruptcy.
So what is the future of the newspaper?
This article in Time magazine discusses it, and apparently bets on micropayments. Oh well, let us see how it all goes.
27 October 2008
When it is your NGO, and our content...
What happens when one of the country's biggest firebrand social-environmental activists is accused of copyright violation? Sunita Narain is in a spot because her organisation seems to have merrily used content from Mint newspaper without permission.
Here is what the managing editor says in his blog.
Takes me back to that old expression of mine: Loser Generated Content.
Anybody who thinks content is free or should be, is a saint (which I think I am not), or making good money elsewhere and treats knowledge as charity.
It's time quality content producers become aware of their rights.
Here is what the managing editor says in his blog.
Takes me back to that old expression of mine: Loser Generated Content.
Anybody who thinks content is free or should be, is a saint (which I think I am not), or making good money elsewhere and treats knowledge as charity.
It's time quality content producers become aware of their rights.
9 September 2008
Wow! Can micropayments rescue folks from Loser Generated Content?
via GigaOM by Stacey Higginbotham on 9/8/08
As a business journalist, I have to confess that I love it when money starts changing hands. I can get excited about all sorts of new and upcoming technology, but until people can find ways to create real value and get paid, it's kind of hard to take seriously, like the 25-year-old married to your 60-year-old boss. So that's why two startups launching at DEMO caught my eye.
Photrade is a platform on which photographers can post pics and track their use across the web. As part of that tracking, they can set fees for their photos and/or control which sites can use them. If the photo has been taken from the Photrade site, licenses can be revoked and updated at will. There are a few problems with this model, such as convincing people to use it in the first place — both to put quality images on it and pay for said images — but it's a step in the right direction.
The other is MixMatchMusic, which not only enables online musical collaboration between artists and but payment for such collaborations. The service takes a recorded track of music, analyzes it and suggests other music on the site that might compliment it. Musicians can use this to collaborate remotely, or meet musicians whose work they like. They can also create entire songs on the site and list them for download or commercial use. If someone buys the music, musicians get 85 percent of the revenue. Again, the site will have to get both buyers and sellers to particpate.
We hear plenty about all the people willing to work solely for their 15 minutes of fame on the web, and so far most efforts to help people cash in on their 15 minutes have fallen flat, but it's good to see startups trying hard to address this problem. Maybe users will start taking them up on the solutions.
10 July 2008
The Logic of the Four Screens
The "Silver Screen," television, PC and now mobile handsets --media convergence is increasingly about converging these four and optimising their mix. I am not even talking about print here. My friend Ajay Jain makes an interesting analysis of the four-screen play in his site here
27 June 2008
When the media looks at itself...with good wishes to Medianama
My friend Nikhil Pahwa has started his own venture to chronicle the media industry. While I wish all the best to Medianama I have some points to ponder.
When I started this blog three years ago, it was with the idea of talking to media students to whom I gave a lecture. Otherwise, I was a bit sceptical/cynical about the media talking to itself about itself, but now I am wiser.
Every industry needs its own vertical, and sites like Exchange4media and Indiantelevision are doing a rather good job in making the community come alive for its own purposes. Medianama and Nikhil's previous employer, ContentSutra fit into this matrix, and hopefully, so does this very blog.
This, I can see now, is not a case of "Mirror, mirror on the wall,..."
There is more to this than incestuous Narcissism. I find Indian companies generally have poor internal communications. This may not be intentional, but it is there. Very often, media professionals rely on stray gossip, hearsay and malicious slander to inform themselves about their own companies or industry trends. Vertical Internet sites can and do step in to clear the air, and should not be confused with blogs with malicious intent or content.
The simple fact is that there is always a market for truth and facts -- though we can quibble on the demand, supply and pricing factors. If you are in the business of facts, accuracy and truth, there are ways to face the competition in the marketplace. Journalists often pursue truth -- without knowing how to market it. Hopefully, they will live and learn. We all do.
When I started this blog three years ago, it was with the idea of talking to media students to whom I gave a lecture. Otherwise, I was a bit sceptical/cynical about the media talking to itself about itself, but now I am wiser.
Every industry needs its own vertical, and sites like Exchange4media and Indiantelevision are doing a rather good job in making the community come alive for its own purposes. Medianama and Nikhil's previous employer, ContentSutra fit into this matrix, and hopefully, so does this very blog.
This, I can see now, is not a case of "Mirror, mirror on the wall,..."
There is more to this than incestuous Narcissism. I find Indian companies generally have poor internal communications. This may not be intentional, but it is there. Very often, media professionals rely on stray gossip, hearsay and malicious slander to inform themselves about their own companies or industry trends. Vertical Internet sites can and do step in to clear the air, and should not be confused with blogs with malicious intent or content.
The simple fact is that there is always a market for truth and facts -- though we can quibble on the demand, supply and pricing factors. If you are in the business of facts, accuracy and truth, there are ways to face the competition in the marketplace. Journalists often pursue truth -- without knowing how to market it. Hopefully, they will live and learn. We all do.
18 June 2008
After IT crorepatis, digital ad crorepatis are here...
The digital ad business is going places -- and so are the people that make it happen. Here comes news that Quasar Media, incubated by Smile Interactive, has created seven crorepatis (For the uninitiated from outside India, that means those who earned more than 10 million rupees -- about $250,000 -- great money in India). The money comes from selling 75 per cent in the company to global giant WPP and early shareholders in the startup gained a lot, it seems.
Hmmm, that's neat money for Indian budgets, and also a nice sign that startup success is travelling outside the tech domain, though it must be said that this is technology-driven ad biz that we are talking about.
In the past, it is technology and softtware companies that spawned crorepatis, as companies like Infosys and iflex went public.
I think public recognition of the kind of money the staff made is also a nice way of luring scarce talent into the startup environment. Otherwise, people who do not make that kind of money are not the kind that talk about it.
Now, what does all this mean for content companies? I wonder.
Hmmm, that's neat money for Indian budgets, and also a nice sign that startup success is travelling outside the tech domain, though it must be said that this is technology-driven ad biz that we are talking about.
In the past, it is technology and softtware companies that spawned crorepatis, as companies like Infosys and iflex went public.
I think public recognition of the kind of money the staff made is also a nice way of luring scarce talent into the startup environment. Otherwise, people who do not make that kind of money are not the kind that talk about it.
Now, what does all this mean for content companies? I wonder.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)