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The Evolution of Content

January 20, 2008 By

We’ve come a long way in how content is being presented. Whereas content used to be published by predominantly professionals, consumers are now able to publish content themselves. The form of content has also evolved from a more broadcasting-oriented form to a more dialogue-oriented form.

Traditional media, such as TV stations and print publishers, are seeing consumption decline as consumers choose consume their content from a more diverse set of channels. Traditional media agencies, such as advertising agencies and PR agencies, are scrambling to keep up and justify their value/existence/involvement. Sometimes, the old business models won’t work in this new day and age, sometimes the talent isn’t available to deal with new media forms or the current regime is reluctant to change or in denial about the consequences. None of these are good reasons to continue “business as usual”. The world is changing and it requires a new approach.

Start preparing yourself to cope with the evolution of content.

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25 Things Your Future Colleagues Won’t Know About

December 16, 2007 By

As we approach the end of the year, I thought I’d make a post about the incredible technological progress we’ve made. Here’s my overview of things that will draw blank stares from your future colleagues.

Media:

  1. Vinyl records / VHS tapes / Cassette tapes / CDs / LaserDisc / MiniDisc and their playback equipment
  2. 3.5” and 5.25” Floppy disks
  3. Film rolls
  4. Standard definition
  5. Encyclopedias and atlases
  6. Phone books
  7. Newspapers and magazines

Hardware:

  1. CRT monitors
  2. Dot-Matrix printers
  3. Typewriters
  4. Answering machines
  5. Rotary-dial telephones

Software:

  1. DOS
  2. Command line interface
  3. WordPerfect
  4. Lotus

Connectivity:

  1. Handwritten postal mail
  2. Payphones
  3. Fax machines
  4. Modems
  5. Pagers
  6. Walkie Talkies

Web:

  1. Portals / Search engines like Altavista and Lycos
  2. Chat programs like IRC and ICQ

And the most frightening thing that will be forgotten is “privacy”.

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The Future Of Press Releases

September 16, 2007 By

I’ve recently been given a book which describes how to write a press release. I have to admit that—until now—I never paid much attention to press releases. Maybe ignorance was bliss, but I do feel grateful for realizing that most of them are basically full of crock.

This is roughly the basic layout for a press release:

  • First paragraph: Provides answers to the questions who, what, where and when
  • Second paragraph: Elaborates on the why and the how
  • Third paragraph: Adds more context/history to the press release subject
  • Fourth paragraph: Contains quotes from involved people
  • Fifth paragraph: Provides some additional (non) essential information

It’s all very elementary but the advent of a more consumer-powered media culture makes the press release seem old-fashioned. While press releases are sent to the media, the media aren’t the target audience. The consumers are and the media are only a channel.

There is a case to be made for renaming “press releases” to “community releases” that spark both consumer (community) involvement and interactivity. People will have questions about your press release. Why not open up a channel towards them and start the dialogue with them? This might sound like more work, but think of it this way: you can focus a large part of the conversation to a single point, a single point that you control.

Empower your consumers to talk to you. Empower them to talk about you.

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Will Internet Kill The Video Star?

August 19, 2007 By

I’ve basically stopped watching TV for the last two years or so. Most of the TV time has been replaced by the Web. The Web has provided with more value than TV, both from as source of information and source of entertainment.

So is the Web supplanting television in the same way television replaced radio? In short, no. For the last few years, there has been a major convergence trend between all the multimedia channels. This convergence will continue and video will play a larger role on the Web.

New business models will be developed to monetize online video and videos will be used more frequently to attract visitors/fans or drive traffic.

Consider whether your company/brand/product/service can benefit from focusing more on video.

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The Redundant Human

July 15, 2007 By

Advancement in information and industrial technology has resulted in many new solutions that make human involvement unnecessary. Take travel websites for example. Websites like Expedia, Orbitz and—my personal favorite—Kayak are able to search the web for you to find the best deal for your next vacation.

Where does the good old travel agency come in? Nowhere, really. Some may have their own websites where they provide a similar search service, but the fact is that any human involvement can be cut to zero.

Of course there will still be people who prefer to visit a travel agency. Some travel agencies will continue to exist, but they only do so because they differentiate themselves by offering more than being able to find the best deal for a customer. They offer knowledge and expertise in a special area, like adventure travel, or specialize in a particular niche/audience.

Differentiate. Improve your skills and knowledge, if only to prevent being replaced by a machine.

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