Comments on: Saving the Newspapers, Should the Focus be on Content or Audience? http://www.fastforwardblog.com/2008/08/15/saving-the-newspapers-should-the-focus-be-on-content-or-audience/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:29:35 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Ryan http://www.fastforwardblog.com/2008/08/15/saving-the-newspapers-should-the-focus-be-on-content-or-audience/comment-page-1/#comment-175533 Ryan Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:24:54 +0000 http://www.fastforwardblog.com/?p=1089#comment-175533 Agreed! If everyone shared content, it would collapse - sort of a "tragedy of commons" issue. But if you're one of the first content distributors to pick on this, there will be plenty of other's content to pick from. Moreover, as a content distributor you will have to compensate the creators in some way. So they will not go away, but instead we'll see the media marketplace split in two: some media outlets will become good distributors, some will become good creators. It's horizontal specialization! A trait of a mature industry! Agreed! If everyone shared content, it would collapse – sort of a “tragedy of commons” issue. But if you’re one of the first content distributors to pick on this, there will be plenty of other’s content to pick from.

Moreover, as a content distributor you will have to compensate the creators in some way. So they will not go away, but instead we’ll see the media marketplace split in two: some media outlets will become good distributors, some will become good creators. It’s horizontal specialization! A trait of a mature industry!

]]> By: Mads Kristensen http://www.fastforwardblog.com/2008/08/15/saving-the-newspapers-should-the-focus-be-on-content-or-audience/comment-page-1/#comment-173136 Mads Kristensen Sat, 16 Aug 2008 07:19:13 +0000 http://www.fastforwardblog.com/?p=1089#comment-173136 I agree that an audience focus is better than a content focus. Because the audience is your costumer base, and catering to their needs ultimately decides whether you have a viable business or not. Having said that there's one point, I think you're either missing or have skipped: In order for a media company to aggregate and link out, somebody else has to carry the cost of producing the content. Let's for one minute assume that the size of the ad market is stable. With a media company linking out and making the same kind of money as they would have if they have produced the incremental content themselves, another company would be at a cost that would not be offset by added revenue. In other words they wouldn't have a viable business model, and the ecosystem would collapse. Unless of course you're suggesting that the extra content should come from someone who doesn't think of content production as a business? Overall, I like the idea of focusing on audience. I think it's absolutely right. But I also think that you oversimplify things in the above. So I'm looking forward to the sequel. I agree that an audience focus is better than a content focus. Because the audience is your costumer base, and catering to their needs ultimately decides whether you have a viable business or not.

Having said that there’s one point, I think you’re either missing or have skipped: In order for a media company to aggregate and link out, somebody else has to carry the cost of producing the content. Let’s for one minute assume that the size of the ad market is stable. With a media company linking out and making the same kind of money as they would have if they have produced the incremental content themselves, another company would be at a cost that would not be offset by added revenue. In other words they wouldn’t have a viable business model, and the ecosystem would collapse. Unless of course you’re suggesting that the extra content should come from someone who doesn’t think of content production as a business?

Overall, I like the idea of focusing on audience. I think it’s absolutely right. But I also think that you oversimplify things in the above. So I’m looking forward to the sequel.

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