Written by Tom Foremsky,
My first post on ZDNet was a column about “Skinny Applications” in January 2006. For the next 16 years, I’ve been trying to stay ahead of the curve in finding key trends.
The most important trend I wrote, perhaps my biggest obsession, was the collapse of the media industry’s business model using Internet technology.
I have long recognized that the advent of the Web is a powerful publishing technology. The development of what is called Web 2.0 and the explosive use of blogging technology has added powerful additional features.
It has dual uses — computer screens are both publishing and printing presses-they can also be published. This enables social media platforms, targeted advertising, and many other aspects of the modern online world we are experiencing today.
Advertisers no longer have to rely on newspapers, television, or radio to reach potential customers. Whether customers like it or not, they can contact and interact with consumers directly.
Loss of income poses a danger to poor media and society. We recognize the need for a gatekeeper who is a media expert to curb hate speech, fake news, etc., but today’s media companies like Facebook and Twitter can’t or won’t do this.
Today, we understand the value of traditional media and how it softens public debate and keeps it civil and focused. We understand the value of newspapers in keeping out fake news and the value of high-quality, validated news articles.
So why can’t we capture that value and reward it? Why are fraudulent sites full of fake news rewarded? Why is there no solution yet?
With all our foresight and technical genius. Have you yet come up with a technology that can capture the value of high quality media and reward you for creating more media?
Nearly 20 years ago, the end of the media industry realized that it meant that every company had to become a media company to some extent. Journalists once visited the company and wrote about the results, but there are few journalists left and it is overworked. Companies are forced to try to create their own stories about themselves.
However, it is difficult to produce all kinds of media content because companies are not suitable as media companies. Companies are struggling with the editing process. A single article produced by a company may include weeks of meetings with stakeholders that can be rejected at any time. This is a very inefficient and costly way to create media content.
Enterprises now have access to incredibly powerful media technology. For example, you can equip a high-resolution video and recording studio at a very low cost, including advanced software editing tools. But that’s not enough. Companies still need to produce compelling content on a regular basis and compete in the world of compelling content. As a result, companies struggle to become media companies and generally do a very bad job.
However, the turmoil in the media industry continues with unclear solutions, and companies need to improve their position as media companies.
Companies need to be good at creating and distributing their own media. For the past 20 years, I’ve shown some of the big tech companies like IBM, Intel, HP, SAP, Tibco, Infineon how to become a media company. Change happens slowly, but it happens.
“Every company is a media company” is one of the most important and disruptive trends in our global society. Being in the midst of such changes is exciting.
This is my last IMHO post on ZDNet, but here you can follow some of my work. Silicon Valley Watcher-The Crossroads of Technology and Media.. And keep in mind that all companies are media companies. EC = MC – The transformation equation for all businesses.