Last week, I went on a dream tour for media geeks. I had 10 meetings in New York and Washington DC with some of our industry’s best thinkers.
I met with leading academics at CUNY and NYU, very smart people at large media companies (IAC, AOL and Bloomberg) and more smart people at start-ups (SeeClickFix, GrowthSpur, Daylife and Allbritton’s yet to be named “Jim Brady Project”.)
Here’s what I learned:
- No one feels good about the future of most newspapers and television networks.
- All agree that content curation will remain a key strategy for smart editors.
- No one can agree on which sites and models are going to succeed though Jim Brady’s new project for Allbritton (parent company of Politico) and Mark Potts’ GrowthSpur are generating a lot of excitement and curiosity.
- All acknowledge that existing revenue models aren’t working.
- Many think that the best opportunity for revenue is in local advertising.
- Others think that there is opportunity in national advertising, though the model will be built around sponsorships, events, vertical creation and content integration.
- All agree that mobile will continue to grow in importance, but no one had solid plans for monetizing it.
- Two people told me I should leave the media business entirely and try PR or perhaps managing a corporate website. (ouch!)
No simple answers indeed.
Potential responses to those "smart people":
“No one feels good about the future? 1) because uncertainty is uncomfortable 2) and because you need to feel good (big clue - this is something we all need).”
“‘Content creation’ is one of the most disembodied phrases I have ever heard. Please replace this terminology. No body, no cigar, not even close. I believe there was a day when Microsoft spoke of such things.”
“Websites are merely the banana peels on the web. Beware of slipping and sliding on what is merely the peel and not the substance. By the way, I’m not just talking about the ‘user interface’ (ugh).”
“Don’t talk to me about revenue until you understand value.“
“Models are for those who need something to replicate, the assurance that it has worked before and a justification for risk. This word does not belong in the vocabulary of innovation. Leave it in the world of fashion runways where it belongs.”
“Advertising? Do not base your future on an industry idea that is struggling to determine it’s own future. This is like subletting space from Chrysler. Take one step back and re-examine the larger dysfunction and the bigger opportunity.”
“Local and national are old tools. Geography is no longer what you think it is.”
“Mobile is still only a human being in motion. As an active member of this cyborg community I am learning that I have many needs that make me happy. In this regard, it’s never been about the phone or mobility per se. McLuhan lives.”
“There is no leaving, there is only a different master.”
Judy, love your need to inquire. Thanks for doing this.
Robin
Posted by: Robin Uchida | 01/28/2010 at 11:42 AM