IP Democracy: Mermigas on Confronting Media's Mega Problems

Diane Mermigas has penned another long, thoughtful piece that highlights “several mega problems” facing “the powers-that-be in media, entertainment and telecommunications” as they “[fasten] themselves to Internet-connected portable video devices and platforms to be part of the take-anything-anywhere explosion.”

In my last post, I cited Pete Cashmore’s comments on the value of blending the value of algorithms, users and editors in developing Web 2.0 systems for sorting and distributing content. As Mermigas points out, another important thing to add to that equation is the efficient creation (and funding) of genuinely valuable content. And, as her final comment (see below) suggests, another key is to strike a healthy balance between the capabilities of next-generation targeted advertising systems (a la Google), users’ willingness to pay, and the benefits and costs of anti-piracy technologies.

While it looks as though Microsoft could provide the operating systems for many devices and platforms, and that Yahoo! and Google could provide management and search, it is unclear as to who or what will provide the next generation of content and services designed for interactive consumers…

…Although branded content will have a strong draw, interactive consumers are more sophisticated and demanding. They will pay for content and services that enrich and enhance their lives and reflect their personal interests and needs. It’s as much about data as it is about video. They are more impressed with value than with the mode of distribution and device. And, perhaps most important of all and already lost on many, is the fact that there is a limit to what even the most interactive consumer will pay for the content and services they want in different places…

Citing the success of JibJab and the online video game Warcraft, Mermigas points to the potential and unanswered questions surrounding the recent deal between Sprint and leading cable operators, which includes a $200 million investment by the companies:

It was the first sign that media and entertainment giants might begin shifting some of the money they are spending on huge stock buybacks into investing in content and services that don’t exist today. The proof will be in how they actually spend those funds, and whether any will go to supporting grass-roots content creators who can tweak conventional media’s psyche…

…What’s required is a call for a genuine creative awakening not only in Hollywood and New York but everywhere in between where artists, writers, producers, animators and performers reside. The demand will be strong — even as attention spans are shorter — to fill these new devices and pipelines with differentiated content that big media so far has defined only by what it knows best. This innovation will require assigned funds and resources, artistic freedom and a corporate mandate to think outside the box.

The other call must be for a far-reaching, all-inclusive anti-piracy effort on the part of those who make their fortune from content — whether they produce, distribute or service it…As that occurs, the viability of how much or even whether consumers pay for individual content and services on portable videoplayers and any other Internet-connected devices becomes more questionable. If you attach to that the burgeoning Internet advertising business that relies on a solid content and services base, then interactive economics are surely up for grabs.

Posted by Mitch Shapiro on November 9, 2005 12:02 PM to IP Democracy