Comments on: What’s Next for Media Democratization?

By: rustyspeidel

rustyspeidel — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:33:38 +0000

It’s the same as it ever was, just different distribution methods. Audience and clout come at a cost. Ask any musician who gets accused of “selling out” as soon as they get a popular hit.

By: belllindsay

belllindsay — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 17:28:20 +0000

@pmayze Or we get offered boat loads of money and sell out! LOL Happy Christmas, Paul!

By: pmayze

pmayze — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:06:46 +0000

@belllindsay Don’t get me started on the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer is my homie.

I wish I had a good solution (that didn’t involve self-promotion, which I’ll resist) – but I guess in the past we’ve seen Building Societies form in response to the power of Banks, and Co-Operatives form in response to the power of retailers. So maybe what happens is that independent blogs club together to find ways to compete with the ‘the big boys’.

I like the thought of that. Especially around Christmas time, it’s quite Frank Capra.

By: belllindsay

belllindsay — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:34:03 +0000

Hi @pmayze , always enjoy meeting another Gutenberg Press fan, and if you start quoting from the Canterbury Tales, watch out! One question for you: If history does indeed repeat itself, how do you think content creators should be changing up their strategies as the big boys start to snap up some of the others? How do we continue to draw eyeballs to content that doesn’t have a huge media machine – with all that money and reach – behind it?

By: ThePaulSutton

ThePaulSutton — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 09:43:03 +0000

I’d never really thought of things this way until we spoke, Paul. But reading this piece it seems almost inevitable that the successful blogs will be incorporated within ‘media empires’. I’m not sure what form that takes exactly or what the implications of that would be for the independent guys (or the content of the blogs that become owned), but it could be that @ginidietrich does become a gazillionaire soon by selling ‘ownership’ of SpinSucks to a new media corporation of one type or another. I’ve always liked you Gini…

Are platforms like Howwwl the answer? I don’t know that either, but I really like what you’re doing and think there’s a real future for community-based platforms organised around content streams.

[Full disclosure: I've recently been working with Paul and the team at Howwwl]

By: ThePaulSutton

ThePaulSutton — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 09:28:11 +0000

@ginidietrich In what way, Gini? I know we chatted briefly about platforms like Howwwl and the trends in media consumption that Paul’s covered here, but what specifically has got your brain whirring?

By: pmayze

pmayze — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:48:19 +0000

@Jensenborger6 Ay, there’s the rub (I just quoted Shakespeare! Gold star for me!)

‘…if only the world knew how to find it.’ That’s where the big advertising budget comes in. I think that’s why when blogs first started to blossom we got so excited about things being different this time. Because they weren’t too hard to find, so the little guy could get a huge audience without big bucks.

Same thing happened in video games recently with the App Store. Everyone started saying it’s a new era, with two guys in a bedroom making a fortune. And then everyone did it, the App Store got swamped, and now you need huge publishers to get noticed.

Plus ca change…

(I just used French! Another gold star. I’m on fire right now!)

By: pmayze

pmayze — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:40:54 +0000

@KenMueller ginidietrich ‘I think the successful media outlets (media corporations) will only be truly successful when they understand the need to include their readers/viewers in the process.’

Yup. While this still won’t equate to democratisation it may be our best hope: readers holding media corporations responsible for being more inclusive. Because if the readers vote with their feet (um… eyes maybe) then shareholders will take note.

By: pmayze

pmayze — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:33:18 +0000

@jasonkonopinski Cheers Jason! You carry on meeting those deadlines, quite happy to have the compliment just sit there

By: pmayze

pmayze — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:32:24 +0000

@rustyspeidel Well I think you are already being quite the optimist in saying that the allure is the ability to make a difference. That’s great to hear! Being honest, I’d find getting handed a bag of cash quite alluring, however much I like to be all ‘Zen Habits’ about this stuff

On a macro scale though, It feels like diversity and independence will end up in the hands of hobbyists. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though – hobbyists have served us well before now. Just look at Wikipedia.