The PR buzz created around today's launch of a tablet PC device is astonishing and a testament to a marketing machine that is currently setting the standard. I've read no fewer than a dozen posts on it in the past few days and avoided three times as many on reputable sites.
It makes me think back to the larger trend thread in the media universe that began (for me) with Google's You Tube v. Viacom...a billion dollar lawsuit because Viacom is not capable of protecting their own content in this new age of technology. So much has happened since this suit began 3 1/2 years ago. It seems like it will die from old age and irrelevance before any real attempt is made to acknowledge that the issue is not framed correctly.
Of the content I did read about Apple's new tablet PC is how it may save old media by creating a new channel for content. Another new channel !? It may be wrapped up prettier and more convenient than others but it will fail later (if not sooner) if it leverages itself on the incremental revenue from this new channel for content. Why?
The drum I beat louder here than any other is how Media's main social trend is called the era of Choice. This particular time we are living through is all about Choice and how that dynamic in the market for content has shifted to the consumer. (This device, as imagined, certainly seems to serve Choice.) The second key trend, one that is as important as Choice, is the place/time we now stand in American generational history. We are squarely in the midst of the largest developing generational gap in five generations, and maybe 13 generations depending upon how you frame it. To see this trend requires a unique perspective that various authors can help you adopt. ( two suggestions at the end) Generational turnover is critical in how it affects a nation's outlook and it's shared values.
Generational issues are critical influences in social trending dynamics. They matter because each generation has a different world view.
Last night a friend on the opposite coast turned on a video camera on his smart phone so I could see what was happening there as it happened and streamed across the web. From still pictures to live (personal) video. The small leaps keep coming. I am not so sure what new use of technology this tablet will make convenient but magazine articles and TV shows for sale are not likely to justify another expensive gadget for anyone other than aging Boomers and the oldest Xers.
Put the era of Choice trend side by side with the very differently framed generational turnover trend and it offers a powerful perspective of the status of other key social trends in the US right now. These two larger significant trends must be seen through the lens of our present state as a country (our values combined with present circumstances). Both Choice and Generational turnover drove the Viacom You Tube suit into existence. The sooner it is decided the more older Boomer influence (values) will help decide the suit. Ultimately, what really matters is another trend that has yet to re-emerge. Digital ownership of information that is either personal or proprietary began developing in 2001, 2002, and 2003 and then quietly began fading again into the background noise. Right now the enterprise version of this social trend is all we hear about today.
Back in the old west ranchers with large spreads of land were eventually forced to put up fences. At first this seemed ridiculous to even consider as an option. "Five hundred miles of fence?!" Later they were necessary and even later they became essential. Perspectives change as circumstances change. These are the jobs we often hand to business enterprises.
This type of fix applied to content businesses is why the act of specialization requires an enterprise to focus more squarely upon specific challenges. To do this the function of media companies must be separated along lines that serve the market of content consumers and not the investors or "old guys" running the businesses. Of course this comes off as sounding harsh and unnecessarily critical. This is exactly why the generational turnover trend must be placed in an appropriate manner right next to the Era of Choice trend. And while these trends are not equals in any way, they offer valuable perspectives that tell us how and why the business of media must change.
Blaming Google for not building fences for them is like Viacom leaving their cattle at the market with a note taped to them saying please forward this much ($) to the owner if you want to own this cow. This analogy suggests that the tablet PC may be a good solution as suggested this week. This is exactly why seeing social mood and generational turnover issues separately are useful with regard to the longer time horizon. The longer time perspective tells us that ownership issues (in a broad social context) are the key to understanding where we are taking media as a business.
Maybe the best lesson here is how true social trends cross generational boundaries as they gather social momentum. Fads have more limited appeal that prevents social momentum from being attained. The difference between the two is some combination of shared values that are not the same.
generational discussions: (both are at least a few years old and still very worthy reads)
The Fourth Turning (discussion of generational trending paradigm)
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