For readers who do not realize, this is my second blog. The other other blog I write, The Root Trend is about big picture social trending issues that matter to marketers and business owners. Yes, that is a very broad subject area. It uses a specific model to see social trends that originates with the general idea called social mood. This blog (iroM) is intended to be an extension of that view and a discussion about how three specific trending forces are impacting the business of media right now. Social mood, generational issues, and what I call the era of Choice are each worthy of separate discussion but can be viewed together to see where media is headed as a business (where we are taking our media tools). Each of these three exerts a different pull on the business of selling content but together they offer a strong directional argument for how the business model for media enterprises must now change in order to better serve their markets. And while I have not shared that specific vision yet, I will in some format soon. In the meantime there is plenty of connected issues to look at from this same perspective.
Oftentimes, I begin looking at current (social) trending dynamics over at the Root Trend blog and later it'll migrate here. That is how this blog came to be in the first place. This blog was first inspired by this lawsuit almost 4 years ago though it took 2 more years to develop into its own blog. For instance, right now the latest post over at The Root Trend is about how shared values toward privacy issues change (over time) and how they are expressed as different trends depending upon from where you are viewing it.
From the perspective of a media company, the issues surrounding intellectual property rights (IP) are being shouted about right now and for the past 3 1/2 years. IP rights are being argued as if they = expressions towards privacy in the world of enterprises. There's no better example of this pomp than Viacom's suit of Google/You Tube for $1 billion dollars. Viacom is not able to police their own products, does not want to pay to do it, and in keeping with decades of media's protected market status, they are suing someone else to do it for them. Now, that last sentence contains a pretty strong opinion...no doubt. When you take the time to see where we (society) are taking media broadly and according to the large trending forces (read as "shared values), you cannot help see the falseness of Viacom's position while knowing they'll never admit that much. They can't. No matter how this turns out they'll lose money because the old media business model is falling further and further behind. Why? Because it is not serving the larger, changing social need these days....because shared values have changed (are changing) with the adoption of digital technology. The technology did not change us. We changed as we realized that more is possible from our media tools and there is no going back. The FCC and other large barriers to entry into the business of selling content that previously existed, have now disappeared. The flood of competition was inevitable. The sharing that exists as a result is part of the emerging social norm. In the years ahead many cases surrounding this core issue will be decided in courts incrementally but right now it has already changed the business of selling content. The unspoken truth is that no one realizes how to do it differently. The best businesses surf the unfolding social trend....and do not fight it.
In a article last night in the FT, Viacom and Google's lawyers exchange jabs in initial arguments, only now in a 3 1/2 year old suit. 'You Tube is an obvious attempt to circumvent copyright infringement laws and Google should be responsible as if they are a media company'. And, in order to prove the position, Viacom has been seen uploading protected materials to the You Tube site and then complaining about the material being there. First, get the free promotion, then a slap em with a suit "as if". It's the American way!
The fact that this last statement was alleged in the FT, a paper usually beyond reproach, I submit that millions of our own tax dollars are being wasted by a company gaming our own system instead of doing the work they should be doing...or paying another competent company to do it for them.
Google is a behemoth. It is a giant that is almost an oligopoly. Many believe they deserve to be watched closely. They certainly deserve considerable praise for delivering us Choice even if it is disruptive. The age of broadcast began dying with Google. I suspect it is hard not to blame them as if they are responsible but social trends this big are not caused by technology or a single business.....social momentum is required for trends to happen and history shows us clearly how technology has often existed for decades before being adopted and used. The industrial revolution in the US was just such a trend. It took the rift between large generations to expose this overdue need for change then, and now again....and these times are exactly when history shows us huge examples of social change!
The most obvious lessons of the new industrial revolution are simple and straight forward. They are also remarkably similar to what we learned last time:
1. Recognize the fact that we have all changed for the better;it's not a fad.(How we values things changes as social mood changes and different time horizons matter a great deal when using this view)
2. Understand that generational rifts are where the largest changes happen to social contracts. The generational perspective is essential to understanding how to prioritize social developments but is always secondary to social mood.
3. Specialize your function to gain competitive advantage. Competitive markets require more specialized focus, not broader. Vertical integration and exclusionary software strategies will be socially rejected as a business strategy unless it is demonstrated to add value not available elsewhere for market participants.
The FT article link above is worth reading.
NYT story 2 24 10 re Italy's bureaucratic courts on Google: Larger Threat is Seen in Google Case (in Italy) NYT (read the entire article because every time this story is told it is like hearing two different movies)
For further reading @ The Root Trend: What is social mood?
Social trends reflect the polarity of shared
values
More on the link between social mood and consumer behavior: the most basic social expressions
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