The Difference Between Pioneers and Settlers

12 02 10 Links added to end of post....

Americans need their media businesses to begin to make needed adjustments to their business model in order to better serve the changed markets for content. In order to expedite these changes it helps to recognize the difference, historically, between pioneers and settlers.

I am a big fan of old westerns. One reason why is because many capture the real mood and circumstances of the time the film portrays. There were economic and social highs and lows over the many decades as we moved west as a society. One of the most captivating periods of social transformation is the transition from scattered pioneers to competitive communities (markets) of settlers.  Once a frontier has been established this often involves a complicated social adjustment. (For instance: Thinking we should rely on government to manage the process is a reflex reaction but a very bad idea. Why? People should define their specific needs for government and it should not be the other way around. History shows that may invite greed and corruption when so many unknowns still exist.)

Pioneering anything requires a unique perspective and insight.  It requires skill sets most people (or companies) do not cultivate. In reviewing recent and distant history it is easy to see how the process naturally allows for inefficiencies. The inefficiencies are easily recognized later by the settlers because competition did not exist earlier. Different challenges that no longer exist are ignored as the old ways are often criticized. Yes, pioneers in our old west often wasted resources and often made no attempt to manage or conserve them but that perspective is now passed on by those who came after the pioneers.

Adding social structure to a newly settled frontier is a messy process. The vision of the few gives way to the Choices of the many. Traditions surrounding compromise and right-of-way must be established. Social contracts not previously considered often require revision in light of the needs of the new local markets. To do this, updated social norms must be accounted for and allowed room to change more with the place and the times...and then change again if needed. This is not the job of government and oligopolies will not do this well.  Successful social structures endure because they are sensitive and flexible to changing shared values of the many...not the few visionaries.  As populations grow the values of pioneers are inevitably in conflict with the newer settlers because expectations are expanded.  (Many great movie settings were born this way.)

What changed  since the late 1990's is very obvious: Technology. This change has enabled consumers of content (all kinds) to change their expectations and to have Choice for the first time. Choice is as important to the business of media as the railroad or modern guns were to settling the west and changed our nation forever. Choice has already transformed  us as a nation and how we communicate. (witness: social media) Much more change through Choice is coming.

Pioneers are both essential and reliable elements of a successful free society as they confront new frontiers. So too are settlers.  The analogy I am painting needs to be discussed (LOUDLY) in the new media these days. Government and regulatory bodies need to be removed from the business of content for The People when it comes to developing new business models for production and delivery systems. The notion that journalism might somehow go away is preposterous. Many of the same interests that have been firing journalists are the same ones hiring lobbyist to voice fearful concerns asking for unreasonable protection. I ask you to think hard about these issues because media is primary social tool. It is built into our founding agreement as a people. Media tools are among the most important components of a free society.  Government does not belong in the middle of these big decisions regulating one of our core freedoms. New business models will not be smartly figured out by government agencies...government tends to protect yesterday's shared values because it reflects consensus associated with lagging interests. Protecting old interests would be terribly unproductive for our society right now. Mature businesses commonly lose relevance when significant new technology comes along. New business models are put to use in order to more efficiently use new technology to serve changing markets. This is natural selection at work in the economy. The businesses that were most powerful in content production and distribution in the 20th century will probably not be the companies leading us in the 21st century unless government is allowed to hold us back using fear because of powerful lobbyists. So, how do we look forward and not backward?

We need crowds of competitively-minded settlers right now; lots of them. Settlers think big and are willing to risk it all to suffer humble beginnings and are capable of moving mountains slowly. The best days of some digital pioneers are already coming to an end...a time when their specific interests are in conflict with the needs of the new settlers. Many 20th century media pioneers feel like they should somehow be grandfathered into this new era. The old business model needs to be updated. Significantly Changed. Pulled Apart. Specialized. The parts will not go away but the fact that some parts will be re-allocated does not ordain ownership of these parts to the old enterprises as if it is royal title being passed down. There are no meaningful pedigrees in business that a market does not support by way of profits.  The businesses of building cars and banking has taught us this lesson many times recently. Failure must have stigma attached or winning means nothing. We are all going to have to earn it in the years ahead. Failing companies cannot be bailed out or we risk creating disincentives through bailouts.

If Congress and federal agencies get out of the way, the free markets will combine myriad new possibilities to produce more efficient content companies. This result will make us all better off than we are today.  We will have journalism, many new jobs, and better forms of communication benefiting our free society.  Right now, it does not matter if you produce journalism or entertainment. The tools we use to get our content products to market have changed and need to be changed much more in order to serve quickly changing communities of content consumers. Most pioneers move away as settlers arrive. A few of them are able to change (evolve) their perspectives and help to build the new communities that rise up around them even though they are no longer part of a powerful regional or local oligopoly.  They adjust and change with the new shared values around them. When you think about this, one thing is very clear: It's time to change. Are you ready? 

The end of this post is where I might begin a meaningful comparison of Google and Apple as both pioneer and settler. I'll save that for another post. Which do you think is more likely to adjust to settler lifestyle? The answer might surprise you.

Wired Magazine highlights how the settler mindset acts

iroM: follow up comments (at very end) of this post link 11 02 10

Why Pioneers Have Arrows in Their Backs