The Era of Choice is a trend about how our acceptance of
the internet is changing market demand for content (media) of all
kinds. For many decades we took what we were offered and scheduled our
lives according to the constraints of programming schedules. The last
fourteen years has confirmed that if the consumer of content is
organized, then they can both ask for and get the content they want,
when they want it. This is not a small detail, especially today as the
number
of modalities available increases. This general social impulse goes
beyond how we use content in our lives. The pervasiveness of this era
(this impulsive behavior)is important to appreciate as enterprises and
marketers. A
major evolution in collective social behavior is occurring and is
reshaping many social dynamics we often do not think about but,
especially the entire broad vertical of businesses serving these
content needs.
Two years ago this was worth stating. Today it is a mainstream understanding. An enterprise must look deeper in order to make decisions about how to serve changing needs. This blog is dedicated to the discussion and understanding of why media enterprises will evolve in the years ahead and how the larger social trending dynamics are shaping our next steps. (link to The Root Trend )
The subject of media matters to me because I worked in the industry for 16 years. The subject matter of this blog is big picture and looks at how the key social trends at work right now deserve to be seen from their long term nature before looking at today's short term issues. Just telling you <here> how important one aspect of these immediate trends are right now is meaningless in terms of helping to develop lasting competitive advantage, as the (industrial) (r)evolution of media continues. It is not about telling the future either. Seeing the big picture allows us to capture the essence of social momentum and when that is seen clearly, we can move more effectively into the present with our decision making.
The reason for this blog is to put into context why the market has
changed and will continue to as the post Boomer generation(s) makes
their mark on our culture. I see a specific prescription for the
industry. Clearly the industry is not ready yet to make this shift. Over
time as the old ways of profitability change, new ways of seeing today
will allow us to break up this business and specialize each part to the
point where we are all better for it (and more profitable too).
If you are a decision maker (or related) in any aspect of the media universe right now, understanding the interaction of these long term social behavioral impulses will allow you to make shorter term decisions using emerging media trends in a way that is much more likely to foster competitive advantage. I hope you will join me in the conversation.
More background on this work:
Understanding Social Trends
The Root Trend is a discussion about basic social trending dynamics as well as larger unfolding trends that matter to businesses and marketers. It uses the socionomic model that looks at social mood as the primary underlying social trend. From this broad perspective it is possible to mine down into larger social issues to see the kinds of changing shared values that will affect businesses in often predictable ways.
The (industrial) (r)Evolution of Media blog is a specific discussion about the media business and how three large primary trends are changing how business gets done in this critical industry. Media is a primary social tool in the US and from that perspective we can see where we are taking it as a society. This blog is also a developing book that discusses what the new business model(s) for media will look like. Using the lessons shared over at the Root Trend we can see how certain basic changes in focus are required by all for-profit content related enterprises.
The media discussion above is one important example from my professional background about how to apply ideas discussed at the Root Trend to specific businesses. Eventually, the ideas surrounding social mood will be expanded and applied by many professionals adding considerable breadth to the idea that social patterning can be observed using the valuable perspective gained by seeing longer histories.
By seeing social trends as a group process that surround (changing)shared values, we can recognize the basic structure of trends and apply this knowledge in actionable suggestions. The dynamics of social trending processes is practical top-down perspective for all enterprises. How to focus on these distinctions is a worthy endeavor.
