The publishing industry is coming alive... thanks to users.
That's my take away from last week's digital information industry’s flagship conference, the SIIA Information Industry Summit. No matter the media, whether it be music, books, newspapers or business media, the themes are the same. Users are getting in on the act and content is alive because of that. Form is changing in every publishing model and publishers recognize that new forms provide vastly increased product and business opportunity.
In thinking about the various publishing media over the past few days after the conference, I couldn't help notice examples of how users are impacting each of the publishing media among the people I know. Here's a few tales from my neighborhood (literally) that illustrate what's going on and how pervasive this already is across publishing:
1. The music industry leads the way, not as an industry but at the user level.
Take a look at our friend and neighbor's son Samuel (The Wiz) Adams music video "I hate college" on YouTube with nearly one million views and was posted as a response to Asher Roth's hit "I love College". Sampling and mash-ups are redefining the form of music and the result is that instead of simply listening to each others music, artists are resonating with each other and Joe Public is not only getting in on the act, but is redefining the industry.
The result is that music performers are beginning to sing together in almost a real-time conversation. Sam is currently negotiating a record contract with one of the majors, which looks like a win-win for the music industry and these new stakeholders in the equation...the public.
2. Japanese cartoons, or anime, provides a great example of this reverb effect.
Another local in my neighborhood, Ian Condry, Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies at MIT works as a cultural anthropologist and studies online sharing (or piracy) in the circulation of anime, which turns out to be vital to the industry and to the transnational flow of Japanese culture to and from America and Europe, even if the industry seldom recognizes its value. More simply put, kids around the world love Yu-gi-oh, Pokemon, and its more upper-teen versions such as Mushi-shi, a bizarre, otherworldly suspense series. The anime industry is a master of the formless and the form, and is a publisher's dream. Anime pops-up everywhere, from cartoons to trading cards to video gaming and movies.
Anime relies on a connected network of users/creators that keep the industry alive. Ian Condry tells of a strange world of "in-between" animators, talented kids who live, sleep and eat as an integral part of anime production. But maybe most important are the unpaid non-Japanese fans or "fansubs", who add translated subtitles and then distribute the latest, hard-to-get anime. Anime is the most evolved example of how electronic media resonates through a conversation with its fan base and creators regardless of national boundaries.
3. Newspapers are also getting in on the act.
Newspapers have figured out that virtual real estate on their website isn't as confined as the restriction of print space. On the internet, newspapers find the additional space on websites can be put to good effect by letting the smartest minds out there compete for guest columns. Take a look at Anthony Goodman's column on the FT. Anthony describes the arrangement as a clear win-win. The newspaper get high quality, free content. The writer gets the platform and the voice that is leveraged across their business and career.
4. Book publishers have to close their eyes and jump into the ebook.
The possibilities are endless and therefore difficult to predict. But these examples are all fundamental shifts in how media works and really exciting. There was a lot of talk and uncertainty at SIIA around the book publishing industry, which is next up to dive into this digital transition with the arrival of ebook readers like Kindle and now the Apple iPad. The opportunity
is immense, but the
change in form is as yet unclear.
The "book" is a ghost in the machine
that both publishers and users have yet to come to grips with. What
does that mean exactly? Well a book is a form based on old-world paper
and printing technologies. There is no reason why the book in its
current form of 200 to 400 pages needs to exist in the digital world.
At its core the book is a story, and stories can be any size or length.
How users will contribute to this space and use this
freedom is still hazy, but the models above provide the signposts and
the prognosis is that book publishing like other media will come alive
as a
result.
5. The staid world of business media is also changing.
Our own company NetProspex is a social business media tool for sales people, so we are in the thick of these transitions and NetProspex was proud to be one of several new business models previewed at the SIIA conference. NetProspex allows business-to-business
sales people pool their business contacts and the sum of the parts is a
directory of business executives and their contact information that has
a fantastic impact on business efficiency.
People are in business to
do business and they need to know what tools and services can provide
more revenue for their companies or reduce costs. By pooling resources,
sales people can get their message out to more potential customers who buy
products on behalf of their companies. For NetProspex the challenge is
that about 25% of people change jobs each year, and any directory of
business executives soon gets out of date. NetProspex solves that part
of the equation by cleaning and scrubbing the data to make sure its
accurate up-to-date.
Our business is embracing these changes because in the digital age it is clear to us that information is a living thing and user contribution is key to that life.
