Comments on: The Empire Strikes Back? http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/02/the-empire-strikes-back/ At the crossroads of Media, Culture and Technology Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:53:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: John http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/02/the-empire-strikes-back/comment-page-1/#comment-4743 John Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:15:36 +0000 http://flipthemedia.com/?p=4397#comment-4743 Can anyone post a comment here? Can anyone post a comment here?

]]> By: The Future of Free? « The Storyteller Uprising http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/02/the-empire-strikes-back/comment-page-1/#comment-4657 The Future of Free? « The Storyteller Uprising Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:41:01 +0000 http://flipthemedia.com/?p=4397#comment-4657 [...] Facebook Connect), and potentially the next chapter in the story of the web with the emergence of a new order in dominant players (what is Apple’s iPad but a really sophisticated, consumption-friendly [...] [...] Facebook Connect), and potentially the next chapter in the story of the web with the emergence of a new order in dominant players (what is Apple’s iPad but a really sophisticated, consumption-friendly [...]

]]> By: Derek Belt http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/02/the-empire-strikes-back/comment-page-1/#comment-4646 Derek Belt Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:20:28 +0000 http://flipthemedia.com/?p=4397#comment-4646 When I read Bernoff's post I took a wandered a completely different path. While there's great insight into the future of the Internet and whether an open or walled garden approach is right, wrong or indifferent, I couldn't stop thinking about what he said about "splintering." As a marketing professional whose organization is just now wading into the shallows of digital media, this is an earth-shattering concept. Consider: "Web marketing has grown since 1995, based on the idea that everything is connected. Click-throughs, ad networks, analytics, search-engine optimization -- it all works because the Web is standardized. Google works because the Web is standardized. Not any more. Each new device has its own ad networks, format, and technology. Each new social site has its login and many hide content from search engines. … It will splinter the Web as a unified system. The golden age has lasted 15 years. Like all golden ages, it lasted so long we thought it would last forever. But the end is in sight.” What this means to me is that, as an organization, we can't bank on everyone viewing the same experience when they visit our site. Not everyone accesses the Internet from a computer... and I had never, ever thought about what that really truly means. Our site isn't going to work on certain devices. Will we have to create different user experiences for each individual platform? Seems like it. What an eye-opener. *sigh* Another day in digital media. When I read Bernoff’s post I took a wandered a completely different path. While there’s great insight into the future of the Internet and whether an open or walled garden approach is right, wrong or indifferent, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he said about “splintering.” As a marketing professional whose organization is just now wading into the shallows of digital media, this is an earth-shattering concept. Consider:

“Web marketing has grown since 1995, based on the idea that everything is connected. Click-throughs, ad networks, analytics, search-engine optimization — it all works because the Web is standardized. Google works because the Web is standardized. Not any more. Each new device has its own ad networks, format, and technology. Each new social site has its login and many hide content from search engines. … It will splinter the Web as a unified system. The golden age has lasted 15 years. Like all golden ages, it lasted so long we thought it would last forever. But the end is in sight.”

What this means to me is that, as an organization, we can’t bank on everyone viewing the same experience when they visit our site. Not everyone accesses the Internet from a computer… and I had never, ever thought about what that really truly means. Our site isn’t going to work on certain devices. Will we have to create different user experiences for each individual platform? Seems like it. What an eye-opener. *sigh* Another day in digital media.

]]> By: David Baker http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/02/the-empire-strikes-back/comment-page-1/#comment-4613 David Baker Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:25:39 +0000 http://flipthemedia.com/?p=4397#comment-4613 I think a big contributor to this entire shift to the Splinternet is the quest for a reliable set of filters. Failure of a solid, open-source way to find meaningful video, talk to people you care about, or get the news and information you need has allowed new distributors to step into the gap once plugged by the monolithic gatekeepers of the past. People are willing to pay for a filter, especially one they can carry in their pocket. You plug your password into Facebook and suddenly your chaotic world is a tad simpler, with everyone from your boss to Grandma right there, and even the ads are tailored to your specific passions. Some may be willing to pay for the NYT to filter their media consumption, but only if the NYT can do it a whole bunch better than the system of RSS aggregation that exists now. Time is money, and consumers will give up all manner of freedoms if they can simplify their lives. I think a big contributor to this entire shift to the Splinternet is the quest for a reliable set of filters. Failure of a solid, open-source way to find meaningful video, talk to people you care about, or get the news and information you need has allowed new distributors to step into the gap once plugged by the monolithic gatekeepers of the past.

People are willing to pay for a filter, especially one they can carry in their pocket. You plug your password into Facebook and suddenly your chaotic world is a tad simpler, with everyone from your boss to Grandma right there, and even the ads are tailored to your specific passions.

Some may be willing to pay for the NYT to filter their media consumption, but only if the NYT can do it a whole bunch better than the system of RSS aggregation that exists now.

Time is money, and consumers will give up all manner of freedoms if they can simplify their lives.

]]> By: jeffhora http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/02/the-empire-strikes-back/comment-page-1/#comment-4598 jeffhora Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:31:00 +0000 http://flipthemedia.com/?p=4397#comment-4598 There will undoubtedly be a balance between open and locked/walled content and platforms. This has really always been the case, but the open side of the equation has been heavily weighted for several years now. The folks consuming on the walled side of the balance still need the creators, innovators, producers and disruptors on the open side of the wall, if only to make the terrific content they are consuming. One sad point is the potential for a gap to begin to grow between those who consume and those who create. The democratization of innovation may start to thin out unless the closed device owners happen to also keep their open, generative devices handy to respond, or better yet, imagine new things that can't be imagined at the end of a road to a closed garden. There will undoubtedly be a balance between open and locked/walled content and platforms. This has really always been the case, but the open side of the equation has been heavily weighted for several years now. The folks consuming on the walled side of the balance still need the creators, innovators, producers and disruptors on the open side of the wall, if only to make the terrific content they are consuming. One sad point is the potential for a gap to begin to grow between those who consume and those who create. The democratization of innovation may start to thin out unless the closed device owners happen to also keep their open, generative devices handy to respond, or better yet, imagine new things that can’t be imagined at the end of a road to a closed garden.

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