A couple of important keywords that keep popping up in my speeches (and everywhere else)

I have done 10 or so presentations and speeches in the past 4 weeks, all over the place and on many different topics, but these key subjects, below, keep popping up; so I figured I could share them with you.

• The good old Longtail (i.e. the concept of the digital economy enabling substantial revenue streams with or from content or products that are much lesser known, i.e. not 'hits') - the antidote to the Hit Economy that we've had in media for a long time (in music, I call this the Rolls Royce or Bicycle Syndrome). Read Chris Anderson's Longtail book or his blog to find out more, or dive into all the stuff that I have written about the Longtail. Yes....I know this is an old hat for many of you but it still needs to go into this list.
• Wikinomics: the concept of mass collaboration changing 'everything', as set forth by Don Tapscott in his mind-boggling and inspiring book Wikinomics. Wikipedia notes: "according to Tapscott, Wikinomics is based on four ideas: Openness, Peering, Sharing, and Acting Globally" Well... read for yourself but these concepts are everywhere now, and reinforcing each other, too.
• Paying with Attention: this is a central point for the formulation of new Advertising 2.0 scenarios: users will indeed pay with their attention to ads (or rather, content that advertises products;) in return for receiving free content. I have, of course, made a video on this, here, and have pontificated on this all over the place, but this is still very much work in progress. PWA goes with those juicy keywords of Freemium (as coined by VC Fred Wilson), and FeelsLikeFree.
• The End of Control: the concept that in this networked economy control-obsession causes loss of relevance and consumer trust, user-rejection and overall decline (yes... the music industry is a great example!), while reliance on openness, and furthering trust and engagement can breed success. Of course, I have been working on this topics a LOT lately, given that I am slaving away on a new book on this topic (subtitle: Open is King), you can dive into some previews here. Erick at Techcrunch wrote a nice piece on this topic, too.
• Last but not least: Markets are Conversations. Media is 2-way. Don't just talk TO people, talk with people. Yes... the good 'old' Clue Train Manifesto.

I will add to this list periodically, in the meantime, feel free to comment.

If you have not done so yet, do check out my new Twitterfeed with the 'Daily Wisdoms nuggets' that I am sharing as I run across them myself (nope... they are not just mine).

Read all my 'bottom line' posts

Watch this FutureTalks video: Media Megatrends

Study: Imeem Unseats Yahoo as Top U.S. Music-Streaming Site (Updated) | Listening Post from Wired.com

Very good review of the Streaming Music sector: Study: Imeem Unseats Yahoo as Top U.S. Music-Streaming Site (Updated) | Listening Post from Wired.com.

The Compete blog has more good stuff on this

The Struggles of France's Three Strikes Law | Electronic Frontier Foundation

This is a must read of you want to know what's happening in France as far as ISP liability for content is concerned - this sounds like Fiction but alas... it is real: The Struggles of France's Three Strikes Law | Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Heading towards the Police State on the Net?

 

Techdirt: Rolling Stone Recognizes The Future Of Music: Forget The CD, Sell Other Stuff

Fuel the fire:: Techdirt: Rolling Stone Recognizes The Future Of Music: Forget The CD, Sell Other Stuff.

"Of course, what may be most amusing, is that the Rolling Stone article reads remarkably similar to a USA Today article we wrote about three years ago, which looked at how the Chinese music industry had successfully adapted to rampant unauthorized copying of music. Musicians there learned to adopt new business models and thrive -- just as bands in the US are doing today. While the CD may be disappearing, the music business continues to thrive..."

The Flat Rate for Digital Music is inevitable

2. Musik Enquete Austria

On June 3rd, I will be in Vienna speaking to the National Assembly about Copyright and the Internet: 2/VER | Tagesordnung der 2. Enquete als HTML (2/VER XXIII. GP).    Should be fun - meet me in Vienna if you're around.

PS: you can track my movements using this cool Dopplr widget:

Youtube: 10 hours of new content uploaded every minute

ouch!

Bet you knew this already?

"A studio declining to do business with YouTube would be like a cereal maker not dealing with Wal-Mart"

says Bobby Tulsiani, a JupiterResearch analyst here.
Guess some control does come with popularity, too?

Twing - Search and Discover Communities

A new search engine, focused on forums and communities, looks quite promising: Twing - Search and Discover Communities.

Zukunft von Marketing, Branding und Advertising (in German;)

here (reminder) 

Now this is a cool video promoting a new release by Weezer

Wired pointed me this way... cool!

Telcos vs Content Industries: good read via TelecomTV

I just read this column on Telecomtv.com.  It nicely outlines the recent proposals of various industry organizations to put more pressure on telcos and ISPs to police their networks and curtail so-called digital piracy.  My Highlights and comments:

"Whatever the recipe, the thrust is the same: that one industry (ISPs and telcos) be made to expensively enforce the unsupportable business model of another by chasing down its own customers!  It's absurd, but if the recent past is anything to go by the real pirates in this long-running piece of Kafkaesque content (available free) will get away with it and will see their oppressive and, ultimately self-defeating, proposals become law.."

Comment: there is no chance this will become law. The EU Commission has already expressed disdain for such a development. Here is my comment on what I think of a policed internet (as was proposed by Paul McGuiness, Manager of U2, at Midem 2008).

And here is something really scary:
Under the 'three strikes' rule (a strangely Anglo-Saxon nomenclature given the sensitivities) offenders get email warnings and then get their accounts closed. Meanwhile  (in return) entertainment companies will end annoying copyright protection on French material so that music and video bought online can be played on any device (if the new regs work there would be less need for the DRM protection). Now the French think they're going to export this outrageous imposition. According to Sarkozy: "Everywhere in the United States, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, professionals and governments have tried for years to find the 'grail' to fight the problem of Internet piracy. We are the first, in France, to form a big national alliance around concrete and effective proposals." M. Olivennes has already been off promoting his legislation in Canada and claims to have had a good response...."

In Canada? I don't think so.  Ian Scales, the author, then nails it down pretty good:  "Essentially, the moves are a concerted attempt to give the kiss of life to outdated, dying business models based on extortion...."
Read my comment on just who is liable here:  the liability for monetizing this development rests with the Content Owners not with the Networks. Put up (i.e. license) or shut up - to speak frankly.

OPINION: Content control (via ContentAgenda)

Good comments here OPINION: Content control ContentAgenda.com

"But of course, we know why the studios haven’t made those rights available....
But in other cases, they view digital distribution as an opportunity to reclaim the very degree of control they feel they lost with the advent of the video rental and sales business, in which the studios’ role is static and retailers are free to leverage the studios’ products to capture as much value as they can....

Imagine if every electronics device you bought that was capable of playing video—whether hand-held, set-top or portable—came with one or more embedded application that let you stream movies at will for a reasonable monthly subscription fee. Instead of a few, handpicked operators, you would have dozens, perhaps hundreds of retailers, and an untold number of device makers, competing to make your products available to consumers, investing in your business, cooperating to combat piracy.

Yes, it would mean letting those retailers and device makers capture some of the incremental value created by those services. But the alternative is frustrated consumers and under investment in the digital distribution business...."

Well said!   More pics and illustrations here

THE END OF CONTROL comments by Daily Marauder

Link: THE END OF CONTROL � Daily Marauder.