Chris Poley of Internet Evolution, on April 17th, discusses the inevitability of paid content.
http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=705&doc_id=175448
Wow. I've spent a lot of time reading the entire thread of posts. The overall story is most interesting. I hear two frustrations. One is how slowly internet advertising is garnering a premium for more targeted messaging. The other is charging for content.
How do you feel about behavioral technology that surreptitiously follows you around the internet and pushes messages? I prefer to be targeted contextually based on what I voluntarily share about myself either when I register or participate. I do this when media uses a process for communicating that results in better quality, in terms of both content and audience participation. And I am happy to pay both for better quality content and organically developed content, especially because I am reassured that within a paying membership community, I need not tolerate free-loaders who seek to hi-jack the conversation.
Which brings me to the issue of paying for content. Doesn’t it all boil down to how creators of content/programming get paid? We all agree, I think, that the creators of content/programming should get paid. To be paid, they must retain ownership of their property. I believe that even UCG content ownership should be protected. What if Flickr publishes a coffee table book of the best of Flickr images and a publisher pays them a lot for the exclusive right to publish this book and you have to buy the book with your own pictures in it?
Bezos, who I admire greatly because he is one of few to create a new brand in the last 20 years, is again blazing the trail for the future business model. Have you tried Kindle? There's not much attention paid in the mainstream press to a detail that is revolutionary. To connect to buy a book, you just hit "buy a book." The kindle connects magically to the internet without you payng yet another connection fee. I assume he is reversing the system by sharing revenue from the book with Sprint, the publisher, and the creator, through the publisher.
I believe when the content/programming is what we are paying for, everyone will win. Our demand (what we are willing to pay) will determine how much more a great creative mind will be paid for quality work than a novelty artist gets for fun entertainment, and the distribution links in the value chain will get as much or more than they get now.
When the media industry is focused on selling its content/programming and gets good at it, it will also be a lot smarter, better at selling products on others’ behalf. Then they can charge a premium for performance based communications. With multiple revenue streams the price consumers pay will not need to skyrocket as consumption increases.
