The power of the network

August 7th, 2007

If I were the CEO of EMAP i would make Dave Cushman HEAD OF STRATEGY

His post White Paper Wiki: Power of the Network

Is a serious piece of work, of course I’m flattered as he mentions us

David states

In the process of one blogger linking to the work of another, new value emerges, for example:
Two-way flows of information.
The creation of trust, validation and reputation
Decentralised, self-forming adhoc communities of interest
Zero hierarchy or silo restrictions.

Mass Media David argues serves little real purpose anymore. I say TV advsrtising doesn’t work anymore, and that upsets a lot of people. But I still say it. Media ecologies take a while to die off.

And

100% ad efficiency is available in models such as google?s cost-per-action. I sell an item ? I pay google.

The rise of the community

News is:
1. Personalised, real time, community-created, shared information.
2. Best gathered at the point of inspiration (on that handy converged device – the mobile)
3. Best distributed to the point of need (and, taking advantage of the always on, always with you nature of that same converged device, that’s best served by mobile, too).
This draws from the understanding that it is the community that best serves its own needs. An individual cannot get this from a disaggregated collection of digitised information. They can from a niche community of shared interest. The community emerges as the dominant force.

So we look now to applications, and buyer centric offerings that are timely contextual and just in tme vs. just in case

David argues People want to co-create, that, two-way flow of communication beats the market, that there is a Convergence of buyer/seller/product developer/user/employee, and of course that Trust is communal.

So we require a new definition of media brands

A media brand is a platform for a community with shared interests.
Focused on the interests of this community, we should aggregate content and offer services.
Services are best delivered at the point they are needed

So its a We Media for a We Species

Why We Media wins
Taking the platform/community-first approach reveals the extraordinary power that the new platform generators could generate. It is critical that the creators of those platforms (ideally, the co-creators of those platforms) understand that they are NOT in control of these platforms ? that they don?t set the agenda. They must allow these platforms to be dominated by the communities they SERVE.

Also worth a read Content sucks if that’s all you do and Opening Pandora’s Box – It ain’t over till the fat lady sings: but she is warming up – telephone age thinking in an internet age

Mass media has been disintermediated, its like a gatecrasher at your party. It pisses you off. But they are still there.

Nice one Dave. We salute you.

Alan + Tomi

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