In
the future - content will be king. Strike that! Content will become a
commodity. I know that sounds really bad, but stay with me for a sec.
It's happening already. There
are hundreds of thousands of videos. Thousands of indie films. Zillions
of recordings of unknown bands. Content is being made by professionals,
amateurs, hobbyists,
pro-sumers, citizen journalists, unpaid film students, self-proclaimed
experts, and - don't forget - really talented individuals. The point
is, you can't tell what's what, and this is just the
beginning. There are a thousand stories in the naked city. Oh, yeah,
there's lots of amateur porn too. The question becomes, how do we find
what we like, filter out the
things that rub us the wrong way, and create experiences that are more
fun than frustrating, more useful than useless?
We've seen this coming for a while. As TV went from three networks to
500, viewers still complained that there was nothing on. Of course that
wasn't true, you just couldn't find what you might be interested in.
Endless channel surfing resulted.
Then came Google. Searching suggests 'finding' and Google did that -
for text. But video isn't about a search for a fact, it's about
searching for something that is esthetically satisfying. My 'good'
content probably isn't yours.
Photo credit: Konstantinos Kottinis
Who's going to be your native guide and trusted source in finding content you want? Bloggers.
Bloggers are poised to be the content validators and filters of the future, and the tools are already in place.
Don't believe you'll be tuning in your blogger for a clue as to
what's-what? Well, let's take a deep dive into the blogosphere to see
what's just around the bend.
While a handful of 'big bloggers' are high volume content creators, publishers who write volumes each day, the large number
of blogs that we trust are finders and filters.
Take a look at
techmeme a terrific blog that keeps us tune in to the best tech posts.
Blogs embrace a voice - often a singular voice - that endorses,
embraces, recommends, and directs traffic for its readers. Bloggers
point their readers to links. Current those links are text, but not
for long.
Bloggers are soon going to be pointing to video, shows and clips,
performers and news stories. A blogger's sense of what matters will
help you sort your world and find content you want.
Bloggers will be the next generation of TV network programmers. Blog
RSS feeds will be a way to 'tune in to the web' and all of its
multi-media content as it continues its unbridled growth.
Bloggers will add text, video blogs, comments, endorsements, and
feedback that will both build their brand and re-enforce the content
guideposts that we'll come to count on them for.
Yes, social networks will play in the future of content search. If your
friends like a video, you may want to take a look. But your friends are
just as likely to point you to a blogger whose feed is consistently on
target as they would a single piece of content.
In the media world that we all know, NBC was able to select and market
Must Watch TV. But in the era of multi-media bloggers, bloggers are
poised to take up the role of "must watch" mavens. As you find
bloggers you trust, they in tern need to both earn and keep that
relationship alive by evolving their trust relation beyond text.
Certainly, blogging is evolving. Take a look at
www.Starwire.tv -
almost every post has a video clip tied to the editorial. The era of
Multi-Media blogging is arriving - and its going to be big.
>> Multi-Media Blogging. You heard it hear first. Jot it down. Or, better yet - try it.
Stay tuned.
Steven Loeb
