Why media companies should move quickly to engage

The social platform is providing more content, providing users with a preferred place to consume

(Larry Kramer is the author of C-Scape, a book on the changing landscape for media and related industries for Harper Collins (published Nov., 2010). He also founded MarketWatch, which was sold to Dow Jones in 2005.)

 While media companies are starting to realize that they must continue to build their relationship with their customers in order to survive, new data suggests they better do so quickly and with the right partners.

New data from Citicorp shows how dramatically people are growing the time they spend on Facebook.

What this means is that the social platform is providing more and more content and providing its users with a preferred place to consume that content. In much the same way Apple has taken more and more of people’s time to consume content on it’s devices, Facebook has spent the time to learn how people want to consume and converge content into their routines, and continues to build devices for them to do so, on Facebook.

While this is generally a good thing for content creators, because it’s yet another outlet for content, it’s also a threat because it puts the social network squarely between the content creator and it’s audience. And the fact is, Facebook will know more about consumer behavior than the content creators will. This is the exact issue that causes the content providers to worry about Apple.

But now, like Apple, we’re beyond trying to create alternatives. Success will come to those who work best with Apple and now Facebook. It’s a long, hard 

(For more from Larry, visit his blog. To purchase his book C-Scape, click here.)