Comments on Lessons Learned: Marching through quicksand

Its interesting to see that more and more of us ar...

2010-03-29T04:50:58.204-07:00

Its interesting to see that more and more of us are suffering from information overload.

I wonder if we're reaching a point in history where the information we have to process is vastly more than our abilities to process it and also increasing faster than we can evolve to keep up with it.

I sense that new patterns of business, behaviour and thinking will emerge out of this.

I see the companies and individuals who will prosper from the ever accelerating rate of new ideas and information, will be first and foremost be the 'lucky ones', I mean that the sense of companies and individuals who are not afraid to take risks and can also manage those risks.

If you want to get ahead in this new world, agile is already not agile enough, lean is too fat and investing money in processes which tell you whether you're doing the right thing will put you on the right track but not out in front.

The real winners, for now, will be the ones who just get it, and nailed it without thinking about it.

Of course I should have included gaming - it wasn'...

2009-11-07T09:23:17.896-08:00

Of course I should have included gaming - it wasn't on my mind because I haven't spent much time with traditional game publishers lately (at least, not as a prospective creator).

"movies > tv > books ..." Curious how these discu...

2009-09-15T19:29:30.791-07:00

"movies > tv > books ..."

Curious how these discussions never mention gaming which is, and will be, the dominant driver in "entertainment" for the next 50 years. No?

(sorry if this is a double post)

"movies > tv > books > ...." It's funny how few o...

2009-09-15T19:23:57.791-07:00

"movies > tv > books > ...."

It's funny how few of these discussions even mention gaming which is, and will be, the driving force in "entertainment" for at least the next 50 years. No?

Eric, First of all, great post. You were very tho...

2009-09-08T21:38:36.457-07:00

Eric,

First of all, great post. You were very thoughtful in your description of disruptive innovation in media industries.

That said, I agree with Quentin that there are strong alternative arguments to what you've written.

First, the role of Subject Matter Experts cannot be understated. Though technology tools and Web 2.0 ideas (e.g. user-generated content) can increase liquidity and decrease distribution costs (notably talent search and evaluation), there are certain individuals whose opinions will count for more than the simple votes of the masses. These individuals, possessing talent, experience or real-world networks, will continue to function as ‘virtual gatekeepers’ in the next-generation media industry.

Second, mass-marketing will continue to play an important role in creating awareness of products and services. The world is generally not as tech-savvy as Silicon Valley and will continue to rely on traditional mechanisms for content distribution for the foreseeable future.

Thanks again for a great post.
Best,
-Aki-

Eric: thanks for pulling together so many intertwi...

2009-09-07T16:28:59.797-07:00

Eric: thanks for pulling together so many intertwined threads into a macro perspective on the current status of the media industries.

Just as Erin mentions above -- replace content with games -- the same dynamics are at work in the advertising world. Each new campaign is a startup where Lean principals can be applied to maximum effect.

Having read your interesting article on the "Quick...

2009-08-28T14:02:54.047-07:00

Having read your interesting article on the "Quicksand" we authors must wade through to market our work to the public, I was prompted to quote from it in an article title "Gatekeepers" (title borrowed from you) on my Facebook wall and in my blog as part of my promotion for my upcoming novel, "Marathon."

If you can't find me on Facebook, visit the Virtual Training Bulletin Boards, accessible through my website: halhigdon.com.

Very good "chewy" stuff, Eric - well done & thanks...

2009-08-24T22:21:12.496-07:00

Very good "chewy" stuff, Eric - well done & thanks. I believe in the new world you describe, but I think you forget the role that the distributors play in aggregating content for a self-selecting consumer "type".

The easiest place to see this in newspapers, where consumers normally buy a newspaper that shares their political viewpoint. They thereby delegate the sifting and sorting of personal brands of the content creators to the corporate persona of the newspaper.

Similarly (and at risk of being burned at the stake as a heretic), the Apple brand has an enormous and dedicated cohort that grant it huge licence to deliver inadequate products (afraid I'm thinking of the iPhone cut and paste omission) without suffering the market penalties that an unbranded competitor would incur.

I think my point is that the corporate brands still provide the major bridges acrosss Moore's chasm. While the Kindle and analagous channels are gradually establishing as alternatives to the mainstream of corporate branded distribution, they represent flimsy rope bridges of twisted vines compared to the eight-lane highways of the corporate branded channels and so long as most consumers want an easy journey the traffic will continue to flow accordingly.

I totally agree and I'd like to add Gary Vaynerchu...

2009-08-24T14:50:22.945-07:00

I totally agree and I'd like to add Gary Vaynerchuk's relevant talk about building personal brands in the social media landscape.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EhqZ0RU95d4

Eric - Great post. One content type to add is gam...

2009-08-24T14:17:38.403-07:00

Eric - Great post. One content type to add is games - which are an excellent example of the transition you describe happening today in terms of how content is developed. As you and I have chatted about, a Zynga developed game versus an EA developed game is quite different. Aside from the dramatically shorter development cycle that browser games enjoy, the split testing of features (which is intuitive to web application makers) is something that propelled Zynga's games and revenues to the top of the social games vertical.

Very smart stuff. As a producer on the cutting edg...

2009-08-24T08:36:37.033-07:00

Very smart stuff. As a producer on the cutting edge of "new stuff" (Machinima, notably) for some time now, I really resonated with your comment about every new media project being a new startup. I've always felt that Strange Company, my production company, was kinda a perpetual startup, and that explains why - we've been starting a new business every two years or so for the past decade.

Eric, thanks a lot for writing this. I have been ...

2009-08-24T08:21:13.894-07:00

Eric, thanks a lot for writing this.

I have been waiting for someone to articulate my thoughts on "gatekeepers" and I think you have captured this very well.

I have a question though- do you think that most content metrics (the ebook example you mentioned) should be developed by the "author" to target their specific data, or do you think there are opportunities for a new business vertical that give these tools directly to the creator.

I ask because as you mentioned there is a gap between people embracing lean principles and those who won't. I wonder if there is an even larger gap of people understanding metric-based decisions, but having no idea on how to implement them. In that I see opportunity.

Thanks alot for writing, and consider me a very engaged reader :) Keep up the great work.

Doug