An Appetite for Content

We’ve got an appetite for content. But who picks up the tab? These are interesting times in the worlds of publishing, content and communications. Things are changing rapidly.  And assumptions are being made almost as rapidly.

Consumers have very quickly gotten used to finding the content they want—when they want it and where they want it—and having a voice.  All good.  But let’s take a look at some recent events.

Take, for instance, the publishing industry.  We’ve heard a lot of vocal folks singing out that print is gone; no one wants to read a magazine (or perhaps even a book now that there’s Kindle) and that the world better adapt to all content being delivered on computers, phones and PDAs.

Maybe I’m a little old. Maybe I’m a little wiser. Maybe I still remember the lessons I learned from reactionary folks in the first Internet boom, when I and a few partners launched a b2b site.  But, all these magazine closings did not happen because “print is dead” and no one wants to read a magazine.  They closed because the business model was flawed. Readership didn’t wane much at major titles, but advertising support surely did. This is what we saw at my former companies, Meredith and Time Inc.’s Southern Progress. So to me, the way to stay ahead of the curve is to think about how we can deliver the right content to the right people via the right mediums and yes (horror of horrors) be paid for it!

Sure, our company creates custom content for clients, so as long as we can show results, we can stay in our trade. But I am interested not only in staying ahead of the custom curve, increasing the quality, adapting to an influx of new delivery vehicles and measurement challenges but also, where and how all content is created delivered and monetized.  I’ve been a minority voice in the woods proposing that we actually should begin to pay for the content we want. But...low and behold, it’s rumored that even Facebook is looking at a subscription model.  Things are changing.  Along with a lot of great, readily available content, there’s also a lot of time-wasting, mind-bendingly bad stuff out there. 

Perhaps in a model where people pay for the content they really want (whether online or in print) not only will people better use their voice (as evidenced by their spending) to let us know if the content’s on target, but advertisers can speak to a really targeted, really loyal audience.  And, I might argue that quality would surely improve. Interesting times, indeed. And I don’t mind standing up and saying, “I’m in.  I’ll pay for my share of the content buffet.”

Posted By: Leslie Dunne Sadler