First off, I have a confession to make . . . I’m not a news junkie. Yes, I work for one of the largest news organizations in the United States but . . . news isn’t my passion (though clearly search engine optimization is my passion). The challenge of figuring out how to optimize hundreds of new keyphrases, thousands of pieces of content per day, train hundreds of content creators, navigate a fog of political hierarchy, and all the other wonderful challenges I face at Tribune most definitely is my passion. But one of the greatest job satisfactions is when and if we make this work. If we are able to find a solution to the rapidly changing environment occurring not only with printed newspapers but media as a whole as well, solving that—that’d be cool and well worth the 12 hours plus I put into trying to figure it out.
I say media because really that’s what it is . . . I believe there is no longer printed media, television media, internet media, radio media, etc. It’s all just one big converging ball of options for users to ingest content. What type of content? Whatever they want to ingest! For me it may NOT be hours of Chicago news, pages of the latest investigative journalism piece or the latest Tom Skilling weather forecast. For me, it may very well be a re-run of Buffy, a webisode of the Aquaman pilot, three weeks of Dollhouse episodes, the weekly Top 40 on a Wednesday at 2pm or a video download of Rand’s last few Whiteboard Friday videos. So what if I prefer to watch Dollhouse on my laptop two weeks late?! So what if I decide to watch Buffy YEARS after it was discontinued?! So what if I decide to listen to last week’s weekly Top 40 as I go to work instead of Saturday or Sunday morning? What difference should it make? Why should that change anything? But it does . . . and that is just archaic for media companies to continue to not solve the problem. Last I checked it was 2009 not 1989. Sure radio towers, printing presses and set television schedules worked for decades . . . not now boys, better change it!
In the end . . . it’s still content that I enjoy! Difference is that now it’s content that is for ME, when I want it not WHEN someone told me to ingest it, not WHERE someone told me to ingest it, not HOW someone told me to ingest! Media companies . . . time to adjust!
Give me a choice, give me the freedom, I’ll tell you when I want your content—whatever it may be—to invade my life. I’ll tell you when, where, how, and for what duration of time. Right, that’ll mean you’ll have to change your advertising model. Make a few calls to explain to your advertisers that you serve two masters (them and me).
Well I’ll tell you want I want. I’ll make it clear. Give your content to me with options. Give me the option for the 10 second update, the 1 minute update, the 5 minute update, the 15 minute update, or the whole damn thing. Give me the option to pay for it or for you to bombard my mind with advertising. Figure out how much I have to pay for each option or how much advertising is needed to make things work for both of us. Then tell me upfront what it is . . . let ME make the choice. But don’t whine and moan if I decide not to pay for it. Maybe I’m just not that into it after all. Maybe you didn’t give me the option I wanted. For example, FOX, maybe I’ll pay for a season subscription to FOX primetime shows if you let me view them in HD, or via my XBOX, or on my laptop non-streaming (so I can enjoy it on a plane)—but if you serve it to me only at 8pm on Friday night? Sorry, got other plans FOX. It’s MY life so figure out how to be in it if you want ME as a customer. Oh, and by the way, just because I have a life and don’t cater to YOUR will, doesn’t mean I dislike your content. It means you aren’t giving me the right options. You aren’t putting ME in charge. I may not fit perfectly in your organization but you better figure out how to get it to work for ME and keep ME happy because if you don’t . . . well that dreadful day you’re trying to avoid? It’ll be knocking at your door.
Please, don’t think for a split second that I have to cater to you. You must cater to me. Because without me . . . there is no you. I don’t need you, I may want you . . . you may make me yearn for you . . . but I don’t need you. YOU NEED ME!
I want ME news! I want ME television! I want ME internet! I want ME radio!
Deliver it!