how technology help media.explain
Answers
Knowing Your Industry
To truly understand the path of the industry today, we need to evaluate the major technology trends that are currently impacting it, and have the potential to do so going forward.
Major Trend 1: Mass Digitalization
Digital will replace print — it is inevitable. The cost of technology continues to drop, and the devices used to digest media are getting more advanced and convenient. The historical barriers to this transition (generational preference, convenience, ease of use) are slowly breaking down. Once they have crumbled enough, the tide will wash over the old and clear a path for the new. Companies need to make digital delivery their primary focus, and their print operations disposable, or saleable.
Major Trend 2: Freelance Mania
With companies like outsource.com, upwork.com, contently.com and others, finding freelance writers, photographers, editors, and designers has never been easier. Companies managing a full bench of talent are finding it harder and harder to compete with the companies that are strategically using freelance talent. The media companies that can take advantage of this framework can keep costs much lower, and profit margins higher.
Major Trend 3: Content, Content, Content
I don’t think it’s hard to see the radical increase in online content production. This tidal wave of new articles, videos, shows, publications, networks, etc., is becoming more and more difficult to keep up with. Additionally, the barriers for new media companies are now very low, with plenty of distribution vehicles available for new entrants. It is only a matter of time before these new players will deliver the same high quality content as the existing media giants. Even companies like Red Bull have started to encroach the space. Seven years ago this would have seemed absurd.
Major Trend 4: Video Technology Is Rapidly Advancing
Consumers of content are now looking for quick and easy ways to digest information, which has led to increasing demands for video-based delivery. Combining this with the rapid progress of HD, 4K, 8K and VR, and there is now a huge opportunity for truly immersive content. We are still years away from mainstream adoption, but entertainment companies are already finding some success with the new technology.
Major Trend 5: Generational Shifts
The times they are a-changin’ — there are plenty of articles that explore the multitude of changes coming with the millennials taking over as the dominant economic powerhouse, previously owned by the boomer generation. But for media, this switch will be felt much more harshly. Millennials treat information and content much differently than other generations before them. They were brought up with more information they could ever possibly need, all within instant reach. This overexposure has caused them to be extra cautious of anything written by professionals. They are also rarely influenced by advertising, which is having a financial impact on media companies that rely on traditional advertising sales. The good news is that millennials really value authenticity, and are more likely to subscribe to content than other generations. Media companies that are open, honest and transparent, and produce content powerful enough to share, stand to succeed.
Major Trend 6: Internet Delivery
If you have not figured out how to create a successful business model around Internet-based content delivery, you are falling behind. The line between traditional media and digital media is gone. They are both one in the same now, and companies need to figure out how they both work in combination to deliver the right content, to the right audiences, at the right time.
Minor Trends
There are also a number of minor trends impacting business for media companies — the proliferation of mobile devices, the maturing of content marketing, the merger of broadcast and Internet media, and so on. But frankly, these are not new — they have been on the radar for a long time. Your long-term strategy should be based on the major trends, while considering the minor trends for your short-term execution strategies.