Have you ever wondered what platforms are actually out there and who owns who? Check out the below 2010 vendor map from Real Story covering everything from content management over multi-channel publishing to web analytics. I know, some of the smaller independent tools are missing but still a pretty good summary.
Another awesome article form Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, especially the stats on how many decisions we make online vs. when watching TV which has serious implications for online advertising and website usability.
Today, of course, we're in the opposite scenario: everything we write competes with trillions of Web pages, all a few clicks away. As a result, most people actually read very few words on the Web.
The velocity of media consumption has increased dramatically. Readers no longer linger over lovingly described passages detailing a lord's style of dress. They click here, they click there, they click everywhere. But they don't stay.
People's consumption of print media is different than their use of websites, leading to the many differences in designing for print versus the Web.
Compared to TV, the Web also has a much finer granularity of user control:
When watching TV, you make one decision every 30–120 minutes: pick a show or movie to watch, and then it's lean-back time. Ah, easy.
When surfing the Web, you make a decision every 10–120 seconds: leave or stay on this page; leave or stay on this site. Where to click now? Where to click next? A bit stressful.
Adding up all these differences explains the fast pace of Web use: the velocity is much higher than we see for TV use.
Read the original Alertbox article here
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/media-velocity.html
I've spent a lot of time thinking about social networks and their marketing (revenue) model, and I've recently drawn an ugly conclusion: They're flawed.
Why is that? Traditional media operates in two channels -- content and marketing. Think about watching TV. You watch your entertainment program, and then there's a commercial. Church and state. You always know where you stand with the marketer. Everybody's happy.
On social networks, the content and marketing have become inextricably intertwined. Sure, there are fenced-off areas where ads inserted in context, but at the same time, half of the alleged "content" is really just people promoting themselves or products. It's marketing.
I call this the "BS" factor. In a traditional media model, it's incumbent upon the content producer to craft the content and filter out the BS. On a social network, because it's self-serve, you are expected to be your own BS filter.
I also believe that audiences are not stupid. One thing I've learned over many years in the media is that they know how to call the BS. But when they see it, they don't like it, and it has in impact on their perception of the brand or the channel they are using. The more BS they see, the more the brand degrades.
That's fine, as a utility or a free communications software model. But as a marketing channel it's pretty dubious.
Social networks, if they really want to develop a viable marketing model, are going to have to figure out a way to clean this up, better filter messages for their audience for their use, and deliver real marketing value that preserves the integrity of the content. They might also have to decide whether they are primarily a communications tool media network.
Amazing video that gets a little tacky at the end but still worth watching, explains the importance of portable content for today's online businesses very well.
