Key posting by Jeff Jarvis, quoting Leonard Witt's excerpts from an IBM white paper, Media and Entertainment 2010:
An increasing segment of consumers will be able to compile, program, edit, create and share content; as a result, they will gain more control and become more immersed in media experiences.The future will see more open, reciprocal relationships and more ways to interact and customize at every point of the media value loop – among brands, creators, suppliers, distributors, delivery systems, customers and “experiencers” of media content.
Consumers will be able to compile, edit, produce, create and broadcast complex content and manipulate huge files from the comfort of their homes and personal budgets. The battle for human attention will remain pitched: innovations will continue to cascade rapidly to market. The glut of choices, channels, brands, traditional media and archival content must now compete with customers’ and consumers’ new enthusiasms for interactive media, on demand scheduling and publishing, and steadily increasing thirst for the rich, interactive experiences digital technologies make possible.
The horizontal axis shows trends in the experience of media consumption, moving from the traditional media-directed system to the open, immersive environment of the future. Media companies must interact with the “hot” new combinations of technology, devices and behaviors that will be unpredictably driven by open markets and a determined sense of user entitlement.
Types of consumers, come 2010:
Media consumers, to varying degrees, will be increasingly involved in the creative process. By 2010, the impacts of new technologies will have sidelined predictable market assumptions, fueling the “I want what I want, when I want it” behavior ... Although traditional passive consumption will continue to represent a large market share, digital media’s capabilities will engender new forms of interaction, powerfully compelling media companies to become digitized and responsive, and enabling even traditional consumers to make content more individually meaningful:Traditional passive consumers – will choose among media companies’ predictable mass-market offerings, but will use several platforms or flexible viewing schedules with affordable devices. Using digital content management and delivery systems, content providers may make it simple enough for traditionalists to choose different edits of the same content for children or adults.Contributors – will experiment with more options and more innovative platforms, providing feedback passively through purchase choices and data collection, and actively through suggestions, opt-ins or invitations to participate online.
Producers – will program content and devices that they purchase from multiple sources, making uniquely personalized digital play lists or collections for their own tastes. These tech-savvy users will port content files among a variety of devices, and compile chunks of content from many sources into their own playback formats.
Authors – will utilize Web tools to tailor content to business or personal interests, seeking self-expression or control. Media companies will provide affordable advanced tools to this growing slice of active users, such as special blog (Web log) sites, multiplayer online games, user-group “theaters” or conference centers and downloadable production components – music, cinema and TV samples, streaming video or digital photo illustrations. Users who contribute or interact as producers of their own programming or authors of content will not cease to enjoy passive consumption; they will add new skills and
redefine the amount of time they spend enjoying media passively.
