The Commons and Commerce in the Pull Economy
Friday, February 10, 2006
The Commons and Commerce in the Pull Economy
It’s not widely appreciated that “Centralized Media” - broadcasting, cable television, films, recorded music - have a serious Achilles’ Heel. They have huge overhead costs. A small number of large companies are able to dominate their respective markets primarily because they control critical “choke points” of product development and distribution. But it costs A LOT to control these choke points — and those costs are only going up even as the costs of online alternatives go down.
… Meanwhile, new software technologies are radically re-organizing markets so that newcomers can more readily enter and compete. The technologies also enable companies to leverage bottom-up, decentralized social energies in ways that Centralized Media simply cannot. It turns out that the most serious threat to Centralized Media is not piracy, but a veritable explosion of user-generated content and creativity. It is consuming far more of people’s finite attention and time than ever before - mostly at the expense of mediocre, mass-market product.
… What is notable about many online commons is that many of them are out-competing conventional markets. They often produce value more efficiently than conventional corporations. But they do still more: they generate value in more flexible, personally satisfying and culturally authentic ways. Most companies can’t begin to compete on those terms.
… The power of networked content-sharing was vividly demonstrated when friends of an unknown remix artist, D.J. Danger Mouse, released the Gray Album on the Internet. The music — an accomplished (but illegal) remix of The Beatle’s White Album and Jay-Z’s Black Album — was acclaimed by many critics as one of the best albums of the year. At one point in 2003, more people were illegally downloading the Gray Album than were buying Norah Jones’ Feels Like Home, the best-selling CD at the time.
… High-handed forms of “push” marketing are likely to flop in the pull environment, where people want - and can insist upon — a more genuine, transparent and accountable relationship with any vendor.
If you have time, read the whole thing. It’a well-written, knowledgable article that kept even my scattered attention.
Copyright — laura
