simondelliott

Labeling or tagging content in a wiki

Only use labels that refer to the content of the article rather than the type of article.

i.e. if you are writing up the social networking label it with
Good >> Social, Network, Web2, Media
Bad >> wiki, page

Tag clouds are a good navigation tool when they are about context rather than construct.
Construct is better conveyed to the use in a more traditional navigation tool such as a menu, hierarchy or list. So try and highlight the content with the labels. A good way to think of what content is good to label is to think of the article as a classified add, where every word costs you money.

Quantity of content over quality of content

Q, Is ten million tons of s**t worth more than one diamond?

A, yes, especially is you can store the s**t at next to no cost.

In media terms this means, is a million hours of endless game shows and infomercials worth more than one episode of extras, lost or another high quality brand. And the answer is again yes, there are so manny people in the world that the millionth hour of mindless drivleling nonsence that iTV2 airs at 2 in the morning has some value, somone will watch it, and if you can store it at no cost then they will keep watching it for ever.

So imagine the lowest quality content that you can get … it has to be CCTV.
Regardless of its value in the prevention of crime, it has a media value.

If you had enough CCTV footage you could make real money from it.

what I want to watch, where I want to watch it, when I want to watch it

The catch phrase that has the floating round Telco boardrooms for the past 5 years is
“what I want to watch, where I want to watch it, when I want to watch it”

Is starting to be realised.

The the amount of TV and Radio content that has been digitized is now at a level that the “what I want to watch” question has been answered.

The technical bridges between TV, mobile and Internet that have been built are at a level of maturity that the “Where I want to watch it” question has been answered

The streaming platforms are now stable enough that the “When I want to watch it” question has been answered.

This new approach to media will now unleash forces on society that we have not seen before. I personally feel that this could have as much of an effect on us and our culture that it could only be compared to the effects of radio or the printing press.

While inventions in media technology always herald a new level of social understanding and therefore wellbeing, they also bring upheaval and unrest.

Media as a barometer of the business world

Traditional business is pretty straightforward.

>There are people who make, produce or invent stuff.
>There are people who distribute stuff
>There are people who sell stuff
and there are those of us that buy it.

or to use business words Manufacturing, Transport, Retail and consumer. Technology is invading every part of this chain, and making the transactions happen faster and in a way that us more beneficial to the owner of that part of the chain.

“Whats this got to do with media?” I hear you saying.

Well, changes that we see in the media business precede the changes in traditional business, because media, unlike other products is a meta product or an “Emperors new clothes” type of product. The cost of change for media is far far smaller than the cost of change for a traditional business because there are no factories, lorries, warehouses or shops that need to change.

>Media has virtually no production cost (compare the cost of a TV show to that of even a small tractor)
>Media has no distribution cost (unless your an ISP)
>and Media sells itself, have you seen that new advert? the one with the Gorilla?
and now we even make our own media !

So whats around the corner for the traditional businesses?

Make your own tools
The tools that you use to create a product are important, media companies travel light and fast when it comes to tooling, all that old office software just slows you down. Ditch it.  Use basecamp, wiki, a CMS or a blog to communicate.

Transparency
Both project management and quality control are improved when everyone knows whats going on. Media companies understand search. When you make a media product you spend 1/2 your time googeling for answers and examples the other 1/2 of your time you spend publishing where you have added value into an intranet or extranet. As people only publish what they are proud of then publish everything!

Egalitarian
In a media company you can, and do, talk to all parts of the hierarchy. As everyone on the team is at least a consumer of the product there is a connection, and everyones opinion is important feedback.

Make room for ideas
A media product is often just a single idea or notion. So an environment where ideas can live and grow gives a commercial advantage. This dose not mean installing a slide in your office and traveling around on a segway. It may mean ensuring that there are areas where you can chill out, away from the desks and computers. Increasingly it also means having virtual areas where you can chill out, and communicate without moderation.

The myth is that inside a media company everyone is just mucking around with their play stations, skate boards and boozey lunches, and no real work gets done. The reality is that a media company is very very efficient, nearly everyone has an indepth understanding of everyone else’s job, and company direction can halt, backup and change direction in days or even hours. Traditional buisnesses that decide to work in this way will find them selves with a comercial advantage.

shameless self promotion

so you’ve made your site and no ones reading it …
either
get a professional production team
or …

1 – GET OTHER PEOPLE TO LINK TO YOU
this is THE  most important thing
make sure that the words in or around the link are good

2 – CHANGE THE FRONT PAGE CONTENT EVERY DAY
Google must see your rate of change

3 – the server side technology does not matter, microsoft, java, php whatever
4 – use permalinks (ie www.foobar.com/sales/information is better than www.foobar.com/contents.aspx?page=7867576564)
5 – use well formed html
6 – register the site with google
7 – register it with every other site you can find, especially … facebook, myspace, linked, technorati, bebo, project path,
8 – get other people to write up your site, especially the popular bloggers (do you know Scot Mc Arther and Steve Nimmonds?)
9 – book mark it in delicious,
10 – book mark it in stunble upon
11 – put an article on you site and digg it
12 – get everyone you know to digg it
13 – add digg links, (stumble upon, facebook, you tube, … )
14 – keep the html simple, best way is using lynx or an audio reader (if it sounds like nonsence then your site is wrong)
15 – put a video on to you tube that links to your site
16 – get the BBC to write about your site
17 – lookup SEO on the web and follow instructions
18 – allow comments
19 – use google analyitics
20 – constantly monitor google analyitics, add it to you igoogle, rss reader, livelink page,
21 – be controversial with your content
22 – use alt text on content pictures
23 – get your site in the press

be patient

Can government cut costs with social networking? #2

The Gartner prediction is that government will use social networking for cost cutting.  I have written many articles now and none have caused so much controversy this topic.

This is where the controversy starts!

On the one hand the social network is the perfect way to identify some ones needs and NetMums is a great example of how sharing information can really improve young mothers lives.

On the other hand the social network relies on its members contributing and as such is an ideal way to farm data, and limit the distribution of information.

The UK has a long and chequered history of engineering social change, and engineering … errr … engineering. We are behind many of the “isums” and machines that have shaped the world and in the next few years we will see the marriage of technology and social policy.

I can not predict the outcome of this union, but it is a safe bet that the UK will first see the changes.

.

Media mEdia meDia medIa mediA

I recently attended the mediatech 100 event at the Russel hotel.

From what I gather the economic down turn is going to actually benefit the media businesses as evidence from the previous recessions indicate that reduced spending money, causes consumers to stay at home …. and spend more money on media consumption!

The VC’s and business angels are especially backing games, virtual worlds and mobile applications that have micro-transaction engines.

Can government cut costs with social networking?

I have just read this http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39325058,00.htm?r=2

This point of view is fundamentally flawed and forgets that “government” is the action of authority, and that it imposes jurisdiction without unanimous, majority or even minority consensus. Where as the social network is the interaction of individuals with other individuals using technology.

The responsibility of government is to improve the lives of individuals via the application of abstraction i.e. legislation against cigarette advertising. Its judgements are guided by the research that it commissions, or secret information that it gathers.

Today the contents of the social network is massively influenced by the intelligentsia, who are the early adaptors of the technology, but tomorrow it will have mass market adoption.

Information and recommendations that can be derived from the contents of a social network will tomorrow reflect the reactionary majority view. It would be dangerous and irresponsible to allow research and policy to be solely guided by such networks.

The eminent thinkers of my great nation have a long and checked history of engineering large scale social change, and engineering large scale … errr … engineering.

We are behind many of the “isums” and machines that have shaped the world. Our age sees the direct conjunction of the two. I can not predict the outcome of this union, but it is a safe bet that the UK will first see the changes.