Comments on: Striking writers try move to Internet, supported by venture capital http://www.writeslikeshetalks.com/2007/12/17/striking-writers-try-move-to-internet-supported-by-venture-capital/ "She is very powerful, so be nice to her." Former Chancellor, Ohio Board of Regents, Eric Fingerhut Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:51:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jill Miller Zimon http://www.writeslikeshetalks.com/2007/12/17/striking-writers-try-move-to-internet-supported-by-venture-capital/comment-page-1/#comment-38928 Jill Miller Zimon Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:54:54 +0000 http://www.writeslikeshetalks.com/2007/12/17/striking-writers-try-move-to-internet-supported-by-venture-capital/#comment-38928 Thanks, Paul, you raise a lot of good thinking points. The only thing I would say is that, as someone who really loves to write, when you aren't able to do that - it's suffocating. So, I imagine they are at the point of asphyxiation when it comes to their creative essence. Thanks, Paul, you raise a lot of good thinking points.

The only thing I would say is that, as someone who really loves to write, when you aren’t able to do that – it’s suffocating. So, I imagine they are at the point of asphyxiation when it comes to their creative essence.

]]> By: Paul http://www.writeslikeshetalks.com/2007/12/17/striking-writers-try-move-to-internet-supported-by-venture-capital/comment-page-1/#comment-38895 Paul Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:13:33 +0000 http://www.writeslikeshetalks.com/2007/12/17/striking-writers-try-move-to-internet-supported-by-venture-capital/#comment-38895 It's easy to forget that the traditional news and entertainment media have been a combination of content and distribution, and they controlled both. The print media have presses and trucks. The radio and TV networks have transmitters, cable systems and satellites. The Internet decouples the content from the distribution, and makes distribution available to everyone. I spent my career with CompuServe, and we were one of the first folks to enable that decoupling. A few newspapers joined us in the experiment - like the Columbus Dispatch and the Washington Post - and that was 20 years ago. But the real revolution was the creation of a medium for the masses. Our most valuable content wasn't produced by professional media organization, it was by our customers. Hooray for the TV writers for figuring out that they might be able to do the TV production companies and networks what the musical artists have done to the record companies (who also had a lock on distribution until the Internet). But the writers will find that they have the same challenge as the music industry - pricing and piracy. They will be tempted to look at the income statements of the networks and say, 'hey, all that money could be ours.' The truth is the shift to the Internet will radically decrease the aggregate income of the whole industry in the first wave, and later create a hypercompetitive marketplace that makes it hard to anyone to make money. And unlike the musical artists, the screenwriters can't do concert tours to make up the difference. At this moment, the Internet may still lack the capacity to take on load that would be created by a wholesale shift of video programming from traditional broadcast media. That probably means that for a lucky few who figure it out early, there's a lot of money to be made right now. Everyone else will get shut out. Think of what it was like to get a show on prime-time TV in the 1960s when there was only three networks. The internet will eventually became a seamless network of broadcast (via satellite) and on-demand communications channels, and the distinction between TV networks and Internet networks will evaporate. Meanwhile, the transition will be fun to watch. It’s easy to forget that the traditional news and entertainment media have been a combination of content and distribution, and they controlled both. The print media have presses and trucks. The radio and TV networks have transmitters, cable systems and satellites.

The Internet decouples the content from the distribution, and makes distribution available to everyone. I spent my career with CompuServe, and we were one of the first folks to enable that decoupling. A few newspapers joined us in the experiment – like the Columbus Dispatch and the Washington Post – and that was 20 years ago. But the real revolution was the creation of a medium for the masses. Our most valuable content wasn’t produced by professional media organization, it was by our customers.

Hooray for the TV writers for figuring out that they might be able to do the TV production companies and networks what the musical artists have done to the record companies (who also had a lock on distribution until the Internet).

But the writers will find that they have the same challenge as the music industry – pricing and piracy. They will be tempted to look at the income statements of the networks and say, ‘hey, all that money could be ours.’ The truth is the shift to the Internet will radically decrease the aggregate income of the whole industry in the first wave, and later create a hypercompetitive marketplace that makes it hard to anyone to make money. And unlike the musical artists, the screenwriters can’t do concert tours to make up the difference.

At this moment, the Internet may still lack the capacity to take on load that would be created by a wholesale shift of video programming from traditional broadcast media. That probably means that for a lucky few who figure it out early, there’s a lot of money to be made right now. Everyone else will get shut out. Think of what it was like to get a show on prime-time TV in the 1960s when there was only three networks.

The internet will eventually became a seamless network of broadcast (via satellite) and on-demand communications channels, and the distinction between TV networks and Internet networks will evaporate.

Meanwhile, the transition will be fun to watch.

]]>