As we look to the future of media and see all of the different ways in which you can deliver content, I find myself asking one question that seems to glide past many on the way to YouTube or other New Media sites – are we really just repackaging old media in new formats? Is there really “New” in New Media?
I think that in some instances, we can say that the media landscape has changed considerably with Internet video for some of that content to be considered as “New”. But really, there is quite a bit of repackaging going on. Not only that, but media networks seem hell-bent on delivering this media in the same way! Internet video has so many untapped or under-tapped capabilities – the first and most important of which is being able to tag the video content with URL’s, metadata, page flips inside of framed HTML pages, etc… these are tech innovations which seem lost on the majority of web video out there. I’ve yet to see major media outlets really take advantage of the interactive possibilities.
The same goes for mobile video. It seems an absolute no-brainer for mobile video to be able to embed a URL to someone’s phone within mobile video. The technology should be available to do this. There shouldn’t be any question about whether or not it’s possible. Yet there seems much to be desired from carriers who are lagging behind in offering these capabilities to new media vendors and consumers.
Lastly, in regards to copyright, it seems that copyright law and the legal teams involved with media companies are making it even more complex by trying to define separate delivery mechanisms (such as carrier delivery vs. Internet delivery) when these mechanisms are really all just “digital” delivery. The quest to make ever more money from new digital streams just gets ridiculous after a certain point. I spent last week at the Nashville Digital Music Summit listening to various people debate copyright protection. Nobody can even start to agree on the most basic ways to slice up the new media digital pie revenue. Meanwhile, the major media companies and music companies are worried sick that their profits are being eroded through digital technology. And, they may be right.
While Rome is burning, kids and enterprising new artists and media folks are coming up with truly new media – clips and ideas that bypass the normal filters and end up becoming part of the new media landscape. It seems that traditional media companies are just looking for ways to slow down that progress in any way possible while simultaneously trying to capitalize on it themselves. Media mash-ups and remixes and such… most media companies have no idea how to handle these issues, because they don’t fall into the established pipelines set up for monetization. How sad for them! They need to get a grip – the old system is broken, and trying to arrest or sue their way back to it won’t stop the flow.
So yes, there IS new media – if old media can get out of it’s own way, and tech companies can start cooperating instead of hoarding technology. Next week I’ll talk about copyright and why big change is absolutely inevitable, yet probably will be stymied every step of the way.
