SpectatorBytes

Original content is king. This sentence has been said before by many media executives. However, in the age of digital media, content is not the word to focus on but rather the word original. By now, it is pretty obvious that there is a significant amount of content out there. As a result, breaking through the clutter is a pretty difficult exercise unless one has truly “original” content. It is that original voice that a blogger has that enables them to build audiences or the “original” talent that a pro-sumer video producer has or “original” application a developer provides that will enable them to stand out and create communities around their pieces of content. This original content is the anchor to channels, networks and ultimately platforms. This original content is increasing value.

Today, most attention seems to be focused on developing technologies that package commoditized content. Machines are expected to create new content environments by organizing information. While there is value to be created there, i think that original and differentiated content is what will ultimately drive scale and monetization opportunities. Having said that, platforms that combine the two are likely to capture the most value.