Innovation in an Age of Disruption

Richard Gingras

01-03-12

Innovation in an Age of Disruption

Richard Gingras

01-03-12

MistakesIt’s not how many you

make. It’s how quickly you learn

from them.

InnovationIt is not a luxury.

It can’t be intermittent.1

It must be part of an organization’s DNA.2

1. Cycle of change is too rapid2. No, it’s not a Chief Innovation Officer!

Technological changeTechnological change

Technology is not the solution.

It is the playing field; it sets the rules of the game

Properly-harnessed, it can move us forward

Do not presume it can resurrect an old business model. It can’t!

The advance of technologyThe advance of technologyThe advance of technologyThe advance of technology

Exponential convergence

TechnologyIt can provide great value but only if we make it so.

It defines the palette of our medium, the tools of our

trade.

Disruption: live by it, die by itDisruption: live by it, die by it

The death of the print model was the open distribution of the Internet

Openness breaks distribution control and the opportunity to control pricing

News was fiercely competitive, not hugely profitable -- but for 1960 to 2000

• What triggered that period of near-monopolistic profitability? Television

EconomicsBusiness models change.Journalists cannot ignore the business side. They do

so at their peril.

Understand the new economicsUnderstand the new economicsUnderstand the new economicsUnderstand the new economics

Presume no economic savior Micro-payments are not a macro solution Average ad CPMs will continue to drop Subscription fees work but only if the

content has extraordinary value

Revenue: assume an RPM of $10 Expense: target Cost/MPV of $5

$10

$65

$5

Understand the new economicsUnderstand the new economics

It’s less about demographics and more about context and relevance Marketplace for eyeballs is disaggregated and open

Cross-subsidization was always crucial. Now it’s more difficult. Soft, not hard, news has long fueled profitability Niche product-focused properties – from Pop Sugar to Café Mom to

Gizmodo are winning the ad dollars

There is no significant premium for quality content – not that there ever was

Marketplace realitiesMarketplace realities

“We need to get consumers back in the habit of paying for news.” Really? They paid very little and had little choice

Real economic issue: there is too much of it Does the cover-everything model (gardening to gossip to

politics) make sense today? How does a brand differentiate and create a stronger

sense of value?

AudienceIn an overloaded content ecosystem the battle for eyeballs is waged on the

users’ terms.

Understand your audienceWhere does it come from? Today? Tomorrow?

Understand your audienceWhere does it come from? Today? Tomorrow?

45%30%

45%

25%

32%

22%33%

29%

32%

27%

9%

1%

15%

Structure & FormThe medium defines the message and its form.

It needs to be rethought. Completely.

Ephemeral anthrax attack article Persistent anthrax attack resource

Rethink content architectureRethink content architectureDesign to leverage today’s technology and audience flowsDesign to leverage today’s technology and audience flowsRethink content architectureRethink content architectureDesign to leverage today’s technology and audience flowsDesign to leverage today’s technology and audience flows

Rethink the outputRethink the outputMcLuhan: “Every new medium begins as a container for the oldMcLuhan: “Every new medium begins as a container for the old””

Rethink the outputRethink the outputMcLuhan: “Every new medium begins as a container for the oldMcLuhan: “Every new medium begins as a container for the old””

How can one build and maintain the pyramid of knowledge on a story? Articles, posts, facts, related docs, reader contributions,

discussion, databases, etc. etc. How do we address the read-state? The user’s knowledge?

What is the role of long-form article? Audience is low, abandonment is high How can we better achieve the objective to inform?

What is the role of the social network post?

Computational journalismComputational journalismA huge untapped opportunityA huge untapped opportunityComputational journalismComputational journalismA huge untapped opportunityA huge untapped opportunity

How can technology allow more effective use of the fruit of a reporter’s efforts?

Shouldn’t reportinggenerate persistent informationalresources?

Yes, but thethought processmust change

The RolesThe tools are different.The output is different.How can the roles not

change?

Rethink all rolesRethink all roles

What is the day-to-day role of a reporter?…when creation and publication can be in the reporter’s hands

What is the day-to-day role of an editor? …in an edition-less environment with a crowd of participants to lead, guide, and harvest

Leverage the trusted crowdLeverage the trusted crowdLeverage the trusted crowdLeverage the trusted crowd

More writers publishing today than ever before The blogosphere, Wikipedia More chaff, yes, but also more wheat

How can one optimally: Harvest high-quality, self-determined work Lead work into areas of interest/need Provide guidance on ethics and style Develop fair compensation models

There is a huge benefit to those who develop the skills and processes to do this well

ArchitectureProduct development

cannot stop.Every journalist should be guided to think creatively

about the product.

Tear down that wall!Tear down that wall!Tear down that wall!Tear down that wall!

Everyone must understand how the product and the business works

Business: trust makes the brand Editorial: how it all works Everyone: tracking the data Everyone: collaborating

on product development

MissionGiven a vastly different and

evolving journalistic ecosystem, the mission

and ethics need reconsideration.

It’s a very different worldIt’s a very different world “Who wants to hear the truth when they can

hear they are right!” The Internet supports any opinion, belief, or fear and gives it

greater volume.

Should the mission and tactics change? Given the greater need for media literacy and

cognitive reasoning Should the ethics that guide journalistic

behaviors be revised? Given the very different ecosystem we now work in

Optimistically speaking…Optimistically speaking…

1. The news industry is in trouble because everyone now has a printing press.

How can that be a bad thing?

Optimistically speaking…Optimistically speaking…

2. Journalism’s future will be molded by many new creative endeavors.

Nurture that!

Optimistically speaking…Optimistically speaking…

3. Journalism’s future will be stronger than its past.

It needs to be!

DiscussionDiscussion