Blogger extraordinaire Jeff Jarvis has perhaps beaten this horse too many times, but on occasion he does so with such clarity and passion that he's worth reading, if only for the jolt he provides.
In the age of high-speed broadband, media no longer rely on presses, he points out. They don't even rely on content. Nope, both content and means of delivery are secondary. What matters is
"relationships." Some companies get it, most still don't. (He cites
The Guardian in the U.K. as the most forward-thinking publisher in the business, saying its leaders fully appreciate
that its brand-new printing presses are essentially an anachronism in the digital age.) Jarvis skewers virtually all American newspaper executives (they live in the past) and, for that matter,
most execs in old-line media. "Distribution is not king. Content is not king. Conversation is the kingdom. It's about 'relationships.'" Does 'anyone' in the States have a clue? According to
Jarvis, who admittedly is fanatical on the subject, yes, one mogul does: Rupert Murdoch. "Note well that he did not buy a content company or a distribution company with producers or presses when
he acquired MySpace. He bought a 'relationships' company." Javis goes on. And on. Well worth a read, though.
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