Content (media and publishing)
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Content from the perspective of media and publishing may be thought of as information and experiences created by individuals, institutions and technology to benefit audiences in contexts that they value.
Content appears in many forms in many different kinds of contexts, including electronic content presented via computers and mobile devices, printed materials such as books and newspapers, television, movies and radio as well as live performances of drama and music such as those presented in a theatre or performances of speeches or interactive experiences such as games or sporting events.
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[edit] Content as Actualized Value
Content is the actualization of the value of a specific item or set of information and/or experiences in a specific context with a specific audience: it is this process of creating actualized value that distinguishes the concept of content from information, which may be generated and stored with no particular audience in mind, or experiences, which may not be perceived as having value to a person acting as an audience in a specific context. So, for example, information or experiences stored on an old videotape for which one does not have a machine on which to view the videotape do not have a great deal of value as content: in this context it may be more valuable to that specific audience as a piece of recyclable plastic. On the other hand, one may have ready access to a traffic sign alongside a road and not appreciate it as valuable content: we may have already absorbed its information and view the sign more as a piece of inexpensive painted metal than as content. However, if that same traffic sign were presented to an audience as a piece of art in a museum its value as content may be altogether different to the audiences who perceive the sign as having a different kind of symbolic value in that particular context.
[edit] Content versus Medium
Some confusion exists regarding how content is separate from the medium that delivers particular information and experiences to an audience. For example, it could be said that the paper on which the pages of a book are printed is not content and that the ink that forms letters on the printed page is not content. These are not experiences, they are simply technologies that enable the delivery of information and experiences. However, the ink on the paper page may form letters or an image which can be appreciated by an audience, creating content in the context of an audience that can read and appreciate the information and experiences in that book. In electronic content the encoded computer programming languages that format electronic information for delivery and presentation on screens are technologies that support the medium of electronic content from audiences using that information. However, software developed from those languages may be compiled and packaged into an electronic game that is consumed as a form of content by audiences that use that game as a valued experience. To computer programmers themselves software and programming languages may be considered content if they provide information and experiences that add value to them as creators of technology products and services. For these technologists, then, software download services may be thought of as content services.
[edit] Content versus Information
Content is sometimes thought of as a synonym for information. While information is one important component of content - even experiences meant purely for entertainment contain information in them - a given piece of information may or may not be experienced as content if it is not presented to an audience appropriately. For example, information can be stored in any number of ways and delivered and displayed in any number of forms and formats. Each use of information may create its own unique value for a specific audience in a specific context. Thus the ability to deliver a specific piece of information by a specific technology does not necessarily guarantee its value as content. The often cited examples of information overload are a way of stating that the availability of information does not necessarily mean that it is useful content. Thus the information industry, which is focused primarily on the creation and delivery of digital information, is not synonymous with the content industry, which focuses on creating value for audiences in contexts that can be realized often as money, attention or other forms of reward via the value of content.
[edit] Key Attributes of Content
Key attributes of content as defined in the Shore Content Market Model include:
[edit] Creators
The individuals, institutions and technologies that create content. Creators may include:
- Associations & Non-Profit Organizations
- Business Process Managers & Participants
- Communications and Advertising Specialists
- Market Analysts and Researchers
- Government and Regulatory Bodies
- Industrial Researchers
- Journalists
- Professional Authors, Artists and Contributors
- Public Speech, Performances and Politics
- Publishers and Production Companies
- Scholarly Researchers, Teachers & Students
- Technology Platforms
- Transaction Facilitators & Participants
- Non-Professional Authors, Artists & Contributors
- Value-Add Processors
[edit] Types
The general types of content may include:
- Professional and Trade Media
- Networking and Events
- Reference and Research
- Financial Markets
- Marketing/Advertising
- Non-Financial Markets (Commodities, Goods,Services)
- Consumer Media and Entertainment
- Public Sector (Non-Scholarly)
- Scholarly and Academic (Public and Private)
- Social Media
- Games
- Sporting Events
- Cars
[edit] Business Models
Business models which people may use to make content available for commercial or non-commercial purposes may include:
- Aggregator
- Collector
- Commerce Facilitator
- Conductor/Distributor/Logistics
- Contextualizer
- Discovery Tool/Services Provider
- Integrator
- License Management
- Licensor
- Packager/Printer
- Producer/Publisher
- Publishing Tool/Services Provider
- Retailer
- Value-Add Tool/Services Provider
- Venue Management
Value Chain
The elements of the content value chain (contensify):
- Create
- Organize
- Neutralize
- Transform
- Exhibit
- Nurture
- Secure
- Improvise
- Foster
- Yester
[edit] Monetization Models
Models that may be used to manage the monetary value of content may include:
- Ad-Supported
- Display Fees
- Distribution/Licensing Fees
- Event Fees
- Non-Profit/Government
- Non-Revenue (hobby, etc.)
- Product Sales
- Redistribution Fees
- Services Sales
- Software Sales
- Subscription
- Transaction Fees
[edit] Markets
Examples of markets that may create valuable contexts for content may include:
- Academic and Scholarly Services
- Banking, Credit and Insurance
- Scientific, Technical and Medical
- Communications, Software & Systems
- Consumer Entertainment & Lifestyle
- Defense and Intelligence
- Energy and Natural Resources
- Government/Politics
- Health/Human Services
- Industrial/Producer Goods & Services
- Industrial/Producer Research
- Investments and Securities
- Legal and Justice
- News, Media and Marketing
- Personal Goods
- Personal Services
- Professional Services
[edit] Distribution Channels
Examples of channels through which content may gain value through distribution may include:
- Peer-to-Peer Private and Public Networks
- Postal/Delivery Services
- Private Network - Direct to Client
- Private Venues
- Public Network - Direct to Client
- Public Venues
- Redistributor/Syndicator/Aggregator
- Reseller
- Retail Outlets
- Search Engines & Portals
- Value-Add Partner
[edit] Platforms
Platforms on which content may gain value to audiences may include:
- Digital Objects (Web Services, DRM media)
- Enterprise Infrastructure
- Feeds (e.g., Radio, RSS, Satellite, Proprietary)
- Fixed Electronic Media (CD, CD-ROM)
- Home Appliances (entertainment, etc.)
- Mobile Appliances (Handhelds, Auto, Air)
- Multi-Media Packaging (e.g., Courseware)
- PC (general purpose personal computer)
- Professional Appliances
- Public Display
- Public Venue
- Web Infrastructure
[edit] Audiences (Users)
Specific groupings of people using content in specific roles (audiences) can define content's value as much as the information and experiences themselves. Audiences may contribute to the content that they experience as creators. Some audiences may include:
- Senior Management/Public Officials
- Administrative/Human Resources
- Research & Development
- Sales/Business Development
- Marketing
- Public Relations/Investor Relations
- Business Intelligence
- Production
- Purchasing
- Finance
- Legal
- Information Technology
- Information Professionals
- Consumer/Personal
- Solo Practitioner/Consultant
- Customer Support/Serviceru:Контент
