As we enter the second decade of the millenium I hope that we start to go beyond Internet as platform or channel and strive for Internet as medium. Most media companies still treat the Internet as a distribution channel for digital versions of the content they already produce for print or tv – their holy grail is being multiplatform. Whether it be Hulu, iTunes or Kindle or supposedly next generation content producers like Politico, Huffington Post or Aol’s network of sites like Engadget, Fanhouse, and Joystiq – the fact remains that media is still focused on repurposing itself – in the same way that first generation TV repurposed radio content in front of a camera.
Don’t get me wrong, there is tremendous value in using the Internet as distribution. We can lower supply chain costs, reduce time to market, empower consumers, provide 24×7 self service and deliver content anytime, anywhere. All good. Great even. I love being able to watch my TiVo via Slingbox on my iPhone while waiting for a connection in Madrid. Time shifting, place shifting and mobile all because we can now distribute bits digitally. So what’s the problem?
The problem is we aren’t realizing the internet’s potential to fundamentally transform how we inform, educate and entertain. Instead of repurposing themselves, media companies should reinvent themselves to exploit the Internet’s unique and inherent capabilties. As with print, radio and tv, the Internet can capture, store and transmit text, photos, audio and video. However, the Internet is also interactive, social and nonlinear. As such, the internet enables fundamentally different ways to create and experience content. If I were writing a book or preparing a strategy paper instead of a blog post I would define, describe and elaborate in great detail on how these features drive a paradigm shift in media. Maybe someone will pick up this post and do just that or I might get more ambitious and do it myself. In the interim, I offer games as the best example of offline media that is thriving online by leveraging the Internet as a medium.
Games are interactive by nature – the user is not a reader, viewer or listener. They are a participant. As such they take an active role in authoring the experience. A user can’t simply press the start button on their console to experience Guitar Hero – they have to interact with it.
Games are also social. Whether it’s one to one, one to many or many to many, players communicate, collobrate and compete to create and consume the game experience. Whether it’s online poker or World of Warcraft, the game experience is elevated because people are playing with others rather than with the computer.
And finally, unlike books, movies or songs – games are not subject to tightly scripted narrative with a beginning, middle and end. Games are nonlinear because they can provide a context and a set of varibles that enable players to create an almost infinite set of experiences. Case in point, Grand Theft Auto where a player can experience a loosely scripted narrative via missions or roam an open world for countless hours.
Media is the intersection of storytelling and technology. As technology advances so does our ability to tell stories both real and imagined in new and immersive ways. With the advent of the Internet, media can now create stories that are interactive, social and nonlinear. Unfortunately, our ability to do so is lagging as companies cling to what they know and have mastered. Let’s hope that as the next decade unfolds, more companies will cross the chasm and embrace the Internet as medium
