Thirty years of defining the nature of information technology, and latterly the future of gaming, and television, is tiring. Yes, I've decided enough is enough. I won't listen to Bill Gates any longer.
The reality of course is that Bill Gates has plenty of business interests to keep him going, some of which are beginning to flourish.
As we mark the end of his era, we're also marking the beginning of a new one, powered by us, or you. As well as playing with flock yesterday I was also looking at Squarespace and at scoop.
The momentum of non-professional content, news and information sources (newsvine, toppix, ohmynews, dailykos) is slowly taking the floor out from under the newspaper industry.
In this "end of news" post, dating back to December 2004 Michael Massing attributed newspapers' decline to right wing campaigns against mainstream media and to unreal profit demands by new owners.
But the positive side of the coin is millions of people want to create and the technology is simplifying the process of co-creating contenet. See Hotelchatter, for example.
A lack of investment in newspaper properties and a highly educated population will drive more industries towards the co-creation ethos.
What does it mean to companies that have relied on newspapers to disseminate recruitment or product information?
It means seeking out new intermediaries and managing relationships with them.
If I had VC money right now I'd be developing a system that allows marketing departments, PR agencies and ad agencies to manage hundreds and thousands of ad placements, site sponsorship deals and good will relationships with niche opinion leaders. Oh and it would manage ad space auctions too.
technorati tags:marketing, IT, Bill, Gates, Content, co-createion
