The age of content

1. The age of content Distraction, danger and dividend

2. Me: • Name: Bruno Jakić • MSc A.I. • (Online+Gaming) Entrepreneur • Founder of Ai Applied: automatic text analysis and understanding • Author: history of technology lovers, check out the book “Hacking Europe”

3. If someone from the 1950s suddenly appeared today, what would be the most difficult thing to explain to them about life today? • I possess a device, in my pocket, that is capable of accessing the entirety of information known to man. • I use it to look at pictures of cats and get in arguments with strangers.

4. A brief history of “content” • 1950’s: Newspapers, LP’s, 3 TV channels… • Not called “content”, instead “news”, or “music”… • Produced by rare, skilled professionals after years of training (limited access) • Produced using analog tools • Disseminated through tightly controlled channels • Generally local audiences, consuming at leasure • Paid for by the audiences • Genuinely limited supply: scarcity

5. A brief history of “content” • 1950’s: • Music studio cost: ~ US$ 500.000,- (in current money) [1] • 1 minute of real-time international communication (telephone equipment could only be LEASED): ~ US$ 50,- per minute ( in current money) [2] • Sending delayed information to another continent (mailing a letter): ~ US$ 1,- [2] • The audio recording handbook, By Alan P. Kefauver, A-R Editions (April 2001) • Trends in Globalization, by World Trade Organization (2013)

6. A brief history of “content” • 1959: Jack Kilby invents the Integrated Circuit

7. A brief history of “content” • 1964 onwards: Mass production of IC • Moore’s Law (3) Wgsimon, Wikipedia:

8. A brief history of “content” • 1990’s: digital production, 10s-100s of TV channels, early Internet • Produced by (abundant) professionals • Produced using digital tools (by professionals, wide access) • Mostly disseminated through controlled channels • (Sometimes artificially) limited supply • Increasingly globalized audiences, consuming at leasure • Paid for, or “pirated” by the audiences, orthroughlarge-scaleadvertising

9. A brief history of “content” • 1990’s: • Music studio cost: ~ US$ 50.000,- (in current money) [4] • 1 minute of real-time international communication (telephone): ~ US$ 5,- per minute (in current money) [2] • Sending delayed information to another continent (e-mail): ~ US$ 0,- [2] (4) 25 Products That Changed Recording, Sound on Sound magazine (November 2010)

10. A brief history of “content” • ~ 2004: “Web 2.0”, “Social Media”, participatory content creation

11. A brief history of “content” • 2004-Now: The Internet, digital, personalized TV • Seen and called “content” by channel owners: associations with bulk goods • Produced by (part-timing and abundant) professionals, mostly by audiences / amateurs (universal access) • Mostly disseminated online • Almost unlimited supply: abundance • Globalized, massive audience, consuming in real-time • Paid for by advertising • Audiences are not the customers

12. A brief history of “content” • 2004-Now: • Music studio cost: ~ US$ 5.000,- [5] • 1 minute of real-time international communication (Skype): ~ US$ 0,- per minute [2] • Sending delayed information to another continent (e-mail): ~ US$ 0,- [2] • Contributions by the audience: ~US$ 0,- (+ tech costs) (5) Warbeats.com (November 2013)

13. The age of content: paradigm shift • Paradigm-shift in economic value of content • 90% of the world’s data in 2013 (about 4,5 zetaBytes) – created since early human civilization - was created in the two years prior [6] • Significant amount of this data consists of customer-generated content [6] • A lot of content, on its own = ~low value (6) Big Data, for better or worse: 90% of world's data generated over last two years, Science Daily (22nd of May, 2013)

14. The age of content: paradigm shift • In case of content supply scarcity, value is in content: consumer = paying customer • In case of content supply abundance, content is a means to an end: consumer ≠ paying customer • Paying customers: millions of companies represented by advertising networks

15. The age of content: consumer as a commodity Consumer is the product!

16. The age of content: dividend • Consumer value: • Facebook: US$ 128,- [7] @ 1230 mil. users • Twitter: US$ 118,- [7] @ 255 mil. users • LinkedIn: US$ 84,- [7] @ 277 mil. users • Angry Birds: US$ 11,51 [8] @ 260 mil. users • Whatsapp: US$ 35,- [9] @ 450 mil. Users • Nu.nl (news): US$ 145,- [10] @ 1 mil. users (7) You're Worth $128 On Facebook; Sorry About That LinkedIn Drop, Forbes (2014) (8) ThinkGaming (2014), MerchandiseReport (2014) (9) Acquisition by Facebook (2014) (10) Sanoma net sales 2014 (2014)

17. The age of content: dividend • Global online advertising yearly revenue (2013): ~US$ 117.000.000.000,- [11]

18. The age of content: dividend • Consumer value: • Direct spending • Advertising: • Specific branding (US$1000+) • eCPM(US$ 0,01 to US$ 30,-) • CPC (US$ 0,01 to US$ 10,-) • Revenue-sharing (up to 30% of the purchase price) • Price based on specific user targeting • Online advertising value depends on volume, time

19. The age of content: dividend • Increasing consumer value: • Get more consumers to view your content more often for more time • Vested interest of and proactive effort from content channels to attract and keep customers

20. The age of content: distraction • Behavioral marketing (e.g. @ Stanford Business School since 2004) studies scientifically: • Decision making • Attitudes and persuasion • Social influence • Motivation • Cognition • Culture • Nonconscious behavior influences • Consumer neuroscience • Emotions

21. The age of content: distraction • Content marketing strategy: • Goals: • Boost rankings for search-keywords • Establish domain authority • Establish brand authority on subject • Provide useful content for consumers • Methods: • Link/click-baiting • Optimizing lay-out and colors of presentation • Adaptive writing style: articles not too long and not too short • When people are in, keep them in with “filler” and a few good articles

22. The age of content: distraction • Link baiting: • Use infographics • Niche resource guides • Hyperbole/provocative imagery in titles • Question-answer statements in titles • Ego driven content • Negative content • Incentives

23. The age of content: distraction  ’I actually got pointed to a video that was on YouTube via Upworthy, that was originally just called "Zach Wahls Talks About His Family." Zach Wahls is a bloke from the states raised by two gay moms. And the video, which was quite a passionate testimony from him, got a million views. It was rebranded to be called "Two Lesbians Raised A Baby, And This Is What They Got." And with that headline, it got 17 million views.’ –Steve Hind, Link-baiter

24. The age of content: distraction

25. The age of content: distraction

26. The age of content: danger • Domain authority ≠ domain knowledge • Consumers might be vastly under informed whilst thinking they have gained full insights into a domain • Popularity , agreeability≠ truthfulness or correctness • Consumers might be vastly misinformed leading to serious consequences • Deemed useful by consumers ≠ desired • Consumers do not a-priori INTEND to engage with the content out of their own volition • Consumers might spend inordinate amounts of time learning about something they deem pleasant or useful, but which it practically is not

27. The age of content: danger • Massive waste of time • Psychological distress and addiction • Catering to the lowest common denominator • Promoting lack of proper education • Knowledge becomes indeterminate, indeterminable and ultimately, superfluous • Menace to society

28. The age of content: danger • Time spenton content:

29. The age of content: danger • Content marketing is also employed by “reputable” media sources as well, such as newspaper channels which already have long-established authority • Crackpot theories presented as “scientific” are difficult to recognize. • Every preconceived notion is supported somewhere, locking customers into their own bubble and out of the accepted reality

30. The age of content: danger • Viralhypeswithsevereconsequences: “vaccines causeautism” • Recent outbreaks of meazles, polio whoopingcough…

31. The age of content: danger • Alternativemedicinecommunities provide anectdotalreciprocal support despiteunprovenefficacy (withdeadlyconsequences).

32. The age of content: danger • News outlets: less and lessjournalism, more and more articles • Nu.nl: (12) Ai Applied/ Jelle BoumansPhddissertation (2014)

33. The age of content: solutions • Age of contènt→ Age of contént?

34. The age of content: solutions • Currently, content channel owners have a vested interest to PUSH content ontoeveryone, all the time, for as long as possible. Quantities matter. • Profitablebecauseadvertiserscanreach a large ROI; smalladvertising budgets workmiraclesiftheyreach the RIGHT people. • Onlyprofitablebecause of precisetargeting of advertisements.

35. The age of content: solutions • The solution: denyadvertisingnetworksyourpersonalinformation • Without precisetargeting, ROI declines. Advertising as it is happens is nolongerfeasible. • Content channel ownerswill have vested interest in cultivating a community, ratherthanwastingyour time (as with TV in the 90s).

36. The age of content: solutions - now • Thinkaboutwhatyou’veheardtoday • Usefalse data onsocialnetworks (fornow) • Browsing privacy protection tools: • Disconnect • Privacy Badger • NoScript • Private operatingsystems: • Tails Linux (formerlyAmnesia) • Anonymous/dark net: • TOR • Anomos

37. The age of content: solutions - future • “Pay me, Facebook” • Freedom box • Networks of trust • To succeedwidely, must have a business model • Community-operated ad networks?

38. A brief future of “content”? • 2024: • Music studio cost: ~ US$ -1000,- • 1 minute of real-time international communication (QuantumMessenger): ~ US$ -1,- per minute • Sending delayed information to another continent (ContentNet): ~ US$ -1,- [2] (5) Warbeats.com (November 2013)

39. The age of content: solutions - paramount EDUCATION