Home
>
Article Writing
>
Publishing: Changing realities (II)

Publishing: Changing realities (II)

There is some wisdom in saying that when you are in the jungle and are faced with a hungry bear, you'd better be good at thinking on your feet. If you're not strong, be quick. This is also the case in today's publishing environment.

If you are looking at these ezine articles, you are either in need of content, or have just submitted your own article and are now seeing if it stands out from the crowd. Whether you are an upstream or a downstream customer doesn't matter, but if you want to survive in today's publishing environment, it is essential that you have a clear view of some of the intersecting points in this industry itself.

Any surface work quickly learns that 'free content' is among the largest intersections where editors and webmasters meet.

Many people wonder who facilitates all this sugar-and-spice world of content. How is it possible that whilst you pay good money for your daily newspaper, you can get whatever is written in the paper times 500 for free on the internet? The short answer is one word: distribution.

Distribution, or aggregation of content as a totally free commodity is quite a new idea but it started to become important seven years ago, when publishers became more and more enticed with the idea that advertising revenue based business models were overtaking subscriptions in terms of attraction. It meant quite a gamble, but when new titles showed the viability and profitability of this model, very many other publications followed suit. It was going to be the idea of the future and the advertising driven revenue model has dominated the internet publishing sector from its very start.

Free content has since evolved and is very likely here to stay, since new business models are adopting the principle and weave alternative income streams around it. As Jeff Jarvis from www.buzzmachine.com says; "This is the new distributed world. I don't know how anybody makes money in it but I do see how many people save money. As has been cited too often now, Craig destroyed -- did not transfer but destroyed -- an estimated $65 million in classified revenue in San Francisco alone. But Craig still charges for listing jobs. Indeed doesn't; it merely finds them."

Craig being Craig's list, a highly successful aggregator, first of jobs and now everything under the sun in the classifieds market and Indeed being a similar outfit. Jarvis goes on to point out that "aggregation is cheap. Aggregation is efficient." And he's right. I have yet to come across estimates of the value of the so called 'free' content market across the internet, but this is of less relevance than its new role. Companies looking to cut costs, turn to free content. This way, it is playing an incredible role in the economy. It is valued but as an economic instrument, rather than a commodity with a usual price tag.

Content is King and at a 'Kingly' fee. You might say that the tax exemption that most countries reserve for their royalty translates in cyber ventures as publishers' inability to use content as a control tool in the traditional way. "The technology won't allow that to happen. You can't "get to scale" that way", says Jarvis.

The open source idea of content makes all of us a little bit more amenable to outsiders. It is simply impossible for one player to have all the goodies on one particular subject. "You must be open to others owning pieces of the equation. You must let the users get the value of scale however they choose to create that scale. You must facilitate the creation of virtual scale", says Jarvis.

As we are being democratised by technology this way, we are likely to adopt a totally new idea of achieving economies of scale and critical mass. This term as such is slowly dying out. Scale simply don't scale anymore. It's over guys. Nobody believes in authoritarian pretense no more. There's always a fifth if not sixth opinion if you've managed to convince everybody you monopolise the first four.

"The old days of big players in the economy collecting consumers, audience, distribution, manufacturing efficiency, buying power, or capital in the grip of centralized control are waning. That used to be the way to find efficiency and size. That used to be the way to scale. But they are being foiled by our new distributed world. And they are being replaced by a more efficient means of finding size and efficiency," says Jarvis.

Aggregation is the new scale. To get through to target markets, you need to be simple and craft your message clearly, concise and on target. Aggregation in cyber space is similar to decentralisation in the rest of society. It's getting more popular. People all over the world are getting the hang of spontaneously forming clusters grouping together in schemes, outmanoeuvering companies and governmental organisations. Anarchy in its positive format is expanding.

So whether you were just looking to find content, this might only just be the beginning of your search. Sure, many aggregators won't let you have their news for free when you are not a private entity, but the general idea has been born and it's cottoning on. Fast.

Are you wondering how you can be part of the new content revolution? Clustering is the key around which everything evolves. News aggregators are all very busy categorising their news in recognisable categories. All you need to do is hitch up with a few people in creating either a new category or establishing yourself as a player in a recognized field and submit your feeds. People that take them are of course Yahoo.com, but also lesser known entities such as Newsnow.co.uk and Daypop.com. Not to speak of the blog possibilities, which are endless.

You can go around this in a myriad of ways, but it's best to center your efforts around a hub, make sure you coordinate everything before submitting anything. Why would you do this? Well, dumbass, for the same reason as why you are visiting this website! To publish news about your area of expertise, or to find articles about topics you are interested in.

If you find it difficult to do this all by yourself, there are of course people specialising in this field. Notably ourselves. If you are interested in getting customized newsfeeds only, you can also go to www.newsknowledge.com. But just remember; what they create is something you and a few likeminded peers can OFFER. Getting on in the world's no longer black and white affair, but more like a Be-With-It affair.

Angelique van Engelen runs http://www.contentclix.com which is located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She writes tailormade articles on any subject and also creates highly specialist RSS feeds on topics relating to arts and culture.

custom home cleaning Wilmette ..

In The News:

Unlike robotaxi competitors, Tensor focuses on consumer-owned self-driving cars that adapt to highways and urban roads with full redundancy systems for safety.

Medicare scams cost $54 billion in 2024 as fraudsters target beneficiaries with fake calls demanding payments and personal information to steal benefits.

Scammers create fake Evite invitations that mimic legitimate event emails, requiring users to verify senders and use antivirus software for protection.

The new Apple Watch hypertension feature passively monitors blood pressure patterns over 30 days using sensors to detect chronic high blood pressure signs.

Chrome extension spyware disguised as a free VPN service highlights security risks after it captured private browsing data from trusted sites.

New research shows how fatty acids in cooking oil can safely dissolve and recover silver from circuit boards without harmful chemicals or environmental damage.

The Fox News AI newsletter gives you information on the latest AI technology advancements, and about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Anthropic investigates alarming AI abuse case where hacker automated entire cybercrime campaign using Claude, stealing sensitive data from defense and healthcare firms.

TikTok, Meta and YouTube restrict Charlie Kirk shooting videos with age gates and warnings while X faces criticism for allowing continued circulation.

Cybercriminals use fake troubleshooting websites to trick Mac users into running terminal commands that install Shamos malware through ClickFix tactics.

San Francisco startup Fable launches Showrunner, an AI platform dubbed the 'Netflix of AI' that generates animated episodes from text descriptions with Amazon support.

Apple raised iPhone prices for some models despite receiving tariff relief from President Donald Trump, with the new lineup starting at $799 for the base model.

A two-story 3D concrete printed home in Western Australia demonstrates faster construction methods that could reshape American housing amid rising costs.

Credit scores remain important during retirement for insurance rates and housing applications, while seniors become prime targets for identity theft and financial scams.

Scammers now send unexpected packages with QR codes that redirect victims to fraudulent websites or download malicious software to steal sensitive information.

Meeting AI tools record private conversations alongside work discussions, creating privacy risks that can be managed with proper settings and awareness.

Hotel privacy concerns are valid but rare, with methods to detect hidden tech using smartphone flashlights, mirror tests and scanning apps.

Improve your Wi-Fi speed and reliability with 10 simple router optimization tips that don't require special apps or expensive subscriptions.

A Columbia University breach exposed names, Social Security numbers and academic records of nearly 869,000 people, with notifications beginning in August.

Rental car drivers use AI-powered apps like Proofr to protect themselves from unfair damage fees as major companies deploy automated inspection tools.

Fox News' AI newsletter brings you the latest on technology advancements around artificial intelligence.

OnTrac data breach between April 13-15, 2025, exposed personal information of over 40,000 people including Social Security numbers and medical records.

A woman named Wika announces her engagement to an AI chatbot sparking worldwide debate about virtual relationships and technology.

The notorious people search site National Public Data relaunches despite a previous breach affecting 3 billion individuals, raising fresh privacy concerns.

Revolutionary TRAUMAGEL gel controls life-threatening bleeding from gunshot wounds and traumatic injuries, helping first responders prevent prehospital deaths.

Publishing: Changing realities (II)

Article Writing