Google knows that the future of content distribution requires complete source agnosticism. Google News, for example, pulls its content from blogs, from mainstream media, from all over the place, and it is quickly becoming the most trusted name in Internet news -- because it's got the most diverse sources. That's just the tip of the content revolution iceberg, so let's try to get a bigger picture here.
The single most important aspect of the advent of the computer and the
Internet is that the two combine to democratize almost everything. And when
you really break it down, that democratization hinges on two things:
1. The ability to create content cheaply on your computer.2. The ability to distribute content cheaply on the Internet.
These technologies are, in so many ways, all about leveling the playing
field and bringing formerly capital-intensive industries to the masses.
For years we've been told that, in this country, "the freedom of the press belongs to those who own the ink." Well, in the 21st century the ink is free, courtesy of free access to computers at your local library and free blogging sites. We truly have freedom of the press in this country for
the first time ever.
And Google is already tapping into that free press in ways that nobody else is. While Yahoo! (YHOO - commentary - Cramer's Take), Time Warner (TWX - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Microsoft (MSFT - commentary - Cramer's Take) push their own content to varying degrees, Google simply aggregates the content created and owned by others. Period.
Content Creation Shift Is Real
Think about what it entailed to publish just about any form of content just a generation ago. In the best-case scenario, you'd have to invest in a typewriter first and foremost. If you wanted to create any type of recorded content, sound or -- worst-case scenario -- video, you had to invest in all kinds of equipment to record and edit and produce that content.
The Teleconomist There's a Net Difference This Time 9/27/2005 2:59 PM EDT Crisis-mongers have fodder, but the Internet has made capital systems more efficient -- and down cycles more muted.
The Teleconomist The Fed Is Killing Its Friends Softly 9/23/2005 1:58 PM EDT Its incessant rate campaign, spurred by fear of inflation, has only just begun to hit the economy.
The Teleconomist Trading Tech's Pullback 9/22/2005 3:30 PM EDT There is an ongoing slide in technology stocks. Here's a look at one trader's buy pad.
At time of publication, the firm in which Willard is a partner was Net Long GOOG, MSFT, TWX, YHOO; Net Short VIA.B and WMG, although positions can change at any time and without notice.
Cody Willard is a partner in a buy-side firm and a contributor to TheStreet.com's RealMoney. He also produces a premium product for TheStreet.com called The Telecom Connection and is the founder of Teleconomics.com. The firm in which Willard is a partner may, from time to time, have long or short positions in, or buy or sell the securities, or derivatives thereof, of companies mentioned in his columns. At time of publication, the firm in which Willard is a partner had no positions in any of the securities mentioned in this column, although positions can change at any time and without notice. None of the information in this column constitutes, or is intended to constitute, a recommendation by Willard of any particular security or trading strategy or a determination by Willard that any security or trading strategy is suitable for any specific person. Willard appreciates your feedback -- click here to send him an email.
RSS FEEDS
PODCASTS
