SDME Chapter 9: Competing in a Networked World

The shift from “mass media” to “Me Media” has changed what it means for how media companies compete and collaborate with one another. In this new environment, the economics are the inverse of the old media world: content is abundant and attention is scare. As the media landscape increasingly becomes more competitive, entrepreneurs must decide to compete head-to-head or partner with another organizations. There are five steps in our framework for identifying and assessing potential partners that involve identifying key partners, target audience, value creation goal, economic outcomes, and measurement tools. Here are the questions you’ll consider in this chapter:

• • In a media environment that has shifted from finite content/infinite attention to the reverse—infinite content/finite attention—what are the economics for media organizations, particularly as tech behemoths such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook seize a disproportionate share of revenues?
  • How have traditional boundaries between media organizations competing for that attention become contested, or at least blurred?
  • Along those blurred lines of business relationships, how can media organizations use collaboration to protect themselves from the threats these changes pose?