Content As Democracy

Alexa pissed off many people several years ago as one of the original spyware kings; but you can't argue with their interest and passion for understanding web-user behavior. As mentioned before, the YouTube and StupidVideos phenomenon absolutely ends any remaining debate over where the ultimate source of value resides in an open, distributed network -- it's At The Edges.

In the old Ma-Bell, Cable Co. world, all the valuable content and services were hoarded in the core of the network and meted out via teired monthly rationing regimes. To put it in formal academic terms, that ain't gonna' cut it no more with "the rise of user-submitted, user-rated media, represented by a new breed of sites like youtube and metacafe that completely bypass the cloistered editorial process in favor of open consumer-based systems," as the Alexa Web Discovery Machine blog succinctly puts it.

Now, in such a system, YOU, the CREATOR OF THE VALUABLE CONTENT are more than entitled to a cut of the revenues generated from that content. Very soon, it's my assertion that we will see the emergence of services and platforms that understand the BASIC ECONOMICS of this situation. Today, the CONTENT CREATORS are not being compensated for their work. As you begin to compensate them, they will suddenly begin to understand the value of OTHER PEOPLE'S digital content, and guess what will happen to piracy in such an environment?

You will be able to toss out tons of cheap carrots and put away the heavy-handed and extremely costly stick of digital content enforcement. Please don't insult my intelligence or readers intelligence with comments that this is not a silver bullet; no duh, nothing is. However, there are new business models just waiting to be fleshed out; models that will begin to both spread the wealth and reward the enablers of that distribution -- all in strict keeping with free market economics and enlightened self interest.