2. Long Tail Theory
This theory was developed by Chris Anderson. Chris is a British-American
author and entrepreneur. He is the author of the book “The Long Tail: Why the
Future of Business Is Selling Less of More” and is the CEO and co founder of
3D Robotics.
The long tail theory states that the more titles available, the less profit is to be
gained from that market. For example:
In the film industry, if several action movies are released within a short time frame,
the individual movies are less likely to earn as much money if only one action movie
had been released.
In the music industry, if several artists produce similar sounding music and release
the songs at the similar times, they will make less money than a more original
sound.
I believe this theory is relevant because it’s very present in nearly all media
industries, and is something a media producer should keep in mind when they
are producing their product. If it’s similar to other releases due, it won’t sell as
well.
3. We Think
This theory was produced by Charles (Charlie) Leadbeater.
The theory suggests that the web is a platform for innovation and mass
creativity. The web allows people to create new media content and share it
online, whilst connecting and collaborating with other people from around
the entire world. For Example:
In the gaming industry, people can create online games, sharing them on
websites and forum channels such as reddit in order to gain opinions on how to
improve their product.
In the film industry, people can create their own films or videos and upload it to
YouTube for others to watch and comment on.
I think this theory is relevant as people everywhere create media content
to share with the world, and use it as a means to make new friends and
partners in the creative online world.
4. Wikinomics
The theory was created by Don Tapscott and Anthony D Williams.
According to Tapscott and Williams, Wikinomics is based on four ideas;
Openness, Peering, Sharing and Acting Globally. It is the effects of global
collaboration in the media industries. For example:
In the TV and Film industry, websites like Amazon Instant Video and Netflix
allow people from all around the world to access a variety of different shows
and films.
This is somewhat relevant as many media producers wish to promote their
product to a global audience. However copyright restrains the sharing of
products without permission.
5. We Media
This theory is by Dan Gillmor.
This theory shows that big media corporations cannot control the news we
consume, as now people can post things online as soon as they happen.
An example of this is that people can post celebrity happenings and other news
stories on websites such as Facebook or Twitter, and trend them worldwide. By the
time the newspaper would be able to write a story, the news would already be
known.
The film industry is also affected by this as people can leak scripts or clips of films
via the internet, especially on YouTube. This tends to hinder the project, and
sometimes causes said project to be altered.
This is relevant as the newspaper industry is particularly affected by this. They
can no longer inform people about the news, as the majority of the population
will already know, due to this newspapers have adapted to giving opinions
about the news instead.
6. Newspapers, Paywalls and Core Users
This theory is by Clay Shirky.
Shirky’s theory states that the newspapers no longer target a mass
audience with mass content and now focus on niche content for a niche
audience. Mixed content no longer works as people will only bother with
content they want to know about.
The newspaper industry is now struggling as many people go online for specific
content, or use social media to find out news rather than read a newspaper.
This theory has limited relevance since it only refers to the newspaper
industry, and no others.
7. The Machine Is Changing Us
This theory was developed by Michael Wesch.
Web 2.0 allows us to communicate with more people around the globe. There
is a psychical distance and anonymity to the way we communicate online. This
has changed society and the way we do things. The idea of privacy is changing
as many things we’d usually keep private can be displayed on the internet.
The news industry uses the internet to expose ‘private’ information about celebrities
that they, themselves would not post.
Within the gaming industry, games usually have some form of instant messaging
and chat rooms that allows you to communicate globally with other players.
This has high relevance as we use media technology to communicate and
make new friends from all over the world as well as using media to
communicate with people near us, rather than using a mobile device.
