This document discusses how technology is changing the business of culture through "configurable culture" and Web 2.0. It notes that in 2006, audiences were consuming media in new ways like remixing music and films. Popular examples included Beck inviting fans to remix his album and the success of the remixed song "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. The document also discusses how films like Snakes on a Plane leveraged fan feedback. While remixing and customization were becoming more popular, most people were still just consuming rather than producing these creations. The document advocates that successful Web 2.0 businesses must provide equal benefits to both consumers and programmers to drive participation and growth.

1. How Technology is Changing
The Business of Culture:
Configurable Culture and Web 2.0
Prepared for Communicate! 11/9/06
Aram Sinnreich
Radar Research/USC Annenberg

2. We are currently experiencing
a sea change in how
audiences consume media.

3. 2006: The summer of remix,
mashups and “configurable culture”
• Music
– Beck: invited consumers to
remix his new album
– Janet Jackson: fans
“remixed” album cover
– CBC’s “Remix the Ring”
challenge
– Number one song is
“Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley
• From bete noir to best
hope for music industry
• Song is extremely popular
subject for mashups,
remixed and covers
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

4. In Focus: Gnarls Barkley
• Gian Pero
Reverberi, 1968
• Gnarls Barkley, 2006
• Nelly Furtado, 2006
• Countless remixes
and mashups, 2006
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

5. 2006: The summer of remix,
mashups and “configurable culture”
• Movies
– The Onyx Project
– Awesome; I Fuckin’ Shot
That! Beastie Boys
concert documentary
– Snakes on a Plane
• Fan buzz impacted both
production and
marketing strategy
– Reshoots based on fan
feedback
– Marketing leveraged
mass customization
and viral hype
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

6. In Focus: Snakes on a Plane
• Summer 2005: Principal
shooting. Title changed.
• August 2005: Blog post by
writer Josh Friedman.
• Fall/Winter 2005/6: Internet
hype percolates.
• March, 2006: Title reverts.
Five days additional shooting.
• 8/15/06: Snakes on a Train
released to DVD
• 8/18/06: Snakes on a Plane
theatrical release
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006
"Enough is
enough!
I have had it
with these
motherfucking
snakes on
this
motherfucking
plane!"
New Line got it right:
film marketing echoed
online viral marketing

7. 2006: The summer of remix,
mashups and “configurable culture”
Videogames
– Counter Strike
• Total conversion mod of
Half-Life
• Has become most
popular “first-person
shooter” game in history
• About 5 billion player
minutes per month –
more than three times
the volume of its next
competitor
– Adidas and Toyota set up
shop in Second Life
• Leo Burnett and BBH
follow
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

8. 2006: The summer of remix,
mashups and “configurable culture”
• Television
– American Idol
• Spurred SMS adoption
• Attempts to integrate
audience feedback into story
architecture
– The Colbert Report
• Green screen challenge –
Leverages “star wars kid”
meme
– Has been mashed with
Phantom Menace, ipod ads,
video games, and OK Go
music videos
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

9. 2006: The summer of remix,
mashups and “configurable culture”
• Internet
– Explosion of social networking sites:
MySpace, Facebook
– Online video: Youtube, Google Video,
MySpace Video
– Blogs, RSS
– Application mashups: Zillow,
Sopranos/Google Maps, Flickr mashups
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

10. What is configurable culture?
–Instantaneous
–Global
–Multi-sensory
–Archival
–Editable
–Networked
–Interoperable
–Customizable
– Hackable
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

11. Expertise as Spectrum:
Colonizing the “Gray Area”
Consumer Enthusiast Prosumer Professional
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

12. The “culture of configurability”
influences every aesthetic practice:
fashion, architecture, design

13. But wait a second – how much of this is
simply a new “flavor” of entertainment? How
many are actually doing these things?

14. Niche is the new Mainstream
15.8%
9.4%
10.3%
15.3%
15.8%
19.9%
20.0%
23.3%
25.8%
28.0%
30.2%
35.4%
46.0%
55.1%
76.5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
None of the above
Software mashups
Machinima
Video mashups
Game mods
Game emulators
trading game currency
Anime music videos
Music Mashups
TV or film remixes
TV commercial remixes
Music sampling
Altered photos
Music remixes
Blogs
Which of the following practices have you heard about before?
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey; n=1765; US Only; Oct 2006

15. Popularity of remix doesn’t yet
hinge on production
64.4%
2.0%
2.5%
2.6%
2.7%
5.5%
5.8%
6.5%
8.5%
10.9%
23.6%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
None of the above
Created a remix video
TV/movie karaoke
Contributed to a video sharing site
Shared my playlist
Create a playlist
Blogged about TV/film
Shared digital video
Access easter eggs on a DVD
Used a DVR
Accessed bonus features on DVD
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey; n=1765; US Only; Oct 2006
In the past year, which of the following film and TV-related activities have you engaged in?

16. Popularity of remix doesn’t yet
hinge on production
64.7%
1.2%
3.0%
3.2%
4.4%
6.9%
9.8%
12.4%
21.6%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
None of the above
Sold sample music
Created sample bank
Created sample music
Custom online radio
Blogged about music
File sharing
Karaoke
Made play list
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey; n=1765; US Only; Oct 2006
In the past year, which of the following music-related activities have you engaged in?

17. Popularity of remix doesn’t yet
hinge on production
81.0%
1.7%
1.8%
3.8%
4.4%
5.7%
7.4%
11.8%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
None of the above
Hacked game code
Modded game
Exchanged items
AIMed with players
Blogged about game
Customized character
Cheats
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey; n=1765; US Only; Oct 2006
In the past year, which of the following video game-related activities have you engaged in?

18. Popularity of remix doesn’t yet
hinge on production
52.6%
6.4%
9.2%
10.7%
11.0%
26.5%
32.6%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
None of the above
Custom photo product
Blogged about photo
Shared remix photo
Photoshopped "mash-up"
Shared photo
Simple edits
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey; n=1765; US Only; Oct 2006
In the past year, which of the following photo-related activities have you engaged in?

19. What’s considered “mainstream”
is in the age of the beholder
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey; n=1765; US Only; Oct 2006
Percentage of respondents reporting “none of the above” to previous questions (by age)
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Music
Film/TV
Video games
Photos
55+
45-54
35-44
26-34
18-25

20. Entertainment is the number one
motivator for remixing
2.1
2.3
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.4
2.6
2.7
2.7
2.9
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Social protest
Create a "calling card"
Economic necessity
Win a contest
Cultural Criticism
Because I'm a fan
Amuse my friends
Create Art
Hone technical skills
For the fun of it
How important do you consider the following reasons for creating remixes or mash-ups?
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey; n=1765; US Only; Oct 2006

21. Moving on:
Programming Strategies for Web 2.0

22. Stakes are getting high… AGAIN
• Feb 03: Google buys Blogger for $20M
• Jul 04: Cnet buys Webshots for $71M
• Jul 04: Yahoo buys Oddpost for $20M
• Feb 05: IAC buys Bloglines for $25M
• Mar 05: Yahoo! buys Flickr.com for $35M
• Jul 05: News Corp buys MySpace for $580M
• Sept 05: eBay buys Skype for $2.6B
• Dec 05: Yahoo! buys del.icio.us for $35M
• Aug 06: Sony buys Grouper for $65M
• Aug 06: Viacom buys Atom for $200M
• Oct 06: Google buys YouTube for $1.65B
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

23. What makes this bubble different?
• Core business principle #1: Every consumer
benefit (demand side) must be matched by an
equal benefit for the programmer (supply side)
• Core business principle #2: Web 2.0 is user-
driven. This has five elements:
• Network
• Identity
• Content
• Location
• Modularity
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

24. 10 Pillars of Web 2.0
Demand Side Benefit
(audience/consumer)
Supply Side Benefit
(business owner)
Network Network effects Virality
Identity Customizability Nichefication
Content Participation Volume
Location Portability Geo relevance
Modularity Extensibility Interoperability
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

25. Pillars 1 & 2: Network
• Network effects (demand side): Metcalfe: the
value of a network is proportional to the square
of the number of users. This means that a site or
service gets more interesting and useful as other
users engage with it.
• Virality (supply side): A site that benefits from
network effects must allow its users to recruit
others, thus lowering marketing and customer
acquisition costs
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

26. Pillars 3 & 4: Identity
• Customizability (demand side): Successful
Web 2.0 sites allow users to specify which
content and features they will access, and to
organize the way in which these content and
features are presented
• Nichification (supply side): Customization
tools yield rich data about users, spot emerging
tastes and trends, and lower production and
delivery costs by pre-formatting content to suit
the anticipated needs of specific customer
segments, or niches
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

27. Pillars 5 & 6: Content
• Participation (demand side): The degree to
which users may contribute to the experiences
of other visitors at a given site or service. Users
who have invested their own time and energy in
contributing to a site are both more loyal and
more valuable to publishers
• Volume (supply side): Participation tools
bring the cost of content production down
significantly, and provide publishers with the raw
materials for a more immersive, customizable
site than either editorial or syndicated content.
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

28. Pillars 7 & 8: Location
• Portability (demand side): As mobile devices
and wireless networks continue to proliferate,
consumers will increasingly see value in sites
and services that are formatted to leverage
multiple points of entry.
• Geo-relevance (supply side): Location-
specific advertising and services will be a major
engine of revenue growth and a key point of
differentiation between the successes and
failures of the Web 2.0 era.
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

29. Pillars 9 & 10: Modularity
• Extensibility (demand side): A successful
Web 2.0 site offers consumers the promise of
increased value over time through the use of
extensions, plug-ins, software mash-ups, and
other functionality-boosting additions.
• Interoperability (supply side): Publishing
APIs and helping third-party developers to add
functionality will be rewarded with genuine
customer loyalty and, ultimately, a more robust,
functional, and competitive product.
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

30. Score card: Pandora
Demand Side
Benefit (audience)
Supply Side Benefit
(business owner)
Network Network effects: 2 Virality: 6
Identity Customizability: 7 Nichefication: 8
Content Participation: 3 Volume: 3
Location Portability: 4 Geo relevance: 1
Modularity Extensibility: 2 Interoperability: 2
SCORE (10-100) DEMAND: (18) SUPPLY: (20) Total: (38)
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

31. Score card: del.icio.us
Demand Side
Benefit (audience)
Supply Side Benefit
(business owner)
Network Network effects: 10 Virality: 6
Identity Customizability: 8 Nichefication: 10
Content Participation: 9 Volume: 10
Location Portability: 8 Geo relevance: 6
Modularity Extensibility: 10 Interoperability: 10
SCORE (10-100) DEMAND: (45) SUPPLY: (42) Total: (87)
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

32. Score card: Your Choice
Demand Side
Benefit (audience)
Supply Side Benefit
(business owner)
Network Network effects: Virality:
Identity Customizability: Nichefication:
Content Participation: Volume:
Location Portability: Geo relevance:
Modularity Extensibility: Interoperability:
SCORE (10-100) DEMAND: (*) SUPPLY: (*) Total: (*)
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006

33. Thank you
aram@radarresearch.com
aram.sinnreich@usc.edu