Information overload--
See you later, aggregator
Updated 8/7/2015
A mall is an aggregator
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A problem is just an opportunity being mismanaged.
Opportunities offered by the internet and the explosion in content creation.
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Challenge to the reader: What companies are mismanaging these opportunities? What companies are taking advantage of these opportunities? How could you take advantage of these opportunities?
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One of the biggest problems the internet presents is a low barrier to entry of content creation. People who want to enter, of course, don’t consider that a problem. Until they realize that they also want to be heard.
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People who want to find things soon see the problem created by a low barrier to entry. What you want is of no use to you if you can’t find it. And something is not cheap if you have to spend a lot of time finding it. (Unless your time is cheap.)
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Years ago, long before the web, people warned of the information explosion. Now people hardly mention it. The idea is probably buried in the fallout from the information explosion.
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But we have not been overwhelmed by information because our species long ago developed a two layer defense against information overload: Ignore and aggregate.
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Aggregation has a great history in human progress. We are, after all, descended from hunter-gatherers. (You are entitled to wonder which of these roles is the most like aggregating.)
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The web has created problems for many previously comfortable aggregators. Example: established publishers and the established labels of music CD’s. In the past, they controlled the gates to their markets by their expensive production facilities, marketing methods. and distribution contacts. The web offers alternative, and cheaper, methods.
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That does not mean aggregators are not needed. It just means that new aggregators can enter the market on a shoestring. On the flat web, you don't even need a smile or a shoeshine.
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I’ve been trying to think of things aggregators do to add value when there are no expensive production, marketing, and distribution facilities. Here are some ideas.
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Evaluate/select. The web increases demand for evaluation as it lowers the cost of entry into that field. The more stuff on offer, the harder it is to separate the best from the rest. (This is what editors used to do in the days of the dead-tree media)
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Organize. If a person’s time is valuable, there is value in organizing things so people can easily find what they want.
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Package. Yes, you do package things on the web. Twitter. Individually wrapped bits. Info-snacks. Just what you need for short message systems. Blog posts will be longer. But they can still package thing the way the readers want to use them.
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Deliver. Google has a good delivery system in Reader. Under the hood, it is really RSS. But without the geekery.
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Market. Here I mean “get something in front of the people who might want it and show them why they might want to get it.” Social networks are the buzz now. Facebook and Twitter.
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Exchange. A market deals with exchange. We usually think money. But anything of value can be part of an exchange. A modern media aggregator is in the business of exchanging ideas. Not just delivering ideas. Gathering ideas and organizing them into themes to fit reader interests.
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Customer wants. Entrepreneurs often work by aggregating customer wants and finding a ways to satisfy them. The web offers new opportunities for aggregating customer wants. Aggregating customer wants and presenting them in a useful form is a service that might be the basis of a valuable web or virtual world business.
Examples
Video-Machinima
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