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Content: A Victim of Commoditization
What’s the value of content? It’s not zero yet, but its value is dropping.
Like razors and razor blades, the technology used for consuming content like videos, audio, and information has been cheap relative to the content itself, but that’s changing. Advances in technology, cheap hardware like still and video capture devices, and easy distribution via the Internet means that there is a glut of content, and the cost to producing the content has been significantly reduced.
A world once dominated by expert commentators and content creators has been turned on its head. Do-it-yourself and user-generated-content has become the norm rather than the exception. Sites like Flickr and YouTube thrive on this model where content is set free. Top news stories are being captured on cell phone videos, while blogger commentators who write for free command people’s attention.
A vicious cycle of content devaluation seems to be under way. Readily available free content feeds an expectation that content should be free and that in turn reduces the perceived value of all content. And the ease with which content can be copied and shared has eroded many people’s attitudes towards copyright.
Where it is going, no one really knows. On the one hand, free content promotes a more democratic approach, but on the other, quality content and the institutions that create it are suffering.
