[This article was also published on the Qumana Investor blog]
This, to me, is a sign that the blogosphere is evolving at a rapid pace, we're already talking about the world of RSS/webfeed syndication as the "Syndisphere"--coined by Steve Gillmor. Dan quoted from Steve's article this morning--Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism, Etc.- Attention in the 'Syndisphere'--and some are starting the "can't we pick better terms" debate--Easy Bake Weblogs » Here Comes the Syndisphere?. I see two important threads from Steve's article. As quoted by Dan and others:
This is the subscription economy we're talking about. Not the Blogosphere so much as the Syndisphere. In this ecosystem, the contract is based on continued attention, not captured attention. It leverages a form of broadcast couch potato dynamics, where inertia keeps you tuned from ER to Leno to Today. When CSI broke that cycle, it was a big deal. In the Syndisphere once you've signed on, it takes more effort than its worth to sign off. Unsubscribing requires real motivation.[Bold mine for emphasis].
This could mean two things, one you better keep writing good content or be lost in the shuffle, not dropped per se, but ignored. Become one of those "I'll read it when I get around to it"...I have a whole group of "Second tier" feeds in this list. I read something cool once, but I don't check them often because they haven't pinged back on my radar yet. Two, this means you need to keep writing good content so you don't get dropped out right, because RSS advertising is the next big thing on the horizon. The pundits agree on this. In order to get good revenue from a feed you're going to have to work to stay on the "must read" list. Sure you're going to have an off post, but man, don't slack off.
Now here is the next big thing in the article:
Nowhere is the pressure felt more than the trade publishing business. Branded aggregators are the order of the day, as publications try to stem the tide away from their portals and into the Syndisphere. As we move from the page view model to the attention model, publishers are playing a futile game of chicken–waiting for their competitors to jump into feed advertising first. Google and Overture have already made the new rules clear: advertising will only work if it is perceived as information. [Bold Steve's, underline, mine ]
The branded aggregator. White-label something easy and cool, pre-stocked with your feeds and have your ads inserted into the content. Yes, the users might delete your feed but they will still see your ads. And as Steve says above, ad relevancy is the key. Something that ads to the content. Goes with it. A "wow coffee makers are cool...here's an ad for a free ebook on brewing better coffee"--from a coffee purveyor.
So welcome to the Syndisphere. We blog, we syndicate, we publish. Soon we'll make money at it too.
Steve Gillmor's article: Vote with your feed
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