PSFK: Lessons For Publishers: Sharing Of Content As Important As Content Itself

Helge Tennø, in his marketing blog 180/360/720, shares his views on changes to the media business model and specifically about the source of the content being as important as the content itself. He emphasizes that to understand the future of news, we have to understand that besides content, publishing also includes the context of that content, especially who shared, what and why.

He finds support from a social media expert, Danah Boyd and design firm, Zeus Jones:

In one of her articles Danah Boyd, after researching peoples tweets, found that people as often referred to the person who shared the content as its originator. And suggests that the source of the content (the person who shared it) is as important as the content itself.

We are becoming less willing to pay for information but we are becoming more willing to pay for someone to provide context to that information.” – Adrian Ho, Zeus Jones

Tennø believes that a reader’s relationship with the sharer of the content decides if the reader will engage with the content or not. Based on his thoughts, Tennø has some lessons for publishers:

1. Publishers need a clear and consistent identity, which goes all the way to the core of the product – the content itself.

2. A publisher is both content and filter. If publishers are to publish everything, they need to make sure their filtering mechanisms are designed based on their contextual value and identity.

180/360/720: “When the sharer becomes as important as the content itself...PSFK