Creative Destruction and Digital Content

In recent months, I've seen a slew of headlines about trends in digital content, whether received over the computer, the television or, of course, the mobile handset. Oftentimes the headlines come from completely different perspectives and draw contradictory, or at least wildly differing, conclusions – mobile TV is here to stay, mobile TV is dead and buried, free digital downloads are the wave of the future, all content should be monetized, and so on.

What is clear to me in all the clamor is that digital content, especially clear money makers like entertainment and advertising, is here to stay. If there's debate about whether the market is embracing certain business models in the mobile space fast enough, it's because the technology is changing so fast that carriers haven't always found the right way to launch the relevant services. Manufacturers continue to churn out innovative products, and software vendors continue to enhance pre-existing services while disrupting the market with new ones on what seems like a weekly basis.

It's a process frequently referred to as "creative destruction," a term popularized by the economist Joseph Schumpeter, and yes, creative destruction sometimes creates market uncertainties. A service provider may hedge on whether to invest heavily in a mobile advertising platform, for example, if it's not sure which direction the whole mobile market will be headed in 18 months. You may see press pieces about whether one kind of encryption or another is favored in the latest round of mobile TV. No less an august, pro-free-market publication than The Wall Street Journal may be forced to concede, in making its online editorial content available free of charge, that there is sometimes such a thing as free lunch. This is likely a recognition by the paper that there are many different ways to generate revenue from digital content.

In sum, yes, there is sometimes uncertainty in our industry, especially surrounding which delivery methods will create the best product. However, ICT, an industry uniquely poised for growth in the coming years and bolstered by burgeoning demand for mobile content – in some form or other – has more potential to pull creativity out of chaos than just about any other industry.

Thank you,
Grant Seiffert
President
TIA