Tech & VC 13 Feb 2007 04:29 pm
We Media’s Self-Declared Failure
Rich Skrenta (CEO of Topix.net) posted an interesting analysis on the self-declared failure of We Media. He describes We Media conferences as a “round of self-flagellation by a group of attendees.”
I particularly like the section in which Rich critiques the few successes in We Media:
There is still a power law to success, and the few continue to reap disproportionate rewards, as they always have. Pub media turns out to be a farm league for big media. The bloggers who “make it” look more and more like regular media than “us”. They graduate to to the A-list, and start to get lumped in and criticised along with the establishment. Success looks like a sellout to a big media company, or a good business doing job boards and conferences on the side to pay the bills.
I find this section particularly insightful because it sets up a futilism in We Media success. As soon as any effort that once identified with We Media starts to “succeed” (ie pull away from the pack), then they are no longer a part of the “We” in We Media. Success is often measured by fame and prosperity. But, both fame and prosperity are limited commodities that are measured relative to the rest of the population. By definition, everyone cannot be famous or prosperous.
Rick identifies this problem (the limited commodities used to define success) when he says “There is still a power law to success…” But, in this statement I think Rick implies that this power law can possible be removed or diminished in the future, and I’m skeptical of that possibility. I wonder if We Media will eventually find a new way to define success that incorporates the A-listers which have pulled away from the pack, or if they will find some new way to measure success that could allow everyone involved to succeed without rivaling or comparing themselves to each other.
4 Responses to “We Media’s Self-Declared Failure”
on 13 Feb 2007 at 8:22 pm 1.Sprague Dawley said …
Andrew,
I see the power law as a function of what in media buying is called “Share of Voice”. The interweb is like television with millions of channels. When there were relatively few sites, it effectively increased the chance that people who would not normally have had a chance at an audience got one — that’s where all the breathless hype arose. But as the clutter of more participants increases, the probability that any one will break through the background noise falls to a level practically negligible and almost equivalent to there never having been a new medium. As always, those with the resources to spread their message/branding (SOV) will succeed and, for the most part, that will be traditional media companies and the few they discover/purchase/hire. We can’t underestimate the power of inertia…
on 14 Feb 2007 at 8:32 am 2.Andrew Parker said …
I don’t know Sprague, I see much more disruption in the traditional media business than I think your comment gives credit. Small bloggers are competing with major news outlets every day on the web. For example, check out the Drudge Report traffic compared to Fox News traffic: http://www.alexaholic.com/drudgereport.com foxnews.com?y=r&r=6m&z=5 .
However, I think the power law is a problem inherent in the definition of success. The mass of We Media (the “We” if you will) are envious of the success of the few. But as long as members of We Media are comparing themselves to each other, there will always be a few standout successes.
on 14 Feb 2007 at 12:34 pm 3.Ben Bloom said …
Andrew,
This is interesting. I agree that there is a certain level of authenticity that is lost when someone goes “big media.” To an extent this is true for any small entity that attains wide success, aside from media. I would suggest that Warren Buffet retained a conspicuously high level of integrity for someone who had built as large an empire as he did.
I’m currently reading David Mamet’s “Bambi vs. Godzilla” which is as witty as Mamet’s screen writing but also filled with invective directed at movie studios and critics. I don’t totally agree with everything he says. However, he makes some distinctions between the “artist” and the “producers” which bear the motivations of the entrepreneur (small blogger )vs. the successful corporate leader (big media blogger).
I offer this quote from p.46 : “It requires a certain genius of morality-in effect, a hero- to remain pure while involved in the conflicting rewards and temptations of power, to avoid arrogance and despair in the face of human corruptibility.”
on 14 Feb 2007 at 1:09 pm 4.Andrew Parker said …
That’s an excellent quote. I’ll go check out the book, as I am definitely a Mamet fan.