In the unprecedented socio-political-economic climate unfolding before us daily  — the doom-and-gloom projections in the news regarding finances and unemployment rates, volatility in the markets — all have contributed to a collective sense of the need for belt-tightening.  The knee-jerk (and in many cases fiducially necessary!) reactions tend to follow similar patterns:  reduce spending; curtail projects with weaker ROI outlooks; leave intact only those programs that contain a clear line to revenue.  Jettison the bloat.

There is also an unintended response to this constriction, what I would call “mind-tightening.”  That is, a dogged relinquishment of the experimental, open-mindedness that is the hallmark of emergent technologies.  It is as if the value of abstract thinking plummets alongside the Dow, and the pendulum swings from the right side of the brain to the left.  It’s a tough time to champion new ideas that lack readily accepted, quantifiable results.  The ramp for ideas has shortened dramatically.

More so than ever before, we have a monetization environment that values:

• Proven and traditional measurement methods:  absolutely
• New quantifiable metrics:  marginally
• Audience loyalty and engagement:  next to zero.  If it can’t be readily measured, it hardly exists in the marketplace. 

Yet the true monetize-able value of subscribed episodic content is arguably inverse to current market pricing.  The way to re-orient market value will lie in how innovative and persuasive our data collection and presentation opens a view into the unique behavior of niche audiences.

This sounds like a job for the creative innovators in our industry.  Can we afford not to loosen our minds a little?