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The transfer of authority

5 comments on The transfer of authority

The transfer of authority

: In the presentation I made this week and the one I’ll make this morning, I said that citizens’ media questions the authority of big media and establishes the authority of the audience.

Tonight, I read Fred Wilson — who left Aspen as I arrived — reporting on a session at Fortune’s confab here about the future of advertising:

The most interesting part of the panel though was the heated debate that developed between the big agency guys and the Internet entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs were arguing that we are experiencing a major transition in the world away from big brands and big media. They argued that individuals no longer trust the establishment and that credibility, authority, and connections among individuals is what matters most. It was fun to watch the fireworks.

That’s what all the wrestling over media really gets down to: Who has the authority? Who gets the conch? Who has it with news? Politics? Consumerism? Finance? Government? The people or the powerful? The ultimate disintermediation the Internet brings is the disintermediation of authority.

5 responses to “The transfer of authority”

  1. Dexter Westbrook Avatar
    Dexter Westbrook

    Disintermediation?
    Huh?
    There will still be big brands, e.g. Coke, McDonald’s, Budweiser. There may just be fewer of them. There is no doubt the market, and the advertising of its goods, is becoming more and more fractured. This is a good thing.

  2. Seth Finkelstein Avatar
    Seth Finkelstein

    Just look at Google for the power of a brand. Note Google organizes individual input, but is itself a centralized organization.

  3. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    Disintermediation is happening in many other industries. Capitol Bank Corp creates a new bank vs opening branch offices. There are modified Holding Company style operations in restaurants, transportation, distribution etc. The goal of each is to improve customer service by creating new names and empowering local management.
    The Big Brand arose out of a need to trust and economies of scale. Now that the ingredients of Brand have become industry standards competition must differentiate itself by improving the value proposition. Brand has too much legacy to be innovative.
    Disintermediation allows new needs, new positions, new value to be created without jeopardizing Brand.

  4. hugh macleod Avatar
    hugh macleod

    I can see media and messaging becoming a hyper-competitive market (it already is; but even more so).
    Basically, it’s the same problem as we had 10 or 20 years ago. Lots of clutter; how does your brand rise above it?
    The answer is not in the messaging…

  5. Tom Grey Avatar
    Tom Grey

    The subtext of the fight is this: How to make money in the new way? If I don’ know, today — then today I say the new way is bad (for some reason); because I know how to make money the old way.
    Google ads, blogads, personal advisor ads; how to get the eyeball attention? That’s more important than the news to the money folks.