Media Patrons

At the twilight of the information economy the table has been set for the media patron in all of us. The menu of digital media is a thousand miles long. We sample and feast freely, pay the bill simply by being there and provide economic victory to those who serve us best.

The democratization of media has finally begun in earnest. Individuals have been given the control (Facebook, YouTube) and the barriers to access (limited bandwidth, storage, DRM) are being removed. The longtail of content is on the net; access to it is open and distribution is free. In this age of media excess and fatigue, we turn to the sources we trust to provide our entertainment and information experience. People, the individual has become the focus for designers of media interaction, distribution and creation. The following discussion of attention, influence and patrons is an attempt at providing the societal context in which this change is taking place, the key players, and a new title of respect for the all important person in this modern era, you.

The Dawn of the Attention Society
During the 1980’s and 90’s futurists described a coming era in which access to information would be available at any time, at any place. It is clear that we are now living in that time. We now find ourselves inundated with information in entertainment choices and seek control over the way they fit into our lives. As the abundance of choices explodes, time has become the most important commodity and our attention is the new currency.

For most of the modern age of media, a handful of corporate players have been able to shape our entertainment access by controlling the production, distribution and marketing. Today media is funded by its popularity through advertising. The new supply chain is becoming creation-influence-patron. The reduction of cost and increased access to this supply chain are disruptive forces and we find ourselves in the midst of a high-stakes game where the rules are still in flux. As media and technology companies both small and large struggle to find their place in the changing media landscape, they are discovering that the patron is always right and that the economics of a patron’s attention and influence holds the key to their success.

The Economics of Influence
In the era of unlimited access, free distribution, and the premium of our limited time, individuals will increasingly turn toward sources they trust to find the information and entertainment that they will enjoy. These trusted sources will come in three main areas: friends (social networks), the artists they enjoy (recommendation engines), and the organizations they have a relationship with (colleges, magazines, as well as the traditional respected media outlets). These trusted sources will be empowered to influence media consumption in a direct way. The simple act of recommending a great show, a cool new song or a news report will soon make the leap from suggested media to a curated experience.

The Rise of the Media Patron
Recently in Wired Magazine, Ross Levinsohn stated “MySpace gives us the ability to look inside and understand how hits get created”. While this may be true, it significantly underestimates the potential of social networks. Sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo are quickly becoming efficient ways for media to ripple through society, not just places that highlight the next American idols.

A higher and higher premium is being based on the recipient of media and their ability to influence others. The degrading terms of “user” (drug addict) and “consumer” (parasite) have become embarrassingly inadequate ways of describing the new relationship of individual to media. In the new paradigm the individual should be accorded the highest respect. We are all patrons of this digital age.

Historically, a patron has been a person of great wealth and benefactor of the arts. The connotation brings with it bourgeoisie elitism. But we all have 24 hours in our day and attention is the new currency. We, who used to be known as consumers and users are now donating our attention in have in fact become the new patron.

In the end, the media patron is always right. If we want the latest news report from Iraq, a blockbuster movie, a music video of their favorite band, that is exactly what we are going to get. The rest is simply how we will get it and what we will do with it once they have it.

Media conglomerates have traditionally monetized their businesses through the delivery of the million and 1^st media product of lowest acceptable quality. Today, designers need to remove the barriers of bloated technology, cost, and limitations to access. Finally, if they hope to create economically competitive products designers will need to focus on social interactions and human-centric responses which respect the diversity, complexity and beauty of the individual.