The content vacuum is waiting

Yesterday I wrote to console all of the publishers and bookworms out there who are worried about the downsizing of Barnes & Noble. But here’s a new perspective from TechCrunch on the evolution of content that you might not like as much:

Filling the content vacuum

The content vacuum requires new content and it doesn’t seem to matter what it is. People will consume it. This isn’t to say that the better content won’t command more eyes, but even bad content will find viewers. This is another key differentiation between the creative class, you don’t need to necessarily be creative or factually correct to create information on the Internet.

The reality is those that create either good or bad content will still see a benefit from it. A prime example is YouTube, there is tons of questionable videos that garner hundreds of thousands of views. As eyes continue to shift from traditional channels and to the Internet, there is tons of potential to fill the web with content good and bad, which in reality mirrors society on the whole.

Gasp! Could it be true that it doesn’t even matter if your content is good?

Distribution is not limited any more

Let’s revisit our formula for determining the amount of books sold:

( The size of launch splash + the author’s platform + distribution ) * virality of content = amount of books sold

With HUGE distribution channels like YouTube and Pinterest there are so many eyes on content that even some garbage may get thousands of hits (if it’s got the right title or photo), but in this new world of publishing if you utilize a distribution platform that’s thousands of times bigger than Barnes & Nobel (like YouTube) and create something that has a virality rate of greater than 1 (see yesterdays post) then you can create a humongous platform. Recently my new friends Jefferson Bethke and Jeff Cherry put up a video on YouTube. You probably saw it, it’s getting close to 18,000,000 views.

Without a huge marketing plan or a national platform these guy from Tacoma just changed the game. This is just one reason why I’m not worried about Barnes & Noble downsizing.