Content is Queen

*Content Is Queen Defined

Back in 1996, when I started my internet company, people would say, “On the web, content is king.” What they meant at the time, was that in the new web space, quality content would rule the day. More and more people would be surfing the net, and therefore there would be an appetite for content like never before. Mass content, niche content, all kinds of content. A great marketplace of content. Also, the predictions went, the control of content would be democratized. Users could decide– not big studios or publishing companies– what kind of content was published and consumed. Content would be both subscription-based and ad-supported.

Then, the dot-com nuclear winter happened. A lot of sites failed, and content sites seemed anything but kingly. People at the time were also laughing at ideas like

  • An online grocery business succeeding.
  • People buying luxury goods (diamonds, houses, cars) online.
  • The arrival of broadband on every desktop.
  • Community sites making money.

No one’s laughing any longer. Continue reading

Librarians Threatened with Extinction

CIQ Trends

Librarians and libraries are threatened with extinction. This according to a New York Times article, (link here). Certain libraries because they lack space and budget, must make decisions as to what books remain on the shelves. If it hasn’t been checked out in two years– out it goes. This is producing unfortunate results for titles like Jane Eyre and Dr. Faustus.

We think the reinvention of libraries is a CIQ phenomenon. We see a big opportunity for libraries to re-invent themselves online. Continue reading