The Dystopian Era of Streaming Video: How to Survive and Thrive
When I started in the industry in the 1990s I dreamed of a future where video was everywhere and completely accessible, unleashed by the power of the internet. 这将是一个乌托邦. We’d be unchained from the dayparting broadcast schedule that drew lines between ages and taste in the living room. We’d have a world of choice at our fingertips that we could decide when and where to consume. That’s the scary ending to the sci-fi novel we’re now living in—it’s come true. 这就是为什么今年 原始资料 theme hints at “Videogeddon” and survival.
For many companies in our industry, right now is a defining moment. No longer are the childish dreams of great ideas worth more than a real business. No longer is it OK to just give away product to big-name companies in the hopes of being acquired. 2018 is most certainly where the rubber is meeting the road. While the glamour of being an online video startup is being shelved like 资料集 of our industry’s youth, fiscal responsibility is becoming scripture. Don’t get me wrong; there’s lots of room for success, 创新, 新的商业模式, but for those looking for an industry in which to become an overnight sensation, that moment has been flicked upward like a post on your social media feed—it’s been done.
Without further 创新 and stronger business strategies, we run the risk of letting only the biggest companies—Facebook, 亚马逊, 网飞公司, 谷歌, 和Apple-thrive, leaving everyone else scrounging through the detritus for scraps in the post-Videogeddon landscape. That’s scary, but it’s also thrilling.
I feel like those of us in the industry can really roll up our sleeves now. It’s time to set aside Silicon Valley fantasies of ping-pong tables, 豆袋椅, and IPOs and to focus on something old-fashioned but never outdated: treating your business like a business. Scrutinize what appears to be free; everything has a price. Improve on what you have rather than rebuilding it over and over. 负责, 影视业市民, and you won’t end up giving everything up to an Orwellian future where we no longer get a say. Remember that this industry has its origins in freeing video from the limitations of traditional media; let’s not just hand it back over again.
那么今年的比赛是什么呢? It won’t take many pages in this 原始资料 to understand. 首先，看看齿轮. There are so many face-melting tools that put so much power in a video creators’ hand, 很难知道从哪里开始. OTT怎么样?? Well, the door has been opened with APIs, so there’s no turning back now. 不过没关系. Look to companies that can figure out how to organize video for consumers: Artificial intelligence (AI) is this year’s buzz phrase, 有很好的理由. It’s a huge opportunity that will open new horizons, but it’s no panacea. Do yourself a favor: Buy the T-shirt, but be careful about the Kool-Aid you decide to taste. 那么企业视频呢? The major webinar companies are finally ditching Flash (knock on wood, amiright?) and enterprise video platforms are tearing down silos.
然后是编码. 是的, video is going to look better and be delivered faster than ever before, but that’s a race with no finish line, and it’s not going to make the biggest news this year. 想知道是什么? It’s who survives in this industry as a successful business. 如果你读这个 原始资料, my guess is, you’ll be one of them. 这是最适合这项工作的工具.
[本文发表于2018年。 流媒体 Industry 原始资料 被称为“反乌托邦的视频时代”."]
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