Jupiter Conference: The overall motto from this usually well-attended conference, held at the Sheraton on March 1-3, is that there will be a Content Renaissance. That's nice, considering major publishing houses are based here. If we're all just surfing on empty bits and bytes, wouldn't the web be just a little boring? A press release announced that analysts said there will be an "impending content renaissance," which just sounds scary to me. What's encouraging is that the media companies are beginning to realize that consumers and the on-line audience aren't just a massive, anonymous user-base to be exploited. They're actually people!
Other discoveries: one-on-one marketing doesn't always work with large, anonymous user bases and "make people pay," or rather--e-commerce sites are enjoying multiple revenue streams and (the new favorite word) "stickiness." Mark Mooradian, director of Jupiter's consumer content strategies added that the real competition will come from commerce ventures, not media properties. Marc Jefferies of Electronic Communities (www.thepalace.com) played the role of exuberant, welcoming host at his company's luncheon on Tuesday, March 2. He received a good reception and some nice exposure.
A chronicle of the people and events in technology, internet and media since 1997, mixed in with snapshots of musings and observations.
