Content Matters

Buying and Selling eContent is so packed with content that they needed two keynotes the first day.  The afternoon keynote speaker, Tim O’Reilly of O’Reilly Media, was the highlight of the day. 

O’Reilly, credited with coining the name “Web 2.0” provided a set of six key rules for successful Web 2.0 applications:
1. Users add value
2. Network effects by default: Tim talked of the “architecture of participation” where successful apps default to aggregating user data as a side benefit to usage (e.g. Napster defaulted to sharing=on)
3. The Perpetual Beta: key in the software as a service model is continual improvement and rolling feature enhancements.
4. Services have to be above the level of a single device: the PC is not the only access device for Internet applications and those that are limited to such are less valuable than those that reside on the Internet.
5. Data is the next “intel inside”: the BSEC audience was pleased to hear that their content could be the differentiator for applications.  Examples included Navteq, the source of Google maps and virtually every other street mapping application, and Gracenote, the “CDDB” database that matches titles to track numbers within all the major music applications.
6. A platform beats an application every time.  And, unlike the MS Office model, the Web 2.0 world allows small pieces loosely joined together to add new value to the platform.

Tim also spoke of Asymmetric Competition, where a new competitor with a different business model may kill your business.  His example of Craigslist killing the newspaper classified business is now a classic, but there are many others out there.  For those who’ve read Outsell’s Neighborhoods of the Information Industry, this theme should ring familiar.

One of Tim’s key points came out of the Google Maps experience, where they had not intended for the application to serve as the basis for what would become mashups.  His takeaway is that “if your users aren’t surprising you by the ways that they build on your (Web 2.0) product, then you’re doing something wrong.”

To catch up on the rest of the Buying and Selling eContent conference, take a look at the following blogs.  All told, there were close to a dozen attendees blogging in some capacity today.
Rafat Ali will be speaking on a panel Tuesday and is live-blogging throughout.
John Blossom at Shore is posting on his special events weblog.
Ross Mayfield has an interesting recap on Tim O'Reilly's keynote.
Larry Schwartz, of Newstex, points out his win then loss of the $20 cliche bet for first use of "Long Tail"
David Meerman Scott leveraged the WebInkNow blog to field questions during his panel.
Dale Wolf adds his thoughts on his Context Rules Marketing blog
Shannon Holman of ALM Research compares ALM's progress to the comments of some of the speakers (still no sign of data dog in Scottsdale yet)
More to come in day 2...