#4 – Alternative media will kill mainstream media.
The only thing that will kill mainstream media is mainstream media itself, due to ignorance on information theory (that is, how people consume information today). And alternative media won’t deliver on its promise until we begin to understand that the internet really isn’t an alternative at all. It exists as an independent platform, requiring a unique model to thrive. Information snacking. Remember this the next time you upload a 1000 word blog entry on who-screwd-over-who-to-get-what-favours. No one gives a damn to read your theses, at least not the most valuable demography. Mainstream media, should, if they’re smart enough, engage with bloggers to act as foot soldiers on the cyber frontiers. They break the news, mainstream media helps it get, well, mainstream. It’s a model that allows both parties to thrive. And all the buzz about new media and the mushrooming of online news channels? Tough. None of them are making serious money in this part of the world. The only ones to survive will be those investing in the future, willing to bootstrap for two years, at the very least, while the infrastructure catches up.
