Implications of Exploding Media Voices and Channels

With some caveats, especially the observation that "not all media are created equal," media voices have multiplied quite significantly over the last half century, in ways that are important for brand and end user "voices" in media. 

Fifty years ago, the ratio of content consumers to creators was something on the order of a million to one, Seth Godin estimates, using the metric of network news anchors to TV viewers.

The explosion of magazines brought the ratio down to 100,000:1. There was one magazine writer for every reader.

Cable TV and online e-zines further reduced the ratio of content creators and content consumers to something like 10,000 to one. And now, when it's easy to have a blog, or an Youtube account or to push your ideas to the world through social media, the ratio might be 100:1, Godin says.

Granted, a single consumer blogging about a favorite restaurant, or tweeting their views or checking in to a retail location is not really in the same category of media influence as the Wall Street Journal or ESPN. But you get the point: there has been a dramatic explosion of "media" content over the last 50 years. At the same time, there has been a significant change in experience, with less-linear formats growing most, allowing content consumers to reply, comment and participate. 

Some say stories now often are shaped by content consumers in new ways, as the replies and comments lead conversations in new directions. The other big change is the growing importance of social media in shaping the volume and speed with which stories are discovered on the Internet. 

Offline content does not have to be designed for easy sharing. Virtually all online content (except professional entertainment video and audio, where "sharing" might be a violation of copyright laws), on the other hand, should typically be built, from the ground up, for sharing.

Consumers and creators