Outflow
I've been thinking about content outflow recently. Ugly-ass term, maybe there's a better one. But it goes like this:
Why is this important? I'm not exactly sure yet, but I can tell you that the edge of the internet is the most fertile part. There may be 25 sites that dominate 99% of all net traffic, but there are millions of sites out there, each displaying its own likely-unique combination of form, function, and ideas for all the world to see.
When the original or creatively-remixed ideas on those millions of sites are run back through the meta-filter of the hippest 10 of the top 25 megasites, they end up driving the mainstream media.
People say that the blogosphere leeches off professional journalism, but how many times have you heard the media refer to Salam Pax in the last month? It works both ways. Already.
So that's what I'm going to concentrate on: services that are powerful content sinks, but also come equipped with big, color-coded shnozzles you can use to suck up the best stuff and spit it out wherever *you* want it.
Fotola does this for members, soon it will do it for anyone. I've started working on an audio version called e99o.net (not eggo but echo) and I'll probably end up adding a "republish" link to most Berylium objects by default as well.
Note that I'm not talking about inviting everyone to republish your work on their own website-- just the title and thumbnail/description, with a link back to your original entry. I want to make it easier to blog your work, not reproduce it. In Internet terms, this is a Good Thing. Plus you'll know exactly who's blogging you.
So yeah. Outflow. Got a better term for this meme?
- Static websites and brochureware (thanks, Flash!) have no flow-- they provide information, but they tend not to link anywhere and they don't welcome additional content.
- The "community" generation of websites is all about in-flow. They act as content "sinks" -- upload a photo, leave a comment, engage in a discussion. They often link outside of themselves, but the focus is on enabling the community to somehow add value to those external links.
- One of the by-products of the weblog revolution is a new class of websites that promote republishing, or content outflow. Weblogging services act as content sinks, and take on the form and function of a virtual community of authors and readers, but they add value by enabling authors to push their content *out* of the community and onto the far edges of the internet.
Why is this important? I'm not exactly sure yet, but I can tell you that the edge of the internet is the most fertile part. There may be 25 sites that dominate 99% of all net traffic, but there are millions of sites out there, each displaying its own likely-unique combination of form, function, and ideas for all the world to see.
When the original or creatively-remixed ideas on those millions of sites are run back through the meta-filter of the hippest 10 of the top 25 megasites, they end up driving the mainstream media.
People say that the blogosphere leeches off professional journalism, but how many times have you heard the media refer to Salam Pax in the last month? It works both ways. Already.
So that's what I'm going to concentrate on: services that are powerful content sinks, but also come equipped with big, color-coded shnozzles you can use to suck up the best stuff and spit it out wherever *you* want it.
Fotola does this for members, soon it will do it for anyone. I've started working on an audio version called e99o.net (not eggo but echo) and I'll probably end up adding a "republish" link to most Berylium objects by default as well.
Note that I'm not talking about inviting everyone to republish your work on their own website-- just the title and thumbnail/description, with a link back to your original entry. I want to make it easier to blog your work, not reproduce it. In Internet terms, this is a Good Thing. Plus you'll know exactly who's blogging you.
So yeah. Outflow. Got a better term for this meme?
