The roles of internet users are becoming more clearly defined these days – a sure sign that the market is maturing. Internet users today fall into one of three categories:
- content creators,
- content curators
- content consumers.
In the early days of the internet – before the year 2000 – virtually everyone online moved seamlessly between all three roles. However, in the past few years, those roles have been becoming more delineated – which is a good thing if you understand your place in the internet ecosystem.
The Internet Ecosystem is Evolving – what’s your place in it?
I recently shared that Google reader is scheduled for termination but how it doesn’t mean RSS is dead – it just means the web is evolving. Flipboard is one of the ways the web is evolving.
In a nutshell, Flipboard allows iPhone and iPad users to curate their own digital magazine. What’s your passion? Whatever it is, the new Flipboard app allows you to pull together your own collections of digital content – photos, videos, articles and audio files – to create your own “magazine”. Once you’ve created your own digital Flipboard magazine, then others can “follow” your flipboard.
If the process sounds like an “expanded” version of Pinterest or Tumblr – it is. According to Fast Company
It’s a new twist on the tried and true blogging formula. Magazines on Flipboard are simply blogs in a neatly packaged form–a broadcast platform that takes advantage of Flipboard’s smart UI and curation tools.
So where does this turn of events leave you – Mr. or Ms. Business Owner?
Does this mean you should shutter your business blog and launch your own Flipboard?
Again, this is a place where you need to KNOW where your place is in the internet ecosystem.
If your original blogging goal was to curate other people’s content into your own digital magazine – then you may want to look at shuttering your blog.
However, for my clients – their blog is not a carefully curated collection of other people’s content. My clients are blogging to establish themselves as experts in their field. If that’s why you’re blogging – then Flipboard is yet another distribution channel for your content. The videos, audio files, photos and articles you’re posting may find new life when they get picked up by a talented Flipboard digital magazine curator.
Which is why its more important than ever to target your content to a tightly defined target audience. If your product or service can appeal to dozens of tightly targeted niche audiences – its more important than ever to create content targeted specifically to EACH of those audiences. The more tightly you target your content creation – the better your chance at having your content “discovered” by a Flipboard curator and featured in their magazine.
The more things change – the more they stay the same.
