INFOMEDIARIES: the new publishing value chain

Infomediaries: threat or opportunity?

• The online community or environment in which users interact can act as a context in which users can be identified, setting up a tension between online service and online servitude.
• Online opportunities changed the nature of how advertising was bought in such a significant manner that media buyers became confused; even now, the advertising community is only just waking up to the opportunities of infomediation on the internet.
• The area of infrastructure for infomediation is still a good one to invest in, as the technology still doesn?t work well. The technology is not that difficult - what is hard is understanding and harnessing technology and this should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat to existing businesses.

Giving customers what they want

• Like infomediaries, publishers do not write content but try instead to own intellectual property.
• The key issues to focus on are creating a relationship with the customer and the application of content.
• Infomediaries are very customer-focused and they are obsessed with giving customers what they want.

Extending the business proposition

• Customised solutions for end-users are the ?fun technology? part of the challenge, and Reed is delivering information into knowledge management solutions and into intranets.
• Publishers should aim to facilitate the usage of information in the workflow, information which is customised for that end-user.
• Content is the core fundamental asset, the ultimate business driver on which publishers can build delivery technology. The strategy is not rocket science, but comes down to fulfilling two criteria: delivering core products and fulfilling customer needs.

Co-opetition between content players

• Content providers are paranoid about their place in the value chain, and worry whether infomediaries are undermining their core offerings.
• There is a value in being a web intermediary which is quite separate from the value derived from content or goods. An intermediary provides:
• Navigation: everything I want is here;
• Affiliation: with the user not the supplier.
• The relationship between an infomediary and an end-user is much stronger than between the end-user and the content being sold.

Adding value through technology

• Increasingly, both book publishers and retailers are incorporating the digital content model. Content is being digitised and structured for re-purposing at a rapid rate.
• On-demand printing is becoming strategic as an inventory management method, and as a competitive advantage in a broader selection of content and improved service levels.
• Publishers should maximise POD opportunities in order to maintain slower-moving, yet active titles. Publishers should revise out-of-stock and out-of-print titles and create synergies between e-content and POD to re-purpose content.

Communities? role as an infomediary

• Communities and infomediaries may in fact be one and the same.
• The trust and loyalty which a good community site builds amongst its members creates stickiness, and enables the creation of a channel to market.
• Communities are more a part of everyday work processes than pure content services, but also generate their own content.
• Infomediaries will become the custodians of customer information.

Next steps

• A web site needs to do something powerful if it is to persuade consumers to buy online; the key differentiators in this respect are: price, speed, convenience, quality and fitness for purpose.
• Web site owners need to understand consumer behaviour and practice, and ask end-users if the changes that they are proposing in the shift from offline to online are realistic.