InfoToday 2003

National OnlineNew York City

Patrick Spain – May 6, 2003

Who Is This Man & Who Is This Man & What Did He Teach Us? What Did He Teach Us?

1512-1594

Gerhard Mercator- The Father Gerhard Mercator- The Father of Modern Map Makingof Modern Map Making

• Innovator - Mercator Projection– Inspired breakthrough– Round world could be displayed on a flat surface– Solved the largest problem of the day – how to give explorers

a map they could relate to their navigation instruments– Only one problem- it was wrong!

• Integrator - Invented The Atlas– First person to create a book of similarly scaled maps of the

known world– Not an explorer, but a synthesizer & compiler– His Atlas served as the template for all modern mapping

The Information LandscapeThe Information Landscape• There are few new ideas right now• In fact, we are going backwards in many ways• There is little real growth in most areas• Providers are focused on profits & survival• Price increases are a substitute for growth• Aggregators are adding content & gathering rights,

rather than making content easier to find & use• Technology is viewed as a delivery vehicle, rather

than a value enhancer • Many publishers are waging a hopeless battle to

close the barn door on free/low cost content

But Exciting ConditionsBut Exciting Conditions Have Been Created Have Been Created

• More content than ever available online

• More people than ever have access to online resources

• Primary means of research is now online, rather than in physical libraries

• More tools to make that content useful

This Has Given Rise to Some This Has Given Rise to Some Noteworthy TrendsNoteworthy Trends

• Rise of the individual as content manager

• Integration of software & data

• Decline of the importance of brands

• Focus on answers rather then results

• Opportunities for “new” mapmakers

Rise of the Individual As Content Manager

• Long-term societal trend toward taking control of matters that are important

• Technology has made individual research easier

• Cost cutting at enterprises means fewer gatekeepers & fewer centralized resources

• It’s just more efficient – each individuals buys and uses what he/she wants/needs

• Rise of the acceptability of individual online payment

Integration of Software & Data• The online environment is not a technology

• It is also not a new medium

• It is not a big, cheap pipe

• It is an amalgam of tools and data tied together by brand that, when properly organized, does something – think AOL

• Whether you believe this or not, Microsoft does & that will make it happen

Decline of Importance of Brands

• There are more brands – this dilutes existing brands

• It is now easier to build a brand, using online presence (e.g., AOL, Hoover’s, Motley Fool, Drudge Report) – so existing brands are less valuable

• Requirements for credibility become less stringent as audience gets larger and less professional – this is a fundamental change that most info professionals have failed to grasp

• Pretty good information at an excellent (low) price is larger market than perfect information at a high price (That’s why Wal-Mart is 150x Tiffany in size)

Focus on Answers, Not Results

• Answers involve a combination of locating, organizing, and publishing

• Most so-called research services stop at search results

• Even search stops half-way – Google does a good job on the free Web but then you have to search paid/registration services separately

What You Asked For

What Is the Price of Tea in China?

What You Got

Role of the New Mapmakers• Help individuals with particular interests to locate, collect

& integrate information - Blogs

Jim Romenesko’s MediaNews Blog

Role of the New Mapmakers• Help individuals with particular interests to locate, collect & integrate

information - Blogs

• Develop new methodologies to prepackage information so it is more useful – Mercator’s Atlas

Kartoo’s Visual Representation

Role of the New Mapmakers• Help individuals with particular interests to locate, collect & integrate information -

Blogs

• Develop new methodologies to prepackage information so it is more useful – Mercator’s Atlas

• Expand access to what already exists, as printing did for the written word - Metasearch

SurfWax Metasearch

What You Asked For

What Is the Price of Tea in China?

What You NeededWhat You Needed

Insurmountable OpportunitiesInsurmountable Opportunities• Content is permanently commoditized

• Technology is still too abstract

• Publishers are still balkanized

• Aggregators have not come close to replicating the cable TV model or the software bundling model

• Mindsets about value & market size are fossilized

ConclusionsConclusions• Most of the information industry is boring and little

interested in innovation, much as the mapping industry was in the mid 16th century

• Innovation can come from new discovery, but can also come from putting together the pieces that have already been been created in new & more useful ways

• While technology will be the engine of this industry, people & companies who understand how information is & can be used to provide answers will be the ultimate winners

We Just Need the New…We Just Need the New…