Given the “mutation of television’s DNA” that reporter Jonah Weiner describes in his fantastic New York Times Magazine article, The Great Race to Rule Streaming TV, there is much we can learn about where the creative economy is heading, how to stand out, and how to Pivot your own creative projects.
This article is so juicy—so jam-packed with insights into where TV is heading that parallels publishing, podcasting and product creation—that I couldn’t resist jumping on the mic to do a point-by-point analysis of how they might apply to our own creative projects in this experimental episode.
The article—and what we’re going to dive into together—spans a fascinating swath of topics that I’ll help unpack. Everything from prestige content versus quick bites, hyper-abundance and the atmosphere of plentitude, infinite possibilities, unpredictability, celebrating fringe, “great-ish” and the golden age of good enough, quiet time meetings, licensing versus original content, hoarding, the great reclamation of content, perceived barriers to entry, and preserving storytelling.
If it goes well, and you’re interested in these topics, I can even invite Jonah to a follow-up interview for the Pivot podcast. :)
Download the free worksheet that goes with this episode below. Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at PivotMethod.com/142.
Topics We Cover
What we binge watch and what it says about the qualities that we value
Private subscription channels pushing the limits of television
Steaming videos on-demand build an atmosphere of plenitude that entice us into a "walled garden"
The "Freemium" economy is evolving to say "subscribe" - it applies to service-based businesses
Hyper-abundance is more (on balance) a good thing than bad by leveraging what you are already doing and putting it into different formats
A fundamental mutation in TV's DNA is happening before our eyes
The golden age of "Good Enough". Pilling on the digital heaps of "Great-ish" content so we don't go looking elsewhere
Implementing quiet time meetings - What do you wish...? What is missing?
Don’t buy into the idea of zero sum as there is still room for new voices, believe that it’s possible
Pleasing the masses, entertaining as many people as possible, and please the world
Thoughts on Silicon Valley mindset to scale at all cost
Asking yourself “What can you try?”
New fresh ideas and approaches come in after hitting the innovator’s dilemma
Scaling is not the end all be all but systems certainly help
Resources Mentioned
Jonah Weiner on the web
NYT Article: The Great Race to Rule Streaming TV by Jonah Weiner
Related Pivot Podcasts: 127: Live from the Vulnerability Hangover! Launching @LifeOfALebaneseArtist with Michael Karsouny
Books:
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
Clockwork: Design Your Business To Run Itself by Mike Michalowicz
The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business by Clayton Christensen
Additional books mentioned: Pivot, Subscribed, Retention Point, Membership Economy, Automatic Customer, The Long Tail, Loving What Is, Winners Take All
Check out other episodes of the Pivot Podcast here. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen, and if you enjoy the show I would be very grateful for a rating and/or review! Sign-up for my weekly(ish) #PivotList newsletter to receive curated round-ups of what I’m reading, watching, listening to, and new tools I’m geeking out on.