Content vs. Community

Nearly 16 years ago, before Internet access was even high-speed, Bill Gates proclaimed that “content” was king. Gates suggested that people have an insatiable thirst for information and knowledge, and that the Internet would soon become the primary means for quenching that need. Since then the Internet has exploded with information. There are more than 2 billon users of more than 500 million websites as we all now spend a significant share of our lives sifting through and absorbing Internet content. The average American spends 32 hours a month on the Internet. Back in 1996 when Gates coined the phrase “content is king,” it’s fair to say most of use didn’t use the Internet at all. 

But is content still king? Or has there been a shift away from content to conversation? When we go online do we seek information or community? What drives the Internet in 2012? In fact, today we spend about one-fifth of our Internet use on social networking sites – conversing and sharing with each other. Sure we all still read, and shop online, but we also share. This was not so true even 5 years ago and it was certainly not when Gates characterized content as “king.”

While we all certainly depend on the Internet for information, personally and professionally, there’s been a profound transformation in how and why we use the Internet. Today the most popular websites include not merely search engines, ecommerce, and blogs, but places where we connect with each other for conversation and sharing. Social media has become the backbone of the Internet. It’s actually hard to imagine visiting the Internet without interacting with each other there. Today the second most popular website – measured by visits – is now Facebook, while the typical Facebook 
users spends around 7 hours, 45 minutes and 49 seconds per month on the site (Go-gulf.com, 2012).

Some say “conversation” is now king, and I would wholeheartedly agree. Information is of course still accessible (and devoured), but the sharing of information is what keeps us coming back for more. We use websites that give us the ability to dialogue. Gigya.com, one of the Internet’s largest social media hubs, recently studied online behaviors and showed that people spend the most time on websites when and where they are sharing – not just reading (Ewer, 2012).

The transformation of the Internet from content to conversation didn’t occur overnight. The blogosphere, which was birthed in 1999 when Pyra.com provided the first “blogging”service, spawned the transformation. The blog was a place for someone to place unique content and then to begin a conversation about their content. Content was still king but the conversation is what kept users entranced. In 2000 there were only 23 blogs on the Internet. But the concept of sharing and dialogue quickly became so attractive to users, the blogosphere soon mushroomed into 50 million blogs. Soon afterwards giant “blogs” such as MySpace and Facebook appeared, giving users broad abilities to converse and not simply read and learn.

I’m currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) from West Virginia University. It’s an online program where much of the course surrounds web-based interaction with each other. The University provides content, from which we learn, but the Internet provides the connection between students and the professor. Content is, of course, an important ingredient in the learning process. But the conversation is at the core of the learning experience – in forums and “chat” rooms. 

Content or conversation? What drives the Internet? What keeps us coming back for more? As human beings, we all have a thirst for information but even more so, we have a thirst for communication. Communication has trumped content and is now king. 

<a href="http://www.go-gulf.com/online-time.jpg"><img src="http://www.go-gulf.com/online-time.jpg" alt="How People Spend Their Time Online" width="580" /></a><br />Infographic by- GO-Gulf.com <a href="http://www.go-gulf.com/" > Dubai Web Design Company</a>

Sources:

How People Spend Their Time Online [Infographic]. (n.d.). How People Spend Their Time Online [Infographic]. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from http://www.go-gulf.com/blog/online-time

Internet 2011 in numbers. (n.d.). Internet 2011 in Numbers. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/01/17/internet-2011-in-numbers/

Ewer, T. (n.d.). ManageWP. Why Social Media Is Far More Important Than You Think -. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from http://managewp.com/the-importance-of-social-media

Do You Know the History Of Blogging? (n.d.). MachoArts. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from http://machoarts.com/history-of-blogging