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"Media companies must succeed through the Web or become obsolete," warned Shen Tong, Founder and President of VFinity, an innovative "web-native" multi media asset management software company. He said, "The way for media companies to succeed is to embrace social networks and truly harness the Web." Shen Tong made his comments in a keynote address at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB 2007) in Las Vegas.
"The traditional media content businesses are stagnant," said Shen Tong, because more people, especially the young, are finding the information and content they need through the Web rather than go to the library, archives or a music store. He went on to observe, "Social networks have already had a thorough and profound impact on media," and he predicted that, "everything in business will be social networked through the Web."
Shen Tong recommended companies adopt the "Managed Web," where they "manage their enterprise by creating virtual networks and manage workflow across the Web." He pointed out these internal social networks are about "serving content and production tools to the user through a Web browser."
Perhaps more important than the content itself, Shen Tong observed, is "context." The idea is that capturing all uses and metadata attached to a content file overtime is more valuable than the content itself. This context enriches the content and can affect how a file is used and reused. This concept enables the so-called "long tail" and full monetization of an asset.
Media companies should "Web serve users context, content and the applications and tools," to fully harness the Web, he said.
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