Content Business Models?

I belive the three main Web Content Business Models will be as follows:

The Content Provider Model

The first Business Model will the that of syndicating content across a number of web sites. A prime example of this is Reuters. Reuters has syndicated across main-stream publishing for years, and has adopted an online model quite easily.

What the Web will see two main groups using this model; a specialist content provider, such as one about IT, that will write articles on specific topics to be syndicated across many like minded web sites. The second main group will be general content provider, which will create a lot of content that gets streamed to a few sites.

The content will probably be paid for as a on-off payment, or on per-view, depending on the business arrangement. Either way, the content providers will need to work closely in conjunction with the next business model:

The Content Aggregator Model

This is where Octopus and Moreover fit in. They will aggregate content from various providers. Again, some of this content will be quite specific, while some content will be quite general.

This might also come in the form of a service or web application; in the future, a search for current news items on a particular topic through Moreover might cost a one-off fee. Other services might provide human-tailored feeds from many sources; essentially, content streamlining.

The aggregators will charge their audience either by micro-payment-per-view (marked up from the content provider's fee), or an annual fee. An example of the latter is the Wall Street Journal, whose content is so rich that they can afford to make users pay even though it is currently not the norm.

The Magazine Model

That leaves the Magazine Model, which is essentially a combination of the two; both writing and providing content. Some articles may well be syndicated from other content providers, and it would probably follow the same pricing structure as the content aggregator model.


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