At a Berkman center session last week about supporting investigative and international reporting — “difficult journalism,” in convener Ethan Zuckerman’s wording — I talked about the link economy v. content economy and at lunch, one of the participants asked what the link economy requires of us. Try this list on for size:
1. All content must be transparent: open on the web with permanent links so it can receive links. It’s not content until it’s linked.
2. The recipient of links is the party responsible for monetizing the audience they bring. In the old content-economy model of syndication, the creator sells content to another and the one who syndicates has to come up with the ad or circulation revenue sufficient to pay for it. Now in the link economy, it’s reversed: When you get traffic, you need to figure out how to benefit from it. As Doc Searls said at the event: this is a shift from “making money with” to “making money because.”
3. Links are a key to efficiency. In other words: Do what you do best and link to the rest.
4. There are opportunities to add value atop the link layer. This is where one can find business opportunities: by managing abundance rather than the old model of managing scarcity. The market needs help finding the good stuff; that curation is a business opportunity. There is also an opportunity to add context (here are lots of links about Darfur but here is a page that will explain what they mean). There is also a need to add reporting and new content and information atop a link ecology. There is a need to create infrastructure for linking (full disclosure: I am involved with two companies trying to do this — Daylife and Publish2). There is a crying need for advertising infrastructure and networks to help the recipients of links monetize them.
[...] link economy is a shift from ‘making money with’ to ‘making money because’; http://is.gd/16hJ [...]
Sorry for the blatant spamming, but my small product is about links…
It’s a FireFox extension to help publishers easily add links to their content. It uses OpenCalais for semantic analysis, and Google search to suggest links.
It’s still alpha code, but I think it’s already useful and fun to use.
Check it out in kaalga.com
Would love to hear what you think
These make sense.
One other consideration to think about is provenance. Think of it as a public resource where anyone can see who did the original post/article and who deserves the link. Without this, we think it’s gameable.
Provenance is a right way to put it. Just found this article and it explains fairly.
It’s not content until it’s linked.
I like this sentiment, but would qualify at least partly. It’s not valuable content until it’s linked. (Or only the author cares about it until it’s linked).
Content is content; we could argue about that with no end. However, it’s the link providing much of the context, likely much of the readership, and therefore much of the discussion, and certainly most of the circulation.
And I particularly like RP bringing provenance into the discussion. Once an author creates something, it is no longer up to the author to determine it’s meaning. It’s up to us, hence the links.
Linking to the original source is a practice of many bloggers, who are also seen as curators of valuable information. News organizations need to realize why this has worked for the bloggers and understand that it adds value to what they are offering.
I also agree with the need to add value on top of just providing links. Why are you linking to this other source? What will the reader learn from that source that they don’t already know? What additional information might the reader be looking for?
[...] BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » The imperatives of the link economy All content must be transparent: open on the web with permanent links so it can receive links. It’s not content until it’s linked. (tags: links linkeconomy) [...]
What do you think of the approach that the ACM (http://portal.acm.org/) and the IEEE (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/) take with their digital libraries? Anyone can link to their article pages or discover articles through search engines, but you generally need to be a paid subscriber in order to access the full text. Does this align with or contradict what you see as the imperatives of the link economy?
@Matthew – in a perfect idealist state, I agree that provenance is not necessary; however, in a world where links equate to search engine and direct page traffic and every single page is monetizable via AdSense, a free public look-up resource seems warranted.
[...] a way to transition into the era where hyperlinks tie the story together. He gives the following imperatives. 1. All content must be transparent: open on the web with permanent links so it can receive links. [...]
[...] Jeff Jarvis, online economy, web 2.0 — davidkirkpatrick @ 8:53 pm Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine has a four-part list covering the “link economy.” This list grew out of a discussion Jarvis was having about the difference between the link vs [...]
[...] Jarvis on the link economy. It’s not content until it’s linked. [...]
[...] Jarvis had a very interesting post earlier this week about the imperative to align the content economy with the link economy. In [...]
[...] So she equates wholesale plagiarism with linking. Whew, that’s somebody who sure doesn’t understand the link economy. [...]
[...] by the public rather than the priests – will be rewarded with links and attention. This is our link economy, our culture of links. It is a meritocracy, only now there are many definitions of merit and each [...]
[...] It’s not content until it’s linked, links are a key to efficiency, and more. [...]
[...] Jarvis provides an extension of these thoughts when he writes on Buzzmachine – “All content must be transparent: open on the web with permanent links so it can receive [...]
[...] the link economy emerged, enabling papers to find new efficiencies by saving resources long spent on commodity news [...]
[...] remarkable is their success that the “link economy” has become an increasingly recognizable phenomena, a pattern that spotlights value [...]
[...] remarkable is their success that the “link economy” has become an increasingly recognizable phenomena, a pattern that spotlights value [...]
[...] since we covered some new and strange-sounding topics, here’s additional reading on the link economy (and more posts here), the press sphere, and networked journalism (and more here and [...]
“It’s not content until it’s linked”
Does a tree in the woods make a sound if no one hears it fall?
The tree is there and the content is there and the statement is solid. Without a means of generating presence, content remains a static monument of emptyness. Linking simply gives life and meaning to an otherwise unknown block.
[...] should get a small cut of the ad revenue of cross-posted stories. We can become a linking service. Do like politico, the content creator shares their content with whomever wants to [...]
[...] why this is so great. This is the same principle that drives the GDP multiplier for the link economy. If you follow their site, you probably have noticed that the Times is good at pulling [...]
[...] Link. If you don’t link, you’re a dead-end. [...]
[...] “you should know this” — then chances are, it’s not worth saying and in the link economy it won’t get audience, and so it’s not worth [...]
[...] this,” or “you should know this” — then chances are, it’s not worth saying and in the link economy it won’t get audience, and so it’s not worth [...]
[...] He coined, awhile back, a simple line that is quickly becoming more of a mantra than anything else. Full detail here, but his line: “do what you do best, and link to the rest” resonates with the best way [...]
[...] Jarvis is a big proponent of the link economy. All content must be transparent: open on the web with permanent links so it can receive links. [...]
[...] “link economy” strategies work for “traditional” companies? Here are Jeff Jarvis’ four principles. And below is a modified version, applied to companies in pursuit of [...]
[...] Link Economics (Buzzmachine) View Poll [...]
[...] is a necessity of efficiency – no one can afford to waste resources on commodity news – but also a necessity of the link economy, for it is through others’ links that original journalism will get attention and audience and the [...]
[...] (nadie puede permitirse el lujo de gastar recursos en noticias generales) y también por la economía del enlace, puesto que a través de los enlaces de otros el periodismo genuino logrará atención y audiencia, [...]
[...] second point is that Rick is keen to bring the online notion of the link economy, explained here by Jeff Jarvis, back to the real world. In his lecture, Waghorn quoted Jarvis by saying “[d]o [...]
[...] if news becomes more transparent. The whole web works by links (what Jeff calls the "linked economy"), so why shouldn’t news work in the same way. By doing “what you do best [...]
[...] link economy works. The copy-paste website method that most papers practice isn’t going to cut it in a [...]
[...] a small point to harp on, but it feels like a misstep by the normally surefooted Times. Part of the link economy is making it possible (even easy!) for other people to send you traffic. This entry was written [...]
[...] Kort gezegd is het de volgende slogan: “Cover what you do best, link to the rest” (lees ook deze twee artikelen van Jeff [...]
[...] i vente”. (Hadde DN som et mediehus med økonomi som spesialfelt også forstått nettets lenkeøkononomi ville jeg ha lenket til artikkelen, men slik blir det ikke all den tid DN neglisjerer [...]
[...] contacts and build a name for yourself. But it’s more than that: Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) harps on linking as a journalistic skill too. When you are immersed in your beat, instead of viewing other news [...]
[...] contacts and build a name for yourself. But it’s more than that: Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) harps on linking as a journalistic skill too. When you are immersed in your beat, instead of viewing other news [...]
[...] mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} “link economy”, championed by Jeff Jarvis, and which he deems vital to the future of online [...]
[...] The imperative of the link economy [...]
[...] If you’re looking for more detail from Jarvis, read The Google Economy and The Imperatives of the Link Economy. [...]
[...] should get a small cut of the ad revenue of cross-posted stories. We can become a linking service. Do like politico, the content creator shares their content with whomever wants to [...]
[...] current definition means that a ‘new media’ expert is up-to-speed on blogging, linking, short form video, Facebook, Twitter, other social networks, etc… All of this expertise is a real [...]
[...] concept de @cosme repose sur la Link Economy (que Jeff Jarvis a été le premier à mettre en lumière) : @cosme ne vend pas de produits lui-même mais joue le [...]
[...] thinks. It’s hurting them by cutting off links to the original reporting. That is how the link economy works. (Oh, and by the way, the big bad portals are themselves crumbling. One wonders which will [...]
[...] who have invested their capital, skill and time.” He doesn’t want to see that in the link economy, Google does precisely the opposite: adding value with its links. If you think those links are so [...]
[...] the structure of the link economy, it’s then up to the Post to monetize that audience. This could be aided, though, by a [...]
[...] media organisations still stuck in the yesteryear are struggling to cope with what some has termed the link economy. In this Internet period of humankind, I think the question is not about whether people should be [...]
[...] safe to assume that the majority of your content can/will be found elsewhere online. Thank the link economy and information wanting to be free. Therefore, people can find your service elsewhere, they don’t [...]
[...] taking content rather than sending audience to him, but I’ll spare us the lecture on the link economy vs. the content [...]
[...] how can journalists create value? They can and should report – but the link economy demands that they specialize, that they stand out above the level playing field by reporting [...]
[...] gratis, Jeff Harvis insiste en que el desafío actual, entre otras cosas, es conocer los modelos de contenidos. Saber armar una nota o un vídeo ya no es un requisito diferenciador, [...]
[...] about bloggers. Like the millennial clash of business models in media – the content economy v. the link economy and the inability of one to understand the other – here we see a clash over journalistic culture [...]
[...] thinking is incomplete in a few ways. First, he is ignorant of the imperatives of the link economy. The links and discussion he wants to outlaw is precisely how content is [...]
[...] thinking is incomplete in a few ways. First, he is ignorant of the imperatives of the link economy. The links and discussion he wants to outlaw is precisely how content is [...]
[...] contenus implique le passage d’une économie de contenus à une économie de liens. Jeff Jarvis a formulé les quatre impératifs de l’économie de liens, dont celui-ci: 2. The recipient of [...]
[...] today must be online and are governed, in part, by the concept known as the Link Economy – a term popularized by Jeff Jarvis, an early blogger, internet enthusiast, and journalism professor, and promulgated by [...]
[...] their journalism from the conversation that will distribute it. Let’s have a talk about the imperatives of the link [...]
[...] There has been much stupidity lately about how news should operate in the ecosystem in the internet – threats to try to extend copyright, the ominously named and ambiguously written Hamburg Declaration, the ACAP “standard” that would be a boon to spammers – but the AP’s shot across our bow is the most destructive and ignorant of them all. The AP doggedly refuses to understand the link economy of the digital age and its imperatives. [...]
[...] Reuters digital boss Chris Ahearn stands up in favor of the link economy (as opposed to someone else we know). It’s sensible talk and he suggests we have more such [...]
[...] over print — what BuzzMachine blogger and journalism professor Jeff Jarvis calls the “link economy.” If nobody can link to your site, then your site won’t get many inbound links. This is [...]
[...] Links are worth what the recipient makes of them. See my second imperative of the link economy: He or she who gets the links is the one who has to monetize them. So the value [...]
[...] say, “Wait! Vanquish your backwards self-pity because aggregators actually help you via the link economy.” (That’s a shibboleth, not a fair rehearsal of a smart [...]
[...] bloggers. Like the millennial clash of business models in media — the content economy v. the link economy and the inability of one to understand the other — here we see a clash over journalistic culture [...]
[...] nettisisältöön. Linkkaukset ovat siis kovaa valuuttaa netissä. Muun muassa mediaprofessori Jeff Jarvis on julistanut, että olemme siirtyneet linkkitalouden [...]
[...] And then I used this story as an example. I discovered the story through a tweet. I spread the story through a tweet. Others spread the story through their tweets. I’m spreading it again here. We are not kleptomaniacs. We are the new (free) distribution. We are providing value to news. I explained that Google News causes a billion clicks a month and Twitter causes more (Bit.ly alone causes a billion). But the comrades in Beijing can’t see that because they are ignorant of the imperatives of the link economy. [...]
[...] this to the other blind spots these old media powers have about the new economic reality: the imperatives of the link economy, the need and benefit of giving up control, the advantages of creating open platforms over closed [...]
[...] imperatives of the link economy, the need and benefit of giving up control, the advantages of creating open platforms over closed [...]
[...] the other day about media’s blind spots to the realities of the new-media economy: …the imperatives of the link economy, the need and benefit of giving up control, the advantages of creating open platforms over closed [...]
[...] equal and that online publishing is steeped in a naturally occurring meritocracy, created by the link economy. The presence of disorder and the infamous “noise” is merely an issue of filtering; good [...]
[...] with the public, to work collaboratively in networks, to find new efficiencies thanks to the link, to rethink how we cover and present news. No, the essence of the problem is that we thought the [...]
[...] bloggers. Like the millennial clash of business models in media – the content economy v. the link economy and the inability of one to understand the other – here we see a clash over journalistic [...]
[...] of Twitter is link sharing creating what Jeff Jarvis and others have sometimes called the “link economy.” When I choose who curates my information and when these people are Tweeting things such [...]
[...] power of Twitter is link sharing creating what Jeff Jarvis and others have sometimes called the “link economy.” When I choose who curates my information and when these people are Tweeting things such [...]
[...] power of Twitter is link sharing creating what Jeff Jarvis and others have sometimes called the “link economy.” When I choose who curates my information and when these people are Tweeting things such [...]
[...] tools under the rubbery banner of “social media” are further muddying the waters. But thanks to the link economy, blogs and the social networks possibly bring as much traffic to old news sites as they take [...]
[...] is simple and already widely used: sometimes you want to give credit to someone (as part of the pay-it-forward link economy) for something they said or linked to, without quoting them verbatim (which is what RT or [...]
[...] – does not see how distribution works today. He does not understand that being open to the link economy brings him free distribution, free marketing, great [...]
[...] is simple and already widely used: sometimes you want to give credit to someone (as part of the pay-it-forward link economy) for something they said or linked to, without quoting them verbatim (which is what RT or [...]
[...] Jarvis, el profeta de la “link economy“ explica: “El contenido es una carga en términos de costos; es algo necesario para conseguir los [...]
[...] audience to many sties. What they then do with that audience is then up to them. According to the imperatives of the link economy, it is up to he or she who gets the links to monetize [...]
[...] Maybe so. In my discussions of the link economy, I had been concentrating on explaining and defending the side of the value equation brought by [...]
[...] community launching point where visitors begin their online sessions, following Jeff Jarvis’s “do what you do best and link to the rest,” principle and utilizing a wide variety of 3rd party tools, sites, and links, engaging local [...]
[...] this is why it seems unfair for folks like Jeff Jarvis to make claims like, “The recipient of links is the party responsible for monetizing the [...]
[...] response publishers make to my argument that Google drives value to them and their content in the link economy is that the readers Google sends are [...]
[...] to click through. Those are valuable readers whom Google is sending to news organizations. And, as Jeff Jarvis argues, it’s not Google’s fault if newspaper executives haven’t been able to figure out [...]
[...] presentations – you’d see some I hope to work on. I want to examine the workings of the link economy I talk about so much and prescribe how to exploit it. I want to examine new content exchange [...]
[...] the ability to link to sources is a tremendous advantage to writing online. The reality is that many readers do not read [...]
[...] Jarvis had a very interesting post earlier this week about the imperative to align the content economy with the link economy. In [...]
[...] for content providers to do more than simply create APIs of their existing content – or as Jeff Jarvis describes it – “to add value atop the link layer”. For example, re-imagining [...]
[...] is simple and already widely used: sometimes you want to give credit to someone (as part of the pay-it-forward link economy) for something they said or linked to, without quoting them verbatim (which is what RT or [...]
[...] Social networks are built on shareability, and as members we sift through the everyday torrents of digital pop culture to find the brilliant bits we can offer up. It happens willy nilly on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Slashdot, Friendfeed, StumbleUpon and Reddit—crowdsourcing on digital culture sites, once niche, now mainstreamed, driving forward a link economy. [...]
[...] I know, the argument is that these readers use the content more so they should be charged more. But that is based on the assumption that content is a consumable, a scarcity that drains the more it is read. Of course, it isn’t. Content is, instead, a magnet that can create relationships of value; whether that happens is up to the creator of the content and the quality of service and relevance is gives. That, dare I repeat it, is the basis of the link economy. [...]
[...] I know, the argument is that these readers use the content more so they should be charged more. But that is based on the assumption that content is a consumable, a scarcity that drains the more it is read. Of course, it isn’t. Content is, instead, a magnet that can create relationships of value; whether that happens is up to the creator of the content and the quality of service and relevance is gives. That, dare I repeat it, is the basis of the link economy. [...]
[...] become caught up with the notion of what Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor, calls “the link economy”, believing that any gains from [online] subscriptions will be outweighed by losses in [...]
[...] answer is what I call the “link economy” (must read). We now live in a link economy. It’s no longer about “content” [...]