One of most interesting snippets in the Future of Media Report 2007 was a chart showing the relationship between bandwidth speed and time spent online across a number of countries, in the second diagram below. The data supporting these charts was provided by Future of Media Summit Research Partner Nielsen//NetRatings, which was able to provide original and valuable insights by drawing on its global coverage.

(Click on the images for full details in the Future of Media Report 2007)

As the first chart shows, the proportion of people with access to so-called “broadband” (in this case meaning anything other than dial-up) is consistently high across nations. However the speed of Internet access varies substantially, by a factor of almost five across the countries covered. The second chart shows an unambiguous correlation between bandwidth and time spent online, underlining the debate in Australia and other countries about the impact of low bandwidth Internet access. Demonstrably, low bandwidth Internet means people use it less, and for a narrower range of applications (there is specific data on that).

My comments in the recent Sydney Morning Herald article on why blogging is so behind in Australia have attracted significant attention. In particular, a number of people (e.g. Gavin Heaton, Mark Aufflick, Meg Tsiamis) have questioned my assertion that low bandwidth impacts blogging activity, given that blogging is a low bandwidth activity – it is after all mainly text. The reality is that people if something is easier to do, they spend more time doing it, explore further, try different things, get engaged more, and are far more likely to actively participate. If you’re a keen blogger, it makes no difference. If you are someone who may be interested in blogging, but because spending time online is not a great experience you don’t discover the power and potential of participating yourself, you’re less likely to do so. The evidence in the data above is there for anyone who doubts what appears entirely obvious to me.

Of course bandwidth is far from the only issue at stake here. I’ve written before about the challenges of building a distinct English-language blogging community that doesn’t get absorbed into the global blogosphere. Meg adds further thoughts on what’s happening and how to build a national blogging community. I do believe that as a society, some introspection is required as to why we aren’t engaging as well as we could with the transformative potential of a connected world. This is a fundamentally important issue.

A quick review of the first cross-continental panel at the Future of Media Summit 2007, which was on Emerging Business Models, featured Keith Teare, CEO of edgeio, Anne-Marie Roussel, Director – Stategic and Emerging Business for Microsoft, Chris Gilbey, CEO of Vquence, and Rob Antulov, CEO of 3eep. A few reflections on the discussion (from memory, so please excuse misquotations :-) ):

One of the themes of the discussion was whether business models are changing. Rob said that after much consideration, he’d decided that there were no new business models: the three that continued to exist were 1) customers paying directly for your content; 2) a third party paying to be associated with or incorporating your content; 3) third parties paying to distribute your content. Keith in particular disagreed, noting the new approaches possible through social media. Edgeio’s business model itself suggests new possibilities for intermediating value. Chris, a doyen of the music industry, said that it is moving to a point at which it is no longer possible to monetize music directly. Consumers are no longer prepared to pay for music, so advertising or other indirect revenue models are becoming essential. Anne-Marie talked about the web as a basis for social entertainment. People are primarily influenced by their peers in buying entertainment, and it is now possible for people to buy from or through their peers. Keith used the phrase“selling content through peer relationships,” noting that edgeio will shortly release tools for monetizing sales of content through third-parties.

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In the lead-up to the Future of Media Summit 2007 held in Sydney and San Francisco next week, we will feature some excerpts from the Future of Media Report 2007, recently released to accompany the event.

In this post we will cover the Key Elements of Media Business Models frameworks which are the centerpiece of the Report. The centerfold image and commentary on each of the four elements of the framework is below – click on any of the images below to get the Report with full details.

Below are the frameworks and commentary for the four elements of the media business model framework:

* SCALING OF BUSINESS MODELS

* VALUE IN CONTENT PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION

* DRIVERS OF VALUE OF ADVERTISING

* MEDIA PERSONALIZATION

SCALING OF BUSINESS MODELS

The emergence of the long tail has created a complete spectrum of media of different scales, from the mass media at the “head” of the curve, through mid-sized professional publishing at the “shoulder”, and on to an extended “tail” of micro-media outlets, each with small audiences. Media have significantly different characteristics along the curve, leading to a variety of business models and approaches to scaling businesses. Characteristics that differ include:

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