Robin Good's Latest News

Media Literacy: Making Sense Of New Technologies And Media by George Siemens - Nov 22 08

George Siemens — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:40:00 GMT

As more and more students begin to attend online courses, is the educational system well aware of the potential of outside-the-classroom approaches in learning? George Siemens - Photo credit: Injenuity The abundance and consequent fragmentation of information gives increasing opportunity to specialized forms of education that more effectively address personal contexts and individual needs rather than the usual pre-packaged, dogmatic, teaching-like approaches. Educational technology expert George Siemens suggests that, online learning, homeschooling, and PLE (Personal Learning Environments), are just some of the new alternative choices learners are increasingly considering when interested in learning outside of the traditional classroom. Here all the details:

eLearning Resources and News

learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends by George Siemens

Need Help.

I often hear educators talking about "education needs to change" (I do it too). This is the case for the K-12, higher education, and corporate training / education markets. As a small research project, I'd like to ask people to answer the following questions (on their blog, in YouTube, Seesmic, or wherever):

Does education need to change?
Why or why not?
If it should change, what should it become? How should education (k-12, higher, or corporate) look like in the future?

E-Learn 2008

I don't like Powerpoint a whole lot. We don't really have a good alternative for presentations. I've been experimenting with different approaches. Most recent is PersonalBrain, which I used for my presentation at E-Learn 2008 in Vegas today.

Moving to Neutral Tools and Applications

Common Craft has produced a short explanatory video on Microsoft Live. The internet is starting to look like the desktop in the 80's - numerous companies trying to mainstream new applications through a new centre. Microsoft integrated a variety of tools into its Office suite, making it possible for many new users to try tools that had each been unique. Working in a spreadsheet or word document became more seemless than when working with two different vendors. Now, the web is moving in that direction, with Google, Microsoft, and MySpace / Facebook all trying to do to with the web what Microsoft did to the desktop. I'd like to see a world where any content works on any device… but I wonder if it will mature before someone has managed to lock in a good portion of the web in one application (or cloud).

With Students Flocking Online, Will Faculty Follow?

It really doesn't have to be said, but I'll do it anyway: we are in a climate of uncertainty. Awareness of economic issues (cost-cutting, layoffs) is high. Online learning has the potential to play a significant role in this climate. Trends indicate a growing move to online teaching and learning. This article asks: With Students Flocking Online, Will Faculty Follow?:

"As online courses' popularity continues to rise, many administrators are struggling with a steep learning curve, one whose ultimate end point is far from being determined. Questions such as how such courses should be taught (by adjuncts or full-time faculty?) often depend on institutions' missions (expand access or generate extra revenue?) and can lead to clashes and tensions between proponents of online learning and those who remain wedded to the traditional classroom."

My question is directed at institutions: Are our institutions (and systems) of education ready to embrace online learning strategically and more than an add-on?

Homeschooling Goes Mainstream

Education is being enlarged. More choices, more options. F2F, augmented, blended, online learning, etc are enlarging options for learners and educators to deal with individual, personal needs and contexts. Much like content is fragmented from large holding structures (newspapers, books, courses), the entire education system itself is breaking into muliple specialized choices. For example - homeschooling goes mainstream:

"Home education is now being done by so many different kinds of people for so many different reasons that it no longer makes much sense to speak of it as a political movement."

High-Speed Internet Coming to Africa

I've been suffering connection issues. Earlier this year, I was in Accra for Elearning Africa. The connection issues were significant there as well. Participants at the conference knew the importance of connectivity in advancing African economies. Yet the problem was / is huge. Many areas don't have electricity, never mind internet connectivity. Still, news like this - High-Speed Internet Coming to Africa - is encouraging. While foreign aid and development work are critical for Africa, the long term challenge is one of providing individuals with the tools and opportunities to shape their own future.

If Only We Had Something Other Than Content on Which to Base Education…

The hype around open educational resources (OERs) is growing to the level that web 2.0 inhabited several years ago (I recently posted a short overview of openness in education). The problem with OERs is that they are too often focused on content. More recently, a few educators have been pushing the concept of openness through open teaching and open accreditation. But, as Brian Lamb notes,

"if we live in an era of information abundance, why is the primary drive around OERs the publication of more content? And what other activities around the open education movement might be an effective use of our energies? What other needs have to be met?"

Personal Learning Environments

Learning happens constantly. The formal education component receives more respect than informal learning. As content and conversations fragment, I doubt existing systems of education will retain their shape. The real opportunity lies in how institutions think about "tying together" the multiple learnings across our daily lives. Canadian Council on Learning introduces the multiple learning domains as "limitless dimensions of learning". Two approaches are possible to serve as the glue to pull learning together in a manner that can be accredited or evaluated by traditional educational models:

eportfolios
and personal learning environments.

Eportfolios have great potential, but little uptake. Personal learning environments have similar potential, but the concept is a bit difficult for educators to grasp. I would have loved to sit in on a recent session by three individuals who know what they're talking about…here's their commentary on the workshop: Jared Stein, Chris Lott, and Scott Leslie. This PLE thing will yet take root :).

Higher Ed: Next Bloated Industry to Go?

With the financial world in turmoil, it's logical for people to turn attention to other fields that are in need of change. Nothing like a crisis to force introspection that should likely be ongoing. Higher Education is often criticized for its bureaucracy. Now that governments and businesses are in "belt tightening" mode, we'll see pressure on higher ed as well: Higher Ed: Next Bloated Industry to Go?:

"Like so many of our great industries and social sectors, higher education has grown huge, bureaucratic, and in many cases bloated (think 24-hour coffee shops in dorms). The ongoing trends of globalization, technology, and innovation continue to pressure societies and economies and America's world leading system of higher education is going to have to respond just like other great institutions."

While it is unsettling to be staring into an uncertain future, times of change offer opportunities for transformation. I'm optimistic that the catalyst needed to foster innovation in education can be found in the current crisis.

The Future of Learning: Ten Years On

Stephen Downes has written an important paper: The Future of Learning: Ten Years On. I need to spend more time reviewing the specifics of future learning, but after an initial read, Stephen has created a valuable document that should serve as a discussion piece for detailing the direction of our field. I suspect this document will be prominent in this week's CCK08 discussion on systemic change in education. I'd recommend Stephen arrange a few illuminate sessions in the near future to flesh out his predictions and engage with the online community for feedback (I'd like to see an exploration of data visualization and sensemaking techniques).

Second Life & Divorce

Any space in which people can interact (physical and virtual) brings out human nature. Our minds don't seem to really care if something is real, observed, or imagined (at least this is the suggestion made with the discovery of mirror neurons). Several months ago, I was chatting with an individual who said her location didn't allow her to see sunrises and sunsets. Instead, she watched them in Second Life while she enjoyed a cup of coffee or tea. The social impact of virtual worlds is not fully understood (especially considering they are still first-generation tools - virtual worlds will continue to get more real, further blurring what we physically experience and what we create online). Second Life & Divorce presents a glimpse of how morals and ethics will be (re)considered online.

Google and Video Conferencing?

While it's not video conferencing, Google has added video functionality to Gmail. Many tools (notably Skype) already offer similar (but superior) functionality. I'm interested in where Google will go with this. It would be exciting to have video conferencing options available for educators who are already using Google Docs, Gmail, and other services.

Originally written by George Siemens for elearnspace and first published on November 21st 2008 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and News.

About the author To learn more about George Siemens and to access extensive information and resources on elearning check out www.elearnspace.org. Explore also George Siemens connectivism site for resources on the changing nature of learning and check out his new book "Knowing Knowledge".

Photo credits: Need Help. - Pathathai Chungyam E-Learn 2008 - AACE With Students Flocking Online, Will Faculty Follow? - Financial Aid TV Homeschooling Goes Mainstream - Rob Marmion High-Speed Internet Coming to Africa - The Robert Goldwater Library If Only We Had Something Other Than Content on Which to Base Education… - Robyn Mackenzie Personal Learning Environments - Ana Blazic Higher Ed: Next Bloated Industry to Go? - UW Madison The Future of Learning: Ten Years On - Education World Second Life & Divorce - Teenagers Street Google and Video Conferencing? - pro it zone ...]]>

From Communication Consultant To Independent Media Publisher: My Reasons For Moving From Secure Work To Risky Blogging - Robin Good Video

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:25:00 GMT

Why, after having worked for many years for several large international organizations did I decide to jump into the online independent publishing frenzy and make it my full-time activity? In this short video, I share with you the basic reasons and motivations that have led me to seriously consider abandoning my well paid corporate communication consultant job and to start an independent web publishing career. What were the reasons and triggers that sparked my decision?

Why Did I Leave My Former Job To Become An Online Independent Publisher

Duration: 6\'
Full English Text Transcription

Hi, this is Robin Good for MasterNewMedia, and I am going to answer one more of your questions. This one today reads: "With your background in... corporate marketing - well... I didn\'t know I had a background in corporate marketing - when did you first decide to become a web publisher... what went through your head when you were decideing to leave your cushy executive job for this endeavor... an endeavor that was fraught with uncertainty?"

Working for Security or Working for Satisfaction - That Is The Question
Well good question anyhow. I wasn\'t an executive corporate manager... but I was certainly helping and working and making life easier for lots of those executives out there, whether in advertising agencies or international organizations that supposedly \'helped\' people in the second and third world better manage their lives and their future. Yes, I did indeed abandon the corporate commercial world of work for an I-can\'t-tell-for-sure-if-we-are-going-to-be-here-tomorrow-or-not type of world. I know that those of you who have a solid seat in a company right now, are also thinking the same right now. But until yesterday it hasn\'t been so. So this type of work which involves putting everything at risk and just counting on yourself and producing your own content and having nobody checking on you but yourself, came out of the desire to have more opportunity to do more of something that I really liked. I mean that is what it really ends up being. I guess this is a common desire that is gradually numbed, suppressed, and pushed... and pushed... and pushed down underground until you forget about it. But for most people the idea that there is something that they like to do that is separate from the work has a very strong presence. Well my idea... my idea was to take something that I liked and something that allowed me to survive and make it the same thing.

The Infinite Loop
Why have a job for a company that I didn\'t care for... to make money doing things that I didn\'t enjoy.... to then save money to do something that I really liked? You could get trapped in this loop for years and years and years. It never ends. You are always needing more money to pay for this or that, and you never really have enough time to really get to do what you like. So it stemmed from this native desire to do what I really wanted. And from the coincidental missing satisfaction from the work I was doing commercially. It didn\'t matter how much money or prestige - international, widespread, or promoted - the work was after a while (at least for me) not enough.

Beyond The Money
You want something beyond the money. Especially when you see so much money being wasted. So many decisions being taken not on terms of objective value but because whoever is paying likes it to be more that way instead of the other way. There is no value being created in many cases. The moment that I saw that there was an opportunity to monetize my content online and to then write about the things that I really liked - sharing with others, helping them find out the same things I knew and use them for their own communication efforts, I went for it. ...and well, that by itself was much more rewarding, both intellectually and personally, than doing work for others who were just handing out orders. Definitely a lot more rewarding.

The Change Your Life Trigger - Learn To Recognize It
So the trigger was getting annoyed to the point that you get enraged with your clients about what they ask you to do and about your condition as their slave in executing and prostituting your talent to do something that you think is badly done, or is useless or is wasting lots of money. And so if there is a way, like there is now effectively, (and I am certainly a testament to that) where you can help other people research, write, create stuff, software tools in the field you like. I mean make this available to other people and even make money on this, you can work basically from anywhere you want, how can you not choose to go in that direction? I mean... it\'s hard (not to). Maybe you are scared about the internet and writing and the technical stuff but that is what made me choose to abandon that world for a world that is more risky. Because the advantages in terms of... personal freedom, personal expression, the ability to lead the life that I like, to work the times that I want, and to realize and execute things that I would never be able to do if I was working for a major corporation... is worth for me all of the risks that I am running. Thank you for asking this question. Ciao!

Do you have more questions you want me to answer? Post them here below inside the comments area. Do you want to learn a few more in-depth things about professional web publishing and what I discovered along the way? Check out POP, a new video blog site where I am gradually posting "in-depth" video tutorials about my key strategies in pro web publishing.

Originally shot and recorded by Robin Good for MasterNewMedia and first published on November 20th 2008 as "From Communication Consultant To Independent Media Publisher: My Reasons For Moving From Secure Work To Risky Blogging - Robin Good Video" ...]]>

Browser Compatibility Testing: Cross-Platform Cross-Browser Multiple Resolutions Compatibility Testing Tools - Sharewood Guide

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:35:00 GMT

To check the compatibility of your site across different browsers, operating systems, or screen resolutions there are a handful of little known tools which professional webmasters keep secretly inside their toolkits. I have gone out to find out what these are. Photo credit: BrowserCam edited by Daniele Bazzano As you probably know, you cannot take for granted how your web site will be displayed when called up on a computer running a different operating system than yours. In fact, there are at least three main issues that affect the way your web pages are displayed on other people screens:

The browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc) and the specific version your viewers use
The operating system (Mac, Windows, Linux) your viewers run on their machines.
The screen resolution your viewers have set on their monitors.

To make this straight, a page rendered in Firefox 2 on a Windows machine probably won\'t look the same when opened again in Firefox 3 on a Mac. This is why as an online publisher you have to go out of your way to make sure your site displays almost identically across different browsers, operating systems and screen resolutions. But how can you test such a broad variety of possible combinations? Install all the available browsers and operating systems out there, and then test your web pages at each one of the different screen resolutions your monitor can handle? If you want to maintain your sanity, don\'t even attempt the above. The sheer number of possible combinations you need to test is pretty scary: 15 basic setups that need to be tested at least at three different resolutions makes for positive extended nightmare. Trust me. In this guide, I have personally hand-picked the best browser compatibility testing tools out there to help you check rapidly your site across different browsers, operating systems and screen resolutions. Cross-platform browser testing tools generally all work in the same way. You provide the URL of the web page you want to test, and then select the operating systems, browsers, and (when available) the specific screen resolutions you want to test your page on. The browser compatibility testing service you choose will then proceed to take a screenshot of that very page according to the specifics you have chosen (operating system, browser model and version, etc.), so that you can immediately evaluate what are the key issues to be addressed inside your web page HTML code tags. Here below is a comprehensive list of all the browser compatibility testing tools and services out there as well as a set of key basic criteria I have utilized to compare them:

Price: Is the service free or does it require the payment of a fee to be used.
Free Trial: Many services allow a free testing period. Find out who does.
Browser: Which browsers (and browser versions) are supported by the service.
OS: Indicates which operating systems are supported in the compatibiliy test.
Screen resolution: Specifies whether you can test your web page across different screen resolutions.
Unique characteristics: Discover the key feature that makes every service unique.

To make your analysis and selection task even most effective, here below I have also prepared a comparison table showcasing all of the available cross-platform browser compatibility testing tools, along with a full set of mini-reviews introducing each one. Here all the details: Intro by Daniele Bazzano

Cross-Platform Browser Testing Tools Comparison Table

go to the table! *Please refer to services sites for additional pricing solutions.

Check The Compatibility Of Your Site Across Different Browsers, Operating Systems, And Screen Resolutions

BrowserCam BrowserCam allows you to test your site across different browsers, and operating systems. The service works on any browser you can think of running on Windows, Mac, and Linux Fedora Core 9. Testing of different screen resolutions is also allowed. A unique feature of Browsercam is the possibility of testing how your pages are rendered on a Blackberry smart phone running Windows Mobile 5.0. BrowserCam is priced at $19,95 for one day of use, but there additional pricing solutions if you plan to use it for a longer time. Free to try for 24 hours and 200 screen captures. http://www.browsercam.com/

Browsershots Browsershots is perhaps the best free solution to test the compatibility of your site across different browsers, operating systems, and screen resolutions. Browsershots compares the layout of your site on almost any browser and OS in the market. You can also test your layout at different screen resolutions. Unique feature is the possibility of testing color depth, as well as Javascript, Flash and Java codes, to see how these parameters may affect the way your site is displayed. http://browsershots.org/

Litmus Litmus is a web-based service that lets you compare the rendering of your site in different browsers and operating systems. Using the Basic (free) version you can run tests on IE7 and Firefox 2. By purchasing one of the additional pricing solutions you can access a wider choice of browsers and operating systems. Litmus offers no trial period nor the possibility to test your site at different screen resolutions. As a unique feature the service allows you to test the layout of your newsletters (only for MS Office 2003 and GMail in the Basic version). http://litmusapp.com/

CrossBrowserTesting CrossBrowserTesting allows you to check the compatibility of your site on a large number of browsers including IE, Safari, Firefox, Opera, Camino, and some more. Operating systems available for testing are Microsft Windows, Mac OSX 10.5, and Ubuntu 7.10. Cross-BrowserTesting does not offer the option to switch between different screen resolutions, but Javascript and Ajax testing is available. Pricing solutions start from $1 for 5 minutes of testing with no limitations. You can test the service for a free trial period of 5 minutes. http://www.crossbrowsertesting.com/

Browser Photo Browser Photo is a web-based solution that takes screenshots of your web pages across different browsers and operating systems for layout-testing purposes. The service works with main browsers on the market (IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera) running on Windows, Mac and Linux. Browser Photo allows you to test browsers at different screen resolutions as well. No trial period is available. Priced at $15 for a one-time use, Browser Photo offers additional pricing plans to suit your needs. http://www.netmechanic.com/products/browser-index.shtml

BrowsrCamp BrowsrCamp is a web-based service that allows you to check the compatibility of your site across different browsers but only on Mac machines. Working on almost all the browsers you can run on OSX, BrowsrCamp also allows you to test your site at different screen resolutions. Starting at $3 for two days of utilize, the service offers additional pricing solutions for longer testing periods. Free testing on Safari 3.12 only. http://www.browsrcamp.com/

IE NetRenderer IE NetRenderer is a free web-based service that lets you compare how a web site is rendered across different versions of Internet Explorer (from 5.5 to 8 Beta 2). Screen-resolution testing is not allowed. An useful and unique feature of IE NetRenderer allows you to compare at a first glance any difference in the way your page is displayed on the screen between IE6 and IE7 . http://ipinfo.info/netrenderer/

Multi-Safari Multi-Safari is a free browser testing service that allows you to check the rendering of your site across different versions of the Safari. The service is designed to avoid different installations of OSX to test the your site on older releases of the Safari web browser. Multi-Safari does not allow any test on different screen resolutions. http://michelf.com/projects/multi-safari/

Originally prepared by Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia and first published on November 19th 2008 as "Browser Compatibility Testing: Cross-Platform Cross-Browser Multiple Resolutions Compatibility Testing Tools - Sharewood Guide".

Content Monetization: Fighting Unlicensed Content Republication Via Distribution Networks And Ad Sharing

Attributor Team — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:50:00 GMT

As content can be copied indefinitely and distributed instantaneously across the web, web publishers need to cooperate and partner with their peers to create free content distribution networks - collections of blogs and web sites where they can freely syndicate and republish their original content. Why? Photo credit: simonkr and Max Gladwell mashed up by Daniele Bazzano In the rapidly changing online publishing landscape that exists today, the old mantra "If you can\'t beat \'em... join \'em" seems to ring truer than ever. Publishers, large and small, have long tried to find effective ways to fight against those who re-use and re-publish their content without permission. But finding site editors, webmasters who hide under a barrage of protective layers, takes lots of time and it is often as ineffective as sending out DMCA or takedown notices. Smart web publishers are beginning to realize how ineffective and time-consuming is to continue to send these draconian cease-and-desist letters to those republishing their content, especially if they want to survive and thrive in the future. This problem is not limited to independent web publishers however. The video game and movie industry have been fighting this same loosing battle for years. Even today there is a report that the Sony Blu-ray DRM has been broken and Chinese pirates are moving unauthorized copies of HD discs. If DRM doesn\'t stand a chance while scraping and RSS republishing become easier by the hour, what chance do web publishers have in hoping to control the unlicensed distribution of their content? None. But... The time has come for publishers to embrace change. The creation of new online content distribution networks, through which content can be easily shared and freely re-published, may be the possible road to their salvation. If you think about it, sharing online ad revenue between content publishers can create new monetizing opportunities / revenue streams and partly recoup the revenue loss caused by the above listed unauthorized content republication practices. Sharing online ad revenue through partnerships with other publishers... bloggers... and others, who would take their content and re-publish it anyway, could indeed be for many, the very best course of action. Here all the details: Intro by Andre Deutmeyer

Atomized Content: The New Reality

Publishers today face a changing online landscape, one in which users are taking control of how and where they view content. Rather than going directly to the destination sites of specific publications, users discover content through blogs and other non-traditional sources. These new publishers often re-purpose and sometimes completely republish content without attribution. Industry observers have called this development the "atomization" of content, and many believe it poses a significant challenge to publishers. "It is potentially more disruptive to big traffic sites than Web 2.0 was," says Steve Rubel, SVP and Director of Insights at Edelman Digital. "If almost all content can be lifted from one spot and placed somewhere where it's more convenient to the user, just how will it be monetized? The ramifications reach far and wide." With these new realities come new opportunities. Forward-thinking publishers are already embracing the trend, freeing up their content to be distributed off of their destination sites. This strategy allows you to increase offsite ad revenue, drive more traffic to your site, and find new opportunities for licensing and syndication. This whitepaper looks at the ongoing changes and suggests ways you can survive and thrive in this evolving content landscape.

Extracting Value From Offsite Content Distribution

The rise of atomized content requires fundamental changes in how you deliver content to your consumers. "The challenge is that [publishers] will lose control of their distribution systems," explains a recent report from Jupiter Research. "But… those who try to retain control of their distribution will likely fall behind their competitors." Still, letting content "go free" does not mean giving up ownership or copyrights. Nor does it mean that you will be creating articles, images, and videos, only to have third parties benefit from them. Instead, you have merely relinquished control over where your content appears. To compensate for this, you need new ways to profit from the offsite appearance of you content. These include valuable editorial insights and innovative monetization strategies, such as link building, licensing, and ad revenue sharing.

Gaining Insights From Web-Wide Visibility

The first step in developing an offsite content strategy is to find out who is re-using your content and in what context. With technologies available today, you can closely track the republication of articles and other assets, wherever they appear the Net. One advantage of this increased visibility is a deeper understanding of what your customers want. This is particularly valuable for publishers that syndicate their content. For the first time, near-real time metrics on how your licensees are using your content are available, enabling you to tailor your content offerings, identify upsell opportunities, and increase revenue. For example, Reuters recently reported that content tracking enabled it focus on more popular styles of articles. "We have been a little surprised [online readers] are moving more toward fluff stories, infotainment," says Reuters' Maria Molland, SVP and Global Head of Strategy and Business Development. "As a result we are putting a lot more editorial resources behind sport and lifestyle."

Links As The Currency of The Web

Traditionally, links have been considered a method of attribution or branding your content. While this still holds true, a process called link building offers a significant opportunity for increasing traffic and revenue. Simply put, link building involves getting other sites to link back to the original appearance of an article, image or video. For leading web sites, link building is one of the most powerful traffic-generation tools available on the Internet today. The reason is not merely because readers click on links and bring your site direct traffic. Far more important is the effect that links have on search engines. Most publishers today receive a substantial portion of their visitors from keyword searches on sites like Google or Yahoo. A great example is The New York Times, where search drives more traffic to its site than any other source. To understand the role link building plays in increasing such traffic, it is necessary to understand how search engines work. Search engines continually scan the Internet cataloging the content for leading web sites. For each set of key words search engines return a list of results. These results are based on complex algorithms to assess how important or relevant each site is. The sites the search engine deemed most valuable by the search engine are ranked first. The number of inbound links to a site is a very important factor in determining this ranking, mainly because links help search engines assess how authoritative a site is. Experts in the field often refer to this quality as "domain strength." While there are many contributing factors, sites that have many links to them, in general, have greater domain strength than those that do not. By tracking the use of your content off your destination site, you can identify opportunities for link building. Many bloggers and other non-traditional publishers are not as careful about providing attribution as they should be – reports indicate that 50-65% of all republished content does not link back to the original web site. By securing a link whenever your content is re-purposed, you can increase the authority of your site. That, in turn, can drive additional search traffic and increased revenue.

Unlimited Licensing Potential

As a publisher you are almost certainly interested in reselling content to other media outlets. But finding potential partners in this field can be a challenge. How can you identify sales leads? Which ones are potentially valuable, and which are not worth the effort? By gaining insight into who is republishing your content, you may be able to discover publications or media outlets who are good potential partners. An additional advantage of offsite tracking comes after licensing agreements have been reached. By learning how your licensed content is being used, you can optimize your content offering.

Advertising That Follows Content

There is little doubt that the Internet is being propelled by advertising. According to IDC, U.S. online advertising totaled over $25 billion in 2007, representing a 27% increase over 2006. Savvy publishers are demanding that the commercial sites repurposing their content also share ad revenue. This approach can be particularly useful when dealing with smaller sites that lack the traffic and resources to qualify for a licensing agreement. The technology to share revenue exists today on platforms such as Google AdSense that allows you to receive ad revenue automatically, regardless of where your content appears. In this model, you would set your content free, but attach an ad sharing agreement to it that follows the content whenever it is used. The result will be a new and vibrant content marketplace, where publishers benefit regardless of where their content appears.

Originally written by the Attributor team and first published on March 1st 2008 as "Set Your Content Free (and Monetize It)" - Reprinted with original author permission

Photo credits: Atomized Content: The New Reality - SSilver Gaining Insights From Web-wide Visibility - vacuum3d Links as the Currency of the Web - Danabeth55 Unlimited Licensing Potential - logos Advertising That Follows Content - vacuum3d ...]]>