I’ve been reading the book, ”What Would Google do?” and have found some nuggets. The author, Jeff Jarvis, talks about how we have shifted from a content economy (media, books) to a link economy. My favourite line that I’ve read so far is this, “content without links is the tree that falls in the forest that nobody hears (and turns into newsprint.)” So how does a lone entrepreneur establish/create links? Can anyone help?
Jarvis suggests that the link economy makes five demands: it’s a matter of creating unique content with clear value, ensuring that the content is searchable, exploiting the links and audience through advertising, using the links to find new efficiencies and finding opportunities to create value atop this link layer = Googlethink.
In my quest to understand and leverage the power of social media I think I’m starting to grasp some basics. It seems to be all about creating valuable content and then linking that content to numerous sources/outlets/or channels. Hmm…so the focus now has to be on creating valuable content. Who defines value when it comes to content? Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, content value must be in the eye of the reader.
It’s also about conversation. Linking into conversations and adding value with waht you say (that’s the content, I suppose) is how people will discover and appreciate (and link to) you. I’d think people more than content.