David Pakman @pakman

dp@venrock.com

Tech-enabled Disruption

Where are we now?

Real-time

Social is Everywhere

Brands adapting to social - The Rising Consumer Voice

From Pages to People

Appification

• Mobile content consumption overtaking PC/larger screens!

• Atomic unit of content getting smaller!

• Content is on-demand, on my device, on my terms.

The internet is a global community, overwhelmingly so

What’s Coming?

Edge Manufacturing

Mass Customization

Sensor Proliferation

Context-Aware Devices and Applications

Guided knowledge available to all

What has happened to analog incumbents as they attempt to make the digital transition?

Unbundling

• Bundles artificially raise total dollar spend in a market !

• Internet reduces content to its least-frictional atomic unit, challenging traditional bundlers.!

• Digital markets are smaller than analog markets!

• Challenges cost structure of incumbents — innovators dilemma surfaces

Effects of Unbundling

• Is it content or distribution? !

• Is it bundled content that will unbundle?

So, What Is Higher Ed?

Many Bundles in Higher Ed

• Services!

• Research + Teaching!

• Curriculum bundling towards a major/degree!

• Scholarly journals

• As the forces of unbundling take aim at these traditional packages, there is always a loser.!

• Businesses built on the assumption of bundle economics have a very hard time finding an economic model to support their legacy cost structure

• Predominantly aggregation and distribution?!

• In an unbundled world, distribution changes!

• Content discovery shifting to users/social!

• How best serve host organization’s mission?

Libraries

• Ultimately, where is their greatest value?!

• Aggregation?!

• Editorial selection?!

• Marketing?!

• Conferring authority?!

• New aggregators are the social platforms, not the publishers!

• The internet was built to route around congestion. Artificial scarcity looks like congestion.!

• Can they deliver world-class experiences to meet consumer expectations?

Publishers

• The internet allows users to be publishers: bi-directional.!

• In academia, the user is often the contributor!

• For major topics, distribution/marketing is helpful!

• For niche topics, the scholars are connected

Observations

• !

• Today, societies are the curators and anoint the reviewer!

• Online, we see Influencers conferring authority by distributing their content !

• Can an online community endow credibility on scholarly research?

Authority

• Watch user behavior!

• Incumbents are suing (Aereo and broadcasters, NYTimes and Business Insider)!

• Upstarts are gaining users, routing around incumbents

• Some education will unbundle!

• Physical attendance not a requirement for a complete education!

• Traditional publishers will experience unbundling!

• Fundamental changes to role of library - are they the trusted broker of data?!

• Peer communities will bestow authority on creators

Reasonable Predictions?