I recently spent a morning wandering around the Spice Market in Istanbul and I think I lost my sense of smell just from the sheer assault on the olfactory system.
I then spent the next morning in the Grand Bazaar where again, I experienced a breakdown of the senses and quickly became disoriented (ie lost) and confused (ie lost) from all the choice of merchandise, combined chatter of the merchants and shoppers and always, someone trying to get your attention to sell you something.
It’s a bit like the internet really. You go in there with a vague sense of purpose and you end up distracted, diverted, confused and even flummoxed.
And just when you thought you had it all kind of figured out, another new alley opens up, full of promise – merchandise that looks about the same but wait, isn’t that the colour you want and maybe, just maybe, you could get it cheaper?
PhoCusWright chief executive Philip Wolf calls it “the new chaos” – the proliferation and fragmentation of device, channel and platform.
You thought you had search figured out? Uncheck that. You thought you understood social networks. Uncheck that. You still struggling to figure out what content people will pay for? Check that. You confused over the number of devices that are coming out? Continue to be.
“With the universe of content exploding, SEO strategy just got worse,” says Wolf. “There’s a lot of tension about content. More publishers are putting content under paid benefits and behind firewalls.
“The strains on search will become more complicated, we can’t even predict what will happen.”
At the bloggers gathering organised by PhoCusWright at ITB Berlin, it was also interesting to see what social networks bloggers were using and for what.
The majority were using Twitter for curating editorial content, most found Facebook better for business than Twitter and the power of LinkedIn ads for recruitment purposes was mentioned.
The iPad, it was agreed, would put a stop to newspaper deliveries at home. It would also create lots of different content applications – “snackable, chargeable, brandable – just like potato chips,” said Wolf.
When asked what was Lonely Planet’s thinking about potato chips, sorry, content, CEO Matthew Goldberg says: “I’m a believer that not all content should be paid for – only differentiated and useful content. Travel is a good place to charge.”
When Goldberg took over, following BBC’s acquisition of Lonely Planet, revenues were split 75% from the core business and 25% from emerging channels. Its three-year plan is to achieve a 65/35 split while increasing the core.
And just as you think print is dead, Lonely Planet is launching a new magazine in the UK and soon, India. “I don’t think print is dead. You just have to rethink what business you are in. We are not in pulp and trees,” says Goldberg.
The same goes for the mobile platform. “The key question to ask is what business you are in. The rest is just about platforms and what platforms travellers prefer.”
I think this is a good question to ask in this time of the “new chaos”. What business are you in, what purpose do you serve and what do you want to achieve?
Otherwise, you could end up in a place like the Grand Bazaar and end up with carpets and silks that you don’t need.
About Siew Hoon Yeoh
Believe LP magazine had been out for a while in the UK (a year I think?). But good metaphor (The Grand Bazaar) on online travel; more subtle than the standard rollercoaster/bumpy ride one. Also not enough artices include the words “olfactory” and “flummoxed”, so bonus points for that I say.
@stuart – You are correct about the UK mag, what I think Siew is referring to the review in the UK which some suspect will see further LP-branded launches.
The collision of search and social media will undoubtedly get interesting.
Twitter is planning to reprioritize the display of its tweets – see Mashable article here: http://j.mp/crdAec – reportedly giving preference to the items most frequently retweeted or originating from those with the greatest clout.
For travel businesses working in the realm of social marketing, things may start looking more like the “Grand Bizarre.”
Social media has always faced three fundamental challenges:
a) Disrespect for intellectual property
b) Communication of inaccurate information
c) Hyperbolic propagandizing
Sadly, it sometimes does not matter if the content is not yours or not accurate, as long as it packaged in an entertaining or sensational manner, it can be used to accomplish an objective.
Case in point, the Eric Qualman Socialnomics Video – We have all watched it open countless conference panels discussing social media.
It’s too bad that it blatantly rips off the “Did You Know 3.0″ video production design (including its Fatboy Slim soundtrack) and that a good number of the “facts” like “80% of companies are using LinkedIn as their primary tool to find employees” & “35% of book sales on Amazon are for the Kindle” are simply false.
Here’s a blog post I wrote last year on the topic: http://j.mp/7zRbc
I agree that there is a social media revolution, but let’s not all get sucked in to a propaganda machine designed to sell a book (which it did – making it the #2 business book on Amazon.) With 1.6+ million YouTube views & counting and a top selling book, Eric Qualman gained influence.
Crowdsourcing gets ugly when there is a mob mentality or someone is intentionally (and effectively) manipulating the public. Manipulation of TripAdvisor ratings becomes only the tip of the iceberg when so much money is at stake.
Until accuracy and responsibility (which can be quite boring and no fun at all…) start to take precedence over style & celebrity, we may be looking forward to a period of “The Grand Bizarre” in the highly fragmented global travel industry.
I hope it can be avoided, but it seems inevitable that social media will ultimately help us learn from our past mistakes.
In fairness to Eric Qualman, he did release a much more responsible second video with better fact checking and an accredited design and soundtrack. It has gotten about 150,000+ views.
I’ve been writing a “zen” series of posts since 2007 that maintains that DIY online booking for travel is “Nothing Zen”, i.e. very time consuming and in addition very tricky…
Am glad that, finally, this idea trickles through into the brains of some savvy industry watchers.
The Bazaar and Spice Market metaphor is excellent. Been there and know the feeling.
Maybe we should go back to the ole travel agents after all in stead of pushing them out of work:-)