It’s All About Content

align="right">

The "information age" is seeing the emergence
of knowledge as the new source of power. The "infopower" will help reduce
disparities by making information available to all—Internet being the powerful
medium. To spread knowledge, content creation is the need of the hour.

The arrival of information
age—coinciding with that of the new millennium—is a consequence of the
convergence of communications, computers, and the content. The industrial age brought
prosperity but did not bridge economic disparities. Access to knowledge or information is
now considered the tool for removing disparities—not only between nations but also
individuals. Knowledge or information would thus be truly the new source of power in the
information age.

Internet has already established
itself as the single most important medium for information. The service
providers—whether telecom operators or broadcasters—have to identify the
subscriber’s information needs and ensure delivery of this content—through
fixed, mobile, or Internet—in a user-friendly format.

Content Types COLOR="#000000">

alt="https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/vnd/media/post_attachments/b57ac47ba97e96b6bb095100f300c187ad4e00fe9a80b84becd11f77dbfb68cc.gif (25136 bytes)">

alt="https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/vnd/media/post_attachments/cc0776e558c07e025e2f319290ec2eae77790a2bfb745d1f444c5de63a0cb8e0.gif (25700 bytes)">

alt="https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/vnd/media/post_attachments/5b0931a6e2913d5e34676353a7ff4d7f192a9b065acee29770df20704295a291.gif (23228 bytes)">

Besides E-mail, the main web
applications world-wide are accessing information, entertainment, education, and research.
Each of these requires development of specialized content. At least around 20 percent
surfers world-wide use web for news and information. An ISP can collaborate with a Content
Service Provider (CSP) to deliver news and information in user-friendly formats in the
subscriber’s mail box. By customized selection of headlines, personalized news
service is created and delivered. However, any content needs to be culturally and socially
relevant.

CNN Leads the Way COLOR="#000000">

Some of the players have
initiated revolutionary work in content creation. One of the foremost being CNN. Its web
sites including CNN.com, CNNfn.com, CNNSI.com, AllPolitics.com, and CNNenEspanol.com are
getting consistently ranked as #1 Internet news sources. They generate more traffic and
attract more unduplicated Internet users than any other general news and information web
sites. "@plan’s" spring/summer 1998 data reports a monthly 11,793,042
unduplicated Internet users in the United States for the CNN web sites.

The CNN web sites served a record
34 million page impressions on 11 September, the day when the Starr Report was released
on-line. The CNN web sites including three other CNN niche news sites—CNN Custom
News, CNNemPortugues.com, and Svenska CNN—averaged more than 105 million page
impressions per week during December 1998. In 1998, the sites served 4.4 billion page
impressions, double the sites’ traffic in 1997. PC World awarded CNN Interactive with
the 1998 World Class Award for Best News and Information Web Site. COLOR="#016077">

Power of Brand COLOR="#000000">

Brand
plays an important role in speedy acceptance of new technologies. Role of branded content
in the success of TV and cable TV is well known—it should be used similarly by
emerging ISPs. Likewise, it fuels content acceptance. Leading brands like CNN and face="Times New Roman" size="2">Times are capitalizing on their brand equity for
web sites to maintain leadership. TV has the limitation of time and hence, program
creation. Although it has the advantage of reach, user has a limited control on access.

Ultimately, the broadcast media
like TV may provide only a glimpse—more to promote CNN.com—and help in brand
building, while the real content will be accessed through Internet which provides the user
control on the content. For ISPs, brand can help differentiate. CNN provides an ideal
benchmark for content creation.

Operators have to ensure delivery
of the content and in turn maximize usage. Authorities have to provide the policy
framework so that economic benefits reach the masses and disparities are reduced. To
maximize usage, operators need to educate customers about contents and benefits of
Internet.

The Indian Effort COLOR="#000000">

In India, the face="Times New Roman" size="2">Times of India Group has started Indiatimes.com
with 10 web sites catering to various types of news. There are others too. While the print
media limited by space can carry short interviews, the web can provide far more details.
Putting the control in user’s hands. And that is what it is all about.