Just as the Internet disrupted the world of traditional print media, it's theoretically possible that blockchain technology could disrupt the media industry once again. As it stands now, the mainstream media is dying: Nobody reads newspapers or magazines anymore (they read Facebook instead), the big media companies aren't making enough money via online advertising to support huge editorial staffs, and the past 24 months of "fake news" and "media bias" allegations have destroyed what little credibility the mainstream media once had.
The three key issues for blockchain-powered media
As I see it, these are the three major problems that a blockchain-powered media organization would have to address:
- Reach, distribution and scalability
- Monetization (i.e. the creation of a new business model that's not based on advertising)
- Trust
I think the monetization problem might actually be the easiest to solve - it would involve a Steemit-like blockchain solution, in which writers and journalists would get paid via cryptocurrencies for their work creating content, curating content and interacting with readers.
If a media company were based on the Steem blockchain, for example, it might look something like @engadgetnews. This Steemit spin-off of the popular tech blog Engadget has already attracted 700+ followers since launching in early February.
Smart tokens and blockchain media
But what about a completely de novo media organization that has no ties whatsoever to the Internet media industry?
One example here might be Civil, which is creating a CVL smart token for the Ethereum blockchain. The idea here is the creation of a radically new crypto-powered business model that is not dependent on advertisers or big corporate sponsors. If you don't have to worry about advertisers, then you are freed up to write important, compelling articles (and not just Buzzfeed-like articles designed to go viral). And if you don't have to worry about big corporate backers, you don't have to worry about ideology and bias.
Anyway, what do you think? Is it possible we will soon be hearing about a new generation of blockchain-powered media organizations?
Credits:
New York Times building: Photo by kaylin brinsky on Unsplash