Not surprisingly, EMC is all about information infrastructure.
A lot of our thinking involves thinking about different categories of information, the unique requirements of that information, and how we can build infrastructure solutions to help people store, protect, optimize and leverage all of it.
In the past, we've made distinctions between, say, structured and unstructured information. Changing vs. static information. Managed vs. unmanaged. And so on.
Our thinking is that by understanding differences, and you can come up with some pretty clever solutions -- simply by focusing on the information itself -- and what makes it different.
And, I'd like to offer, maybe it's time for a new category of information.
Back To the Digital Big Bang
Earlier this year, I wrote a lot about "the digital big bang", mostly around the IDC report that said we'd have 6 times as much information sloshing around in just three years.
At the time, I focused on the societal consequences, the impact to IT organizations, and related topics.
But there's another important take on this -- what kind of information will be responsible for all this growth? And who's going to manage it?
An Amazing Stat (Or Two)
IDC said, that by 2010, 70% of all information will be created by individuals.
Call it user-generated content -- we're talking videos, podcasts, blogs, discussion forums, etc.
Now, you might think that's just stuff that hangs out on laptops or home machines, or free web sites, but the second stat is probably more interesting.
IDC predicts that 85% of *all* information will be the responsibility of organizations to store, protect, manage, etc.
Now, that's sobering, if you think about it.
If You Look Around, You're Seeing It Already
You don't have to look too far to see this already starting to unfold. Sure, it's easy to talk about YouTube or FaceBook or MySpace -- but that's just the tip of the iceberg.
I'm meeting more and more entirely new companies that have user-generated information at their core.
And I'm meeting more traditional companies (telecommunications, media, financial services, health care) that are getting into this stuff.
It's new. It's exciting. And it's distinctly different.
I Think We Might Need A Name
I'm going to suggest that we call this new category of information "active content".
Sure, we can quibble about the name, but let me share with you why I think it's a different and distinct category.
From Clive Bearman, one of my co-workers here at EMC:
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Active content is the name given to rich social media that we generate and consume in our digital lifestyles, e.g. videos, digital images, games, podcasts etc. The content is always active since it never dies and has the potential to continually evolve.
For example I may consume videos and photos, but I could enhance them and share the results with my friends or peer group. “Active Content” also refers to other dynamic attributes such as “relevance” and “popularity”.
For example a video clip of my local football team might only be relevant to me, however if the team makes the finals then other entities may be interested in that clip and other team related content. Similarly the popularity of the team’s clip is unlikely to persist beyond the final game. Of course the clip could once again be popular or relevant if the team makes the finals in the following year.
Active Content attributes:
• Web 2.0 centric
• Applies equally to business as well as to the consumer
• Enormous volumes
• Can be big or small (movies<->ring tones)
• Globally accessed
• Lives in “the cloud”
• “Mashable”
• Immortal
• Opportunistic business enabler
In summary “active content” has a long lifespan and is opportunistic.
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I think this is as good a starting point as any I've seen.
So, let's dive in -- attribute by attribute
Active Content is Web 2.0 centric
Since no one has really defined what Web 2.0 is and isn't, this one is hard to nail down. But it does capture the collaborative, community spirit of Web 2.0.
Active Content Equally Applies To Business As Well As To The Consumer
This one can be tricky. Sure, us as consumers love this type of content. Even I would rather cruise YouTube than endlessly flip around channels on cable. If I see one more HGTV episode, I'll scream.
And there are plenty of business models that can be built around this sort of information, with more to come.
Where I think the real innovation will come will be in augmenting existing business models with active content. If you think back to how Web 1.0 evolved, it was the brick-and-mortar guys who really made out once they figured out how to use this stuff.
Are you a financial services firm? Will you have discussion groups and communities around your offer? If not, maybe you should.
Will health care professionals collaborate using social media platforms? That'suser-generated active content.
Will phone companies realize this is a new way to use their networks and their devices? Many of them are already moving in this direction.
Use your creativity -- there's lots of potential here.
Active Content Creates Enormous Volumes or Can Be Big / Small
You bet. The word "gigabyte" is meaningless in a world of HD video. Start with terabytes, grow to petabytes in months. And, to store it, no one can afford the kind of premium storage we tend to use for other kinds of information, like Oracle databases.
The example above references ring tones as small. I'm also thinking blog posts, comments in a forum, social bookmarks, etc.
Don't get me started on another metadata discussion please.
Active Content Lives In "The Cloud"
This is an important point, one worth discussing.
Information loses its value if it's not (potentially) accessible universally. As an example, if I store my kids' photos on my camera, they're of limited use. If I store them on a "cloud service", I can share them easily with anyone I choose, on any device on the planet, at any time.
It's not an economic argument -- it's a value-generation argument.
Active Content is "Mashable"
Part of its value is that it can easily be repurposed in new contexts -- linked to, tagged, organized, cut, sliced and diced -- anything you want. And you can't tell how it's going to be used when it's first created.
Of course, copyright restrictions not withstanding ;-)
Active Content is Immortal
OK, that's technically an exaggeration, but the point is the same. This stuff doesn't go away. If you're a search-engine junkie, you've probably found obscure stuff that might be 5-10 years old.
Like the instruction manual PDF for that VCR I haven't powered on in 7 years ...
Probably valueless -- until you were interested in it.
And it doesn't look like anyone is really deleting anything on the web -- an observation reinforced when I go Google myself and there's something I said to a reporter 5 years ago ;-(
Active Content Is An Opportunistic Business Enabler
This is the fun part of the game.
Take any business model. Add social media techniques and active content. What could you do with it?
I've played this game often enough to observe that -- more often than not -- there's a killer application out there just waiting to happen.
What's Missing?
I'd probably add that -- to fully enable the discussion -- there's going to have to be some sort of IRM (information rights management) discussion. Some content is valuable / private / etc.
And, since I'm on a metadata kick these days, I'd probably argue that -- over time -- the metadata becomes more valuable than the content itself.
What's Next?
Glad you asked.
First, there needs to be some sort of discussion around whether this kind of information justifies being identified as a distinct class with distinct requirements. We can argue about the name later, but I think there needs to be some validation of the category.
Any thoughts?
Second, I think that -- once we understand the category and how it's different -- we'll see all manner of infrastructure vendors (including EMC!) making offerings in this space.
Some of them even have code names ...
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