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Forget Paramount, give me YouTube

It seems as though even the movie business will be disrupted by flattening forces in technology. YouTube recently opened up its “screening room” to show full-length motion pictures. Sure, people will always prefer the big screen over their computer monitors, but imagine for a second… In the not so distant future, TVs will come preloaded with internet capabilities. Instead of spending a fortune at the theater watching flicks designed to appeal to large audiences, people will flip their wrists and select movies that match their unique personal tastes. Think Netflix on steroids…

The internet introduced the concept of the Long Tail, which basically means technology enables people to earn a living by servicing small, obscure markets. In the past, musicians had no choice…it was either sell your stuff at Wal-Mart or starve to death. Since there is limited shelf space, the trick was to create mega-hits that appealed to everyone. Not the case anymore. There may not be much demand for Crystal Method in each city, but if you aggregate the Crystal Meth fans, there’s a sizable market. The internet has/is connecting these remote markets. If you’re relevant to a target audience, you’re in business.

And now movies… There will always be the mega hits, but now there seems to be opportunities for community-driven entertainment. I’m not a movie-guy, but if I was one, I’d be assembling a community of like-minded, passionate people and start collecting ideas on a next film. I’d earn a living serving this community, leading, gathering information, and producing relevant entertainment.

The tidal wave of innovation will soon hit the legal profession. As a lawyer, will you be the equivalent of the Blockbuster enthusiast saying “I’ll always want to drive to the store to rent movies” or will you be on the lookout for innovative ways to save money and produce results for your next generation, internet-spoiled, highly sophisticated clients?

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 25th, 2008 at 11:54 pmand is filed under law, outsourcing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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