FICOD 2008 - Conclusions

![International Forum for Digital Content 2008 - Madrid, Spain](https://i0.wp.com/www.secareanu.com/content/images/2008/11/ficod2008.jpg?resize=293%2C68 "FICOD2008")

International Forum for Digital Content 2008 - Madrid, Spain

This past weekend I was in a team building together with the New Media Division of Realitatea-Catavencu Group and I presented to my colleagues some of the ideas from [FICOD2008](http://www.secareanu.com/2008/11/21/international-forum-for-digital-content-ficod-2008/ "FICOD2008"). I will share with you some of these ideas as well, since I think that they’re important for the future development of the online industry in Romania.

I will list the ideas here in no particularly logical order (just the order I jotted them down in my notebook) and I will not go into details explaining them (I leave you to perform this exercise). The ideas came from the main speakers at FICOD2008: Chris Anderson, Kevin Roberts, Gerd Leonhard, Jaqueline Hernandez, Nikesh Arora and Adam Daum.

Niches become more interesting online and thus you can satisfy minority taste, which makes niches become mainstream
Lower cost of digital distribution allows you to offer more content
A link is a vote/recommendation -> the ultimate word of mouth promotion -> influence
The amateurs make it big on the web because they can
Online news can became really regional, reaching even the remotest locations – the idea is that news that are close to us are more interesting/important for us than events happening thousand miles away -> quality content is about relevance
Mass customization -> the long tail
We live in the screen age and all screens should be interactive (TV, PC, Mobile)
We have to move from classic TV to a platform agnostic entity -> touch all the customer’s screens
TAMI -> Total Audience Monitoring Index (TV, mobile, Internet, cable, radio, outdoor, etc)
Some priorities: understand the customer, be everywhere, be global, connect with passion points, be aspirational
Ask consumers for feedback
Communication is all about touchpoints (forget ATL & BTL)
The only constant in life is change (Asimov), the most adaptable ones survive, not the strongest/smartest (Darwin)
Digital world – from information to attraction (express emotions)
The consumer is the boss now
The emotional connectivity will make the difference
Rational leads to conclusions (meetings), while emotional leads to action (buy, do)
Multimedia is all about sight, sound and motion
Simple stories are at the basis of today’s consumer experience (people, emotions, creativity, truth, authenticity, etc)
Online industry defined by rapid change: fail fast, learn fast and move fast – execute fast and stay focused
Execute the paradox: invest and cut costs at the same time by executing efficiently and being creative and innovative
Information -> Emotion
Knowledge -> Attraction
Inspire the consumer to act, hope and dream
Consumers don’t want to be marketed at, but connected to
Other priorities: dream big, aspire for lovemarks, learn from TV, inspire with a paradox, share the love
Consumers are now co-partners in your business
You need to figure out how you want them to think, feel and act
Behavioral targetting -> serve ads to users, not content
Customer experience is king
Social networks -> generate content
Publishing sites -> generate revenues
Neet to be content centric, not product centric
Attention/audience -> primary mean of making money
A world of no permission is a world of no money
It’s not about emerging technologies, but about emerging cultural practices
Command & control should become coordinate & cultivate

… and a quote I learned from one of my marketing professors that summarizes the ideas above:

***“Tell them and they will forget. Show them and they will remember. Involve them and they will understand. ***(ancient Chinese proverb)