Migrated from eDJGroupInc.com. Author: Greg Buckles. Published: 2015-08-30 20:00:00Format, images and links may no longer function correctly.
***Mild rant warning*** My thanks to Stephen E. Arnold for adding this oh-so-applicable term to my eDiscovery market vocabulary. The original Technonomy article titled “Are Media Companies One Native Ad Away from Becoming Presstitutes” defined ‘native advertising’ as publishing paid 3rd party content, presumably without a clear declaration that the external content was sponsored. I love the terminology and believe that it describes the core problem with eDiscovery ‘news’ and ‘educational’ resources. My belief is based on my own experiences starting almost a decade ago with my earliest sponsored blogging for DCIG. From the first briefing with sponsors I found myself fighting subtle or direct pressure to deliver their marketing messages. Very few experts can dedicate the time to research or write on our quickly evolving profession without direct compensation. The legal technology consumer base is unwilling to pay for independent research or perspective. Instead, vendor marketing budgets fuel content creation shaped by the key conclusions calculated to create leads and support go to market campaigns. That is my firm opinion of how our ‘news’ is shaped, filtered and broadcast. I have played my own part in this mess by writing sponsored ‘white papers’ and articles. Barry Murphy and I insisted that everything was researched and written independently before sponsors decided if they wanted to license our findings. We were sure that consumers would pay for real research and perspective once we had established a good track record and reached enough of them. We were wrong. I now believe that the old models of subscription news, market analysis, product research and others are essentially doomed. Most have quietly converted business models to the production of defacto ‘advertorials’, ‘infomercials’ and ‘PResearch’. I hope that you enjoyed the new terminology as much as I have. Be a savvy reader and buyer.
Greg Buckles wants your feedback, questions or project inquiries at Greg@eDJGroupInc.com. Contact him directly for a ‘Good Karma’ call. His active research topics include analytics, mobile device discovery, the discovery impact of the cloud, Microsoft’s Office 365/2013 eDiscovery Center and multi-matter discovery. Recent consulting engagements include managing preservation during enterprise migrations, legacy tape eliminations, retention enablement and many more.
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