Media Identity — a democratic takeover
“It is not an exaggeration to say that the future of modern society and the stability of its inner life depend in large part on the maintenance of an equilibrium between the strength of the techniques of communication and the capacity of the individual’s own reaction.”
(Pope Pius XII)

The stability of our inner life. During the last 2–3 years, we see significant changes in liberal democratic societies. Many observers identify the 2009 financial crisis as a starting point of general distrust in everything that proved to be our grounds over decades. Today there are hard facts: populist movements and leaders, whistleblowers, fake news. Our parents taught us not to lie, but leaders lie, organizations lie, companies lie — we personally adapt in some way, but also revolt. People want changes, and this refers also to the internet of content.
Internet is now our technique of communication. It is powerful — technically. Technically, but we are human beings. Over centuries, the focus was on how to store and forward information. Internet resolved it. As for now, the focus seems to shift from technical aspects to human aspects. The ethnography of communication is an approach where we can better understand the grounds of human communications — and where something might be wrong. Following it, we come to the result, that today’s internet of content has separated content from human identity.
It is not so log ago, when people used to buy a certain newspaper or magazine, which guaranteed not only the accumulation of certain content, but also a particular set of values and an image of the press product — in other words a Media Identity. It happened very often that people bought a publication and did not even read or consume it but still felt happy about acquiring it. Or they let their favorite TV news channel running the whole day long without actually watching it. In addition, people were not left alone with negative aspects and bad news. The identity of the medium created a psychological ‘safe harbor’.
- The mass media of the last century used to create a strong accessory value — identity.
- Bloggers and YouTube stars create a strong accessory value — identity.
- A few applications like Facebook create a strong accessory value — identity.
With blockchain technology, the identity gap may be closed on a wider and more customer-oriented basis. The problem is, that identity binds the attention of the user, whereas the leading business concept of internet companies is advertising based on simple user attention. People are numbers. One thing does not fit to the other — they rather exclude each other. It could turn out that Youtube stars are only welcome on Youtube as long as they are replaceable and not becoming too popular. They may create a risk. If the stars left from one day to another, a meltdown of the platform could begin.
Let us elaborate the concept of media identity further. The concept of media identity is an abstract one. There are three elements which constitute a media identity. First, there is a Synchronizing Event — elements which addresses the potential user in a sociology-ethnical manner and creates a link between the sender/media identity and the user. The stronger this works, the better. A synchronizing event can also be just a certain topic or special category of content, which catches the interest or background of the user.

The second element is the Message Event. This comprises the whole set of ideas, values, ideologies or point of views of the creator. Strong media identities do not allow for discussion regarding their message event. The users usually have to take it or leave it. We can learn a lot from a variety of scientific publications on the message event. It is important to note that content and information are adjunct to the message event. But they can be used smoothly to establish the message event.
The third element of a media identity is the Materializing Event or Action Event. A media identity is an abstract concept, it cannot be touched or taken in hand. It is not that easy for people to accept immaterial products and trust them. The easiest way to handle this is to add something of very material kind which is linked to the non-material product. Former media identities were highly elaborated in terms of what quality of paper a newspaper was printed on, which size/format, how it felt keeping it in hand, etc. For a media identity on the internet, there remains only the layout like a pseudo-materialization. But materialization also involves action. The users have to start an own activity. Such user-triggered activity invokes also a confirmation, that the user has accepted the message event. The recipient may not be fully aware of it, but that is the way it works. It is crucial for the sender, as the smallest action event basically generates a certain attitude of acceptance towards the entire media identity. Acceptance of the message event is also the basis for trust and a psychological ‘save harbour’, so the user feels good with it and sees advantages. It can be a follow button, a subscription, a request for newsletter, a quiz, a survey, a gift, content to be send by email, etc. No need to say what happens if such unconscious acceptance and trust mechanism is abused.
Each of these three elements of a media identity, the synchronizing event, the message event and the action event has a constituting character and cannot be left out. Content is then the ‘commodity’ which is transported on a media identity. A strong media identity as such upgrades the value of the content, as well as the perception of it. As the link between recipient and media identity shall not be weakened, there is tendency to transport content which also confirms the media identity.
It is also important to note, that advertising usually is constructed in the same way, as a media identity. It is very easy to identify the three elements of a media identity in any good advertising. Creating media identity for a channel with content is much more complicated and requires a lot of work, structuring and effort.
Let us now take all what we have learned about the ethnography of human communication and the concept of media identity and look at the internet channels of several popular publishing houses. Yes, it is a drama. It starts with the fact that simple tech app startup already require a login-account from their users just to see anything more than the basic information. It ends with a variety of elements that weaken their media identity, like extensive comment functions (you won’t put your media identity on plate for everyone to discuss it) and stupid paywalls.
Established publishers rather won’t kick of off a revolution. But something must happen with this bottleneck, someone will show up and fill the new gap.
Following this new approach, a successful publisher, first of all, constructs a channel offering the recipient or user a well-elaborated media identity with all given values, messages and information. Then, he/she can work on reaching the users, who may be caught by this media identity. Then he works on binding the users strongly to his media identity. This is when people value the offered content the most. Secondly, a publisher may also want to check who synchronizes with what kind of content, who perceives particular content as an added-value or a benefit. He starts scaling the media identity and reach a mass market. After all, he addresses those advertizers who probably can place the most efficient advertising on such kind of media identity (they won’t rather show up from themselves).
Just to emphasize, creating an identity does not mean to address as many people as possible in a matter they can identify with. A media identity is a single set — subject to be taken and accepted, or not. A particular blog identity can be accepted by 10 or 10 million internet users. A media identity with 10 users can also be profitable! Today’s internet sanctions everything under the aspect of attention leading to a mono-culture as a result. However, creating a variety of successful media identities is a result of the unbundling content from type/place/price and the disruptive element of the blockchain technology. As internet users we know what we want to gain using the web and we do not want tech corps to feed us with crap.

As a result, a media identity driven internet of content may create new offer, demand and financial turnover — a huge new market which is today not exisiting, but overtrumping the size of the current (already huge) internet advertising market. This is because users will start to spend own money for value content and identity they get.
Established press publishers reacted to the challenge of internet by creating news portals. What we can see is that in the original printed product a stronger identity is created, whereas the internet version of the respective product is mostly attention-oriented, aimed at attracting as many users as possible, like conservative channels publishing very leftist opinions, and various sorts of random content which it far away from their media identity.
Maybe this a result of the fact that it is easier to push something out in the internet, whereas printing something on real paper is expensive — and you have to think twice on what is pushed out there. A dangerous trap.
When a publisher presents content via an internet channel, his/her main task is not to make noise and get attention, nor is it to receive payment. The basic point is first of all to overcome the identity gap by creating a sustainable value. This may later be subject to growth in terms of ‘valuable’ attention and a financial reward.
Access to this technology is also democratic. It must not be a publishing company. A private person, single journalist or any group of people can be very successful creating new channels, media identities and wealth on their own.
The financial reward may be in the form of micro-payment, but not just that. It may also be achieved due to advertising, but not one based on attention-structured web 2.0 apps or external parties. Such advertising is supposed to be much more valuable, stronger, as it goes directly to the ‘heart’, the identity that the publishers’ audience has consciously chosen. Advertising can be precise, strong and dedicated, but most of all it can be respective of the privacy of internet users as no spying is needed to advertise efficiently within an established media identity with their users well-known.
We believe that internet publishing can be totally different from what we see today. The solution is not simply new technology, like peer-to-peer, blockchain or micropayment. The solution is effort and organization in combination with new blockchain technologies to overcome the identity gap.
If we acknowledge that an anarchic system enhancing the creation of millions of new media identities will generate thousands of strong and popular media identities, as well as media identities just created for any specific aspect of human life — we come to the conclusion that an appropriate initiative, combined with a revolutionary technology has the potential to disrupt the existing attention/advertising tech industry.
For more about the Readcoin project visit https://www.readcoin.org/
