Welcome to the Fifth Estate is officially available for purchase today. What better way to kick things off than a video from Mashable Editor in Chief and author of the book’s introduction Adam Ostrow?
In this short two minute video Adam expands on a couple of trends discussed in the introduction:
- What the rise of Netflix and other online video players means to the traditional broadcast and cable marketplace
- How portable identity differentiated Facebook and Twitter, and whether there’s any room for competition
- Why tablets (and smartphones) have changed everything
Some of the themes that resounded from Adam’s introduction (listen to it via podcast) and interview included the rapidly moving media marketplace we are living in. Seeing independent and upstart video content replace traditional channels is amazing. We are experiencing a sea change in distribution. One has to wonder if any of the major video brands from the broadcast and cable eras will succumb to the new wave. Certainly the NBC/Comcast consolidation is a great example of this.
Further, as Adam mentioned (in response to a question about the Flip cameras and iPhones) the smartphone revolution has really produced convergence. As multifunction continues to evolve and more content is not only possible but enjoyable on converged portable devices, social media is falling behind other forms of entertainment like gaming and video. It is in essence, as Adam said, becoming a layer on top other media forms.
If you are interested in the book, some early reviews have been posted. So far people are giving the Fifth Estate a strong thumbs up. Please be advised that there have been some supply and demand issues, and that the Kindle edition should be available in the next couple of weeks.