What Is the ‘Streamverse’?
Over my career in the streaming media industry, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of companies and even more people at all levels: chairmen, CEOs, engineers, sales and product managers, and of course, all manner of marketing folks. If there’s one thing that I think we can all agree on, it’s that you can very quickly assess a company by its people. Are they happy? Are they informed, but still inquisitive? Are they passionate, or are they just punching a clock? The way a company ensures its health is most certainly not nature; it’s nurture, and it comes from the top down.
Through the years you’ve likely noticed a common theme in my articles about the degree of smoke and mirrors and push marketing that has gotten in the way of real business in our space. Yes, companies looking to sell into this industry must build a trust bridge. Yes, our industry is maturing and innovating one deal at a time. There are ways to do that, like using data and facts and through needs assessment to start a sales cycle. And while due diligence should be the heart of the process, I always like to remind everyone how important it is to meet the people in a company that you may be considering doing business with.
Let’s face it: The industry has been never doing bigger things, but the “streamverse” (patent pending) isn’t getting bigger. It’s getting smaller. By “streamverse,” I mean the number of companies that are really building the industry. Our editor Eric’s intro to the Streaming Media 50 list covers that already, so I won’t be redundant, except to point out that in 2009 I had almost 100 OVPS (Online Video Platforms) in my database, and now have only a handful. I have a database of approximately 1,500 companies operating in and around our space, so changing our list from 100 to 50 this year is really quite the statement.
Our job here has always been to create transparency in a very foggy space. This year, Streaming Media is setting the bar for excellence higher than ever before. And you should too, whether you’re buying or selling. And if there’s one recommendation I can make, it’s to always get to know the people behind the technology. You’ll be able to make your decisions much better. That’s where the “View From the Top” comes in—only companies that made the list of excellence are offered an opportunity to participate in this section to give you their thoughts. Clearly they want you to get to know them, and I can’t recommend enough that you reciprocate, and find out why these companies are successful. Contact them, and I know you won’t be disappointed; they’re all positive and innovative people with something genuine to offer to help your business. To that end, I’m always honored to introduce the “Captains of our Industry” in this annual “View From the Top.”
Please look to the "Related Articles" below or download the PDF as it appeared in the October 2018 Issue of Streaming Media magazine.
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