Thursday, August 30, 2012

Tethered Content business model



What do you think about the tethered content business model?  To recap, this is when you can only access content from a certain location, such as inside a store.  If you wander off, the content will disappear (hopefully with an alert first!).

When I first heard about this, I wasn’t sure where it makes any kind of logical sense.  I think it originated as a form of digital browsing.  When you are inside a bookstore (or library), you can flip through the books digitally just like you can physically.  But in the same way you can’t take the book outside without purchasing it (or checking it out), you can’t view it on your e-reader outside either.  An art gallery (or museum) could do this with high-res images of its works or audio guides that play when you are looking at something historic. 

But what else makes sense?  Anything else I can think of, it makes more sense for the company or organization to let you access the content from home.  A shoe store’s inventory, a restaurant’s menu, movie reviews, all work to bring you inside in the first place. 

I suppose there are some geolocation games for which this makes sense just because it adds a scavenger hunt feature to the information.  Games often have counter-intuitive features because added challenge is part of what makes the game fun.

Any other ideas?

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