Changing lanes

Couple podcast notes:

• Check out this week’s episode of People vs Algorithms, where we discuss the second-order impacts of privacy changes and, of course, the rise of AI tools and search.
• For The Rebooting Show, I spoke to Informed’s Axel Bard Bringéus about the news apps plan to bundle publisher subscription content. The future of subscriptions is going to be in new ways of bundling. This is an area I want to explore more. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify.

This week, I wrote about the need to change lanes. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a while, probably because I’m in the midst of a lane change myself. But first, a quick message from The Rebooting supporters at Omeda, the first-party data marketing technology platform.

Each year, Omeda holds a three-day industry summit in mid-May that brings together media industry professionals in downtown Chicago. The Omeda Idea Exchange is all about bringing people together to share ideas and discuss the hottest topics impacting the media industry. Join top publishers to discuss the most critical issues facing the publishing business, from the growth of artificial intelligence to establishing direct relationships with your audience. Omeda is offering an exclusive price to Rebooting readers. Email: marketing@omedia.com

Changing lanes

Growing up in the American suburbs, getting a driver’s license was a developmental milestone, a sign of approaching adulthood and leaving behind the dependence of childhood. It symbolized freedom. You got your license as soon as you could. Now, things are different. Teenagers are forgoing driving altogether. Only 60% of 18-year-olds have licenses now vs 80% in the early 1980s.

At the risk of being a grumpy old person, I think skipping learning to drive is a mistake, even if self-driving cars are coming… eventually. Learning to drive is a scary experience for all involved, not the least the poor instructor. As a teenager, I still remember the first time I drove on the insanely dangerous 309 expressway that runs in the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia. Driving involves making many decisions that weigh risk vs reward. One of the most frequent of these decisions is whether to change lanes and when to do it.

Changing lanes is a necessity of driving, but it also involves stress. Cars have fewer blind spots now, but there used to be entire swathes of unknown you had to crane your neck to see and hope the car in front of you didn’t come to a sudden stop. You have to judge the speed of the cars in that lane and be decisive. It helps to plan ahead if you’re going across several lanes. It helps to use a signal.

In the media business, changing lanes is also a rite of passage. It’s safest to stay in your lane, but to get where you’re going as fast as possible requires shifting lanes. Changing lanes also comes with risk. I got to thinking of some key lane changes in the publishing business.