With the consolidation of media companies and the specter of increased regulation of media platforms, it would be wise to examine any business model that revolves around single-point platforms and social media for growth, profitability, and stability.
Beware of the upcoming fractious and contentious 2019-2020 political environment where hyper-politicization and speech policing can see your discovery efforts destroyed by algorithmic keyword filers that designate legitimate product or content descriptions as “hate speech.”
Beware of increased spam with sources outside of the protective barriers of U.S. law. From time- and capacity-wasting robo-calls to spambots, consumers and others will be employing more restrictive criteria that can impact your connectivity and legitimate access to willing customers.
Be aware of the dangers posed by “democratization” where reduced barriers to entry amplify the competition, impede discovery by potential customers, and devalue content. One need only look at what has happened to the music and publishing industries to note how technological advances like auto-tune, mix-mash, cut-and-paste compositing software and the potential for just about anyone with the ability to cut-and-paste content to create a song or book that can be offered and fulfilled on Amazon, the largest freely-available marketplace in the world. This results in the digital pollution of discovery and confuses customers and consumers.
Beware that branding, patents, and copyrights do not offer significant protections without the financial means to legally pursue infringers. And, that an entire generation of rip-off artists can simply add the words “Summary or” in front of a well-known title to capitalize on the author’s name and title recognition as well as siphon off those customers who may not be willing to pay the author’s asking price for the original.
Beware of increasing subscription and continuous upgrade business models that add irrelevant bloatware to provide a difference without a distinction.
Be aware of the increasing tendency towards proprietary extensions to open-source software that use add-ons, features, and extensions to achieve customer lock-ins. Make sure that your cloud data is secure, available, and transferable in some commonly-used format.
Be aware of the need to update your storage media. Storing data on legacy systems that are or will soon be obsolete is trading costly comfort for compatibility with newer technologies.
Be aware of free offers that are little more than lead generation mechanisms for advertisers and are marketing your information without regard or restriction to any advertiser with an ad budget.
Beware that the while the net can expand your horizons, it can also ensnare you in an impenetrable web that can imperil your life, liberty, and assets.
Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere ... are you now wondering, Am I Next?