Online Media – Give the customer what they want. Even if it’s a free ibook.

Consumer habits have changed dramatically. People have gotten used to getting the news they want like a free ibook , when they want it, how they want it, and where they want it. And this change is here to stay.

In many ways, the news industry has appropriately adapted to these changes.

Take online video. Not that long ago, content providers were committed to the idea of requiring viewers to come to their site to view their content — and railed against anyone who dared show even a short clip.

But content hoarding — the walled garden — didn’t work. And instead of sticking their finger in the dike, trying to hold back the flow of innovation, smart companies began providing embeddable players that allowed their best stuff to be posted all over the web, accompanied by links and ads that helped generate additional traffic and revenue.

When I hear the heads of media companies talking about “restricting” content (as Curley did) or describing news aggregators as “parasites or tech tapeworms in the intestines of the Internet” (as the editor of the Wall Street Journal recently did), I can’t help feeling the same way I did in 2001, when I was one of the cofounders of The Detroit Project, and watched as the heads of the auto industry decided that instead of embracing the future they would rather spend considerable energy and money lobbying the government for tax loopholes for gas-guzzling behemoths, fighting back fuel efficiency standards, and trying to convince consumers through billions in advertising that SUVs were the cars that would lead America into the 21st century.

Instead of trying to hold back the future, I suggest that media execs read The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen (since I keep mentioning the book and giving copies to friends, I’m thrilled that Christensen is now blogging for HuffPost), and see what he has to say about “disruptive innovation” and how, instead of resisting it, you can seize the opportunities it provides.  Huffington Post

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