Packaging & Positioning
Neglecting the role of publishers in a market economy has led to some poor decisions
Two important parts of retailing are packaging and positioning — whether it’s groceries, automobiles, services, or domiciles. Location and curb appeal are the homeowner’s version of this, with shelf space and branding the grocer’s.
Information retailing has its own packaging and positioning elements, many of which are being flagrantly abused these days as various aspects of trade dress are sneakily appropriated, foolishly misapplied, or blatantly stolen. This only serves to speak to their importance — a profound aspect of information retailing we too often overlook.
In too many quarters, there is the mimicry and mindlessness that borders on commoditization. Take, for instance, the templates and algorithms of social media, which package sane and thoughtful posts in the same way they package bizarre and misleading posts. This can give fraudsters an aesthetic advantage, and exploit the gullible.
And if this weren’t bad enough, the algorithms have a documented history of positioning the bizarre and misleading to make these unhealthy choices more accessible than the former — a history that stretches back to Google and the very first vaccine-autism controversy.