An over-abundance of what you love

A friend messaged me a little while ago and asked me to talk about over-saturation, specifically with TV shows.  At first, I didn't know what to say, but after the last week or so, I've been thinking about it enough that I have some thoughts.

First I have to explain the pre-internet way of marketing.  Before the internet, TV shows, movies, music...just about everything in the entertainment industry had a buffer zone of popularity that companies could react to.  If a TV show was becoming the new 'in' thing, there was a span of time where the early adopters started watching it to when the late majority began watching it and the early adopters were in full blown crazy about it mode.  This buffer zone was usually enough time for companies to hash out a plan in order to capitalize upon the popularity of whatever it was, deciding where toys, lunch boxes, etc etc would go.  By the time something became unpopular or the new 'in' thing was around, companies had plenty of time to rake in the money.


Then came the internet, or at least the internet as we know it now.  Because of the internet, that buffer zone has gone from several weeks or months to a matter of days, sometimes hours.  Take for instance Gangnam Style.  Putting aside the fact that without the internet it never would have become so popular in the US, or possibly anywhere other than South Korea, the video spread like wildfire in a matter of hours thanks to websites like Reddit, 4chan, Tumbler, Twitter, and Facebook, amongst others.  Within two or three days, the internet had parody videos, remixes, reposts, torrents, gifs, blogs, and so much more.  It wasn't until months later that a commercial tried to play on the popularity it gained, and by then, most people had either forgotten about it, or were bored with it.

And that's the problem and the benefit with the internet.  Extremely quick turn around.  Sometimes the content continues, and there is plenty of time to capitalize on it.  Other times, it's just a passing fad, and the energy should be placed somewhere else.  But because there is no buffer zone, companies now have to make that decision almost immediately.  It's why so many companies try to create viral ads for the internet.  If they succeed, they get even more free advertising with the remixes and the reposts and the parodies.  A great example of that is Old Spice Guy.

However, if they fail, they don't really lose anything they wouldn't have lost with just putting out a bad commercial on TV.  In fact, it's less risky because doing a viral ad via YouTube is cheaper in the long run.  You can't fault companies for saturating the market with something they can make money on.  It's why I always say, "The only way to get large companies to listen to you is to not buy from them."  Money is the only thing that speaks to companies.

But where does the over-saturation come in?  Well, let's take 'PQ's example of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. (yes...I'm talking about it again, but it's what he was worried about.)

MLP, regardless of what your opinion about it, is immensely popular.  There is countless fan music, art, animations, remixes, fanfiction, t-shirts, vinyl statues...just about everything. Unless you started working and releasing stuff back at the very beginning of the show's popularity (and producing good content), chances are you are going to have a rough time gaining any traction in the community.  The market is completely over-saturated with content, and because of that, even the die-hard fans are going to start losing interest because they've just been flooded with content.

Any market that becomes too popular can start losing people.  Contrary to popular belief, the first group you lose are the early adopters, also known by many as 'hipsters.'  The reason why you lose them is because they will quickly move on to the next thing that is going to be big, just so they can say they were in it first.  They will occasionally return, but once they have moved on, they aren't going to spend time or money on something old.

Next, you'll lose casual fans, the people that came in a bit late, but decided to stay for a while.  The only time they will come back is for nostalgia, or nothing better to do, and again they aren't going to spend time and money on it anymore.

Finally, you'll lose the late adopters, the people that showed up towards the end and burned through so much content to catch up.  They are really only staying around so long because they have so much to go through, and they don't have to wait as long to get it.  Everything is new to them.  But once they've seen it all, they will move on.

The only people that leaves you with is the die-hard fans.  Those people that have been loyal since day one, and have sworn an oath to remain a fan.  Usually, these are the people creating your extra content. They are also the people buying everything they can afford.  If a company keeps putting out product, they will keep snatching it up.  But alas, eventually they will move on too.

So what does one do about over-saturation?  Nothing.  If you are on the creating end of it, then there really is nothing you can do short of holding a meeting with every person on the planet and saying "We can only put out this much content per week amongst us all."  If you are on the absorbing end of over-saturation, the only thing you can do is just limit your intake.  Take it in moderation.  Don't let yourself be over flooded with content that you start losing interest in what you love.  But if you feel you should purpose your energy into something new, then do so.  If you come back to it, then you'll come back stronger.  I've been an Evangelion fan since 1997, but I've limited my intake of Evangelion in order to preserve my love of it.  There is plenty of content I've never seen, and most of it I probably don't want to.  But it's there should I ever need to get a fix for something that what I currently have doesn't fill.

So 'PQ' I hope that answers your question.  If anyone else has a topic they would like me to speak my mind on, send it to me.  I'll take it into consideration, and think about it for a while.  When I have a thought about it, I'll post it in a blog.