"The Googles of the world, they are the Custer of the modern world. We are the Sioux nation," Time Warner Inc. Chief Executive Richard Parsons said, referring to the Civil War American general George Custer who was defeated by Native Americans in a battle dubbed "Custer’s Last Stand".
"They will lose this war if they go to war," Parsons added, "The notion that the new kids on the block have taken over is a false notion."
Well that’s kind of an unfortunate analogy considering the Sioux won the battle, lost the war, and were subject to brutal and inhumane treatment, ultimately being driven out of the Dakotas and Minnesota… I’m not sure Parsons wants to hitch his wagon to that sad part of history.
I’d like to suggest that I have some idea of what Parsons was trying to say, but ultimately I think this is the tough talk that accompanies a fundamental shift in an industry away from incumbants. A fundamental shift in how much power the incumbants have, to be more precise.
I really don’t think Parsons is attempting to define the us vs. them as print vs. online, and in all fairness it is entirely appropriate for them to exercise their copyright protections as it relates to online. However, what Parsons might be glossing over is the fundamental shift in how advertising is being sold, measured, and delivered by Google, Yahoo! and others.