Filling out my startup canvas on Monday, I buzzed along until I arrived at the “Unfair Advantage” section. Obviously, I think I’m developing a great product or else I wouldn’t be spending all this time; I have phenomenal writers, photographers, multimedia journalists, developers and thinkers onboard, who have created content for some of the best names in the business. And we’ve already put our talents to work with regard to developing stories. BUT…who’s to say someone else can’t come along with a talented group of journos and do something similar — ostensibly hijacking our advantage? Facebook arguably had a sort of secret recipe in its infancy, which would have protected it from competition, and by the time those would-be competitors wised up, the network effect had set in and FB was too far gone. “Unfair Advantage” if I’ve ever seen one…
I certainly hope that I can develop my product and brand to a point where we’ve become the top purveyor in our particular niche, providing the most engaging and satisfying experience for our community, but who’s to say someone else can’t rip us off before we get there? Then again, maybe two cooks in the kitchen isn’t necessarily a bad thing? Maybe such a cook-off translates into a “Top Chef”-style situation in which both cooks are innovating to such a high and unseen level that the beneficiaries of their cuisine won’t even know what hit them?
I’m eager to talk and think more about the issue of advantage, particularly when we’re dealing with journalistic projects that don’t necessarily center on some next-level technological advancement — when the innovation is in the content and its delivery, and not in any underlying I.P.-heavy bells and whistles.
StartupMedia 
Ha! I totally had the same experience. I was filling out the canvas for Digital Divas (women + tech ed) and was like..um, our content will be better?
It’s funny because in these discussions it seems like anything short of patentable software techniques (or in the case of Coca-Cola, soft drink recipe) is not enough. Yet so many many companies do awesome with simple changes in areas like marketing, brand, content…
I mean, the entire entertainment system? Altho, it occurs to me that one things the film studios have is an incredibly high barrier to entry. So their unfair advantage is just being so established?
I dunno!
This section caught my eye too, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence we went on to read about strategy and competitive forces later in the week. In a world that is constantly innovating, it’s up to you (and all of us) to adapt in a way that we best see fit for our businesses and our readers/users. Perhaps an unfair advantage comes in not using every technological tool available, but in the relationships you and your staff have with the community and the city as a whole. The type of reporting you do may result an unfair advantage. But this is an issue I’m thinking about a lot, too.