About William Houghton (Bill)
A Veteran in Digital Business Strategy & Analysis
Call me Bill. All my friends do.
I am a long-term digital media consumer, and an ardent fan of new digital businesses. That's my #1 professional interest, perusing new business models and new platforms for the distribution of mass media. An innovative and sustainable young business is like poetry -- a reminder of great and beautiful things in the world.
I remember when I realized this was my calling... I was already working at America Online for several years when I awoke one morning to NPR announcing that AOL was buying Time Warner.
These were the golden days. At AOL, we were young and brash and fully expected to transform the world. The merger was proof that we had unlocked the secret to the future.
Of course the merger was also the pin that popped the first Internet Tech Bubble. But by then, I was hooked on all things digital. I spent the next 12 years working with some of the Web's largest and most successful brands. My role has been developing new business and product strategy for the digital universe. My special interest is always entertainment, and the digitization of the entertainment industries.
If you've ever visited AOL Music, TMZ or Moviefone, you've seen my work. I spent years developing the products that enabled AOL to move from subscription to ad-supported business. More recently, I've been focusing on music and new media, and different strategies to build compelling businesses around digitized assets. The future of media lies in the intersection of Online Communities and Independent artists.
I am not really an early adopter. I am interested in strategy that engages mass audiences, rather than the latest and coolest gadgets. I’ve seen too many businesses flare up and die away before ever making their first dollar – the real challenge is to create sustainable products, with realistic business models.
Today I’m a consultant to companies looking to build products and businesses in the digital realm. The analysis in this site includes my thoughts on a wide variety of topics, but all intended to help digital businesses succeed. To the layman, it may seem very business-focused. Well, I spend a lot of time musing over business intelligence. But my goal is to simply jot down thoughts as they come, on the products and businesses that I come across each day.
I hope you gain some value from these postings. If nothing else, I hope they make you think a little.
-- Bill Houghton
PS: If you have some feedback, feel free to send it to BILL [at] BroodingSavage [dot] com. You can also find me at LinkedIn.com
