-- --
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Pinterest
SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE: The exponential rise of mobile-driven (and funded) content platforms is starting to have some interesting, and potentially problematic side-effects in terms of selection (curatorship), censorship and the freedom of creative expression.
As the emergence of short form content as an industry driver becomes more and more clear, producers find themselves in a complex situation in terms of what they produce and how it is distributed.
-- --
Social media, and of course YouTube, have been the dominant platforms for sharing and monetising this content over the past decade. Brand and digital agencies have also looked to short form producers to produce impactful content around specific narratives and briefs.
Short form content then could be broken down into two main categories; firstly, creative driven short films are often developed on the hopes of securing a place and accolades at film festivals, going viral on social media or similar platforms and possibly promoting the career of the producer/filmmaker or securing funding for a full feature or TV series.
A second category of commercially driven content has been driven by brands and agencies looking to capitalise on the power and impact of social media. The prevalence of this content has opened up lucrative career paths for many young producers, but ultimately falls within the world of advertising.
The reality for purely creative driven short form producers has been that apart from niche categories at film festivals, and social media sharing, opportunities to drive or monetise their content were slim.
However, as mobile platforms start to become the primary platform for more and more people to watch any kind of video content, creative short form is now taking its place as the most lucrative and essential format on the market.
The massive hunger now being shown particularly by mobile operators for short content however must not only be seen as a positive driver of the industry. While it is true that the opportunities for exposure and monetisation, especially for young African producers, are real, there is a cost to this process.
The biggest area of concern, as I see it, is in terms of selection and curation. For all its ills and algorithms, social media, at least to a certain extent, and in certain countries is somewhat democratic. Commercial content often goes viral due to massive budgets and boosts, but often, quirky and original producer uploaded content manages to go global based purely on word of mouth and sharing.
Mobile content platforms however are heavily curated, moderated and gate-kept. Is anyone asking who exactly within the mobile platforms is selecting the content, on what criteria and for what markets? Clearly its all about expected profit. The content selected by any mobile platform, especially the content promoted within those platforms, is going to be that which is determined to gather the most eyeballs for as long as possible.
The gatekeepers of these mobile content platforms then are often found within the marketing departments - and content is selected often not for any kind of creative originality but rather on projected returns or within very narrow prescriptive norms.
As these platforms become more dominant destinations for content consumption amongst consumers, one has to consider the role of these all-powerful gatekeepers and what it means for the future of creative and perhaps even controversial content. Mobile platforms will inherently shy away from political content, or any content that offends certain governments, think Google in China. So if mobile platforms become the main source of news and information for an entire generation it is essential to look at the impact that this highly curated environment will have on both the viewers and the producers.
Already many bemoan the apparent censorship and narrowcasting of content on social media, but this will be exponentially increased when mobile operators control both the access and the content itself.
Producers will find themselves having to make more of the same - shorter and shorter bits of content aimed to please the most number of viewers without offending or taking any risks. This is the kind of content that will be rewarded financially leading to a process of self-censorship within the industry.
So while we celebrate the income and opportunities that arise from the growth of mobile content platforms - let's also be mindful of the potential pitfalls in terms of creative, free and fair expression.
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Pinterest
-- --
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
05/06/2026
ASG Promotes Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO
Brie Clayton June 5, 2026
0 Comments
Appointment to Support Engineering Alignment and Client Experi...
05/06/2026
Stargate Studios Colombia Uses DaVinci Resolve Studio for Vertical Microdramas
Brie Clayton June 5, 2026
0 Comments
End to end post in one platform al...
05/06/2026
People Need to Come First When We Use AI
Andy Marken June 5, 2026
0 Comments
It's just surviving. Life's very existence requires destruction....
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering many of the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced the launch of In-Scene Advertising, a new monetiza...
05/06/2026
Berklee Study Reveals Video Has Become Essential to Music Careers Survey findings show social platforms have become the primary source of music for video cont...
05/06/2026
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards to take place on Tuesday 10th November 2026, Vicar Street, Dublin
Moya Brennan, D nal Lunny, Mary Black and Christy Moore among previou...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
-- -- 
