Geographically restricted content

Recently, I tried to watch a video trailer for a new show by Yahoo. However, as a resident of the UK, I was greeted with a message that told me the video content couldn’t be played here. Potentially, I’d have to be coming from an IP address in North America in order to view it.

The issue with dealing with content in this way is that it inevitably restricts how many people can view and get excited about something. It’s not uncommon to see people share articles they’re yet to read, but it’s far less likely that they will share something they can’t even access, unless it’s to ask for help on how they could go about doing so.

Of course, when it comes to financial services, content can be local far more harmlessly than a trailer for a TV programme. Financial systems don’t always carry across to other countries, and while this means that advisers outside the UK may not necessarily need to tap into UK resources, there are international lessons to be taught that geographically restricting content would lock off.

Where this gets complicated, of course, is international licensing for some content. Not all content can be easily dissimenated in different territories, but in 2015, it feels like the time is upon us to start pushing for and investigating a better solution. The internet is incredibly powerful in the way that it’s able to bring together financial services staff from all over the world instantaneously, and content should feel just as accessible.

Fortunately, there are fewer and fewer incidents in which video content is marked as restricted, but if we’re creating content with the potential for an international spread of appeal in mind, everyone benefits. Allowing financial services companies to become not just national, but global thought leaders is important, and unrestricted access to content is a sound first step.