Here is a random collection of items regarding the newspaper industry that still leave me scratching my head throughout the day.
Extra - Extra - Read all about it
Why is it you see newspapers full of references, house ads and sidebars, directing readers to all the cool stuff they can find in the newspaper's online site, but you seldomly see references in newspaper online sites directing visitors into the cool stuff they can find in the print newspaper?
More - More, gimme more
Why are most newspaper companies focused on how to make their websites really content rich rather than real revenue producers. I mean I am sorry, but a banner ad will never be as effective at getting some one's attention as will a full page color advertisement. Likewise, unless newspaper companies figure out new revenue models for online, the curve up will never replace what is being lost in the curve down.
Well ain't that special
Why do newspaper companies seem afraid to try and create unique content for their print editions. I mean if you create a great Flash interactive info graphic for online, its not like you feel you have to reproduce that in the paper. So why, do we feel like every little piece of content in the paper has to be online?
Uhh, you can't say that
What is the issue most newspapers have with allowing user moderated comments online?
So, what again am I paying for
Why don't more newspapers reward their print subscribers with online benefits/enhancement.
Yes, mam your right that really should be online
Why does it seem newspapers are constantly going out of their way to make those who do not pay them money happy, while constantly disappointing those that do pay them money?
I would be interested to know the things that make you go hmmmm?!?!?!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
A Monday morning distraction
I find the online medium's ability to take you on a wild ride you had not intended to take one of its greatest strengths. For instance, this morning I came in and started my daily email check. This includes reviewing the various Google Alerts I am subscribed to.
This morning my 'community journalism' alert picked up an interesting submission on Jake Jarvis's Buzz Machine. This submission was on the recent announced Layoffs at the News & Record in Greensboro. By the way, his bottom line suggestion is that everyone in the newspaper industry needs to get some training on interactivity. If you have not figured this one out yet on your own, shame on you. After all, even if your newsroom lives and breathes interactivity, if your salespeople don't know how to sell it and your publisher doesn't know how to vision it, your still dead in the water.
As I was reading some the comments to Jake's submission I saw a link to a presentation on why newspapers have an opportunity to do local. This presentation is a 67 slide deck that appears to have been presented on June 8th at @media 2007. The presentation was given by Simon Wilson on the approach by Lawrence.com and LJworld.com. I have long been a fan of the online work at the Lawerence Journal World and so gladly went through the presentation. Slide 65 of the presentation provided me with links to the personal sites of the team behind World Online.
I spent a little bit of time visiting the team member sites to see if there were any ideas/thoughts I might grab. I struck gold with playgroundblues.com. This is the personal site of Nathan Borror, Senior Designer at World Online. I found his May 6th post, Transmedia Newspapers.
In this submission he writes of the need for the newspaper industry to take a transmedia storytelling approach rather than a parallel approach to how they disseminate information. I have been spewing this concept for years.
I have a real problem with how most every newspaper company is basically doing what they have done for years in print, online. As an industry I think we all need to try and figure out what are the best uses for print and online. The real gold I found though in his submission was his Fortune Cookie analogy. It works, and it is an analogy I will add to my spew to hopefully help get my point across.
So an hour later, some new news, a new person to possible add to my Linkedin network, a new book to read, a new analogy, and a new blog entry. Not bad for the beginning of a new week. See what I mean about those wild rides?
This morning my 'community journalism' alert picked up an interesting submission on Jake Jarvis's Buzz Machine. This submission was on the recent announced Layoffs at the News & Record in Greensboro. By the way, his bottom line suggestion is that everyone in the newspaper industry needs to get some training on interactivity. If you have not figured this one out yet on your own, shame on you. After all, even if your newsroom lives and breathes interactivity, if your salespeople don't know how to sell it and your publisher doesn't know how to vision it, your still dead in the water.As I was reading some the comments to Jake's submission I saw a link to a presentation on why newspapers have an opportunity to do local. This presentation is a 67 slide deck that appears to have been presented on June 8th at @media 2007. The presentation was given by Simon Wilson on the approach by Lawrence.com and LJworld.com. I have long been a fan of the online work at the Lawerence Journal World and so gladly went through the presentation. Slide 65 of the presentation provided me with links to the personal sites of the team behind World Online.
I spent a little bit of time visiting the team member sites to see if there were any ideas/thoughts I might grab. I struck gold with playgroundblues.com. This is the personal site of Nathan Borror, Senior Designer at World Online. I found his May 6th post, Transmedia Newspapers.
In this submission he writes of the need for the newspaper industry to take a transmedia storytelling approach rather than a parallel approach to how they disseminate information. I have been spewing this concept for years.
I have a real problem with how most every newspaper company is basically doing what they have done for years in print, online. As an industry I think we all need to try and figure out what are the best uses for print and online. The real gold I found though in his submission was his Fortune Cookie analogy. It works, and it is an analogy I will add to my spew to hopefully help get my point across.
So an hour later, some new news, a new person to possible add to my Linkedin network, a new book to read, a new analogy, and a new blog entry. Not bad for the beginning of a new week. See what I mean about those wild rides?
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Attack of the "BLOGS" (redo)
Below is a Blog entry I made this spring while I was still at VillageSoup. As much as everyone talks about blogs it still seems there are a lot of people who are confused with what a blog actually is. I've always liked this piece I wrote and thought it would be worth posting here at my new blog site.
The other day the topic of Weblogs (blogs as they are now commonly referred) came up in a discussion here at the Soup. The discussion was centered on what actually is a blog.
Some believed that a true blog is a web posting that includes links out to other webpages. Others believed that a blog is any posting on a regular basis by an individual on a specific topic. With these definitions in mind I decided to go and try to figure out the actual definition.
So how would one go about trying to accomplish this task?
First step, I used Wikipedia.com. For those that have not heard of it, this site is a free encyclopedia where users are in charge of maintaining the content.
According to Wikipedia, a blog is "a website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order." The definition continues on to include everything from the history of blogs, the legal issues surrounding blogs, and much more. Ironically most wikipedia definitions are entered in a traditional blog format with links out to other webpages.
With this information in hand I decided I should google it! This search provided me with "2,060,000,000" related page results. The results included sponsored links for a number of blogging sites and free listings of related pages on the web. Interestingly the first non-paid result was a link to the Wikipedia definition page for blog.
With my Wikipedia information in hand and visits to a number of sites through my Google search I was ready to start working on my definition. But first I had to finish my normal morning readings. See each morning there are a few sites I like to check (cnn, espn, boston.com, fast company) before my day at work really gets going. I guess this is my modern day version of reading the newspaper before work.
As happens more often than not on the web, I stumbled upon information that at that time I was not searching to find. I had moved on from trying to seek a definition for a blog, I was now just reading some general business news. I was at FastCompany.com reading a blog entry review of a new site, Knover.com, built to allow users to test the theory of six degrees of separation. Talk about a distraction!
While reading about knover.com I noticed that Fast Company had an about page for their blog, FC NOW. I figured I would check and see how they defined a blog. In the second paragraph I found a link to an essay, weblogs, a history and perspective written by Rebecca Blood.
So where does all this leave us in the search for a definition of blog. If you are still with me and have not gone off on your own distraction, you will recognize that this entry is a blog in the most traditional term. It is a journal entry that provides links out to a number of other webpages. It could have just as easily been my writing of a definition based on what I had learned on all of the sites linked to in this article with out providing the links. Heck, I could have even tried to make this a vlog like I posted early in the week. But that is a distraction for another day.
The other day the topic of Weblogs (blogs as they are now commonly referred) came up in a discussion here at the Soup. The discussion was centered on what actually is a blog.
Some believed that a true blog is a web posting that includes links out to other webpages. Others believed that a blog is any posting on a regular basis by an individual on a specific topic. With these definitions in mind I decided to go and try to figure out the actual definition.
So how would one go about trying to accomplish this task?
First step, I used Wikipedia.com. For those that have not heard of it, this site is a free encyclopedia where users are in charge of maintaining the content.
According to Wikipedia, a blog is "a website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order." The definition continues on to include everything from the history of blogs, the legal issues surrounding blogs, and much more. Ironically most wikipedia definitions are entered in a traditional blog format with links out to other webpages.
With this information in hand I decided I should google it! This search provided me with "2,060,000,000" related page results. The results included sponsored links for a number of blogging sites and free listings of related pages on the web. Interestingly the first non-paid result was a link to the Wikipedia definition page for blog.
With my Wikipedia information in hand and visits to a number of sites through my Google search I was ready to start working on my definition. But first I had to finish my normal morning readings. See each morning there are a few sites I like to check (cnn, espn, boston.com, fast company) before my day at work really gets going. I guess this is my modern day version of reading the newspaper before work.
As happens more often than not on the web, I stumbled upon information that at that time I was not searching to find. I had moved on from trying to seek a definition for a blog, I was now just reading some general business news. I was at FastCompany.com reading a blog entry review of a new site, Knover.com, built to allow users to test the theory of six degrees of separation. Talk about a distraction!
While reading about knover.com I noticed that Fast Company had an about page for their blog, FC NOW. I figured I would check and see how they defined a blog. In the second paragraph I found a link to an essay, weblogs, a history and perspective written by Rebecca Blood.
So where does all this leave us in the search for a definition of blog. If you are still with me and have not gone off on your own distraction, you will recognize that this entry is a blog in the most traditional term. It is a journal entry that provides links out to a number of other webpages. It could have just as easily been my writing of a definition based on what I had learned on all of the sites linked to in this article with out providing the links. Heck, I could have even tried to make this a vlog like I posted early in the week. But that is a distraction for another day.
10 Web Marketing Tools
Earlier this year, I participated with Steve Hand of Know Technology in the the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber's Marketing Seminar Series – Marketing Your Business From A-Z. As part of my presentation, I showcased 10 tools businesses could utilize to assist in their marketing efforts.
I figured presnting information on these marketing tools would be a good way to launch my new Blog. Below are links to each of the services/products I presented. All of these include basic descriptions picked up from the particular websites.
Google AdWords
No matter what your budget, you can display your ads on Google and our advertising network. Connect with customers at the exact moment they're searching for your products or services, and only pay when people click your ads.
Yahoo Search Marketing
Access products and resources that help you connect with customers searching for what you sell.
Word Tracker
Wordtracker helps website owners and search engine marketers identify keywords and phrases that are relevant to their or their client's business and most likely to be used as queries by search engine visitors.
Constant Contact
More than 90,000 small businesses and associations use Constant Contact®, the leading permission-based email marketing solution for small business.
Ennect
The convenience of four powerful tools in one simple toolkit makes ennect the ideal eMarketing software choice for growing organizations. Use just one tool if that's all you need, or use more than one, and experience major time saving benefits such as shared contact lists, singular login information and one easy interface to learn.
Ebay Merchant Solutions
Grow your business with eBay's Merchant eCommerce Solutions! With millions of buyers worldwide, eBay offers a fast, easy, and cost effective way to increase your sales and reach new customers.
MediaBids
An online marketplace where advertisers and print publications buy and sell ad space through a online auction process.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics tells you everything you want to know about how your visitors found you and how they interact with your site. Focus your marketing resources on campaigns and initiatives that deliver ROI, and improve your site to convert more visitors.
TopRank Blog
Provides up to date news, resources and information on the search engine industry as well as tactics ranging from search engine optimization to blog marketing and online public relations.
I figured presnting information on these marketing tools would be a good way to launch my new Blog. Below are links to each of the services/products I presented. All of these include basic descriptions picked up from the particular websites.
Google AdWords
No matter what your budget, you can display your ads on Google and our advertising network. Connect with customers at the exact moment they're searching for your products or services, and only pay when people click your ads.
Yahoo Search Marketing
Access products and resources that help you connect with customers searching for what you sell.
Word Tracker
Wordtracker helps website owners and search engine marketers identify keywords and phrases that are relevant to their or their client's business and most likely to be used as queries by search engine visitors.
Constant Contact
More than 90,000 small businesses and associations use Constant Contact®, the leading permission-based email marketing solution for small business.
Ennect
The convenience of four powerful tools in one simple toolkit makes ennect the ideal eMarketing software choice for growing organizations. Use just one tool if that's all you need, or use more than one, and experience major time saving benefits such as shared contact lists, singular login information and one easy interface to learn.
Ebay Merchant Solutions
Grow your business with eBay's Merchant eCommerce Solutions! With millions of buyers worldwide, eBay offers a fast, easy, and cost effective way to increase your sales and reach new customers.
MediaBids
An online marketplace where advertisers and print publications buy and sell ad space through a online auction process.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics tells you everything you want to know about how your visitors found you and how they interact with your site. Focus your marketing resources on campaigns and initiatives that deliver ROI, and improve your site to convert more visitors.
TopRank Blog
Provides up to date news, resources and information on the search engine industry as well as tactics ranging from search engine optimization to blog marketing and online public relations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
