My post earlier about the Sun's business page going kaput caused some of you to send very lengthy, somewhat acerbic emails to me. If nobody cares about the news, it's because reporters have forgotten how to write compelling stories; This whole Rob Curley hyperlocal journalism stuff is bullshit and proves that people don't care about their communities; Newspaper staffs were too big anyways - it's about time they were cut down to size!

Ouch! There's even more discussion over on BuzzMachine, where Jeff Jarvis says that it's okay to get rid of "commodity news and crappy sections" so that reporters can "concentrate their precious and dwindling resources on what matters, which I still believe is local reporting." (For the record, I don't disagree.)

But what I refuse to let go of is the notion that cutbacks in staff and production is ultimately the best near-term business strategy for newspapers. Because it's not. Cutting back is not how my very successful non-media journalism friends would approach our industry's problem, and that's not how I would plan for the future of my news organization. I believe very strongly that if newsroom culture changed for just a month, to allow free-flowing brainstorming and fast-track implementation of new strategies, we might just find a workable business model that doesn't necessarily involve scrapping entire sections of the newspaper or laying off a quarter of your staff.

It's 4th of July weekend. In the spirit of unshackling the newspaper industry from the tyranny of outdated business models, I've decided to hold a contest. I'm proposing a 30-Day Newsroom Innovation Challenge. I'm willing to offer my consulting services to help a beleaguered newsroom through the process of innovation. I will meet with your newspaper's publishers, editors, web-site and print-side staff and even your local readers. I'll facilitate brainstorming sessions and devise a set of strategies that you can implement right away to help monetize your content and motivate what's left of your staff. At the end of our 30 days together, we should hopefully have short-term and long-term plans for publishing your content and for stabilizing your resources.

And I'll do it for FREE. Start to finish, beginning to end, for a month. Hell, I'm not even going to charge you for materials! My goal here is to show newspapers that there is another way to financial solvency, because I'm damn tired of hearing about my talented friends losing their jobs each and every week.

What's the catch? I'm only going to work with one news organization, and it has to be based in the United States. Before I start, I'm going to want you to promise to check your old thinking and old workflow at the door and be willing to start fresh. And I'll probably blog about our progress every now and again, so if your newspaper is against that sort of thing you're out of the running.

This is a contest. If you're interested, send me an email answering the following questions. Heck, you don't even have to write everything out. If you want to get creative and post a video somewhere for me to watch, that'll work too. I'm going to make a decision by July 18th and announce that morning. That gives you two weeks.

1. Your name, full contact info and news organization

2. Why do you need my help? What are the biggest problems facing your newspaper?

3. If I work with you, can you guarantee that for 30 days, decisionmakers will be willing to try new ideas? (It won't be anything radical in the short term, like scrapping production of the paper in favor of a brand new million-dollar website. But if I suggest holding a meeting with 20-somethings to get their thoughts on your product, we've got to at least give it a shot.)

4. This one's important - did you clear this through your boss (and his or her boss)? Are they willing to take 30 days to strategize new business, content and production models for the future?

5. What do you hope to gain working together?

Conditions: Sorry college newspapers, this time I'm only going to work with the pros. You have to be at a newspaper in production - we're not going to resurrect the dead or help launch a new product. You also can't be currently negotiating a consulting project with my company.

Send your entry to info [at] webbmediagroup [dot] com (and not my personal email address).

Posted by AmyWebb at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In the wake of mass attrition across Tribune properties, the Baltimore Sun announced that it's getting rid of its business section and will fold those stories into the "Maryland" section of the paper. A paper, mind you, that's already gotten rid of other sections and on many days of the week looks as thin and anemic as the local Metro.

So far, I've heard one story about this on our local NPR affiliate - facts, only - and zero uproar from the community. The Sun's section isn't the first to go - the Cincinnati Enquirer and Denver Post cut their sections. Meantime, I was talking to a group of editors a few weeks back, and one was lamenting the absence of her paper's features section. Her publisher had taken the damn thing away permanently, and none of her readers appeared to mind. There wasn't a single letter to the editor, not a whisper of complaint.

To me, this message rings loud and clear. Demands of news consumers have evolved, our economy has changed, and our industry has done little to adapt. Rather than continuing to slash staff, why not focus instead on developing a new business model? A smaller staff commanded to produce news in the same old way, relying on the same old ad network, ain't going to fix the problem.

I was thinking about some very successful businessmen I know, and what keeps their businesses well in the black when the economy goes sour. They each offer a product or service that's in demand and will always be in demand. Well, that's not so different from the news. It'll always be there to report, and I can't imagine a time or circumstance when citizens wouldn't want to know what's happening.

Those successful businessmen are somehow vertically integrated. They own the widget patent, they make the widgets, they own the supply chain. One company manufactures its own stuff in a single building, where they control every aspect of production. That same company distributes the product into stores that it owns. It even creates all of its own advertising, using employees as actors/ models.

The newspaper business isn't that different, I'd argue. News is gotten, vetted, written, edited and paginated all in one shop. In many cases, it's also printed in the same place or a place nearby, using newspaper company employees and machines that the company owns. Then the papers are distributed by drivers who work for the company and drive company trucks.

Now here's something that differentiates the successful businessmen I know from the newspaper industry: Those biz guys aren't afraid to take risks. They'll stick to their core concept or product...but they pour resources into R&D. They anticipate what might be the next industry disrupter. They embrace technology early. They don't operate as mega-bureaucracies, but instead as benevolent dictatorships where fresh ideas can be implemented without first having 50 meetings between various department heads.

The glacial rate of change in the newspaper business has a lot to do to these vast hierarchies and long tradition of sticking to what's been done. Sometimes, the wrong folks are promoted from within and become key decision makers - but they may not be forward-thinking enough, or willing to take chances. Add that to meeting upon meeting upon meeting and it could be six to 12 months before a new anything is tried. That's a shame.

Sam Zell holds the keys to some legendary news products all over the country, and the workforce - what's left of it - still claims some exceptionally talented journalists. Cutting more positions may temporarily solve budget issues, but what will really help in the long run is changing the culture of news organizations.

Posted by AmyWebb at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I've been sitting in the Digital Media Summit in D.C. for two hours, and so far, here's what we've been told:

• The old business models no longer work. People really like using Google to advertise.
• Mobile will be big. It'll be really big in the next few years, when everyone starts using smartphones and mobile broadband.
• We're in the middle of a "media evolution."

Seriously, why are we still discussing the various particulars of where we're at? Why not talk in detail about moving forward?! So many of these conferences are really just support groups for downtrodden media folks.

Posted by AmyWebb at 09:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by AmyWebb at 05:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Quite a while back, I added the Quick TransLation (qtl) add-on to Firefox. It was launched by Gilad Kutiel and is meant to help you translate and/or define foreign words as you search the web. Since a handful of our clients are in Japan, and since I seem to be forgetting a handful of kanji as each day passes, I downloaded qtl to help me get through the more complicated kanji characters on sites I regularly visit.

The fact that qtl works beautifully and elegantly to help me with international sites isn't why I'm writing about it today. All I do is highlight a character or word, and a small window pops up - that I can control and interact with - that displays the information.

Here's how qtl, and other tools like it, impacts journalism.

You see, after I installed the tool, I noticed that whenever I highlighted a word the qtl window appeared and offered me various choices: a dictionary, a Wikipedia entry, the ability to search that word instantly on Google and Yahoo. It also pulled up content tagged with that word on Flickr, YouTube and Amazon.

What I'm getting at here is that via qtl, your website may be displaying content from other sources - content that you've never seen. Have a look at what I found on the Baltimore Sun's site today:

The thing is, I installed qtl independently. It's a third-party application that delivers content. I happen to find it incredibly useful, but when I highlight a word, I get content displayed on the Sun's site that isn't necessarily approved by editors there.

I was speaking at the Punch Sulzberger program at Columbia last week, and we had a short debate about hyperlinked content and whether it mattered if I could access additional content via the Sun, even if the Sun didn't place it there. My position is that as a user, I love qtl's features and the ability it gives me to find more content and context regardless of what the editors fed to a particular site. But looking from an industry perspective, I'd be weary. It takes control away from the content providers. Example: what newsroom would publish, verbatim, copy from a Wikipedia article without first vetting it?

Qtl isn't the first or only third-party linking content tool that's driven by users. I can guarantee that you'll start to see more just like it.

I'd like for newsrooms to start evaluating these kind of tools, learning more about how they function and then developing smart ways to either exploit - or block - that technology on their own terms.

Posted by AmyWebb at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm speaking at the World Newspaper Congress/ World Editors Forum in Goteborg, Sweden - will liveblog some of the sessions. Very excited to see digital media trends in Europe... If you're here, ping me!

Posted by AmyWebb at 08:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We've just announced all of the panels, hands-on classes and group discussions for this year's international Online News Association conference in Washington, D.C. We're offering more than 40 different sessions on a variety of topics - there's truly something for everyone involved in digital media (that includes academics, students, book writers, site designers and even consultants!). The full list of speakers, superpanelists, keynoters and class instructors will be announced mid-June.

Sessions are organized into six tracks, though you're welcome to attend any that appeal to you. They include:

* How'd They Do That? We deconstruct several well-known digital media projects and show you how to recreate them, soup to nuts.
* Teaching & Learning: Learn how to write your first syllabus, adapt emerging tech trends for your classroom, be a better student and more!
* My Digital Beat: Harness data, mine untapped digital resources and more to help you do daily reporting for your beat
* Emerging Tech: Learn all about the Semantic Web, QR codes, interactive data and more...and apply it to journalism!
* Be an Evangelist: Catalyze positive change in your newsroom, create training programs and harness digital tools for everyone!
* Multimedia Learning Lab: 10 hands-on classes focusing on granular-level topics. Spend an hour and learn a new skill.

Our goal this year is to have all participants walk away with three big ideas and a handful of new skills. We're also offering pre-conference daylong training workshops, networking events, a night at the Newseum and more.

I'm charing this year's conference, so if you have any questions please ping me. Registration is now open - hope to see you there!

Posted by AmyWebb at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I think CNN might just have the ticket to sustainable journalism online: T-shirts. I'm not making this up.

Debuting this week is the official CNN Shirt Store, where you can buy T-shirts with editors' favorite headlines. Shirts are updated as frequently as the stories are, and boast such headlines as "Tire prices spike, so drivers run bald" and "Rare 115-year-old game found in closet."

Shirts are retailing for $19.95 (includes a $4.99 shipping charge) and the site looks to be powered by Spreadshirt.com, a custom T-shirt store not unlike Cafe Press.

I'm all for ingenuity, but here's a question: that tire story came from KMBC-TV 9 in Kansas City, which has a partnership with CNN but is actually an ABC affiliate. Who owns the rights to that headline? Can you rev-share a T-shirt?

(HT: Brian Woolf, the new husband.)

Posted by AmyWebb at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for tools that can be adapted for journalism that also happen to bring context, depth or other relevant information to a story. What I'm not an advocate of is tricking out a news story as if it was a Honda Civic auditioning for The Fast and the Furious Part 5/ News Drift.

Newsware is the latest entry into and ever-expanding tricked out news story space. You can play the (wham!) NewsBlaster, an "RSS-fed online game involving a race against time to smash orbs holding live msnbc.com news headlines." Or try the Spectra, to create a 3D spinning environment fed with the latest headlines. You can even change the headlines using your own web cam. No, I'm not making that up: "In one viewing state, viewers with webcams trigger movement of the content and categories of headlines based on the motion of their body and the color of their clothes."

While I think these tools are certainly impressive and wildly creative, I have to wonder how spending resources on this is advancing the story. Or journalism, for that matter.

For example, I've been following the Dmitry Medvedev story on MSNBC. Two hours ago, he was sworn in as Putin's successor, but there wasn't any video showing the it. (To be fair, there were two analysis videos from NBC Nightly News, but that was it.) There are a few references to blogs and an interactive map. But the map and blog links take me away from the story. There were no hyperlinks besides related MSNBC content...and while the "Ice bar opens in Portugal" story sounds intriguing, what I'm really after is as much information as I can glean about what Medvedev's swearing in means for me here in Baltimore and for our increasingly icy relationship with Russia.

There's certainly a balance that needs to be accomplished. Gimmicks will draw in a temporary crowd, but content that offers rich context and depth will make them stick.

Posted by AmyWebb at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I installed QTL - a nifty Firefox extension - last week. I think that it was meant to help translate pages into different languages, but I'm using it to add context to my basic searches or to see more related content on any given page.

For example, I was looking up mydigimedia's site traffic and noticed that someone had been hitting me from plantronics.com. I hovered over the word "Plantronics" and - viola! - a window opened with all sorts of information on the company. It saved me the step of physically typing in P-l-a-n-t-r-o-n-i-c-s-dot-c-o-m, and I was essentially able to find out basics about the company without any effort.

I've been following Apture and you'll see it all over this site... And we're now trying to figure out the many applications for contextualization services for publishing and journalism.

Posted by AmyWebb at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've decided to stop referring to journalism done or received on mobile phones as "mobile" journalism. We've been talking about the new frontier of WAP, SMS, short codes and the like now for at least three years. The problem has always been with the carriers and manufacturers. In the U.S., there is still no standard network system. The phones themselves aren't standardized either.

But I think the new iPhone - and by new, I'm talking about the 3G model that's supposed to drop next month - will cause a paradigm shift. Other manufacturers are already following suit, enabling their phones and data plans for maximum Internet access.

So I'm going to start researching and planning instead for something I call "small screen journalism." Content that's meant to be collected, published and seen using the Internet, but on a 480 x 320-pixel screen. That might be video, it could be an interactive timeline or map, a photo album or a text story with layers of other content.

Publishers should start thinking about how to optimize their content for the small screen.

Posted by AmyWebb at 01:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So I've been speaking with Tristan Harris about a new tool that just launched. It's not really a tool - it's a different way of using the web. It's a conceptualization service, and I just can't say enough about how exciting it is.

The problem now is that if I offer hyperlinks, you have to leave my site and click from page to page to page. But what if I wanted to offer more related content, all without making the user leave my page?

Here's an example. Let's say that I'm a reporter at the Baltimore Sun covering American Idol. (If that ever happens, someone please shoot me. Right between my eyes.) Yesterday's opening few graphs look like this:

On tonight's American Idol, we'll learn who the final four are. And, I'm sure, hear some explanation for Paula's seeing into the future moment last night when she started evaluating Jason's second song when he'd only sung once thus far. (Here's the story that's been making the rounds today.)

Host Ryan Seacrest says he's still out of breath from last night's show because of its fast pace and that more than 45 million votes were cast.

First up: The group sing, a tribute to Neil Diamond.

One external link, not much context. If I wanted to know more about Paula or Ryan or Neil Diamond, I have to hop off the site and start clicking elsewhere.

Here's how Apture changes things... I'm going to use it on the same three graphs. But the context and the user experience is infinitely more fulfilling:

On tonight's American Idol, we'll learn who the final four are. And, I'm sure, hear some explanation for Paula's seeing into the future moment last night when she started evaluating Jason's second song when he'd only sung once thus far. (Here's the story that's been making the rounds today.)

Host Ryan Seacrest says he's still out of breath from last night's show because of its fast pace and that more than 45 million votes were cast.

First up: The group sing, a tribute to Neil Diamond.

Apture is in very soft launch now - but when it's fully deployed, watch out. It's going to help piece together the web in an entirely new way. This is Web 3.0, the "semantic" web, whatever you want to call it. And journalists ought to take notice asap - we need to think about content in multi-dimensions.

Then again, I know editors who are still discussing endlessly whether or not there should be hyperlinks at all on their websites.

Amy. Out.

Posted by AmyWebb at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Social network platforms can do a lot more than take down a young starlet's budding career or ruin an elected official's future plans for office. There are lots of possible applications for journalism:

• gather reporting, leads, sources for your particular beat
• serve as a virtual meeting space for reporters, editors, producers and publishers worldwide
• build a vibrant audience around a specific topic, such as the Chicago Cubs

More on this subject over at IJNET, where I have a new column out today. Don't just discount social networks as an entity because you've had a bad experience with MySpace or think Facebook is a passing fad...

Posted by AmyWebb at 01:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm trying hard to understand why the Star Tribune in Minneapolis is bothering to build an in-house TV studio. They're planning to call it StribTV, and it appears that reporters will cover topics already in the newspaper for quick standups and for other longer videos. Content will be available on-demand.

I haven't seen a real newspaper-to-streaming-newscast success story yet, at least not beyond the Studio55 project at the Naples Daily News, which basically looks and feels like a regular television morning news broadcast and not necessarily an interactive web video experience. There are individual examples of how to make compelling video - David Pogue at the Times, Dana Milbank at the Post - but I'm wondering what will make StribTV stand out.

In a memo to her staff, Editor Nancy Barns asked for help:

Some of you will (very soon) be tapped to produce content for Strib TV; certain content is a natural fit. However, we also will need people to host the shows, and read our newscast. If you think you have a voice and or a presence on camera, here's your chance to shine. We haven't determined exactly how we are going to audition people, but we are asking for names of people who would be interested. This is open to anyone in the newsroom, or in the company. Email Will Tacy or Cory Powell if you are interested.

I'm all for getting in the sandbox. I firmly believe that every journalist should play with all the digital media available and that they should feel empowered to take advantage of new publishing tools.

But auditioning print folks for on-camera reporter spots? Here's another example of adapting technology - in this case, video distribution via the web - but not adjusting personnel to meet the new challenges of your project. Why not find folks who've produced video for the web and use them? The Minneapolis/ St. Paul area is gigantic - surely there are some talented multimedia people who understand the nature of digital video? If StribTV must be staffed by reporters in the newsroom, then they're going to need lots of training. And I'm not talking about how to operate a camera or even how to make your voice sound great on camera.

It's not about reading the newscast or trying to fill space with commentary. It's about creating content that makes sense on the web and not duplicating what's already being done by your local network affiliate. That takes real creativity. And ultimately, it means approaching the web with a digital perspective first, not the perspective of a print journalist who's trying to play catchup.

My hope is that StribTV succeeds and sets a new example for other print-based publications to follow. But it doesn't sound promising.

Posted by AmyWebb at 09:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's a roundup of the Twitter apps we're using over at WMG. When applicable, I've also indicated how to apply them for use in journalism.

Want a better handle on microblogging as a viable communication platform? Have a look at this study from the University of Maryland (shameless plug - they're just up the street from us). Their findings aren't necessarily earth shattering - we connect with others because we either have something in common or want their knowledge - but the paper does a great job of explaining how we stay in touch, digitally.

In order to get started, create a free account at Twitter.

TwitterFeed - Got a blog? This will automatically updated your posts to your Twitter account. Use it for journalism: If you're not sure how to effectively Twitter at your news organization, create a basic Twitter account - like BaltimoreNews. Then, you can automatically send out announcements of your new blog entries to everyone who's following you.

Twhirl - This is a nice desktop application that allows you to update and read your Twitter account. Use it for journalism: This application really functions more like an instant message client. Still, it can help reporters stay on top of breaking news.

PocketTweets - This tool enables you to post and read tweets via your iPhone.

Twadget - If you're a (blech) Vista user, this is a gadget that will track and send all new tweets from your account.

Twitter Tube Tracker - Track the status of London's Tube trains and get delays sent to Twitter.

TwitterGram - Tired of just sending out 140 characters? Use TwitterGram to send mp3s tweets. Use it for journalism: This could be a fantastic way to share breaking news audio reports. You might also consider using it to send out quick advertisements every X# tweets.

TwitterLit - This application will send out the first line of a book and a link to Amazon. It's part trivia - can you guess the author and title? - but mostly a marketing ploy to get Twitter users to buy more stuff on Amazon. But it's effective - and lots of people are using it. Use it for journalism: Mimic this application for use in your own newsroom. Tease new stories. Use quick-hit trivia to drive traffic to your site. What about promotions? Selling photos or archived video?

TwitterLocal - Filter out tweets from just a certain area. Use it for journalism: Reporters can use this as source material to find out what's happening within a certain range of miles, postal code, state, city, etc.

TwitterCal - This application allows you to add events directly to your Google calendar.

Twittervision - I wrote about this last year... Twittervision displays random updates from people around the world. It's a bit like watching an aquarium, and it's addictive. Want to get included? Add TwitterWhere, which will automatically post your tweet location.

Yahoo! Pipes - Now optimizes your Twitter RSS feed.

Twitzer - Want more than 140 characters? Twitzer works with Firefox and will allow you to type in longer posts. Be warned, though. Twittering is meant to be is micro-sized, and some of your followers may not want long, rambling posts from you.

TrackThis - Track your FedEx, UPS, USPS and DHL packages.

Twubble - Want to follow more people but not sure where to start? Twubble will make recommendations based on who you currently follow and your geographic location. Use it for journalism: This is a good way for jurnos to get started using Twitter, especially if they're not sure who to start following just yet.

TwitterTroll - A workable search engine for Twitter feeds. Not comprehensive, thought. Use it for journalism: Try running a search for people, information on a story, etc. You won't find tweets at Google.

Tweet Scan - This is another search engine for tweets. Use it for journalism: Requires login to get full access to all the tools, but it can definitely be used as a reporting tool. Again, you're not quoting directly from folks - just looking for leads and additional context to aid in the reporting process.

Twitbar -- For our Linux friends, a Twitter client for Gnome users to post from the Deskbar.

Posted by AmyWebb at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was just trying to locate our wedding photographer and typed in her company's name to Google. Here's what I got as the first result (I've blurred out the image):

Yowza! Maybe Google's algorithms aren't that bullet-proof after all...

If you want to see it clearly, go to Google and type in Lovelife Images. Hoping it'll be gone soon...

Posted by AmyWebb at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No Drudge? No Internet to ask? Where did we used to get the news?!?!?!

Posted by AmyWebb at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For the naysayers: Have a look at this Google Code page for a project called QRDecode and insight on an iPhone QR code reader. Or the QuickMark reader page, which lists all of the mobile phones and models that its QR reader will work with.

Windows Live has launched its own version, called Windows Live Barcode:

What is Windows Live Barcode?
Windows Live Barcode is a set of services that transfer information between various media (PCs, billboards, magazines etc.) and handsets via Quick Response Code (QR Code), a two-dimensional barcode. It provides a new method for people to exchange information and enjoy various online services on handsets. Windows Live Barcode aims to enhance handset utility and provide you with more convenience and flexibility.

And this Nokia mobile phone comes preinstalled with a QR Code reader. (Though I'm not recommending that you buy it from this site.)

More on QR codes here. And on how Google Print Ads is using them here.

Posted by AmyWebb at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

And now for something (not so) completely different: a Yahoo! Google advertising partnership. Yahoo! will offer Google ads on part of its site to raise cash and to, it hopes, fend off a hostile takeover by Microsoft.

Read more from Yahoo! Analysis from Silicon Valley Insider.

Scary stuff, folks.

Posted by AmyWebb at 08:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's been a week of big announcements in online advertising - and not because some new company has launched a thrilling geotargeted ad-serving widget.

Yahoo! has just announced details on an enhanced behavioral ad platform called AMP. Essentially, it's going to make it easier for Yahoo newspaper consortium sites to buy and sell targeted ads. So that means that if you're most newspaper sites in the U.S., Yahoo! will be watching what you click on and how you search. Eventually, you'll get delivered ads that, at least in theory, should grab your interest. Do you read stories about the Cubs, shop at browse on Bluefly and check out foodie blogs? Chances are good you'll start to see ads that are sports-related, offer discounts at online clothing retailers and redirect you to culinary sites.

Click here to watch a video of how AMP will work. Here for more background.

Meantime, Fox Interactive Media is in the process of rolling out a new ad platform itself. The "HyperTargeting" system promises to use demographic information that users enter in MySpace and other sites to display targeted ads.

And of course, Google's moving full-speed ahead on behavioral ads and buying/selling ads for print.

Why does all this matter? Because we still rely on advertising to sustain journalism. And many publishers continue to cite the Internet and new digi players (Google, Yahoo) as threats to traditional news.

I agree that news organizations need to be in the business of producing great content and innovating new models for storytelling. But news is also a business, no? Where's the R&D earmarked for developing new ad platforms of our own? Different business models? Alternative revenue streams?

Fifty years ago, newspapers were shackled to big department stores - and we all watched what happened when those companies either went out of business, got bought or just cut back on print advertising. From my perspective, news orgs are just hitching their carts to a different horse now rather than planning for future growth and sustainability.

Look at what's happening to Microsoft. This Yahoo! hostile takeover thingy has to do with staying relevant and strong against Google after operating system disappointments and the failure to innovate modern web apps. But do you think Google will be around forever?

The business side of journalism must learn to adapt. End of story.

Posted by AmyWebb at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Newspaper publishers, it ain't over yet. Listen to what the boys had to say about monetizing online content during the latest South Park episode:

Where'd this rant come from? Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show's creators, were tired of watching entire episodes of South Park run on other sites which also offer advertising. And they were tired of watching clips or episodes winding up on YouTube for free.

So rather than issuing cease-and-desist letters, going on strike or crying that their industry was in collapse and there was nothing that could be done, they turned distribution on its head.

Parker and Stone just launched South Park Studios and now offer a complete archive of all shows - including the one that just ran on Wednesday night. There are clips, a new episode RSS feed that actually works, areas to post comments and create discussions, games and more.

Unlike hulu.com, the joint NBC Universal/ News Corp. venture, episodes are all offered in full. To be fair, hulu offers a popout video player, making it easy to play a show while also working on other web pages - and more importantly, it's very easy to tell others about the content you've viewed. Right now, videos on South Park Studios are offered on a popout screen with few options to embed, share and the like. You can still purchase episodes via iTunes for $1.99 each, but they come sans ads (and are more portable, if you don't know how to rip streaming video on your own).

But the content on South Park Studios is monetized - and that's important to note. Ads run during the episodes, just as they would on television. There are sponsorships (right now, Virgin Mobile, Toyota and Equifax and all advertising on the site). So far, I've not seen or heard any backlash. For the additional services the site offers, folks seem very willing to sit through ads, just as they would have on their television sets 20 years ago.

I realize that many of you reject South Park, seeing it only as a gross-out show for teenagers. You clearly missed seasons 10 and 11. Beyond the fart jokes is some heady social commentary about journalism, the media industry, our obsession with celebrity, mistakes made in our government and more.

Show content aside, I think there's a lesson to be learned about taking matters into our own hands and controlling the path of distribution. It should be interesting to look back at South Park Studios this time next year and see how they're numbers have grown...

Posted by AmyWebb at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I spent much of the day at NPR in Washington yesterday, and I was disappointed - but not surprised - to learn that Maria Thomas, formerly the SVP of Digital Media, made the decision to leave. She is the second high-profile loss for NPR in a month. Former CEO Ken Stern was ousted from his position. Both were committed to growing a digital presence for NPR and to taking advantage of new distribution platforms.

These staff changes have a lot to do with NPR's long-term vision.

I listen to NPR every single day. We have our Baltimore affiliate on in the morning as we get ready for work. If I'm driving, I tend to listen to WHYY or WAMU in the car. And occasionally I'll listen to Chicago or West Coast affiliates while I'm at my office.

And guess what? None of my NPR experience involves a traditional radio. At home, we listen on our computers. When I'm away, I'm listening to podcasts of previous shows and highlights. We have satellite radios in our cars - and the only reason we can even tune in is because the radio we have still has an analog feature.

Why no radio? For one thing, I don't like static. For another, I don't necessarily want to listen to, say, Morning Edition at 7am. As much as I enjoy This American Life, it's not on during a time that's convenient for me. In our household, we time shift everything possible. We would be lost without Netflix, our iPods and our dearly beloved TiVo.

A traditional radio just doesn't fit in to our lifestyles - just like the Model T probably doesn't fit into yours.

NPR is known for is a strong tradition of excellent audio reporting. It dumbfounds me that local affiliates would see that tradition threatened because alternative platforms have become available. One complaint is that with all these podcasts and Internet broadcasts, stations won't be able to monetize content. Membership will fall off. "Underwriting" dollars (can we just call it "advertising," please, since that's what it is?) will somehow fade away.

But it just doesn't make sense to me. Not when I hear ads woven in at the beginning and end of podcasts, or when I hear the same underwriting announcements via my computer as I do on the actual radio airwaves. NPR affiliates should be rejoicing! No longer must they rely only on a physical radio set anymore. They can easily grow their audiences by distributing high-quality content and harnessing all of the various platforms - that even includes mobile phones! NPR can now reach audiences far and wide - and the possibilities for monetization, via multiple channel distribution, have increased tenfold!

So...what's the deal?

At a conference last year, I spent some time talking to Maria about how her team was moving NPR forward, so that the journalism could continue and keep up with our changing media landscape. She had wonderful ideas for training, for continuous news, for new systems of workflow and for how to create a converged newsroom. During that conversation, and during times that I heard Maria speak, I found her inspiring. I enthusiastically watched as she started to extend NPR's global digital reach.

It's a damn shame to now watch all that progress stop, and to know that it may potentially reverse. Why fear the future? Can't you see the countless possibilities for reaching current - and legions of future - listeners?

Posted by AmyWebb at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

While you're sitting at your desk, trying to out-think Google by inserting tags and keywords into your news story, a handful of smart companies are reorganizing the web as we know it. They're working on something called the semantic web - and it'll forever change how we publish journalism online.

While the semantic web isn't an entirely new concept, it is finally starting to materialize. Last August, I posted a short entry about semantic web developments and a video with a pretty good explanation of just what the thing is.

Since then, there have been some significant developments. For one, Radar Networks has recently launched Twine (currently in private beta only). Speaking of radar, just slightly under it is Yahoo, which is expected to quietly launch a semantic search beta in a matter of weeks.

What is it?
What we have right now are some darn good algorithms that search and rank information based on a number of things - how many times we search on a specific term and select a webpage based on its description, relevance of content within a site, etc. But as the web grows, and as we continue to add content, it's becoming more difficult to seek and actually find what we're looking for.

More importantly, search technology is developing into a more sophisticated form of what we know now. The semantic web searches and learns information as we use it. It processes the intended meaning of our words and phrases and pieces different strings together.

To wit: let's say that I was headed to Sweden (I am, for a presentation this June) and wanted to learn both information about the region and simultaneously coordinate with other folks who are going to be there. Via the semantic web, I could search through maps, restaurant reviews, museums - your standard stuff. Using Radar Network's Twine, all of this information would be automatically tagged and indexed for that trip. Then, it might also look through my contacts' stored information - calendars, for example - and connect me with people who will be in or near the region at the same time as I've designated on my own stored calendar At the end, I'll have created a pretty thorough dossier with everything I'll need - even dinner companions - for my trip.

In a sense, having access to the semantic web is like have access to a hyper-organized, blazing fast secretary who also happens to be the best research librarian on the planet.

How does the semantic web impact journalism?
One thing online publishers have wrestled with for years is how to get content seen. That's only getting more difficult, as more people add content via blogs, personal sites, etc. And since wire copy is also being indexed separately from traditional newspapers or magazines, it's not always easy to get people from a search engine to your particular website.

At journalism and other conferences, there always seems to be a panel on metrics. Search Engine Optimization 101. Drive Traffic Using Search.

But pretty soon, we're going to see a paradigm shift. Those great SEO tricks you paid to learn aren't necessarily going to work. And at some point in the future, Google may not be the big kahuna of search anymore.

I think that people will start to think in specifics but aggregate by topic area. They'll want some assistance as they search the web, and they'll learn to love being fed suggested content based on what they preference. This means that news publishers ought to start thinking more about their core competencies...local news, sports, regional politics...and devote resources to building up their newsrooms again so that they'll be armed with high-quality reporting and contextual information on their sites. Online publishers will have to start thinking about how a story's content relates to other content, to people, to ideas in what will become Web 3.0.

And it'd be a good idea to get someone on your staff soon who understands all this stuff.

More s semantic web resources: Blue Organizer, Freebase, Hakia.

Posted by AmyWebb at 12:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the wake of all the mergers and acquisitions - an announcement today makes it likely that Microsoft and Yahoo! will strike a deal, while word is spreading that Tribune Co. wants to offload Newsday - one has to keep Google in mind.

Yes, Google just officially completed its $3.1 billion purchase of online ad service DoubleClick. And yes, Google also wants to buy up the so-called "white space spectrum," once the TV airwaves make the switch to digital - the company wants to build a massive Wi-Fi network to make Internet access ubiquitous.

But to me, the most interesting new foray for Google isn't invisible space between television channels or even the rumored Gphone/ Andriod platform. It's Google's Print Ads service.

The service isn't exactly new. Tech folks were talking about Google's move into print back in 2005 and wondering then what it might mean for the already compromised classified ads world. (If you want a PDF of every newspaper participating in Google Print Ads - along with each paper's reported circulation and reach - click here.)

But a full-page announcement in this week's Advertising Age made me take notice again. Look below - and notice that 2D barcode.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I thought print publications might harness 2D barcodes, or QR codes, to complement their online products. In a sense, publishers could hide information in print that would be revealed online, creating a perfect print-digital synergy. I also explained how this technology could be used to sell advertising or for marketing campaigns.

It doesn't surprise me one bit that Google has moved into print and is essentially acting as a broker to hundreds of newspapers. Newspapers are in trouble, and Google has a very powerful network of companies wanting to advertise. Google is leveraging its vast network to "help" the absolutely desperate folks on the print side of media...but Google's aim is still to drive traffic to various websites (advertisers, those offering other Google ads and more).

Of course Google is offering 2D barcodes as a possible solution. To prove its point, the one in the announcement above goes straight to www.google.com/printadvertising.

A central problem in traditional journalism is that very few company execs - if any - are either hiring the right R&D folks or are bringing in outside consultants to identify and adapt emerging technology. Newspapers and magazines shouldn't have to rely on Google to alert them on the next big trend in tech. And they sure as hell shouldn't wait for Google to develop the ideas for how to implement that technology.

National ads are certainly lucrative - but there's something to be said for monetizing your local marketplace and inviting local advertisers to use your network. There is absolutely no reason that newspapers and magazines across the country can't start selling 2D barcodes right away, and upselling those ads with joint offers online. The news sites will get an extra click when users hit the site from their mobile phones, and advertisers will get their ads seen via online and mobile - plus, users will have a reason to then visit many of the advertisers in person (to use electronic coupons, for example).

It's not even just about the money. There are cross-promotions, marketing and even editorial opportunities hidden in 2D codes and SMS. It'd be a damn shame for traditional media to miss the boat again and have to wave at the Google cargo ship charging ahead to sea.

Posted by AmyWebb at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Congrats to my local pal Greg Gershman, whose BlogDigger has been acquired by Odeo. Greg launched BlogDigger in 2003 and developed, along with a friend, all of the code that aggregated and sorted blogs around the world.

What always impressed me about BlogDigger was that it kept out extraneous search results. If you were looking for a blog specifically about John Hughes movies, BlogDigger would return results with very few irrelevant information. It was partly because Greg monitored keywords - you couldn't trick BlogDigger to push your own blog up to the top of results pages, which you can kinda still do in Technorati and even Google.

As search becomes more important - and as we continue to add content online - the winners will be those who can deliver consistent, relevant information.

Posted by AmyWebb at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Two quick announcements as we start out a new week...

First, my company has finally relaunched its website. We got rid of the Flash, added lots of content and made all of our research available for you to download directly from our site. While I like Flash for very specific projects - media players, stand-alone timelines, overlays for data-driven applications - I really don't like entire websites that launch as a single .swf file. There are too many barriers for folks on older machines, who don't understand what Flash is (or that they need a Flash player) or who simply don't want to launch the application. Call us retro, but we've decided on basic HTML.

Second, I've decided to help out a friend and veteran journalist Dan Rottenberg on his site, the Broad Street Review. For me, this is an exciting side project - I'm going to help Dan with the site, which is dedicated to arts and culture reporting around the greater Philadelphia area. What I like about BSR is that it's nearly 100% community-driven...but through a unique editing and publishing process, the content is vetted just as rigorously as it would be at, say, the Philadelphia Inquirer or Daily News. While the interactivity may not currently suggest it, BSR is very Web 2.0. It's a dialogue, not at all a monologue. The entire site is conversational - you'll find third and fourth stories on a particular opera performance, and they fold in the comments and thoughts from other writers and readers. Readers very much dictate the stories and arts coverage - and they're encouraged to participate using text, photos, audio and more. BSR may currently lack some of the bells and whistles of other sites, but I don't know of anyone else who's doing this much back-and-forth journalism with their audience.

Posted by AmyWebb at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)