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Posted 1:43 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Farewell, Ann and Andy
Steve Outing on Clickz founders' departure
Andy Bourland and Ann Handley have left ClickZ, the online marketing and advertising webzine that they founded four years ago. The duo had sold the site to Internet.com and had been working through the date that their contracts allowed an exit. They leave a successful site (said to be 50,000 readers), and presumably with fat bank accounts. Here's their farewell to readers.
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Posted 2:20 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Enfish: Transparent Interfacing With Content
Norbert Specker on interfacing content
Sam Vaknin eloquently describes the Seamless Internet and points to an interesting company, Enfish, that offers a single graphical interface to information on the personal computer and the Internet. (The heralded versatility is somewhat tainted as it stops at Microsoft and Internet Explorer. And Richmond Castle certainly should not be the only entrance into the world.) An intriguing Flash demo gives a good idea of the concept. This is a small step in a vast uncharted territory: interfacing pervasive content while dealing simultaneously with rights, pricing, and personalization issues. This is a gorgeous challenge.
Posted 12:53 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Dot-com Downturn: The Big Picture
Amy Gahran on putting the changing economy into perspective
In the June 2001 issue of Fast Company, columnist John Ellis sets forth one of the calmest, most lucid, and most intriguing analyses I've seen of our changing economy. See: "Many things matter, and here's what matters most." To summarize a couple of his key points:
- While the dot-com downturn is generating endless negative headlines ("our media have never been keen on contradiction or paradox"), digital technology (including the Internet) continues to fuel discovery and invention.
- The new value being created is real and significant, but at this point it's also largely unquantifiable and long term. Stock markets and news media have a hard time dealing with that.
Posted 12:36 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
E-paper Is Promising, But Don't Hold Your Breath
Steve Outing on electronic paper
"Electronic paper" screens could start showing up on PDAs and handheld devices by 2002-2003. They would replace today's low-resolution, battery-hungry screens with ones that have the resolution and look of paper and use very little battery power. Alas, this is all going to take some time to go where we'd all like it to go. The first such screens will likely by black and white; color will take longer to develop. And such screens are unlikely to support multimedia; we're getting used to short video and animation on the Web using PCs, but this won't translate to electronic paper handheld devices anytime in the near future. This is complicated stuff, as Andreas Pfeiffer explains in a commentary for ZDNet News. "This technology will have a considerable impact on the devices we will find on the market," he writes. "This is not going to happen overnight, however."
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Posted 11:11 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
The Future of Turbo Journalism
Katja Riefler on online-only publications
Norway's Nettavisen is one of Europe's most successful online-only news providers. When it expanded its "Turbo journalism" concept into Germany last November with Netzeitung, no one thought that it would have a chance against well-established brands of the big newspapers or magazines. Meanwhile, the traditional publications started taking their new competitor seriously. Chief editors Ruediger Dietz from Spiegel Online and Simon Kaatz from FAZ.NET at least mentioned their respect to me last week. Netzeitung is real fast but there is no journalistic "field work" any more. Is this what we have to expect from the future of Net-Journalism? You might want to have a look at Axel Steuerwalds' story on Online Journalism Review about the controversial reception of the Nettavisen concept.
Posted 1:13 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Slate: The Great Internet Disillusion
Jade Walker on paying for content
Michael Kinsley offers a different take on the whole "free online content" argument in Slate. Kinsley examines other information media, like television and newspapers, and compares those revenue models to online ones. Intriguingly, in the end he comes to the conclusion that "information has been free all along. It's the Internet that wants to enslave it."
Posted 11:34 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Flat-rate Offers in Germany Stopped
Norbert Specker on the latest IVW numbers
First T-Online, now AOL. Both stopped their flat-rate online service offerings shortly after the announcements due to unexpected high demand. (Both conceded that network capacity first has to be put in place.) Unexpected? Speculation that high phone rates were responsible for the slower Internet adoption rate in Germany has been around for years. But just how much does that stop people from surfing? The numbers produced by IVW on the numbers of visits in April offer an indication as many daily updated content sites are down by 10% and more. April has an above average number of public holidays, with Easter thrown in, and as a result surfing from the workplace is affected considerably. Whatever will happen to the traffic numbers if the network providers manage to not only offer flat-rate in Germany but keep the promise?
Posted 2:01 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
'The Black AP'
Steve Outing on Internet service for black newspapers
"What we're moving toward is the first true black community news service," or the "black AP," says the executive director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a Washington-based organization of about 200 black newspaper publishers. As the Washington Post reports today, NNPA will launch an effort to help member newspapers publish online and develop a national black news service. Member newspapers will pay a monthly fee to be part of the service, which will enable them to use each other's content (ergo, the AP reference) and give them an affordable Web presence. Many black-oriented community newspapers cannot afford credible Web sites, so this initiative should increase the visibility of the black press on the Internet.
Posted 11:17 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Skirting High School Censorship
Steve Outing on student journalism
The principal of Hinsdale Central High School in Illinois decided to censor a controversial series on school violence planned for the student newspaper. But acts of school censorship don't carry as much weight in the era of the Internet. While the series won't appear in the student paper, the articles will appear on a private Web site, accessible by everyone in the school. Here's a Chicago Tribune report on the incident.
Posted 6:06 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
How to Write E-mail Ad Copy
Amy Gahran on writing successful text-only ad copy
Today's ClickZ includes a great column by Debbie Weil about the advertising in e-mail newsletters. (See: "E-Newsletters: A Smart Choice Now.") In addition to noting that right now is a good time for advertisers to buy slots in e-mail publications ("There is plenty of inventory, the CPM is much less than for a permission e-mail list, and you can find some significant discounts"), she also discusses the fine art of writing copy for text-only ads — including specific, practical recommendations. Well worth reading!
Posted 5:58 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Is Advertising Hijacking Editorial With Takeover Ads?
Paul Grabowicz on new media ethics
Many media Web sites are putting a lot of stock in obtrusive new "takeover" ads — usually animations that scroll across the editorial content on a page. But San Jose Mercury News columnist Mike Langberg criticizes the ads for further blurring the line between advertising and editorial and undermining the credibility of the media sites.
Posted 5:53 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
The Paid Answer Man/Woman
Steve Outing on Q&A revenue model
Net Guide New Zealand reports on an interesting paid-content model: a subscription question and answer service run by a business and legal publisher. CCH New Zealand's online Q&A service costs $400 per quarter or $1,200 per year. For that, users get to send in tax, company, employment, and business law questions (no limit on the number) and a team of tax/business/legal specialists will craft individual responses within 24 hours. This is a worthwhile business model that might work for some other verticals publishers.
NEW! CONTENT INTELLIGENCE
Focused research for the content community. Real Research. Real Insight. Every Business Day. Free Premiere Issue!
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Posted 2:19 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
The Marketing Side of Content
Amy Gahran on Web marketing strategies
Last night, I attended the monthly meeting of the Rocky Mountain Internet Users Group. The theme was effective online marketing, and it dealt specifically with search engine optimization (Jim Grinney, partner with 90octane), integrating your site into your selling process (Nancy Whiteman, partner in e-biz consultancy Ryan Whiteman), and e-mail marketing (Derek Scruggs, CEO of the secretive start-up Commercial Email Network).Not surprisingly, much of what they had to say was directly related to content issues — although they didn't frame it that way. One speaker even mentioned the "difference between content and copy," as if advertising copy isn't a form of content! I asked the speakers to clarify what kind of content they thought was most effective for online marketing — other than saying "Buy, buy, buy!" They noted:
- Understand your audience — who they are, what they care about, what they may/may not already know about you or your offerings, etc.
- Hire writers who know how to write for the Web.
- Organize your site so that it's easy for people to find the content that directly addresses their needs (various customer categories, sales vs. support, etc.).
- Make sure both the text and visual components of your navigation are simple and intuitive.
Posted 2:45 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Online Alliance of European Newspapers
Katja Riefler on strategic partnerships
Four big conservative European newspapers have agreed to built a strategic partnership for online and offline cooperation. Die Welt (Germany), Le Figaro (France), the Daily Telegraph (UK), and the Spanish ABC plan to combine their strengths in the new "European Dailies Alliance." Besides the Internet partnership, those newspapers also intend to cooperate in editorial content and documentation.
Posted 12:40 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Paying for Your Book Review: Bah!
Steve Outing on review service's ethical problem
As M.J. Rose reports in her weekly Wired News column, a new Web site called ForeWordReviews has begun offering allegedly objective book reviews for a fee. For $295, any author or publisher can have a reviewer "professionally review" a title. Ostensibly, this is a way to get around the problem of small publishers and e-book authors not being able to get their titles reviewed, because there's so much being published (via traditional and Internet channels) and not enough reviewers to get to lesser-known titles.The paid reviews supposedly will be objective, and paying authors/publishers might get mediocre or even bad reviews. But let's get real. The first reviews that pan paying customers are going to create angry customers who want their money back. Bad reviews won't happen. This is a lame, lame, lame idea with serious ethical problems. Paid reviews cheapen the legitimate book-review profession. (ForeWordReviews also pays its writer/reviewers poorly. Rose reports that they get $50 for a review.)
Posted 12:01 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Another Chance
Kerry Northrup on the Internet revolution, round 2
McKinsey & Company opines that newspapers will get another opportunity to succeed on the Internet where they have less than prospered so far. The consulting firm says that this second chance comes with the spread of the mobile Internet. "Mobile devices ... lend themselves particularly well to location-specific World Wide Web features such as city guides, entertainment listings, and restaurant reviews — exactly the kind of information that was once easiest to find in a newspaper," the firm says in its online quarterly. I tend to agree. But I also note that, as usual, the business consultant gives insufficient weight to the mobile value of real news vs. simple consumer information.
Posted 10:22 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Women's Sports on the Web
Steve Klein on online sports content
Expect the growth of women's sports, especially on the professional level, to both be aided and reflected online. The keynote session (rather than address) of the Women's Sports Foundation's Summit last weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona, included WNBA president Val Ackerman, LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw, Women's Tennis Association CEO Bart McGuire, World TeamTennis CEO Ilana Kloss, Women's Pro Softball League president John Carroll, and Women's United Soccer Association vice president Lauren Gregg.Said Ackerman: "We're ready to go to another level now. The last five years have been seminal in women's sports, especially team sports. Five years ago there was nothing. There has been an extraordinary string of events, and the climate has dramatically changed. The next step is to grow these businesses, to make them sustainable." In a story in the Arizona Republic, it was pointed out that women make 85% of consumer purchases and influence 95% of all buying for sporting goods/services. "We have in women's sports the most accessible, approachable, appreciative, accommodating professional athletes in the world today," the LPGA's Votaw said.
Posted 9:51 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Egg on Their Face
Andrew Stroehlein on interactivity
Egg, the UK Internet bank — another one with a name reeking of dot-com-era hipness — has axed its eggfreezone, the bank's companion site where customers were given space to post their comments and opinions about the bank and its service. Well, must have been one unhappy customer too many or maybe just too many vulgar comments; the bank's called for a rethink, redirecting customers to another page: "Egg-free gone." There is a difference between user-generated content and a truly open forum.
Posted 12:52 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Salon Under the Microscope
Steve Outing on Salon's new strategy
Heavyweight webzine Salon.com is trying lots of new strategies in hopes of surviving the dot-com downturn. Its Salon Premium paid-subscription service is one approach, but a review in the Washington Post suggests that there's not enough added value to make the price worth it over the free site. David Hall writes, "The difference between Salon's Premium and non-Premium versions is not that great. In fact it would be tempting to say that the entire Salon Premium experience is, at this early stage, not that great."The other noticeable Salon.com strategy is that the site is getting more and more sexy. Taking a page from high-brow sex site Nerve.com, Salon has a racy yet literate sex section — much of it viewable even without a Premium subscription. Perhaps Salon's desperation to survive can be seen in the tactics employed in its Sex section, like the series of photos from the Kinsey Institute's archives. (Salon will take some flack for publishing photo No. 5 in this series. It's a shocker for a non-porn site.)
Posted 12:34 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Dot-coms Down, But E-Commerce Up
Paul Grabowicz on the Internet economy
Online retail spending is expected to grow 45% this year, according to a new study by Shop.org and the Boston Consulting Group. CNET has a story from last week on the survey and on another by the U.S. Commerce Department that paint a rather rosy picture for e-commerce despite all the dot-com doom and gloom.
Posted 1:09 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Surveillance With a Smile
Amy Gahran on poking fun at Big Brother
I guess I'm not the only person who's become rather peeved by the proliferation of security cameras just about everywhere I go. Funny, they never make me feel more secure! Fortunately, the Surveillance Camera Players (a group of performance artists from New York City) have found a creative way to strike back at the obsessively observant: staging avant garde, visually oriented skits for security cameras. Their exploits comprise some truly entertaining Web content, too!According to Wired News, some security camera operators are not amused, and call the cops. Then, SCP director Bill Brown "whips out a pocket-size edition of the U.S. Constitution and reads them the Fourth Amendment. If they ask him for a permit, he cites the First Amendment. But if they tell him to move on, he concedes. The cops aren't the enemy, he insists, it's the people who run the cops." See: "Live From N.Y.: Security Cam Hams," by Julia Scheeres.
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Posted 12:51 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
It's a Crime That Papers Don't Do This
Steve Outing on e-mail publishing
From a discussion thread on the Online-News list today came this brilliant yet obvious idea from Adam Gaffin, executive editor of Network World Fusion: "Why don't more (any?) newspapers offer zoned e-mail police reports?" That's an excellent question. When it comes to e-mail, traditional publishers still miss the obvious opportunities. When will they learn?
Posted 11:54 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Big Sports Players Dominate
Steve Klein on online sports content
As if we needed to see the proof, the big boys continue to dominate the online sports market, according to Nielsen//NetRatings for the week ending April 29.Worth noting: 1) ESPN.com, Sportsline.com, and MLB.com were 1-2-3 in unique audience and time-per-person both at work and at home. 2) ESPN.com's unique audience of 1,776,000 was more than twice that of runner-up Sportsline.com at work and at home. 3) ESPN.com and Sportsline dominated time-per-person at work with 12:32 and 12:17 respectively, followed by NBA.com, CNNSI.com, NASCAR.com, SportingNews.com, and MLB.com. 4) At home, time-per-person was a different story with NASCAR.com (10:23) and NBA.com (8:25), thanks to live webcasts, ahead of ESPN.com, Sportsline.com, CNNSI.com. 5) The lone "pure play" on the list was FansOnly.com, at No. 10 at home. And it went out of business last month.
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