Way back in 1986, Brad Keefauver and I formed a life-long bond of bad movie fandom after being inspired by "No Retreat, No Surrender."
I was sure we were the only two who saw the movie (mostly because we were the only two in the theater). But Stephen Colbert referenced it AND showed clips during his recent interview with Tom Delay on "The Colbert Report." Check it out:
More later,
Mark
Monday, May 28, 2007
The Great Pistachio Caper
As a communications professional, I try to use this site to illustrate the growing impact that the Internet has on how we communicate.
However, I happened upon this example several weeks ago as a mere hot-headed consumer.
One site that I have constantly touted to friends and even casual acquaintances is SlickDeals.Net. This a great site in which fellow Internet travelers well met come across great deals and post them for others to enjoy. It's completely free and I have notched a few cool deals because of this great site.
For example, I love pistachios, especially giant pistachios. So, I happened across what seemed to be a great slick deal In April: A pound of giant pistachios from Plow & Hearth for $4.99, down from $19.99! Wow! Seventy-five percent off! And combined with a coupon, you could buy a couple pounds for just $8!
I ordered four pounds. And then waited for those delicious morsels to arrive.
On April 5, I got an e-mail confirming my order. On April 10, I received an e-mail stating something quite different:
Dear Plow & Hearth Customer,
Thank you for your recent order. Like you, thousands of customers placed orders for our Colossal Pistachios (P8827) - the demand was overwhelming! Unfortunately, due to an error on our website, we continued to accept orders even after our inventory was sold out. As a result, we regret to inform you that we will be unable to fulfill your request. Your order will be canceled and you will not be charged for this item.
We realize this has been an inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. Please accept this special offer as a token of thanks for your continued patronage:
Take $10 Off Your Next Order of $75* or more! Use promotion code SDFW4 when placing your order. Offer ends 4/30/2007.
OK, now, I'm used to the reality that sometimes problems happen on the web. Order get mixed up. Supplies run out. But here's what got my goat: You can't apologize by sending me a generic coupon that is only good if I spend more than three times my original order. Or as I wrote back:
"You post a 70% discount, get a lot of buzz and THEN you don't follow through and THEN you offer me $10 off $75 which I can already find anyplace on the Internet?? Fifteen percent off to replace 70% off???"
I also raised the onus of bait-and-switch and cc'd the Better Business Bureau nearest Plow & Hearth's HQ in Madison, Va. Two days later, I received this e-mail:
Dear Mr. Sweetwood,
I am currently traveling but will call you on Monday about your situation.
Regards,
T. Dana Pappas
Chief Operating Officer
Plow & Hearth, Inc.
Wow! E-mail from the Plow & Hearth COO?
The following Monday, Dana indeed called and we talked. He's a great guy, frankly. He explained the situation and it is a cautionary tale of the power of the Internet as well as the value of knowing how to harness that power.
Dana explained that the giant pistachios are brought in every year for the Holiday catalogs and then are cleared out every spring to make way for new stock. This year, they had 2,000 units to clear out and they put them on that great sale on their own Web site and in three or four weeks, they had moved just 200 units. Then, someone put the same sale on SlickDeals.Net where a much larger, aggregated audience saw the deal and they sold 10,000 units in less than 24 hours!
The problem: They just had 1,800 bags. Worse, the Plow & Hearth Web site was just not prepared for that kind of surge in volume.
He chuckled at the lesson learned, however: Had he known about SlickDeals.Net he would have made sure the deal had gotten there sooner with less than a 70 percent discount. Quicker sales and a better profit margin for the company...
However, he felt bad that I felt bad and he sent me a peace offering from his private stash: A bag of giant pistachios that was immediately devoured by my newspaper staff.
The Internet represents a vast communication potential. However, merely having a Web site or even having a great product is not good enough if you are not reaching the right audience. Linking audience with product is not happenstance; it is more science than fate. Audiences constantly shift focus and loyalties on the Internet and preaching to your core audience everyday is not good enough. By finding out what your audience enjoys and where else it surfs and with whom it networks, you can begin to truly tap into the Internet's potential.
Anyway, I believe Plow & Hearth is a good company so I am posting a link to their site as a thank-you for the great pistachios.
More later,
Mark
However, I happened upon this example several weeks ago as a mere hot-headed consumer.
One site that I have constantly touted to friends and even casual acquaintances is SlickDeals.Net. This a great site in which fellow Internet travelers well met come across great deals and post them for others to enjoy. It's completely free and I have notched a few cool deals because of this great site.
For example, I love pistachios, especially giant pistachios. So, I happened across what seemed to be a great slick deal In April: A pound of giant pistachios from Plow & Hearth for $4.99, down from $19.99! Wow! Seventy-five percent off! And combined with a coupon, you could buy a couple pounds for just $8!
I ordered four pounds. And then waited for those delicious morsels to arrive.
On April 5, I got an e-mail confirming my order. On April 10, I received an e-mail stating something quite different:
Dear Plow & Hearth Customer,
Thank you for your recent order. Like you, thousands of customers placed orders for our Colossal Pistachios (P8827) - the demand was overwhelming! Unfortunately, due to an error on our website, we continued to accept orders even after our inventory was sold out. As a result, we regret to inform you that we will be unable to fulfill your request. Your order will be canceled and you will not be charged for this item.
We realize this has been an inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. Please accept this special offer as a token of thanks for your continued patronage:
Take $10 Off Your Next Order of $75* or more! Use promotion code SDFW4 when placing your order. Offer ends 4/30/2007.
OK, now, I'm used to the reality that sometimes problems happen on the web. Order get mixed up. Supplies run out. But here's what got my goat: You can't apologize by sending me a generic coupon that is only good if I spend more than three times my original order. Or as I wrote back:
"You post a 70% discount, get a lot of buzz and THEN you don't follow through and THEN you offer me $10 off $75 which I can already find anyplace on the Internet?? Fifteen percent off to replace 70% off???"
I also raised the onus of bait-and-switch and cc'd the Better Business Bureau nearest Plow & Hearth's HQ in Madison, Va. Two days later, I received this e-mail:
Dear Mr. Sweetwood,
I am currently traveling but will call you on Monday about your situation.
Regards,
T. Dana Pappas
Chief Operating Officer
Plow & Hearth, Inc.
Wow! E-mail from the Plow & Hearth COO?
The following Monday, Dana indeed called and we talked. He's a great guy, frankly. He explained the situation and it is a cautionary tale of the power of the Internet as well as the value of knowing how to harness that power.
Dana explained that the giant pistachios are brought in every year for the Holiday catalogs and then are cleared out every spring to make way for new stock. This year, they had 2,000 units to clear out and they put them on that great sale on their own Web site and in three or four weeks, they had moved just 200 units. Then, someone put the same sale on SlickDeals.Net where a much larger, aggregated audience saw the deal and they sold 10,000 units in less than 24 hours!
The problem: They just had 1,800 bags. Worse, the Plow & Hearth Web site was just not prepared for that kind of surge in volume.
He chuckled at the lesson learned, however: Had he known about SlickDeals.Net he would have made sure the deal had gotten there sooner with less than a 70 percent discount. Quicker sales and a better profit margin for the company...
However, he felt bad that I felt bad and he sent me a peace offering from his private stash: A bag of giant pistachios that was immediately devoured by my newspaper staff.
The Internet represents a vast communication potential. However, merely having a Web site or even having a great product is not good enough if you are not reaching the right audience. Linking audience with product is not happenstance; it is more science than fate. Audiences constantly shift focus and loyalties on the Internet and preaching to your core audience everyday is not good enough. By finding out what your audience enjoys and where else it surfs and with whom it networks, you can begin to truly tap into the Internet's potential.
Anyway, I believe Plow & Hearth is a good company so I am posting a link to their site as a thank-you for the great pistachios.
More later,
Mark
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Music to Soothe
Tonight on the big shue, Sir Paul McCartney has directed our attention to the new music video from his upcoming "Memory Almost Full" CD. "Dance Tonight" is a music video directed by Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") and features Natalie Portman as well as Paul on the mandolin. The video was released Wednesday on YouYube.com and the album hits iTunes and stores in the states June 5.
Also on our stage tonight, the New York Daily News is including Nick Lowe's June 26 LP "At My Age" as one of "The best you'll hear in the coming months."
New York Daily News
More later,
Mark
Also on our stage tonight, the New York Daily News is including Nick Lowe's June 26 LP "At My Age" as one of "The best you'll hear in the coming months."
New York Daily News
More later,
Mark
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Tough to Find The Words
My beautiful niece/goddaughter Angela and her wonderful husband Fred gave birth to their first son, Fredrik Hunter Nimke, weeks after we moved to Florida on Dec. 12, 2006. He was by all accounts a joyous baby and the light of so many lives, including his grandparents, my sister, Karen, and my brother-in-law, Bud. My parents made the trek to welcome their first great-grandson into the world in January.
Hunter died suddenly Wednesday, May 16. The resulting shock has been devastating. The family has crafted a beautiful obituary in The Times of Ottawa, Ill.
Fredrik "Hunter" Nimke 2006-2007
I was privileged to be in the presence of some very brave, special, inspiring people for the past several days.
More later,
Mark
Hunter died suddenly Wednesday, May 16. The resulting shock has been devastating. The family has crafted a beautiful obituary in The Times of Ottawa, Ill.
Fredrik "Hunter" Nimke 2006-2007
I was privileged to be in the presence of some very brave, special, inspiring people for the past several days.
More later,
Mark
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Proof I'm Not Alone
Jon Friedman's MarketWatch Media Web commentary Friday had a great profile on new media pioneer Elizabeth Spiers.
Friedman writes: "Old media have suffered self-inflicted wounds, Spiers contends, because they prefer to jump on a trend instead of trying to come up with something wholly original. Their mentality seems to be to throw money at a problem, rather than daring to be different."
Amen.
Read it all here:
Blogger Spiers knows where old media go wrong
More later,
Mark
Friedman writes: "Old media have suffered self-inflicted wounds, Spiers contends, because they prefer to jump on a trend instead of trying to come up with something wholly original. Their mentality seems to be to throw money at a problem, rather than daring to be different."
Amen.
Read it all here:
Blogger Spiers knows where old media go wrong
More later,
Mark
Monday, May 14, 2007
Wrasslin' in Melbourne
Mayhem In Melbourne II brought out the stars Saturday, May 12, 2007 and was co-sponsored by Hometown News. The Flip Video camcorder was put to the test in the fourth row VIP section at ringside. Today's video features award-winning sports writer Rob Shelburne (who accurately predicts an eventual melee that reached the fourth row), former Jacksonville Jaguar linebacker and Hometown News sales representative Santo Stephens, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Marty Jannetty, Kamala, The One Man Gang and a cast of hundreds at Florida Tech's Clemente Center.
This was shot on the Flip Video camcorder and edited on the iMovie program that is featured on every new Mac. Hence, there are a lot of firsts for me here, so be kind... Clearly, the camerman needs more practice...
More later,
Mark
This was shot on the Flip Video camcorder and edited on the iMovie program that is featured on every new Mac. Hence, there are a lot of firsts for me here, so be kind... Clearly, the camerman needs more practice...
More later,
Mark
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Ahh... May!
May was always a special month in the Sweetwood household while growing up. In short order, we celebrated Dad's birthday, Mother's Day, the parents' anniversary and then Father's Day (following close behind in June).
Four big days in about five weeks.
These days, folks are spread from here back to Ilinois but we always find ways to celebrate. Mary and I headed to Ormond Beach to spread birthday cheer a couple of weeks ago. Today, Mom is spending the day with her Mom; Grandma turns 92 in July.
The good news is that in the 10th year since my Dad's retirement and the ninth year since they became full-year Floridians, Mom and Dad both are in good spirit and health. Here is a picture we snapped of them during the last visit:
The best thing about the Internet is that they are regular visitors to Mark's World so it is always easy for me to wish them both a Happy Birth-Mother-Anniversary-Father's Day!
More later,
Mark
Four big days in about five weeks.
These days, folks are spread from here back to Ilinois but we always find ways to celebrate. Mary and I headed to Ormond Beach to spread birthday cheer a couple of weeks ago. Today, Mom is spending the day with her Mom; Grandma turns 92 in July.
The good news is that in the 10th year since my Dad's retirement and the ninth year since they became full-year Floridians, Mom and Dad both are in good spirit and health. Here is a picture we snapped of them during the last visit:
The best thing about the Internet is that they are regular visitors to Mark's World so it is always easy for me to wish them both a Happy Birth-Mother-Anniversary-Father's Day!
More later,
Mark
iPod, You Pod
Have you waited too long for an iPod? Do you feel the rest of the world has passed you by, simply because you were too stubborn to fork out $300-$400 for a top-of-the-line music/video machine?
Rest easy. Mark is here.
There are a couple of links here that will "WOW!" you with refurbished iPod deals. At the top of the page, the fine Apple store has 30 GB ipods discounted from $249 to $199 with free shipping! This is a great deal.
Over on the left rail, if you scroll down, you'll see a picture of a 30 GB black iPod.
Click it and you'll be taken to a great deal on Overstock.com. Now, click on "Add to Cart" and you'll see, with shipping, the total is $208.94. A good deal, as well.
Now, get back to this page and click on that flashy "8% off all orders" banner for Overstock.com also on the left rail. Then check your cart. Your iPod has now dropped to $192.46 including shipping.
This is an outstanding deal. I snagged my 30 GB iPod from Overstock.com in 2005 in a similar deal. I am a total iPod addict, now. I am ready to jump on a 80 GB model as soon as I am wowed by a similar deal.
More later,
Mark
Rest easy. Mark is here.
There are a couple of links here that will "WOW!" you with refurbished iPod deals. At the top of the page, the fine Apple store has 30 GB ipods discounted from $249 to $199 with free shipping! This is a great deal.
Over on the left rail, if you scroll down, you'll see a picture of a 30 GB black iPod.
Click it and you'll be taken to a great deal on Overstock.com. Now, click on "Add to Cart" and you'll see, with shipping, the total is $208.94. A good deal, as well.
Now, get back to this page and click on that flashy "8% off all orders" banner for Overstock.com also on the left rail. Then check your cart. Your iPod has now dropped to $192.46 including shipping.
This is an outstanding deal. I snagged my 30 GB iPod from Overstock.com in 2005 in a similar deal. I am a total iPod addict, now. I am ready to jump on a 80 GB model as soon as I am wowed by a similar deal.
More later,
Mark
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Get Ready for Mark's World TV!
The future is a little, iPod-shaped box with an electronic viewfinder and a lens.
After some time on a waiting list, I finally received my Flip Video camcorder. I hate the "camcorder" part of the name. It makes it sound so much bigger than it is.
It is lightweight. It operates on two AA batteries. It can hold 60 minutes of video. It can make stills. It connects to your computer via a USB port. It can connect to your TV with a standard cable.
It costs about $125.
I am testing it out and more will follow. For now, enjoy my first test video featuring Louis J. Cat.
More later,
Mark
After some time on a waiting list, I finally received my Flip Video camcorder. I hate the "camcorder" part of the name. It makes it sound so much bigger than it is.
It is lightweight. It operates on two AA batteries. It can hold 60 minutes of video. It can make stills. It connects to your computer via a USB port. It can connect to your TV with a standard cable.
It costs about $125.
I am testing it out and more will follow. For now, enjoy my first test video featuring Louis J. Cat.
More later,
Mark
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Sink or Spin
Not all masters of printing mechanisms are lost in the information age. Walter Hussman, publisher, of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, has authored a interesting view on the battle daily newspapers face. His commentary was featured Wednesday on the Wall Street Journal editorial page and is entitled: "How to Sink a Newspaper: Free news for online customers is a disastrous business plan."
Among his points:
"Newspapers initially created their Web sites with the best of intentions. After all, newspapers are in the information business. And rather than fight the new medium, the Internet, why not embrace it? Wanting to be the leading information providers and thereby have the most popular Web site in the community, they posted all of their news online for free."
Click here for the commentary:
How to Sink a Newspaper
I'm not sure I completely embrace his model, but at least he is not following the "newspaper industry" pack.
Meanwhile, some of the old-line media stalwarts gathered in Las Vegas for the 56th annual National Cable & Telecommunications Association conference this week. They seemed ready to rattle their collective cane at new media.
One odd exchange, as reported by Kenneth Li of Reuters:
"The Googles of the world, they are the Custer of the modern world. We are the Sioux nation," Time Warner Inc. Chief Executive Richard Parsons said. "They will lose this war if they go to war. The notion that the new kids on the block have taken over is a false notion."
Check the story out here:
Old media turns combative against new media
As for the Custer/Sioux nation reference, you decide which is heading toward a last stand and which seems like a nimble, lethal force:
• Time-Warner is a conglomerate that dates back to 1972. In the first quarter of 2007, Time Warner revenues rose 9 percent over the same period in 2006 to $11.2 billion. Adjusted operating income was up 19 percent to $3.1 billion
• Google was first offered as an IPO in 2004. In the first quarter of 2007, Google revenues hit a new company high with a 63 percent increase over the same period in 2006 to $3.66 billion. Adjusted operating income was up 39 percent to $1 billion.
Some good numbers all around, though Google seems surging. It just might be a weak metaphor...
More later,
Mark
Among his points:
"Newspapers initially created their Web sites with the best of intentions. After all, newspapers are in the information business. And rather than fight the new medium, the Internet, why not embrace it? Wanting to be the leading information providers and thereby have the most popular Web site in the community, they posted all of their news online for free."
Click here for the commentary:
How to Sink a Newspaper
I'm not sure I completely embrace his model, but at least he is not following the "newspaper industry" pack.
Meanwhile, some of the old-line media stalwarts gathered in Las Vegas for the 56th annual National Cable & Telecommunications Association conference this week. They seemed ready to rattle their collective cane at new media.
One odd exchange, as reported by Kenneth Li of Reuters:
"The Googles of the world, they are the Custer of the modern world. We are the Sioux nation," Time Warner Inc. Chief Executive Richard Parsons said. "They will lose this war if they go to war. The notion that the new kids on the block have taken over is a false notion."
Check the story out here:
Old media turns combative against new media
As for the Custer/Sioux nation reference, you decide which is heading toward a last stand and which seems like a nimble, lethal force:
• Time-Warner is a conglomerate that dates back to 1972. In the first quarter of 2007, Time Warner revenues rose 9 percent over the same period in 2006 to $11.2 billion. Adjusted operating income was up 19 percent to $3.1 billion
• Google was first offered as an IPO in 2004. In the first quarter of 2007, Google revenues hit a new company high with a 63 percent increase over the same period in 2006 to $3.66 billion. Adjusted operating income was up 39 percent to $1 billion.
Some good numbers all around, though Google seems surging. It just might be a weak metaphor...
More later,
Mark
Monday, May 07, 2007
I Save Mother's Day
If you are planning to send Mom flowers, and you haven't ordered them yet, shame on you. Mother's Day is Sunday and time's a-wasting!
Now, allow me to solve that dilemma in an innovative way.
Up above is an ad for the fine folks at 1800flowers.com: The official florist of Mark's World and the trusted source of Mark's gift-giving for many, many years. They are offering a good deal: Fifteen free tulips, if you buy 15.
Here's how to make the deal GREAT: When checking out, add coupon code AE33 when you are prompted to do so on the order form. By doing so, you will save an additional 15 percent!
Mom gets 30 great flowers, you save a couple of bucks, I turn cash into a stein for Mr. or Mrs. 7,000 ... Everyone wins!
Thank me later!
More later,
Mark
Now, allow me to solve that dilemma in an innovative way.
Up above is an ad for the fine folks at 1800flowers.com: The official florist of Mark's World and the trusted source of Mark's gift-giving for many, many years. They are offering a good deal: Fifteen free tulips, if you buy 15.
Here's how to make the deal GREAT: When checking out, add coupon code AE33 when you are prompted to do so on the order form. By doing so, you will save an additional 15 percent!
Mom gets 30 great flowers, you save a couple of bucks, I turn cash into a stein for Mr. or Mrs. 7,000 ... Everyone wins!
Thank me later!
More later,
Mark
Friday, May 04, 2007
Amazing!
Hey! I'm back from "Spider-Man 3" and I have some thoughts - AND the insight of a special guest reviewer! Click below and check it out:
Spider-Man Is Here!
More later,
Mark
Spider-Man Is Here!
More later,
Mark
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
The Excitement Builds!
The big Spider-Man 3 debut is at midnight Thursday! Don't forget to check out all of the excitement at our other site:
Spider-Man Is Here!
Right now, we've got Toby Maguire's interview from last night's episode of The Daily Show.
More later,
Mark
Spider-Man Is Here!
Right now, we've got Toby Maguire's interview from last night's episode of The Daily Show.
More later,
Mark
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Another Voice Weighs In
In response to yesterday's manifesto, Internet pen pal and media genius Alan Jacobson of Brass Tacks Design, has sent along his latest senses-shattering, intelligent tome and is once again kind enough to allow Mark's World to link it from here:
Lying Online: As a metric, unique visitors are uniquely inaccurate
Among Alan's gems: "Despite the hundreds of awards they've received, newspaper websites are an abysmal failure. To wit: Newspaper sites have lost eight percent of local online advertising in the past two years, according to Gordon Borrell of Borrell Associates, Inc."
Kinda scary that two such similar views could be arrived at independently... He also references the outstanding David Evans piece from Forbes.com.
More the reason for my continued flattery of Mr. Jacobson. I am serious when I say that if daily newspaper executives don't get wise to a new reality, the last thing they can say is that they weren't warned. Through his site, Alan has been a consistent, innovative, creative voice for change and he had a lot of thought-provoking ideas free for the reading at his cool site.
Thanks, Alan!
More later,
Mark
Lying Online: As a metric, unique visitors are uniquely inaccurate
Among Alan's gems: "Despite the hundreds of awards they've received, newspaper websites are an abysmal failure. To wit: Newspaper sites have lost eight percent of local online advertising in the past two years, according to Gordon Borrell of Borrell Associates, Inc."
Kinda scary that two such similar views could be arrived at independently... He also references the outstanding David Evans piece from Forbes.com.
More the reason for my continued flattery of Mr. Jacobson. I am serious when I say that if daily newspaper executives don't get wise to a new reality, the last thing they can say is that they weren't warned. Through his site, Alan has been a consistent, innovative, creative voice for change and he had a lot of thought-provoking ideas free for the reading at his cool site.
Thanks, Alan!
More later,
Mark
Survive or Thrive? A 'Newspaper Industry' Primer
A former colleague, John Rung, publisher of the Northwest Herald/Northwest Media News Group, recently had an interesting commentary published in Editor & Publisher under the header: "What Newspapers Need to Do – To Survive"
Read it here:
Editor & Publisher
In it, John questions whether newspapers in the Internet age can survive and prosper as they did when they faced competition from new media like radio and TV in the 20th century.
"After thorough consideration and contemplation," he writes, "I believe the obvious answer is, 'Yes."
But if an answer is obvious, it shouldn’t require much "consideration and contemplation." Therein lies the rub. Nothing is truly obvious these days. To state that one needs to do serious thinking to arrive at "obvious" just underscores that point.
As we survey the evolving digital media horizon, there are some things that do seem more obvious than others. Here’s one: To compare these days, where we’ve seen a quantum shift in both information delivery and audience expectations, with the old days of radio and TV is to misunderstand the landscape entirely. This is a recurrent problem among those pre-occupied with saving the so-called "newspaper industry."
In the past, the masters of printing mechanisms DID find a way to evolve when faced with a potential disruptive innovation. Create the telephone to communicate? Voila –The phone book! Create a television to capture waves in the air? Voila – A TV listings book! Discover the world is not in black and white? Voila – The USA Today!
Today there’s a difference, and it’s a big one: You can't print an Internet book.
And here’s a bigger problem: You can't just put your daily newspaper online.
You can, of course. Daily newspaper publishers do it every day. It's just not a model that will be profitable. Ever. Here's why (and if you keep reading you are obligated to buy my book): Giving away more information for free on the Internet than people already buy in print is a problem. Giving customers less in print than they are used to is the other. And when neither product is intuitive, all you have created is a business-killing machine that serves neither newspaper loyalists nor the Internet-inclined.
Daily newspapers have devolved in recent decades. They have gone from zoned, multiply-published sequential information providers to mere mass-market vehicles distributed in a singular format. Worse, daily newspapers have become boring. They all look alike, talk alike. At times, they even walk alike. You could lose your mind. Or your interest.
More recent efforts to zone – whether to change stories on the front page for greater local emphasis or to give advertisers greater flexibility through address-specific product delivery – have been shelved at most newspapers. Critics dismissed these efforts as expensive experiments and not integral to the core mission.
Not exactly prescient, as it turns out. Other customer augmentations have also been eliminated universally in recent years including "porched" newspapers, special advertiser savings programs for the most loyal readers and guaranteed delivery times. Today, it is not possible to deliver what I want, where I want it and when I want it? Really? Hence, many daily newspapers have been dumbed down for the sake of managing decline while the emerging media world has gotten smarter and better connected to its audience.
Back in 2000, when John was ad director at the Northwest Herald, the newspaper was geographically microzoned on the cover. That same year, www.my.yahoo.com was one of the first Web sites I ever visited that was intuitive: I got to choose content that was most relevant to me – and it remembered! In ensuing years, after he became publisher, John took the path as so many others and ended zoning. And, in terms of intuitive, www.my.yahoo.com is now considered old school.
While newspapers recoiled from becoming more intuitive, that very concept proliferated among other Web sites. Today, my favorite surf destinations – from a customized Google.com homepage to Blockbuster.com to iTunes – have embraced interactivity. These sites know who I am, what I want, and they all conspire to "wow" me on my next visit. Now, John has done much to invest time and effort into www.nwherald.com. It's a good Web site for a newspaper. It's better than most, especially at that circulation size.
And, it's as intuitive as my Lazy-Boy.
Why? Maybe because, like other publishers, John has bought into the myth that everything has to be "free" on the Internet.
From an intuitive perspective, that depends on your definition of "free."
Essentially, www.nwherald.com forces you to work through it pretty much as you would the newspaper. Top stories up here, regardless of community or interests. Some vaguely written links that force you to open them to see what they are and whom they impact ("Judge denies bond" or "Red-light cameras expected by summer" ). Limited photo space (presumably chosen by someone who picked the "best" pic of the day). As a bonus, there is more sports, some slide shows, even video featuring a daily Web newscast that I can view if I happen to be able to schedule myself to be in front of my computer at roughly the same time every day – and have time to watch.
The site doesn't require a user to do anything other than bookmark it. No personal information for a database. No fee. No forced commercials.
Keep in mind, this is a good example of a newspaper Web site. There are many, many worse examples. Too many daily newspaper publishers these days appear frothing at the prospect of a bottom-line bonanza inherent if only he/she could publish each day without those pesky newsprint and carrier costs. However, publishers must avoid the temptation to miss the forest for the, er, uhm, "deadwood" and run the Internet business like they run their newspapers. In equal measure, they must also avoid the twin temptation of abandoning their current, profitable print model for the next-big-thing which hasn't-quite-happened-yet and may not be the Web-site-they-imagined-a-year-ago.
Running – with scissors – toward a concept without a basic understanding of intended and unintended consequences is ostensibly wrongheaded. And doomed. Better a publisher torch his or her building for the insurance. However, there are ways for masters of printing mechanisms – and daily newspaper publishers – to survive and even thrive.
First, stop believing your Web site is the formula for success just because it is better than other newspaper sites. Newspaper Web sites are, by and large, horrible and unprofitable. They are on a tier below other information/media sites. And, everyone who plays Monopoly knows finishing second in a beauty contest will only win you $10. You are not competing with newspapers in far-off lands; you are seeking deeper relationships with an audience that is already familiar with you. Your readers are predisposed to your brand but they are also being sought by new competitors. Talk to people in your market. Find out what THEY like. Tailor the publishing experience to THEM before, during and after the design phase.
In that vein, quit calling what you do a "newspaper" and quit worrying about the "newspaper" industry. Quit posting ads about an "industry leading" Web site. And quit going to newspaper conferences where newspaper execs either scratch their newspaper heads in utter confusion or misuse words like "net" or backslap each other over this month's round of clever cost reductions that their readers will never notice. Wink, wink..
You no longer work at a daily newspaper. You live in an information age. Hence, seek and hire Web producers from fields other than journalism. Last week David Evans at www.forbes.com suggested Steven Jobs be retained for the digital transformation. Not a bad idea...
Now, think about Web sites you go to and consider the navigation. Mull your experiences. Note the ones that remember you. Note the ones that prioritize your information preferences. Note the ones that surprise you. Anticipate you. Call you back, even. Now visit your Web site and note the differences.
Don't panic. This is workable.
Here's the plan: The print experience and Internet experience should be different. When I grab the paper out of the driveway, I should pretty much get what I expect from a paper, although all dailies need to be more intuitive. Ads and news from my immediate world should capture my attention first (I refuse to believe you can't zone out section cover ads, as well). I should see much less wire and more devotion to reader-submitted news. Quit smothering me with "trend pieces" that may have no impact on my world. Content is king. Be topical. Gutsy. Provoke a response. Involve me. Quit talking AT me utilizing some stale concept about news I need. Quit believing that you have the power to publish a newspaper that makes me smarter; embrace that readers have the power to make the newspaper smarter.
Get a clue from your current online efforts and note that the "Today's Most Discussed Stories" are often readers' letters.
And, online, you need to add tiers.
The first Internet tier is pretty much what many daily newspapers have right now, with maybe a little less news and more forced ad positions and even pop-ups/unders/overs. If I’m not a subscriber, I should pay the freight somehow. Make me give you demographics. Make me watch a 30-second commercial from the biggest auto dealer. Make me provide news. Involve me. Give me a reason to claim some ownership.
But if I am a print subscriber (or even green enough to pay you to STOP delivering the newspaper to me), give me the platinum deal online. Allow me to choose the news that I think is most important so that it greets me, first. Let me download a zoned pod cast. Give me a blog that allows me to network with my local friends, neighbors and relatives. Allow me to post pictures of what I think is news. Partner so that when big news happens, I get more than feeds from AP stuck on the Web. E-mail me alerts about news that I desire most. Allow me to micro-connect to my neighbors and still follow my college team and double-check my portfolio and make lunch plans.
I might read the paper. I might choose the 'Net. I might watch a pod cast (I have to take a train into the city today, so my commute is extra long). I might update my blog. I might post pictures of my kid’s school play from last night. I might take the sports section into the bathroom. I might print a coupon. I might tear one out of the paper. I might want the news delivered to my phone.
The deal is – and this is the important part – that I decide. Me. Time Magazine's "Person of the Year." Give me the power to choose and to do so in a seamless way that makes it all seem like it was my idea in the first place.
You wanna stay in business AND make friends? Embrace intuitive.
Yes, deepen advertisement factors. Create innovative revenue models to track three primary tiers: Branding impressions, click-throughs and actual purchases. Embrace search marketing and create a virtual directory tailored for your market with partner links to beyond. Level the playing field and bring the Mom & Pop's along with their "own" website at www(insertnewspapername).com/edspizza in a virtual community. And partner with business (in a transparent way). Why those big fields of soccer kids are not inspiration for the "Biggest Local Realtor's Home of Endless Soccer Kids Pictures and Videos" I'll never know. How about a "Daily Lunch Special" voted on by readers with real-time click-through ordering or coupon downloading so the client will have specific knowledge of your Web site readers' impact?
Information-ladened. Functional. Intuitive. Print will eventually go the way of the Dodo bird, my friend. The question, is whether you'll evolve and lead the charge or follow the "newspaper industry" lemmings and charge off the cliff like a, uhm, dodo.
John also maintains the real threat to newspapers isn't that audience erosion is leading to revenue declines; it is that revenue declines are leading to audience erosion.
Chicken. Egg. I go with the former (check the latest FAS-FAX numbers), but even if one were to concede John his point, the problem is, as the Wall Street Journal reported this past week, that advertisers are quickly turning away from traditional daily newspaper Web sites in big numbers. The full story is here:
Papers Web Hopes Dim A Bit
It's an eye-opener, for sure. The article makes two key points:
* "Media buyers also indicate marketers are beginning to look beyond traditional journalism sites, realizing many news junkies go elsewhere, too. 'Advertisers are getting less scared of blogs and newsgroups and now are beginning to take money away from the traditional newspapers' sites,' says Greg Smith, chief operating officer of Neo@Ogilvy, an interactive ad agency owned by WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather, New York."
* "Underlining this pressure is a shift under way within Internet advertising. The ad formats that have so far proved strongest for newspapers -- banner ads, pop-ups and listings -- are losing ground to formats such as search marketing. Ad buyers say automotive, entertainment, financial-services and travel companies -- all major newspaper advertisers in print and online – are aggressively shifting dollars into search marketing."
A show of hands: Now, who still wants to look like an ordinary online newspaper? Who would rather look like something entirely different? Is there any doubt that newspaper Web advertising revenue models and news/information sites have to evolve – maybe into something that has not precisely been invented yet?
Quit believing in the myth that the daily newspaper industry can cure itself. Boldly strike out on your own. It is possible to make a great newspaper for today and an outstanding Web site that can play an integral role in a traditional newspaper community now and in the even-more digital future. But the process is time consuming, costly and requires innovation and copious amounts of audience involvement, as well as the honest self-appraisal skills to admit that what was built last week may already be too out-dated to compete in the marketplace tomorrow.
These are not known traits of the daily newspaper industry.
The masters of printing mechanisms face quantum shifts in reality ranging from shelf-life to innovation; from information delivery to audience expectations. John's tome may have created a bit of a stir five years ago for asserting it is time to invest and not cut-and-run. Today it is just one more quasi-optimistic opine about managing decline.
Boldness today is personified by action. "Only the strong will survive"? Nah. The bold shall inherit the future.
More later,
Mark
Read it here:
Editor & Publisher
In it, John questions whether newspapers in the Internet age can survive and prosper as they did when they faced competition from new media like radio and TV in the 20th century.
"After thorough consideration and contemplation," he writes, "I believe the obvious answer is, 'Yes."
But if an answer is obvious, it shouldn’t require much "consideration and contemplation." Therein lies the rub. Nothing is truly obvious these days. To state that one needs to do serious thinking to arrive at "obvious" just underscores that point.
As we survey the evolving digital media horizon, there are some things that do seem more obvious than others. Here’s one: To compare these days, where we’ve seen a quantum shift in both information delivery and audience expectations, with the old days of radio and TV is to misunderstand the landscape entirely. This is a recurrent problem among those pre-occupied with saving the so-called "newspaper industry."
In the past, the masters of printing mechanisms DID find a way to evolve when faced with a potential disruptive innovation. Create the telephone to communicate? Voila –The phone book! Create a television to capture waves in the air? Voila – A TV listings book! Discover the world is not in black and white? Voila – The USA Today!
Today there’s a difference, and it’s a big one: You can't print an Internet book.
And here’s a bigger problem: You can't just put your daily newspaper online.
You can, of course. Daily newspaper publishers do it every day. It's just not a model that will be profitable. Ever. Here's why (and if you keep reading you are obligated to buy my book): Giving away more information for free on the Internet than people already buy in print is a problem. Giving customers less in print than they are used to is the other. And when neither product is intuitive, all you have created is a business-killing machine that serves neither newspaper loyalists nor the Internet-inclined.
Daily newspapers have devolved in recent decades. They have gone from zoned, multiply-published sequential information providers to mere mass-market vehicles distributed in a singular format. Worse, daily newspapers have become boring. They all look alike, talk alike. At times, they even walk alike. You could lose your mind. Or your interest.
More recent efforts to zone – whether to change stories on the front page for greater local emphasis or to give advertisers greater flexibility through address-specific product delivery – have been shelved at most newspapers. Critics dismissed these efforts as expensive experiments and not integral to the core mission.
Not exactly prescient, as it turns out. Other customer augmentations have also been eliminated universally in recent years including "porched" newspapers, special advertiser savings programs for the most loyal readers and guaranteed delivery times. Today, it is not possible to deliver what I want, where I want it and when I want it? Really? Hence, many daily newspapers have been dumbed down for the sake of managing decline while the emerging media world has gotten smarter and better connected to its audience.
Back in 2000, when John was ad director at the Northwest Herald, the newspaper was geographically microzoned on the cover. That same year, www.my.yahoo.com was one of the first Web sites I ever visited that was intuitive: I got to choose content that was most relevant to me – and it remembered! In ensuing years, after he became publisher, John took the path as so many others and ended zoning. And, in terms of intuitive, www.my.yahoo.com is now considered old school.
While newspapers recoiled from becoming more intuitive, that very concept proliferated among other Web sites. Today, my favorite surf destinations – from a customized Google.com homepage to Blockbuster.com to iTunes – have embraced interactivity. These sites know who I am, what I want, and they all conspire to "wow" me on my next visit. Now, John has done much to invest time and effort into www.nwherald.com. It's a good Web site for a newspaper. It's better than most, especially at that circulation size.
And, it's as intuitive as my Lazy-Boy.
Why? Maybe because, like other publishers, John has bought into the myth that everything has to be "free" on the Internet.
From an intuitive perspective, that depends on your definition of "free."
Essentially, www.nwherald.com forces you to work through it pretty much as you would the newspaper. Top stories up here, regardless of community or interests. Some vaguely written links that force you to open them to see what they are and whom they impact ("Judge denies bond" or "Red-light cameras expected by summer" ). Limited photo space (presumably chosen by someone who picked the "best" pic of the day). As a bonus, there is more sports, some slide shows, even video featuring a daily Web newscast that I can view if I happen to be able to schedule myself to be in front of my computer at roughly the same time every day – and have time to watch.
The site doesn't require a user to do anything other than bookmark it. No personal information for a database. No fee. No forced commercials.
Keep in mind, this is a good example of a newspaper Web site. There are many, many worse examples. Too many daily newspaper publishers these days appear frothing at the prospect of a bottom-line bonanza inherent if only he/she could publish each day without those pesky newsprint and carrier costs. However, publishers must avoid the temptation to miss the forest for the, er, uhm, "deadwood" and run the Internet business like they run their newspapers. In equal measure, they must also avoid the twin temptation of abandoning their current, profitable print model for the next-big-thing which hasn't-quite-happened-yet and may not be the Web-site-they-imagined-a-year-ago.
Running – with scissors – toward a concept without a basic understanding of intended and unintended consequences is ostensibly wrongheaded. And doomed. Better a publisher torch his or her building for the insurance. However, there are ways for masters of printing mechanisms – and daily newspaper publishers – to survive and even thrive.
First, stop believing your Web site is the formula for success just because it is better than other newspaper sites. Newspaper Web sites are, by and large, horrible and unprofitable. They are on a tier below other information/media sites. And, everyone who plays Monopoly knows finishing second in a beauty contest will only win you $10. You are not competing with newspapers in far-off lands; you are seeking deeper relationships with an audience that is already familiar with you. Your readers are predisposed to your brand but they are also being sought by new competitors. Talk to people in your market. Find out what THEY like. Tailor the publishing experience to THEM before, during and after the design phase.
In that vein, quit calling what you do a "newspaper" and quit worrying about the "newspaper" industry. Quit posting ads about an "industry leading" Web site. And quit going to newspaper conferences where newspaper execs either scratch their newspaper heads in utter confusion or misuse words like "net" or backslap each other over this month's round of clever cost reductions that their readers will never notice. Wink, wink..
You no longer work at a daily newspaper. You live in an information age. Hence, seek and hire Web producers from fields other than journalism. Last week David Evans at www.forbes.com suggested Steven Jobs be retained for the digital transformation. Not a bad idea...
Now, think about Web sites you go to and consider the navigation. Mull your experiences. Note the ones that remember you. Note the ones that prioritize your information preferences. Note the ones that surprise you. Anticipate you. Call you back, even. Now visit your Web site and note the differences.
Don't panic. This is workable.
Here's the plan: The print experience and Internet experience should be different. When I grab the paper out of the driveway, I should pretty much get what I expect from a paper, although all dailies need to be more intuitive. Ads and news from my immediate world should capture my attention first (I refuse to believe you can't zone out section cover ads, as well). I should see much less wire and more devotion to reader-submitted news. Quit smothering me with "trend pieces" that may have no impact on my world. Content is king. Be topical. Gutsy. Provoke a response. Involve me. Quit talking AT me utilizing some stale concept about news I need. Quit believing that you have the power to publish a newspaper that makes me smarter; embrace that readers have the power to make the newspaper smarter.
Get a clue from your current online efforts and note that the "Today's Most Discussed Stories" are often readers' letters.
And, online, you need to add tiers.
The first Internet tier is pretty much what many daily newspapers have right now, with maybe a little less news and more forced ad positions and even pop-ups/unders/overs. If I’m not a subscriber, I should pay the freight somehow. Make me give you demographics. Make me watch a 30-second commercial from the biggest auto dealer. Make me provide news. Involve me. Give me a reason to claim some ownership.
But if I am a print subscriber (or even green enough to pay you to STOP delivering the newspaper to me), give me the platinum deal online. Allow me to choose the news that I think is most important so that it greets me, first. Let me download a zoned pod cast. Give me a blog that allows me to network with my local friends, neighbors and relatives. Allow me to post pictures of what I think is news. Partner so that when big news happens, I get more than feeds from AP stuck on the Web. E-mail me alerts about news that I desire most. Allow me to micro-connect to my neighbors and still follow my college team and double-check my portfolio and make lunch plans.
I might read the paper. I might choose the 'Net. I might watch a pod cast (I have to take a train into the city today, so my commute is extra long). I might update my blog. I might post pictures of my kid’s school play from last night. I might take the sports section into the bathroom. I might print a coupon. I might tear one out of the paper. I might want the news delivered to my phone.
The deal is – and this is the important part – that I decide. Me. Time Magazine's "Person of the Year." Give me the power to choose and to do so in a seamless way that makes it all seem like it was my idea in the first place.
You wanna stay in business AND make friends? Embrace intuitive.
Yes, deepen advertisement factors. Create innovative revenue models to track three primary tiers: Branding impressions, click-throughs and actual purchases. Embrace search marketing and create a virtual directory tailored for your market with partner links to beyond. Level the playing field and bring the Mom & Pop's along with their "own" website at www(insertnewspapername).com/edspizza in a virtual community. And partner with business (in a transparent way). Why those big fields of soccer kids are not inspiration for the "Biggest Local Realtor's Home of Endless Soccer Kids Pictures and Videos" I'll never know. How about a "Daily Lunch Special" voted on by readers with real-time click-through ordering or coupon downloading so the client will have specific knowledge of your Web site readers' impact?
Information-ladened. Functional. Intuitive. Print will eventually go the way of the Dodo bird, my friend. The question, is whether you'll evolve and lead the charge or follow the "newspaper industry" lemmings and charge off the cliff like a, uhm, dodo.
John also maintains the real threat to newspapers isn't that audience erosion is leading to revenue declines; it is that revenue declines are leading to audience erosion.
Chicken. Egg. I go with the former (check the latest FAS-FAX numbers), but even if one were to concede John his point, the problem is, as the Wall Street Journal reported this past week, that advertisers are quickly turning away from traditional daily newspaper Web sites in big numbers. The full story is here:
Papers Web Hopes Dim A Bit
It's an eye-opener, for sure. The article makes two key points:
* "Media buyers also indicate marketers are beginning to look beyond traditional journalism sites, realizing many news junkies go elsewhere, too. 'Advertisers are getting less scared of blogs and newsgroups and now are beginning to take money away from the traditional newspapers' sites,' says Greg Smith, chief operating officer of Neo@Ogilvy, an interactive ad agency owned by WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather, New York."
* "Underlining this pressure is a shift under way within Internet advertising. The ad formats that have so far proved strongest for newspapers -- banner ads, pop-ups and listings -- are losing ground to formats such as search marketing. Ad buyers say automotive, entertainment, financial-services and travel companies -- all major newspaper advertisers in print and online – are aggressively shifting dollars into search marketing."
A show of hands: Now, who still wants to look like an ordinary online newspaper? Who would rather look like something entirely different? Is there any doubt that newspaper Web advertising revenue models and news/information sites have to evolve – maybe into something that has not precisely been invented yet?
Quit believing in the myth that the daily newspaper industry can cure itself. Boldly strike out on your own. It is possible to make a great newspaper for today and an outstanding Web site that can play an integral role in a traditional newspaper community now and in the even-more digital future. But the process is time consuming, costly and requires innovation and copious amounts of audience involvement, as well as the honest self-appraisal skills to admit that what was built last week may already be too out-dated to compete in the marketplace tomorrow.
These are not known traits of the daily newspaper industry.
The masters of printing mechanisms face quantum shifts in reality ranging from shelf-life to innovation; from information delivery to audience expectations. John's tome may have created a bit of a stir five years ago for asserting it is time to invest and not cut-and-run. Today it is just one more quasi-optimistic opine about managing decline.
Boldness today is personified by action. "Only the strong will survive"? Nah. The bold shall inherit the future.
More later,
Mark
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