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Posted 11:25 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
'You're Getting Sleepy ... You Will Pay for This Content'
Steve Outing on hypnosis as online content
What is "online content"? Many things, of course ... even hypnosis. Today I received a press release from Hypnosoft, which is hawking hypnosis content over the Internet, delivered as MP3 files. The idea is that you create (online) a customizable hynosis session, which is then delivered for you to experience on your computer — to stop smoking, lose weight, increase self-esteem, etc. The price is $12.99 (but there's a free component to the service).The Hypnosoft Web site says you can e-mail hypnosis sessions to your friends. Here's an idea for e-publishers: E-mail a session to all your customers. "... You are getting drowsy ... At the beep, you will wake up and accept the inevitability of paying for content ..."
Posted 3:37 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Fed Up With Advertising?
Rich Gordon on a Web site just for you
My recent Tidbits entries about intrusive advertising — to quote one article, "the seepage of advertising into spaces that used to be relatively free from marketing messages" — prompted a response from Eric Martin and Linda Formichelli, creators of BadAds.org. "I resent being targeted with ads, regardless of whether I want the product or not, and ads fail to compel me when they intrude into public spaces that should be off-limits to marketing messages," says Eric. The BadAds site presents an excellent compilation of examples of intrusive advertising — and suggests ways to make your objections known to those who might change marketing practices.
Posted 1:35 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Bad News for Online Radio
Steve Klein on online radio broadcasting
If you enjoy listening to radio broadcasts online, you're not going to like this news. A ruling that had effectively ended the online broadcast of many Internet radio stations has been upheld by U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller, who rejected a suit brought by radio broadcasters against the U.S. Copyright Office. Last year, the Copyright Office ruled that online radio stations must pay royalties for music and programs they broadcast through the Internet. Judge Schiller said that "as much as possible, courts should be passive players in this quickly changing area."
Posted 1:32 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
The Web's Influence on Print Mags
Jade Walker on the future of online content
Americans really love their Internet access. More and more are turning to the Web for news, entertainment, and other content. In response, these folks are turning away from other forms of media, including print mags. Europe Media notes a study conducted by Content Intelligence that says 24% of U.S. Internet users have canceled their subscriptions to general news magazines since they first went online. Canceled subscriptions to special interest and entertainment magazines are also on the rise. A public hungry for original Web content is definitely good news for writers seeking freelancing gigs online.
Posted 1:03 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Le Web Noir
Carla Passino on Italian crime fiction sites
Italian crime fiction thrives online, according to newspaper La Repubblica. Although publicity stunts a la Neil Gaiman are yet to become popular in the country, Italy’s crime writers have flocked to the Web en masse to market their books. While many sites consist of little more than a forum and details of book signings, some authors have gone the extra mile to provide valuable content to their readers — from Massimo Carlotto’s crime news to Danila Comastri Montanari’s "home-made" (read Geocities) guide to the Ancient Rome settings of her historical thrillers. Worth checking out, if you speak Italian.
Posted 12:59 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Ouch, It Hurts Even More...
Katja Riefler on more food for thought for online newspapers
In an item earlier this week, Andrew Nachinson questioned whether newspapers are missing the opportunities of the Internet. Clark Gable, assistant professor at Harvard Business School, has done extensive research on the topic the last two years by analyzing the success and organizational structure of online newspapers in the U.S. Gilbert's findings firmly suggest that newspaper companies that operate their Web businesses as separate entities publish more original content and generate more page views than integrated newspaper sites. Too often, established businesses concentrate on areas of displacement instead of new opportunities. You can find his original report at Digital Edge and his new presentation at NAA's Connections conference here.
Posted 12:53 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Waking From the Dot-Coma
Jade Walker on Web site closures
After months of lay-off announcements and technology stock dives, Webmergers.com is reporting a slow-down in dot-com closures. According to the Hollywood Reporter, only 32 Internet companies folded in July. The report also noted a definite trend in content sites switching to a paid subscription model, rather than relying solely on online advertising.
Posted 8:36 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Traffic Analysis
Norbert Specker on visualization processes
There are many reasons why our culture relies more and more on the visual. One of them is the fact that research into "making visible that which can not been seen" is blooming and the results become ever more fascinating and helpful. Check, for example, the Map of the Month by Ben Fry. It depicts in real time the traffic on a Web site as a growing organism, an anemone. Professor Martin Dodge, who by the end of the month will publish the "Atlas of Cyberspace," does a wonderful job of putting this development in perspective. Take some time off, though, when you enter his Cybergeography site.
Posted 4:05 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Raised in a Server Log Cabin
Vin Crosbie on who uses which U.S. news sites
Though Nielsen/Netratings and Jupiter Media Metrix might disagree about the demographics of major U.S. news site users, Digital Industry has it figured out:
- WSJ.com is accessed by people who run the country.
- NYTimes.com is accessed by people who think they run the country.
- WashingtonPost.com is accessed by people who think they ought to run the country.
- USAToday.com is accessed by people who think they ought to run the country but who don't understand WSJ.com, NYTimes.com, or WashingtonPost.com.
- LATimes.com is accessed by people who wouldn't mind running the country if they had spare time on their studio calendars.
- BostonGlobe.com is accessed by people whose parents used to run the country.
- NYDailyNews.com is accessed by people who aren't sure who runs the country.
- NYPost.com is accessed by people who don't care who runs the country so long as scandals occur.
- SFGate.com is accessed by people who aren't sure there is a country to run or that anyone is running it.
- Herald.com is accessed by the people who run the countries south of Miami.
Posted 12:52 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
The Web Influence on TV
Steve Outing on media ad trends
You've probably noticed in recent years the influence of the Web on the presentation style of TV, with more computer-screen-like graphics. CNN Headline News is taking a major step in looking more Web-like by adding ad logos on the screen during the newscasts. The logos will sit at the bottom of the screen, in an area that has been used for text news/sports/weather/business updates. This is akin to the newspaper industry putting ads on the front page (which a small handful of publishers are experimenting with). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Posted 2:58 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Ouch, Jim, That Hurts
Andrew Nachison on online newspapers
James Cramer, founder of Thestreet.com, didn't mince words in this column about big U.S. winners and losers on the Internet. His winners: eBay, the auction site; USA Networks, which dominates online entertainment ticketing through tickets.com; TMP Worldwide, owners of the Monster.com recruitment site; and Homestore, the dominant real estate site. His losers: newspapers, because all of his winners are thriving at the expense of newspapers."That the newspapers of the country let this happen is sheer insanity and shows how backward looking so many of them are," he wrote. He's a little harsh, doesn't mention things like Tribune Co.'s early and enormously profitable investment in AOL, and the story of course is a bit more complex. But he's fundamentally correct, isn't he? The winners he cites have loosened the newspaper industry's stranglehold on certain categories of information, and that makes newspapers — and their stocks — less valuable and less attractive to investors than they coulda woulda shoulda been.
Posted 2:48 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Colorful Future
Katja Riefler on new marketing ideas
Remember the black-and-white USA Today home page a while back that only turned into color after you clicked on a color-printer advertisement? I thought of it when I read about a deal AOL Germany has made with the big German daily newspaper, Die Welt: Saturday, August 4, the front page of the printed paper will appear in AOL blue. It is the first time for such an advertising format in Germany. The background is the renaming of the "Hamburger Volksparkstadions" into "AOL Arena." Saturday will be the first Bundesliga game of the Hamburger SV soccer team in its renamed home base.This ad format is interesting for two reasons: 1) It is the advertising counterpart of the online/offline newsroom-integration Die Welt is known for. 2) Where is a development headed, that links colors only to one brand? I don't know if AOL in Germany also plans to legally protect its color as Deutsche Telekom has done. A small print-on-demand service has gotten a cease-and-desist order because it had used a certain color on the Internet and in print advertisements. Deutsche Telekom claims the color "magenta" to be an integral part of its brand.
Posted 1:59 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Publish E-Media Tidbits on Your Site
Steve Outing on this weblog
If you like E-Media Tidbits and operate a journalism-, media-, or content-related Web site, you may want to publish this weblog. The content of Tidbits is available under a free syndication model. To carry it on your site, all you have to do is include the following code on a Web page. (Just put it where you want the Tidbits content to flow.)
<script language="JavaScript" src="http://www.content-exchange.com/cgi-bin/tidbits.js"></script>This easy-to-use syndication script (which is the work of OOiPtech.com) will insert only the editorial content. We also occasionally insert advertisements between items, and there's a "© Content-Exchange.com" line indicating the source of this editorial feature. E-Media Tidbits is updated Monday-Friday and features the work of 14 leading experts in online media/content/journalism. (Important: Please e-mail me and let me know the URL of the page where you are publishing Tidbits. Thanks.)
Posted 12:22 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Update: Oregon Backing Off
Steve Klein on sports coverage restrictions
Not surprisingly, the University of Oregon is backing off from a controversial proposal to restrict sports coverage. In an article in the Eugene Register-Guard, Oregon athletic director Bill Moos said that the university was not interested in harming its relationship with its "friends in the media. We have not got anything etched in stone here. We want to make sure we are good listeners." The final ruling will be issued sometime this month. "It most probably will have a different complexion than what you're seeing right now as a proposal," Moos said.In a Content Spotlight column I wrote last week, I noted then that the university had proposed a rule to restrict television stations to 20 seconds of highlights for 48 hours after a game and 30 seconds for up to a week after the game. The rule would subject interviews with coaches and players to the same time limits. After one week, no footage could be broadcast without the permission of ESPN Regional, the network that owns most rights to Oregon sports broadcasts. The proposal raises obvious freedom of the press issues. "There will be no action which we feel abridges anyone's First Amendment rights," Moos said.
Posted 7:43 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Counting Paid 'Circulation' Online
Rich Gordon on the new ABC rules
Editor & Publisher has more details on the Audit Bureau of Circulations' decision to count subscriptions to electronic editions as paid newspaper circulation. And if this story is correct, leaders of newspapers' online operations can expect a lot of pressure from their print colleagues to switch to a paid subscription plan. (Even if, over the long haul, a free site with a larger audience would be a better strategy.) According to the article, the only significant requirement for counting an electronic edition as paid circulation is that the paper charges 25% of the cover price. (That would be $1.19/week for the Chicago Tribune, for instance.) Surprisingly, there are no requirements about which content or ads must be included. It seems peculiar that ABC isn't requiring the paper to include the print edition's advertising — since, after all, advertising rates are the only reason that paid circulation matters.
Posted 2:07 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
The Return of the VCs
Steve Outing on signals of an upturn
The Internet economy can't stay down forever. As the Industry Standard reports, venture capitalists are starting to make early-round investments in technology and Internet-related start-ups again. The pace is slow compared to a couple years ago, but it's an improvement over the near-complete halt in Internet investments of this year so far. Alas, it's safe to assume that Internet content and media start-ups will be slow to attract VC interest, since the industry has yet to develop solid profit strategies. Still, as the Standard's writer observes, "Blades of grass, it seems, are growing from out of the rubble."
Posted 11:20 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
E: An Author's Scarlet Letter
Steve Outing on e-books
M.J. Rose is the undisputed "queen of e-books." Since becoming an e-success with her novel, Lip Service, a few years back, she's achieved celebrity status, with numerous appearances on TV shows and speaking engagements where she advises aspiring authors on how to use the Internet to gain an audience and catch the attention of mainstream publishers. But in these down times, being an e-author — even the most successful one — does not include winning respect. As Rose writes in her essay for Salon.com, "My own scarlet letter is the 'e' before the word 'book.' It's the damning term that turns so many heads and stomachs at the same time."
Posted 7:47 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Electronic Editions Now Count as ABC Circulation
Vin Crosbie on 3G online publishing technologies
Looking for a profitable online publishing business model? If you work at a newspaper, just publish an electronic edition and use the traditional model. While the Newspaper Association of America is encouraging newspaper Web sites to provide hyperlinks soliciting print subscriptions, a more direct approach is being taken by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, which audits and certifies print circulation. On July 15, the ABC amended its rules to include electronic editions in its circulation counts. These new rules haven't yet been posted on the ABC Web site, but the basics are that e-edition delivery must 1) cost a consumer at least 25% of the basic home delivery price of the print edition; 2) have the same name as the print edition (some variations are acceptable); 3) be clearly identified as an edition; and 4) be listed on ABC statements on a separate line as the print edition circulation. The ABC set no minimum standards for editorial or advertising content, so e-edition content can be different than print editions.The ABC's definition of electronic editions is broad enough to cover newspaper web sites and e-mail editions, but the specific rules obviously favor the PressPoint-style PDF or LIT format editions distributed by NewspaperDirect, PEPC, and Newsstand.com, and the e-reader editions distributed by AvantGo, GemStar, Barnes&Noble.com, and Amazon.com, and compact disc editions like those recently demonstrated by the Akron Beacon-Journal. More than 60 daily newspapers already produce such PDF and LIT format e-editions.
Posted 4:04 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
'Over 5 Billion Ads Not Served!'
Steve Outing on obnoxious Web advertising
Web publishers' reaction to the Internet downturn has been, as we all well know, to "turn up the volume" on advertisements. So now we've got mega Flash ads, pop-ups, and pop-unders galore. Trouble is, the industry may be going too far. Particularly with pop-up and pop-under ads, users are getting fed up. As this press release indicates, the popularity of ad-busting software is on the rise, and that's not good for content sites that want to build strong revenue streams from advertising. If the annoyance level of online ads is kept reasonable (not too obnoxious), then Web users won't feel the need to employ ad filters. But go too far — and an increasing number of publishers seem to now be crossing the line — and ad-busting will be the norm. Then where's your site's revenue going to come from?
Posted 10:50 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Major Layoffs at Tribune Interactive
Rich Gordon on more retrenching in online publishing
Tribune Interactive has joined the ranks of publishing companies making substantial cutbacks in their interactive operations. It's dropping 100 of 500 employees, according to Crain's Chicago Business. To some extent, this was probably inevitable given the continuing consolidation in the wake of Tribune's merger with Times Mirror, which had a much more decentralized online publishing operation. Tribune is in the process of rolling out a common online publishing platform for all its properties, which would make expendable some technology staffers and allow some consolidation in content areas as well. But it's not good news for the industry (or people working in it), because Tribune is one of the few traditional publishers that really understands the need to deliver content to people wherever they happen to want it — rather than in the form the publisher wants to deliver it.
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