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Posted 4:45 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Another Shot Fired in the Web Ad Wars
Steve Outing on online advertising
Online media is a tricky business, in large part because most Internet users don't want to pay for content — and many also don't like to see ads. There are several software applications available that can block ads on websites from being seen — and while not widely used, they do undermine already-fragile online media business models. Now comes news about a counterattack: A German firm has developed a server application that publishers can use to detect when a website visitor is using an ad-blocker. When it determines this to be the case, the server delivers a message to the user: If you want to get this site's content, either turn off the ad-block software or pay a fee to see the content ad-free. The software from MediaBEAM is supposed to be on the market next week.I've been concerned about ad-block software for some time. It's nice to see the technologists coming up with solutions that publishers can use to fight back. (There's still a potential problem, of course. Ad-block software developers can always engage in a technology arms race, updating their code to get around the MediaBEAM software. But this is a fight worth waging.)
Posted 12:33 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Is This the Cue:Cat Done Right?
Steve Outing on Ad Age's print-Web interaction
AdAge.com just announced its latest site redesign, and part of it is a significant new feature that allows print readers of Ad Age magazine to quickly and easily get additional related information online. AdAge.com editor Hoag Levins explains how it works in his column today. In a nutshell, each article in print and online will have a 6-letter code, which readers can use online to quickly call up information related to the article they're reading (by typing it in a "QwikFIND" box on any page of AdAge.com). Levins explains, "It's easy to imagine that as more publications build such direct-link indexing systems into their websites, print editors will realize they have the capability to create 'link boxes' to multiple related stories and resources, just as Web editors do. This is a good way to provide the broader context of the issue or event."Levins emphasizes the editorial utility of the system, which does sound promising. QwikFIND is similar in concept to the Cue:Cat, the pen-like bar scanner that consumers were supposed to use to scan bar codes in magazines and newspapers, which then took them to specific Web ads without having to type in long URLs. Cue:Cat emphasized ads, and it's largely a failure. QwikFIND is more interesting — because it doesn't require a proprietary device, and it serves up editorial content and not just advertising.
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Posted 10:16 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Disabled People (2): Web Fails the Blind
Katja Riefler with a follow-up
I just read Kendra Mayfield's article on Wired about how news sites on the Web failed to serve blind users during the World Trade Center attacks. It's a nice illustration to the more theoretical item I posted here yesterday.
Posted 7:41 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Salon Gets Another Hit of Cash
Steve Outing on webzine's finances
Salon.com continues to defy the popular wisdom — that the top independent webzine will go out of business (or get swallowed by a traditional media entity) eventually because it won't be able to find a sustainable business model. In today's Salon Watch, we find that it has rounded up another $750,000 from four private investors (including a former chairman of HBO). That means Salon has raised $3.25 million in financing since August. Not bad in these dismal times for online media. So reports Newsbytes.
Posted 11:20 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Upside's Print Edition Also Runs Out of Funds
Vin Crosbie on Upside magazine's foreclosure
Earlier this week, I noted that the website of Upside magazine, which covers business issues and trends affecting high-tech companies in computing, software, telecommunications, and e-commerce, permanently closed on Saturday due to lack of funding. Now, Upside's print version has run out of funds and been taken over by its lenders, according to a report by Dan Fost in the San Francisco Chronicle. Upside founder David Bunnell will stay on at the magazine in only an advisory capacity.
Posted 10:31 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
In-Your-Face Salon.com Ads: They're Fine
Steve Outing on online advertising trends
On some of the online publishing discussion lists, there's much criticism being expressed about the new ads showing up on Salon.com (and MSNBC.com). When you go to a Salon article, you'll sometimes first see a full-screen ad that will be visible for several seconds. It seems that lots of folks find this too "intrusive." I disagree wholeheartedly, because: 1) Traditional website banners don't work, so it's only reasonable that a new form of Web advertising be developed. 2) The Salon interstitial ads feature a "go directly to the story" link. Don't want to see the ad? You've got a quick way out. And Salon gives you the option of paying for a Premium subscription to its site where you won't see such ads. In all, this is a reasonable strategy that consumers of online content shouldn't get annoyed about. (What do you think? Click the "Discuss" link on this item.)
Posted 10:06 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Sports E-mail Newsletters – for a Price
Rich Gordon on a possible trend
The Sun-Sentinel of South Florida has joined the Boston Globe in offering a subscription e-mail newsletter for rabid sports fans. The Globe did it for the Red Sox; the Sun-Sentinel's newsletter is about the Miami Dolphins. It will come out six days a week during football season. Both are charging $9.95 for a season subscription. It appears the Sun-Sentinel's incremental costs will be modest. The Monday newsletter, for instance, will feature a transcript of the coach's day-after press conference — something that's already available from other sources. Two of its top columnists will alternate a newsletter-only online column, and an editor will write a day-after analysis. The paper's executives are walking a strategic line here — they don't want to add staff, but they also can't afford to use much of the existing print content for fear of having the Dolphin fans use the Web instead of the paper. Every readership survey I've ever seen shows that sports is one of the few topics that truly does drive newspaper purchases. Expect to see similar newsletters at other Tribune Co. properties.
Posted 9:58 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Make Your Websites Talk, At Least
Katja Riefler on an European effort to open the Web for disabled persons
"The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect." Tim Berners-Lee, W3C director and inventor of the World Wide Web, has always backed the efforts of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) to open up the Internet for disabled persons. A first version of the "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines" was presented in 1999. An updated "Version 2.0 Working Draft" of those guidelines was recently published. Now the initiative gets strong support from official quarters. The European Commission this week adopted a Communication on improving the accessibility of public websites and announced it would restructure its own Web services by the end of this year. There are 37 million people with disabilities in the European Union, while the number of older Europeans is steadily increasing. With the growth of eGovernment around the world, these groups risk severe social exclusion due to a range of technical barriers they face when using the Internet.
Posted 6:07 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Is America Ready for This?
Rich Gordon on The Onion's take on September 11
Well, two weeks later, "America's Finest News Source" (The Onion) has chimed in with its spin on the terrorist attacks. Its satire seems particularly pointed on a couple of pieces. For instance: "U.S. Vows To Defeat Whoever It Is We're At War With" and "God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule." On the other hand, some other pieces made me squirm ("American Life Turns Into Bad Jerry Bruckheimer Movie"). This strikes me as a great chance to try the new discussion feature on this weblog. Are we ready to laugh again?
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Posted 1:06 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Let's Hear Your Voice
Steve Outing on this weblog
We've added a new feature to E-Media Tidbits: A discussion forum where you can post comments about what you read on this weblog. Just click the "Comment..." link at the top of this page, or the "Discuss" link on each item. The 14 writers who contribute to Tidbits get their say daily; we'd like to hear what you have to say, too. Comment on something you've read; start a debate; tell us we're wrong, or right; whatever. Please join in.
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Posted 11:44 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Click Here to Sign Your Rights Away
Steve Outing on freelancers' rights
The New York Times Co. would like freelancers who have worked for it in the past to sign over additional rights to their work, so that the Times can re-use articles in electronic archives without paying freelancers anything extra. It's even posted on the Web a handy online form, which notes that if you don't sign, your work will be expunged from various databases. (The Times continues to hold a hard line against paying writers extra for electronic re-use. It appears to prefer desecrating its archive than forking over any money.) Thanks to Donn Friedman for pointing the rights form out to me. He quips, "I think this is more interesting than the blacklist."
Posted 11:20 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Not So Fast
Andrew Stroehlein on false banner advertising
UK telecom giant British Telecommunications plc ran into trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority today, when the watchdog Authority upheld a complaint against it. The complaint focused on BT's banner advertisement offering their BT Anytime ISP, "for a fast, reliable service." As the Authority's adjudication explains, ongoing technical problems mean that BT Anytime service is not reliable, and BT has removed the ads. It's a slap on the wrist for BT, but at least it shows that someone is looking at banner ads.
Posted 9:50 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Will Your E-zine R.I.P.?
Jade Walker on effects of terrorist attacks on America
Amelia, Cicada, and SPSM&H magazines were recently forced to discontinue publication after editor/publisher Frederick A. Raborg, Jr. died. In the wake of the terror attacks on America, it might behoove online media to come up with contingency plans for death. If the Web editor or publisher died today, would your staff be able to keep the site or magazine afloat?
Posted 2:46 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Superimposing Views from Ground and Space Illustrate NYC Destruction
Vin Crosbie on a good graphical examples
By superimposing photos, the Durham Herald-Sun of North Carolina has created two stunning but simple visual before and after images of the results of terrorist destruction of the World Trade Center towers. One superimposed image is from the ground and the other is from space (using satellite images from Spaceimaging.com).
Posted 11:45 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Why the Times' Blacklist is a Bad Idea
Amy Gahran on reading between the lines
I must admit, when I first heard of the New York Times blacklist of the Tasini case plaintiffs, I thought, "Gee, Joe McCarthy would've been proud." However, I've had a chance to think about it a little more, and I've changed my views a bit. "Blacklist" is a loaded word that carries a lot of historical baggage, especially in the U.S. media business. That baggage may not apply here. After all, doesn't the Times have the right to work with whomever it chooses? Certainly.However, Tasini was not a frivolous lawsuit. The Times really was doing something nasty, and the Tasini writers had to resort to a lawsuit only after the Times flatly refused to negotiate in good faith. In that light, I'd think an honorable and ethical news organization would be willing to admit, "Hey, we screwed up, so we don't blame them for having to go after us in court." And that's why the Times blacklist looks petty to me. But the larger issue is that I think it sends a clear message regarding the Times' probably continuing attitude toward writers who insist upon their rights, despite the court decision. Who knows — maybe that's part of the motivation for circulating it.
Posted 9:47 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Another Free E-newsletter to Go Pay
Steve Outing on content revenue models
A press release arrived this morning announcing an agreement between MediaNews and its Denver Post and Clickshare, in which the newspaper company will begin to use Clickshare's micropayments system to charge for its Bronco Extra and other niche e-newsletters. The Post already has been working with news industry e-mail vendor PublishMail, which manages delivery of the newsletters to the paper's online customers. Now both Clickshare and PublishMail will be in on the deal, with Clickshare handling management and payment of subscribers. It's yet another example of news publishers looking to charge for niche online products. Expect the trend to continue. (Disclaimer: PublishMail is a company owned in party by E-Media Tidbits contributor Vin Crosbie.)
Posted 5:13 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
New York Times Strikes Back at Tasini Writers
Steve Outing on the still-festering contract dispute
You'll recall that freelance writers ultimately won the Tasini v. New York Times Co. case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court told publishers that they could not re-use freelancers' work in electronic media without separately paying for it (or getting freelancers' contractual consent to allow electronic re-use without additional payment). It would seem that the Times is getting back at the writers who were plaintiffs in that lawsuit. The National Writers Union is distributing a Times internal memo from editor Michaela Williams that tells the company's editors, "Our lawyers recommend that the newspaper not engage any of the below named plaintiffs to write for the newspaper." (The memo then lists the plaintiffs in Tasini, plus plaintiffs in a class action suit filed by the Authors Guild against the newspaper.) Fumes Jonathan Tasini in a memo to NWU members, "I thought the New York Times could not stoop lower. ... But, the Times has now gone even further: It has created a blacklist. ... It is a sad day when the paper of record resorts to the kinds of tactics that have left deep scars on the soul of this country."
Posted 1:12 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
A Long Scroll
Andrew Stroehlein on news presentation
We're always told that making your online readers scroll is a bad idea. Whether that's true or not, however, one recent use of the long scroll is certainly disturbing. The BBC Online's look at the World Trade Center tragedy included two tall pages showing the tenants of both north and south towers. A very tall scroll indeed.
Posted 10:18 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Web Has No Upside for Upside
Vin Crosbie on UpsideToday's closure.
Upside Magazine, which covers business issues and trends affecting high-tech companies in computing, software, telecommunications, and e-commerce, permanently closed its website this past weekend. "UpsideToday, the online news division of Upside Media, has ceased operations as of today due to insufficient funds. We have fought long and hard to stay afloat, but now we must say good-bye, " were its website's parting words. Upside Media will continue to publish Upside Magazine, its print publication, on a monthly basis.
Posted 10:15 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
It Should Come As No Surprise That ...
Steve Klein on Internet usage patterns
No matter what kind of Internet connection you have, some things haven't changed: Users want Web pages that download quickly, useful information, and customization. That common-sense bit of knowledge didn't keep Jupiter Media Metrix from releasing a study this month that came to those conclusions, according to an article by Gerry McGovern. Some of the conclusions from the study:
40% will visit a site more often if its pages load faster.
59% of users want more product information.
36% want personalization features.
Only 20% want multimedia or rich media features.
Only 12% are interested in mobile commerce facilities. "To make the best use of their budgets in the near term, most companies should avoid risky, glamorous Web enhancements," said Cormac Foster, an analyst for Jupiter Media Metrix.
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