Comments on: The Future of Media http://www.fabricegrinda.com/business-musings/the-future-of-media/ Tue, 15 May 2012 20:54:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Fred http://www.fabricegrinda.com/business-musings/the-future-of-media/comment-page-1/#comment-6719 Fred Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:47:43 +0000 http://www.fabricegrinda.com/?p=665#comment-6719 Gak. I personally can not wait for the day that the NY Times or LA Times files for bankruptcy. I think the dilution of their informative eco space is such that this bankruptcy is highly likely. Regarding the airlines: This is a levitation magic act I can not understand yet. Any ideas how it happens? There has to be a detail or two unadvertised for this to function. Gak. I personally can not wait for the day that the NY Times or LA Times files for bankruptcy. I think the dilution of their informative eco space is such that this bankruptcy is highly likely.

Regarding the airlines: This is a levitation magic act I can not understand yet. Any ideas how it happens? There has to be a detail or two unadvertised for this to function.

]]> By: Stacie http://www.fabricegrinda.com/business-musings/the-future-of-media/comment-page-1/#comment-6693 Stacie Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:20:09 +0000 http://www.fabricegrinda.com/?p=665#comment-6693 I think that the Old Media companies really should go back to Strategy 101: What are your competitive advantages over the Internet and how can you leverage them better? 1. Portability: Be the source for content when I am not in front of my computer. Unfortunately, the huge foldout format that most newspapers cling to is inconvenient and messy. Although the capital investment might be painful, I would love to see them move their content to a smaller format that's easier to read at the gym, on the train, etc. Part of the reason the free metropolitan dailies have been picking up so much marketshare is that they're just easier to hold and turn the pages of on the subway. 2. Comprehensive interest: The internet is great for searching out specific articles or columns, but if I am really interested in 90% of the articles in a magazine, the magazine's website isn't very browsable. I can't be sure I'm getting to all the content by scrolling under category headings, whereas if I'm reading a newspaper or magazine cover-to-cover I can. Big headliner articles are great, but I can easily see them when I go to your homepage (or when they get reposted on my favorite blog). Publications such as The Economist, on the other hand, do a great job of breaking up their content into smaller mini-articles, where each is newsworthy and interesting enough that I want to read the whole publication every week, rather than just seeing the highlights on their website. 3. Multiple media (in the other sense of the word): On the internet, advertising has become pretty standardized - banner ads on top, sometimes placed within the article, but still flat and easy for me to ignore. In physical publications, there are opportunities for advertisers to stand out using thicker paper stock, scents, materials glued to the page, etc. 4. NOT news!: Let's face it - I update cnn.com on my Blackberry every time I'm walking between meetings. I don't need the New York Times to tell me about an important world event when it arrives on my doorstep the next day - the internet is real-time. The internet has made archaic the first-to-the-scene mentality of breaking a story. Instead media outlets should try to leverage insightful post-event analysis and connection with larger trends (again, I cite the Economist as a great example) in order to push people to read all about it. I think that the Old Media companies really should go back to Strategy 101: What are your competitive advantages over the Internet and how can you leverage them better?

1. Portability: Be the source for content when I am not in front of my computer. Unfortunately, the huge foldout format that most newspapers cling to is inconvenient and messy. Although the capital investment might be painful, I would love to see them move their content to a smaller format that’s easier to read at the gym, on the train, etc. Part of the reason the free metropolitan dailies have been picking up so much marketshare is that they’re just easier to hold and turn the pages of on the subway.

2. Comprehensive interest: The internet is great for searching out specific articles or columns, but if I am really interested in 90% of the articles in a magazine, the magazine’s website isn’t very browsable. I can’t be sure I’m getting to all the content by scrolling under category headings, whereas if I’m reading a newspaper or magazine cover-to-cover I can. Big headliner articles are great, but I can easily see them when I go to your homepage (or when they get reposted on my favorite blog). Publications such as The Economist, on the other hand, do a great job of breaking up their content into smaller mini-articles, where each is newsworthy and interesting enough that I want to read the whole publication every week, rather than just seeing the highlights on their website.

3. Multiple media (in the other sense of the word): On the internet, advertising has become pretty standardized – banner ads on top, sometimes placed within the article, but still flat and easy for me to ignore. In physical publications, there are opportunities for advertisers to stand out using thicker paper stock, scents, materials glued to the page, etc.

4. NOT news!: Let’s face it – I update cnn.com on my Blackberry every time I’m walking between meetings. I don’t need the New York Times to tell me about an important world event when it arrives on my doorstep the next day – the internet is real-time. The internet has made archaic the first-to-the-scene mentality of breaking a story. Instead media outlets should try to leverage insightful post-event analysis and connection with larger trends (again, I cite the Economist as a great example) in order to push people to read all about it.

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