My So-Called Digital Life

Newspapers Online

So? Its been a long time no? So sorry about that. A little busy.

Time for some comments?

Right now I'm helping a large newspaper chain in the US, take their newspaper strategy online. They were doing a great job, but it was time for more of a network to be created.

I think traditional media companies talk about moving towards the web. To offset dwindling sales, advertising and audiences...but are they really ready? Its a tough culture change and I don't blame them for being wary of the online people helping them get there. I mean, they are the content experts...who are these digital people and what do they know about content?

Good question. Some? Nothing...na da. But some of us have been in digital media since the early 90's and working with content and streamlining user experience online for years. I think the key is working together, understanding where the other is coming from and keep the talking going.

Paidcontent.org published an interesting article last year about online newspapers and their growing popularity.

Online Newspaper Audience Rising Twice As Fast As General Internet Population: Report
By David Kaplan - Tue 24 Jul 2007 08:12 AM PST

Newspapers’ online audiences are rising at twice the rate of the general internet audience, according to research by Nielsen//NetRatings for the Newspaper Association of America. The research is being used to back up a recent industry ad campaign undertaken by the NAA called Newspaper: The Multi-Medium. The goal is to attract marketers to newspaper websites based on the apparent sophistication and earning power of those particular readers when compared to average web surfers. Among the findings of the report, which was based on existing and ongoing data collected in Nielsen’s @Plan survey:

-- An average of more than 59 million people (37.6 percent of all active internet users) visited newspapers online each month during Q1, a 5.3 percent increase over the same period a year ago, according to Nielsen//NetRatings NetView custom analysis. During the same time period, the overall internet audience grew just 2.7 percent.

-- The research is in line with a multitude of data that has often demonstrated the value of online audiences in terms of their shopping habits and earning ability. This study, though. also tries to single out newspaper readers as having a particular affinity for e-commerce: roughly nine in 10 (88.1 percent) newspaper website visitors have made a purchase online in the last six months, compared with 78.9 percent of the overall online audience. Four in 10 (41 percent) newspaper’s online readers work in professional or managerial jobs, compared with one in three (32.7 percent) of the overall internet population.

-- About 12 percent of those who have visited a newspaper website have annual household incomes in excess of $150,000. In contrast, less than one in 10 (9.3 percent) of the overall internet audience earns that much.

-- Online newspaper readers also tend to be a bit more tech savvy and have greater desire to consume additional information online: More newspaper website visitors have read blogs in the past month (28 percent) versus the general internet population (16.7 percent). And nearly three in 10 (28.9 percent) internet newspaper visitors have looked for or posted a product review online in the past month, versus 16.1 percent of the overall internet population.

Everybody Goes Zune Zune

Ok, so the iPod. Fairly ubiquitous right? I mean, when they galloped onto the market so many years ago, people thought it was a fad...then there were the naysayers...you know the ones..."but it only works on a mac". brilliant. everyone wanted one so much, they had to purchase a new computer....until...the next version and then you could use it with your PC...another marketing victory. now it does video, music, files, pictures, etc....it is a standalone system that will see itself into the sunset.

who knows.

But it is curious that Microsoft would compete so late in the game with Zune...something that is restricted due to digital rights. Curious. MS generally doesn't release anything without thinking it through...but to where?

I've already complained about this little box. I'm just still confused...what is real the method to their madness?

It's not very pretty, its priced too high to not be an iPod if you know what i mean, and its a ugly brown colour. That all said, their business model just might work...eventually. And maybe that all has to do with partnerships. MS just launched a revenue sharing deal with Universal Music Group. MS gets the rights to sell UMG's music and Universal will receive a slice of Zune sales. Nice.

The difference here is that MS adds motivation that goes beyond the downloads rates of Apple. The partners now have a stake in Zune's success.

But do I care about that? Nope. I'm the end user...and i want as much music as i can find when i want it...in the easiest way possible...with my itunes....i personally have no stake in anyone's business model except my own and that's to take MY music...anywhere...now...not when a provider gets around to giving it....

in other words i might not want the chicken or the beef but the fish. and if MS is only offering me beef and limited choice, i'll dine out elsewhere.

Microsoft's Zune

So I know this sounds weird, but the new Zune is an attempt to think into the future, when the thought of digital rights "problems" will be a think of the past. Microsoft's yet unreleased Zune which has been touted the "iPod killer" uses Digital Rights Managemet but oddly enough, will not be compatible with Microsoft's PlayForSure technology.

So anyone that has licensed the old techhnology will find out very quickly that the music that they are currently selling will not be playable on the new Zune. What does this mean? Repurchasing? Possibly if all is correct. Where you say? Zune of course. Will all the music that you owned be able to be repurchased? Well only if its available...look at iTunes...sometimes your fav song just is not licensed or it takes a while for it to be added to a library.

So this brings up an interesting question....repurchasing...relicensing...and what about fair use? Recently at a conference I spoke at in Hong Kong, the idea of licensing depending on use (one cost for listening on a CD at home, another price to download to your computer and then to your iPod, another price to copy to a friend). So the whole buying again and again might not be so far away.

If I've made no sense at all, feel free to check out the BBC. They seem to have it together.

Online E-Commerce Helped Along by Social Media

It's true that social networking sites are definately directing an increasing number of online users towards shopping web sites.

You can find comments and shopping info on sites like Flickr, MySpace, etc. According to research, sites like these increase their shares in September due to shopping and ecommerce becoming a big part of the social networking activities.

Research from Hitwise revealed that shopping and classified sites received 2.4 per cent of their visits from MySpace during September, and furthermore that this represented an 83 per cent increase on figures released six months earlier.

I have found that google alerts that have come up for snazzygirl.com, that were original on blogs and social network sites, talking about opinion about products on the site, really do direct people in a postive way towards the web site. Much more than doing any kind of online advertising.