Waste of Money

http://www.fastcompany.com/1688721/will-wpps-content-project-save-online-pay-services?partner=homepage_newsletter

How much is WPP getting for this "experiment"?
Subscribing for content 'en masse'? Really?

A 'mobile wallet' for content? Because mobile wallets have been so successful.

If users aren't paying for content now, they're not going to pay for content 'en masse'. Experience has shown that users will pay for content they really want and value-- i don't think that extends to a broad collection of content properties in this "content project".

This model might work for magazine houses like Conde Nast or Hearst, but that's about it, in my view.

How to NOT leverage social media: BP

I have many things to say about how BP is handling the crisis in the Gulf, but I'd like to focus on just one: BP's solicitation of ideas from the public for how to solve the problem in the Gulf.

On BP.com, BP asks, "Do you have ideas to help us?: call +1 281 366 5511"

In a crisis like this one, BP should not be asking the public for suggestions for how to fix the problem. This is a crisis for the experts. Honestly, do we think the solution to this engineering catastrophe is going to come from the public?

What does BP think it will gain by openly asking the public for suggestions? This is not Starbucks looking for product or service ideas from its customers. Do airlines poll the public when one their aircraft lose an engine: "Our London-bound 747 is in trouble: have ideas for averting a crash?"

There is a time and a place for enlisting the public into the ongoing management of your business: BP, this is not one of them.

For more on this topic, read the comments below this short article:

http://gawker.com/5550938/we-called-bp-and-offered-some-ideas-to-fix-the-oil-spill

Subscription models and the Semantic Web

There is a very interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal on Rupert Murdoch's soon-to-be-released subscription model, which will include the ability to subscribe to content that comes from publications other than those owned by Murdoch himself.

This topic came up a few times in my recent panel at Digital Hollywood-- the idea of being able to subscribe to a content "feed", in addition to being able to subscribe to a publication. For example: today I can subscribe to the Wall Street Journal (publication based subscription, on and offline), but sometime soon we will also have the ability to subscribe to topic-based feed, say everything "Insurance Industry" related. Folks who work in the Insurance industry can get all of the WSJ content relating to that industry, plus Barron's and Factiva data (other Murdoch-owned content sources), AND content coming from the Associated Press, NY Times and insurance-industry sources.

It's a melding of Web 3.0 ('semantic web') concepts (which involve breaking content into relevant topics) and innovative subscription models that will be a win-win for users and content providers.

I think Dow Jones is the leader in this area... and has been for some time (look at their current "Pro" subscription service on WSJ.com).

Here's the article:

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100519/rupert-murdoch-still-needs-allies-his-digital-news-crusade/

Myth | Internet = free content

I've been thinking quite a bit about the hot topic of subscription services and pay walls... not just because it's a hot topic within digital publishing, but also because it's a topic of an upcoming panel i'm on at Digital Hollywood:

http://www.digitalhollywood.com/10DHSpring/DH10Sp-Wed21.html

Regarding pay-walls and pay-per-article services (specifically like the one that the New York Times is considering). Has any pay-per-use model ever been that successful? You want customers to consume as much as your content as possible: THAT's called engagement. But by charging them per article, it encourages them to find that content in another form. Remember the old days of AOL, when user's monthly bills were hundreds of dollars (for the many hours they spent online). It may have helped AOL's revenues for the short term, but it didn't do them any favors in the long-term (and gave rise to newer business like Earthlink and flat-rate Internet ISPs). Quickly AOL turned to a flat-rate monthly amount (with a variety of subscription models).

I think publishers need to find a way to ENCOURAGE users to consume content, without charging them a "per-use" fee. It's detrimental to the behavior they are trying to encourage.

Myth | The Internet is anonymous part II

was just reading Martin Nisenholtz's address to the University of Pennsylvania, where he says:

"Facebook works because it is rooted in identity. It is an exercise of one’s ego online....This offers something important to publishers. For the first time, we can populate our site with users who come to us as themselves, not merely as anonymous screen names."

Makes me think of the topic i was writing about a couple of weeks ago: the enormous popularity of Facebook has helped the Internet grow up. What i mean is that the real-world authentication that Facebook has brought about has caused a step change in any site that is using Facebook Connect. So the Facebook ripple is continued to be felt in communities that are leveraging Facebook Connect. And all of these communities are enabling communities of users that are made up of authenticated, real-world users.

"grown-up"=the shift from anonymity to real identity.

http://paidcontent.org/article/419-nyts-nisenholtzs-speech-the-importance-of-engagement/

twitter's ad strategy

So twitter has announced their advertising strategy.... which involves serving ads when a user uses the search feature. I can't remember the last time i used Twitter's search -- i think it may have been Summer 2009. Hmm. Can't imagine this is going to be a hearty stream of revenue for Twitter for the long-term.

Myth | The Internet is anonymous

Just read a great article on how news sites are gradually abandoning the ability to post anonymous comments. [http://tinyurl.com/y64usxa].

While this is no surprise to anyone who works in media.. it really had me thinking: i think the belief that the 'Internet is Anonymous' is probably one of the biggest myths out there. Sure, maybe first generation Internet services provided true anonymity... but not these days.

And with the decline in online anonymity, we've also seen a much greater increase in the quality of user contribution.. because users are accountable for their content. I think Facebook has gone a long way in helping to pave the round with the general population in making users accountable for their postings. Everyone has a Facebook account these days (well, almost everyone). And almost everyone had an account that reflects who they really ARE: not their online personas, or screennames (thank you AOL), but real people.

Online UGC content is much better now that there is better transparency as to who's writing it. Authentication and transparency have had a meaningful impact.

twitter's redesign

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100409/twitter-will-look-different-in-some-way-some-day/

Am i the only one who finds an article about the "new look of twitter" a bit odd? Who cares what the look of twitter is -- it's a service, not a destination. I tweet from a range of other destinations: tweetdeck, tweetie, destination sites that enable sharing, etc. I honestly don't remember the last time i tweeted via twitter.

Twitter is a service, not a destination.

iPad Magazines

I'm loving my iPad, but so far i've been very disappointed in the publishing industry's first-generation iPad apps-- particularly the magazine industry. So far, i've not seen any iPad magazine experiences that are particularly good. The best executions just seem to mimic the print experiences (GQ). The worst executions are cluttered, convoluted, un-navigatable messes (Time).

And none are doing anything interesting with advertising explorations.

I know these apps will get better as time progresses, but so far i'm unimpressed. The bar is not very high.

So I bought an iPad.

So I bought an iPad.
I genuinely think this will be a giant step forward for publishing. One touch purchasing of a book... or even getting a sample of a book.
New York Times Editor's picks.... like browsing through the morning paper... only no newsprint all over my hands, and no mess on my coffee table afterwards (I always did hate the newspaper laying all over my living room once we've gone through it all).

Anyway... it really is an amazing device. My heart has been racing since i opened the box.

White Space

Just read an article on "5 Ways to improve a website's 'brand voice'". http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26360.asp

There are so many things wrong with this article... i'm not sure where to start, but the first thing that came into my head is the question, "what's wrong with a little 'white space'?". You want to make a brand's voice come across... well, give it some air.

T Minus One Day

It's one day until the iPad is officially launched, and the publishing game gets forever changed. Particularly the world of magazines.... Digital content, advertising, features, and functionality for magazines will never be the same. It's going to be an interesting ride.