Decisions to embrace the changes that Web 2.0 brings has been challenging for newspapers and most media. I congratulate The Herald-Sun for moving forward with a new website format that encourages contributions and participation by local citizens.
Bull City Rising, a Durham mainstay blog, wrote about the new Herald-Sun website in a post entitled "Herald-Sun Launches New Website - Fear Not, You can Contribute." http://tinyurl.com/mooomn .
Like most newspapers, The Herald-Sun is working hard to remain a vibrant part of the communities it serves. Newspapers are struggling to find new avenues to provide compelling content and communication. www.Herald-Sun.net just launched today. It offers a wide range of ways for citizens to read about their communities and contribute content -- original content.
People can read AP stories almost anywhere, but uber-local content is hard to match. Perhaps the new Herald-Sun website will greatly boost the volume of community information, interaction and communication.
My firm, BestHomePro, is offering home search services on the real estate tab on Herald-Sun.net and .com. In a matter of days we will be offering The BestHomePro Marketplace. This represents an entirely new model for the way consumers search for homes and the way agents and consumers hook-up. It is what is called "Opt-In" on both sides. Consumers can search all they want with our pledge never to share their contact information until they indicate they wish to find an agent or see a home. Then, without identifying the contact by name, agents will be allowed to see what the consumer is searching for and make offers to the consumer. The consumer then chooses an agent from among those shown.
Congratulations to The Herald-Sun for moving forward WITH technology,rather than fighting the tidal wave.
Contribute meaningful content and enjoy reading the thoughts and stories of your neighbors.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Are newspapers dead?
Everywhere you look there are articles (in newspapers), stories in the electronic media and discussions on talk shows about how newspapers are dead. My company is eager to work with newspapers to offer our BestHomePro Marketplace software (home search) to consumers. We therefore are very interested in the health of this medium that has supplied millions of people with high quality content for centuries.
CraigsList has been "killing" print media advertising -- Wow! Bloggers are everywhere and the best ones are becoming real authority figures on government, The Internet, communities, bicycles, autos, etc. etc, etc. What are newspapers to do?
I for one do not think newspapers need to die. They need to view the world through new lenses. Can bloggers assure our community or country that government, or huge lobbies or powerful corporations don't get away with corruption? Will bloggers cover all the stories of interest to all citizens or just their hot-buttons?
In Durham, NC, I still get The Herald-Sun Newspaper each day. Like most newspapers, it is smaller than it used to be. I also scan three or four others on-line, read blogs, get RSS feeds and follow 400 people on Twitter. But I still find scanning the entire newspaper while drinking my coffee each morning to be a good way to set the table for my curiousity and understanding of a wide range of things going-on all around the world.
People go to specific blogs to read about specific interests. But won't the world become miopic if people only see and read about their particular interests. What will happen to the "Renaissance Man" view of the world if you only read about Tarheel basketball, golf, Durham-based theater and "best local restaurants?"
Newspapers, providing top-quality content will remain viable if they stop just printing AP newswire stories in the local paper and if they provide in-depth stories of public interest. They need to continue providing breadth, balance and investigative value.
They can make money -- perhaps not with the classified ads of old, but through leveraging their traffic in print and particulary through the web. Most newspapers now have 3 to 5 times the traffic on the web as they do in print.
Citizens need to value solid content and the news media needs to be sure they provide the quality that will continue to attract readership. I hope they do.
CraigsList has been "killing" print media advertising -- Wow! Bloggers are everywhere and the best ones are becoming real authority figures on government, The Internet, communities, bicycles, autos, etc. etc, etc. What are newspapers to do?
I for one do not think newspapers need to die. They need to view the world through new lenses. Can bloggers assure our community or country that government, or huge lobbies or powerful corporations don't get away with corruption? Will bloggers cover all the stories of interest to all citizens or just their hot-buttons?
In Durham, NC, I still get The Herald-Sun Newspaper each day. Like most newspapers, it is smaller than it used to be. I also scan three or four others on-line, read blogs, get RSS feeds and follow 400 people on Twitter. But I still find scanning the entire newspaper while drinking my coffee each morning to be a good way to set the table for my curiousity and understanding of a wide range of things going-on all around the world.
People go to specific blogs to read about specific interests. But won't the world become miopic if people only see and read about their particular interests. What will happen to the "Renaissance Man" view of the world if you only read about Tarheel basketball, golf, Durham-based theater and "best local restaurants?"
Newspapers, providing top-quality content will remain viable if they stop just printing AP newswire stories in the local paper and if they provide in-depth stories of public interest. They need to continue providing breadth, balance and investigative value.
They can make money -- perhaps not with the classified ads of old, but through leveraging their traffic in print and particulary through the web. Most newspapers now have 3 to 5 times the traffic on the web as they do in print.
Citizens need to value solid content and the news media needs to be sure they provide the quality that will continue to attract readership. I hope they do.
Who Is the Customer?
Inman's Connect Conference is going on right now. I could not go, but reading the daily posts has been interesting. Yesterday, a panel discussed "who is your customer?" Executives from Homegain (traditional lead generation company) and Trulia (newer vintage real estate search site and lead generation company) debated about the focus on consumers versus agents. Homegain appears focused on agents, while Trulia is focused on consumers (although they say they are focused on generating leads for agents).
To me the decision is simple. Web 2.0 must focus on serving the consumer. If the consumer is well-served, they will trust the site, share more information and possibly even request service. Companies that use the old rules ("capture leads", sell their contact information, etc.) will slowly lose ground.
The decision is clear. Find ways to serve the consumer. Gain their trust and have them opt-in to service.
To me the decision is simple. Web 2.0 must focus on serving the consumer. If the consumer is well-served, they will trust the site, share more information and possibly even request service. Companies that use the old rules ("capture leads", sell their contact information, etc.) will slowly lose ground.
The decision is clear. Find ways to serve the consumer. Gain their trust and have them opt-in to service.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Back in Durham after Alaska
Our grown children gave my wife and I a cruise to Alaska for our mutual birthdays. What a great present to parents. All children should be instructed to do something so nice!!!
Alaska is 4 time zones away and it felt like we were on another planet. Not much population density up there. Sarah Palin certainly has room to spread-out. Being so far away from North Carolina, Research Triangle and Durham was a breath of fresh air (literally). Wide-open spaces; glaciers that knocked our socks off; enormous expanses of open territory; waterfalls galour; orka and hump-backed whales gliding by our boat and playfully jumping out of the water.
The trip was glorious, but even more glorious was our return to our home turf. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is a little too crowded, but that is a sign of progress. There weren't many restaurants in Skagway or Juneau to compare to Nana's, The Lantern, Bullocks, Sishi Sushi and many others. The price of gas was not even much less up there.
Alaska was a vacation of a life-time, but coming home is always a great treat as well.
The decision by our children to give us this treat involved few trade-offs: perhaps sun and warm versus cool and dramatic.
We are trully blessed to have such a treat (and such wonderful children/adults) and we are many-times blessed to live in North Carolina.
BestHomePro might eventually help people find homes in Alaska, but it will be a while until we have features such as "Caribou view" or "glacier view."
Alaska is 4 time zones away and it felt like we were on another planet. Not much population density up there. Sarah Palin certainly has room to spread-out. Being so far away from North Carolina, Research Triangle and Durham was a breath of fresh air (literally). Wide-open spaces; glaciers that knocked our socks off; enormous expanses of open territory; waterfalls galour; orka and hump-backed whales gliding by our boat and playfully jumping out of the water.
The trip was glorious, but even more glorious was our return to our home turf. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is a little too crowded, but that is a sign of progress. There weren't many restaurants in Skagway or Juneau to compare to Nana's, The Lantern, Bullocks, Sishi Sushi and many others. The price of gas was not even much less up there.
Alaska was a vacation of a life-time, but coming home is always a great treat as well.
The decision by our children to give us this treat involved few trade-offs: perhaps sun and warm versus cool and dramatic.
We are trully blessed to have such a treat (and such wonderful children/adults) and we are many-times blessed to live in North Carolina.
BestHomePro might eventually help people find homes in Alaska, but it will be a while until we have features such as "Caribou view" or "glacier view."
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