What’s Killing the Newspapers?

As ironic as it may be, newspapers are currently topping their own headlines. Well-known newspapers such as The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times are not only downsizing employees, but are also cutting sections and features from their publications. While the newspaper industry appears to be dying, the news itself is actually flourishing in other forms.

What’s the reason for all this? Some blame the economy and expect the government to bail out the newspapers. U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin introduced the Newspaper Revitalization Act to Congress, which would allow newspapers to operate as non-profit organizations if they wanted to. This week, Governor Chris Gregoire of Washington State approved a tax break for newspaper printers and publishers.

Some newspapers blame Google for their struggles claiming the search engine is stealing their content. Search industry leader Danny Sullivan disagrees. He believes newspapers actually get “special treatment” from Google. There are news publications that do not appear in Google news, but so many of the complaining newspapers do. These newspapers also receive a tremendous amount of traffic from Google that many other publications would readily appreciate.

Lastly, some even say the newspapers have created their own crisis. Has the newspaper industry embraced the Internet to its full potential? Could they have approached advertising in a different way that could have produced better benefits for them? Are they monetizing their traffic in the most effective manner?

*Traditional Media Vs. Digital Media *

Although we consider ourselves on board and moving with the digital age, there are some areas that are taking longer to evolve. One such area is the transition of traditional media metrics online. Most marketers realize the need to integrate online, but struggle with the actual process.

In many cases, traditional media forms such as television are the easiest option for marketers and advertisers, even if it’s not the best choice. Some may argue that the proper measurement tools are not available, but Erin Hunter of comScore says they do exist. comScore even has a media planning suite for marketers and advertisers that goes beyond traditional measures.

One significant problem with choosing that “easy” form of media is the consumers that could be missed. Many consumers are now fully reliant on the Web. If marketers and advertisers aren’t taking this into consideration, a large part of their demographic is probably being neglected.

What challenges have you encountered in your online efforts? Have you discovered that you were missing out on consumers before you integrated online?

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Standing Out In The Digital Age

How many websites do you visit each day? Do you even have an accurate number or is it more than you could count? A recent Nielsen study unveiled the average Internet user in the US views 115 different websites each day. That’s a lot of websites!

Oddly enough, many of us view even more websites than that on a daily basis. What type of websites do you view? Is it commerce, community, news, or blogs? For most, it is probably a combination of all mentioned.

In order to get your business noticed in this digital age, Richard Jalichandra of Technorati says companies have to make their brand accessible. Utilizing 2 or 3 portals aren’t good enough. Richard says brands must realize that they have to extend their efforts beyond their comfort zones in order to succeed in the digital age.

Look at the above statistics and then think about your consumption of traditional media sources. How much TV do you watch? Do you get your news from television or a newspaper, or do you turn to the Web to get it? When was the last time you visited a library, or do you simply go to the Internet to find the information you need?

The Web has changed the way we do business and live our everyday life. We should expect this trend to only increase over time. Going back to the point Richard made, this information means that marketers and advertisers have to embrace several digital areas.

Take the Technorati online property BlogCritics.org for example. This freshly redesigned website tries bridge the gap between journalists and bloggers by setting a high quality content precedent. The site provides valuable content, but delivers it in a “community” atmosphere. There are countless properties like this on the Web and businesses simply need to find which ones can be integrated into their business model.

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Social Media Done Right

A lot of people like to give their opinions on how to use social media, but Katie Sween’s opinion is advice that everyone would likely want to hear. Katie is the Head of Marketing at the rapidly growing company, StumbleUpon. She says social media shouldn’t be scary at all but should simply be an extension of other business efforts.

Many social networks were intended to be fun and should still be fun, even though they are now incorporated into business operations. Social media provides many cost-effective opportunities for businesses such as brand-building and reputation management, but websites still need to have quality content.

StumbleUpon comes into the game here since it tries to help the content providers connect with their brands. Katie says StumbleUpon listens and engages with users and also aims to make themselves available to users. The companies and brands that understand this “push and pull” concept are approaching social the right way.

Recently, StumbleUpon announced that is was no longer a part of eBay. The company is now in the hands of its original founders and a few other investors. While under eBay, Katie says the company was able to focus entirely on their product. As a result, they experienced unprecedented growth.

While very thankful for eBay, StumbleUpon is excited to be a start-up again. Katie says the company has more freedom and liberty now that they are independent. To give an example of those new opportunities, StumbleUpon just released a few enhancements to their Web Stumbling function. (Web Stumbling is the act of stumbling without downloading the toolbar.)

With Web Stumbling, StumbleUpon wanted to make stumbling accessible from any computer or browser. StumbleUpon revealed these enhancements to WebProNews:

Fully Personalized Experience - Now you can expect the same high-quality and personalized recommendations that you receive from your downloaded toolbar. And you can access it from any computer, and from any browser… just visit StumbleUpon.com and login to get a personalized stumbling experience.

Web Stumbling syncs with your toolbar activity - Use Web Stumbling to rate, review and share content and all your activities will be saved for you in your profile and will influence your future recommendations. For example, Web Stumbling in Safari or Opera would use ratings given using the Firefox or IE toolbars, and anything you rate will improve your recommendations on any platform.

Enhancements to Sharing - When sharing websites while Web Stumbling, you now have the ability to share with several friends at once, post sites directly to your Facebook profile, and even have conversations about the websites you share with your friends.

For more information, check out Chris Crum’s write-up or visit StumbleUpon.

What are your social media best practices? And how do you see StumbleUpon’s Web Stumbling enhancements supporting your social efforts?

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