The Art of Publishing in the Age of the Internet
Catherine Sherwood http://xeesm.com/catherinesherwood posted today about:
The Art of Publishing in the Age of the Internet
Back in the early days of the internet, there was a mantra that “content is king”. Having worked for ScreamingMedia – one of the early leaders in providing “fresh content” to websites, we certainly wanted everyone to believe it. After the first wave of companies putting up static content in fairly two-dimensional websites, people realized that updated content might actually bring consumers back for a second look. However, much of that content was not really relevant – just recycled from other sources. The content that companies created directly was more relevant, but hardly compelling.
Now many of those same companies that used to syndicate their content though ScreamingMedia and others understand that the real value lies in what they create, not how it is delivered. Again, “content is king” but in a whole new way. As print distribution of content is starting to fade, the real asset is the quality of the content. Multiple sources put the number of blogs at 200 million so there is more than enough quantity, but nothing takes the place of well-researched, well-reported, well-written content. Just look at YouTube and the thousands of funny, strange or informative videos. We can all enjoy them, but know the difference between a supposedly singing cat and an episode of Mad Men in terms of real value.
I believe that newspapers, magazines and book publishers should pull out all of the stops. They can create even more compelling content in a multi-dimensional media. With audio and video to enhance the information, the opportunity to engage readers in forums, and do follow-up in blogs, their products should command close to the same price from consumers and support from advertisers that their print products do. They can balance out any losses in revenue from the savings in operations – printing, distribution, etc. They will also have the aid of advocates of their products promoting them directly in the social media and being able to close the deal with a tiny url to the publisher’s site.
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thanks
Marita
http://xeesm.com/maritar
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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