Ken Doctor reporting:
This week, we saw the fairly astounding news that mobile minutes are doubling
the amount of time Americans are spending online, with smartphone and
tablet usage the great multipliers. Amazon reports that its Kindle
owners buy four times more books than those who buy only print. Online
video watching has increased at least 600 percent over the past five years — averaging more than 200 videos, totaling over 22 hours, per month.
... Those in the newsrooms and editorial staffs and those on the sales side have a future. Growth is possible. As important as the promise of revenue growth is the sense of being essential. The deep decline in revenue over the last half decade has led to a deep decline in confidence: Do readers and merchants still need what we do? That loss in confidence has only added to the problem.
...
This new strategy will be significantly fueled by developments at two
of the U.S’s top papers, The New York Times and The Washington Post.
From the Times, we’ll soon see a spate of new products, individually
priced and targeted at niche audiences, as CEO Mark Thompson acts on his belief that Times readers can be sold new products along “an engagement curve.”
From the Post, we’ll likely see the application of the kind of media
marketing savvy that now produce more than half of new Post owner Jeff
Bezos’ Amazon revenues.
For publishers, the business model has long had two dominant parts:
sell advertising to businesses; sell newspapers or magazines to readers,
either by subscription or as a single copy. Those two kinds of products
remain dominant for now — but it’s remarkable what else is starting to
be sold.
2014 looks like it will mark a turning point here, as a number of new
news products hit the market — joining the ranks of growing ebook
production, e-commerce services, events marketing, content marketing,
and niched print and digital paid products already in the marketplace.
http://www.niemanlab.org/2013/09/the-newsonomics-of-selling-more-things/
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Google’s chief economist understands media better than some industry executives do
Hal Varian, the chief economist at Google and a former MIT professor, isn’t a practising journalist and has never run a media company (unless you see his current employer as one, which many people increasingly do). But he knows a lot about information theory and network effects, and he made it clear during a recent presentation in Italy — where he received a journalism award — that he has a better grasp of what those two factors are doing to the media industry than many of those who run media companies.
In his presentation, Varian not surprisingly focused on the economic aspects of the journalism and media business, and his first point was very much in line with one that British journalism professor George Brock made recently: namely, that the internet is not to blame for killing newspapers or even causing the majority of their decline. In terms of circulation, that has been going on for some time — since long before the internet started to become a factor:
“In the US, newspaper circulation reached its peak in 1972 and it has been all downhill ever since. Experts agree that most of the decline during this period was due to competition from broadcast TV news and cable news, with the internet contributing only in the last few years.”
It may not be something that traditional print-media supporters like to hear, but Varian also argued that the internet is simply “a superior way to distribute and read news.” Over half the cost of producing a newspaper is wrapped up in printing and distribution, he said — and on the reader’s side of the equation, publishing online provides a host of things that print doesn’t, including hyperlinks. It provides, he said, “the emotional immediacy of TV along with enhanced interactivity, personalized content and the analytic depth of the printed word.”
Varian also noted something that I and others have tried to argue for some time — that newspapers have never really made money from news, and so the idea that they can suddenly flick a switch and start charging for their news content online (or that some kind of “original sin” was created by not charging for it in the early days of the web) makes no sense. The news business was always cross-subsidized by classifieds and stock listings and the travel, section, Varian says, something media theorist Clay Shirky has also pointed out a number of times. That cross-subsidization doesn’t work as well online:...
http://www.journalismfestival.com/news/hal-varian-on-the-economics-of-the-newspaper-business/
Jeff Bezos has no plan for saving journalism...tells editors 'Focus on customer'
ZDnet reporting:
There was a momentary spark of optimism that Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos would save journalism by relaunching his Washington Post newspaper, with a fabulous tech-led business model showing the way for a resurgent newspaper industry.
In his first TV interview since the Washington Post purchase, Mr. Bezos said that he bought the newspaper as a personal investment and to support an "important institution." Katherine Fung reported on Huffington Post:
It's clear now that Mr. Bezos didn't have any bright ideas going into the deal and he still doesn't have a plan. But that's not a bad thing because he might find one or three great ideas eventually.
The customer-centric newsroom...
http://www.zdnet.com/jeff-bezos-has-no-plan-for-saving-journalism-tells-editors-focus-on-customer-7000021247/
There was a momentary spark of optimism that Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos would save journalism by relaunching his Washington Post newspaper, with a fabulous tech-led business model showing the way for a resurgent newspaper industry.
In his first TV interview since the Washington Post purchase, Mr. Bezos said that he bought the newspaper as a personal investment and to support an "important institution." Katherine Fung reported on Huffington Post:
Speaking to CNN correspondent Dan Simon, [Bezos] said that that he was hopeful about the road ahead and his ability to contribute to the organization…Foremski's Take: Hopes that Mr. Bezos' tech acumen would reverse the misfortunes of the newspaper sector, were a key theme in news stories that announced his $250 million purchase of the Washington Post.
"I'm hopeful that I can help from a distance in part by providing runway for them to do a series of experiments, in part through bringing some of the philosophy that we have used at Amazon to the Post."
He added that the key to Amazon's success has been focusing on the customer.
It's clear now that Mr. Bezos didn't have any bright ideas going into the deal and he still doesn't have a plan. But that's not a bad thing because he might find one or three great ideas eventually.
The customer-centric newsroom...
http://www.zdnet.com/jeff-bezos-has-no-plan-for-saving-journalism-tells-editors-focus-on-customer-7000021247/
Saturday, September 28, 2013
#Podcast: How 3 women’s magazines invited the reader into the production process
Journalism.co.uk reports:
Connecting
with the reader is vitally important for any magazine. To sell copies
and build an engaged community it must appeal to the reader, and be in
tune with their interests.
This week’s podcast looks at how and why three magazines in Finland (Olivia), India (Femina) and the UK (Company), are using crowdsourcing methods to both further their understanding of the audience, and give their readers a greater role in determining the final issue. Examples include a magazine which produced an edition containing reader-produced content only and another which built an online “co-creation” platform, where the readers helped make editorial decisions.
The publishers and editors behind the magazines share some of their lessons, as well as the potential benefits for the readers, the magazine and advertisers.
We hear from:
This week’s podcast looks at how and why three magazines in Finland (Olivia), India (Femina) and the UK (Company), are using crowdsourcing methods to both further their understanding of the audience, and give their readers a greater role in determining the final issue. Examples include a magazine which produced an edition containing reader-produced content only and another which built an online “co-creation” platform, where the readers helped make editorial decisions.
The publishers and editors behind the magazines share some of their lessons, as well as the potential benefits for the readers, the magazine and advertisers.
We hear from:
- Marjaana Toiminen, chief executive, Bonnier Publications (Publisher of Olivia magazine)
- Tarun Rai, chief executive, Worldwide Media (Publisher of Femina magazine)
- Victoria White, editor, Company
Connecting
with the reader is vitally important for any magazine. To sell copies
and build an engaged community it must appeal to the reader, and be in
tune with their interests.
This week’s podcast looks at how and why three magazines in Finland (Olivia), India (Femina) and the UK (Company), are using crowdsourcing methods to both further their understanding of the audience, and give their readers a greater role in determining the final issue. Examples include a magazine which produced an edition containing reader-produced content only and another which built an online “co-creation” platform, where the readers helped make editorial decisions.
The publishers and editors behind the magazines share some of their lessons, as well as the potential benefits for the readers, the magazine and advertisers.
We hear from:
This week’s podcast looks at how and why three magazines in Finland (Olivia), India (Femina) and the UK (Company), are using crowdsourcing methods to both further their understanding of the audience, and give their readers a greater role in determining the final issue. Examples include a magazine which produced an edition containing reader-produced content only and another which built an online “co-creation” platform, where the readers helped make editorial decisions.
The publishers and editors behind the magazines share some of their lessons, as well as the potential benefits for the readers, the magazine and advertisers.
We hear from:
- Marjaana Toiminen, chief executive, Bonnier Publications (Publisher of Olivia magazine)
- Tarun Rai, chief executive, Worldwide Media (Publisher of Femina magazine)
- Victoria White, editor, Company
Connecting
with the reader is vitally important for any magazine. To sell copies
and build an engaged community it must appeal to the reader, and be in
tune with their interests.
This week’s podcast looks at how and why three magazines in Finland (Olivia), India (Femina) and the UK (Company), are using crowdsourcing methods to both further their understanding of the audience, and give their readers a greater role in determining the final issue. Examples include a magazine which produced an edition containing reader-produced content only and another which built an online “co-creation” platform, where the readers helped make editorial decisions.
The publishers and editors behind the magazines share some of their lessons, as well as the potential benefits for the readers, the magazine and advertisers.
We hear from:
This week’s podcast looks at how and why three magazines in Finland (Olivia), India (Femina) and the UK (Company), are using crowdsourcing methods to both further their understanding of the audience, and give their readers a greater role in determining the final issue. Examples include a magazine which produced an edition containing reader-produced content only and another which built an online “co-creation” platform, where the readers helped make editorial decisions.
The publishers and editors behind the magazines share some of their lessons, as well as the potential benefits for the readers, the magazine and advertisers.
We hear from:
- Marjaana Toiminen, chief executive, Bonnier Publications (Publisher of Olivia magazine)
- Tarun Rai, chief executive, Worldwide Media (Publisher of Femina magazine)
- Victoria White, editor, Company
Connecting
with the reader is vitally important for any magazine. To sell copies
and build an engaged community it must appeal to the reader, and be in
tune with their interests.
This week’s podcast looks at how and why three magazines in Finland (Olivia), India (Femina) and the UK (Company), are using crowdsourcing methods to both further their understanding of the audience, and give their readers a greater role in determining the final issue. Examples include a magazine which produced an edition containing reader-produced content only and another which built an online “co-creation” platform, where the readers helped make editorial decisions.
The publishers and editors behind the magazines share some of their lessons, as well as the potential benefits for the readers, the magazine and advertisers.
We hear from:
http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/2013/09/27/podcast-how-three-womens-magazines-invited-their-readers-into-the-production-process/
This week’s podcast looks at how and why three magazines in Finland (Olivia), India (Femina) and the UK (Company), are using crowdsourcing methods to both further their understanding of the audience, and give their readers a greater role in determining the final issue. Examples include a magazine which produced an edition containing reader-produced content only and another which built an online “co-creation” platform, where the readers helped make editorial decisions.
The publishers and editors behind the magazines share some of their lessons, as well as the potential benefits for the readers, the magazine and advertisers.
We hear from:
- Marjaana Toiminen, chief executive, Bonnier Publications (Publisher of Olivia magazine)
- Tarun Rai, chief executive, Worldwide Media (Publisher of Femina magazine)
- Victoria White, editor, Company
What does the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel know that your newsroom doesn’t?
NiemanJournalismLab reporting:
...
But something’s different in Milwaukee. The daily newspaper is actually…kind of…almost…thriving.
There’s been plenty of pain along the way: layoffs, buyouts, wage freezes, and advertising declines. The staff is smaller, as it is almost everywhere.
But spend time talking to people in the newsroom and you’ll find morale is unusually high. Out in the community, the newspaper has maintained one of the nation’s highest rates of market penetration. And there’s a common thread between those two facts: Through all the financial stress, the paper has maintained — even extended — its commitment to watchdog, investigative reporting. Journalistically, the Journal Sentinel is in a period of real strength.
Since 2008 — over what has been the most crushing stretch in American newspaper history — the paper has won three Pulitzers and been finalists three other times. That’s a tally newspapers a lot larger than the Journal Sentinel can only envy....
The Journal Sentinel’s story begins with its location. Milwaukee is not an average newspaper town. It’s easy to fall back on Midwestern stereotypes — nice, earnest, civic-minded — but there’s some truth in them.
Managing editor George Stanley said that reader surveys have shown that people read the paper because they have “a desire to be good citizens.” The newspaper’s pollster told Stanley that civic engagement isn’t always a priority for newspaper readers. “In some of the places they had been, that reason was not even on the list,” Stanley said. “Not only was it not the top reason for reading the paper, but it didn’t even come up!”
The Journal Sentinel also found that the No. 1 reason women in its market read the paper is for investigative journalism, according to a survey Stanley says the paper conducted last year. “For men, investigative journalism was the No. 3 thing,” Stanley said. “No. 1 was the Packers. I forget what No. 2 was.”...
http://www.niemanlab.org/2013/09/what-does-the-milwaukee-journal-sentinel-know-that-your-newsroom-doesnt/
...
But something’s different in Milwaukee. The daily newspaper is actually…kind of…almost…thriving.
There’s been plenty of pain along the way: layoffs, buyouts, wage freezes, and advertising declines. The staff is smaller, as it is almost everywhere.
But spend time talking to people in the newsroom and you’ll find morale is unusually high. Out in the community, the newspaper has maintained one of the nation’s highest rates of market penetration. And there’s a common thread between those two facts: Through all the financial stress, the paper has maintained — even extended — its commitment to watchdog, investigative reporting. Journalistically, the Journal Sentinel is in a period of real strength.
Since 2008 — over what has been the most crushing stretch in American newspaper history — the paper has won three Pulitzers and been finalists three other times. That’s a tally newspapers a lot larger than the Journal Sentinel can only envy....
The Journal Sentinel’s story begins with its location. Milwaukee is not an average newspaper town. It’s easy to fall back on Midwestern stereotypes — nice, earnest, civic-minded — but there’s some truth in them.
Managing editor George Stanley said that reader surveys have shown that people read the paper because they have “a desire to be good citizens.” The newspaper’s pollster told Stanley that civic engagement isn’t always a priority for newspaper readers. “In some of the places they had been, that reason was not even on the list,” Stanley said. “Not only was it not the top reason for reading the paper, but it didn’t even come up!”
The Journal Sentinel also found that the No. 1 reason women in its market read the paper is for investigative journalism, according to a survey Stanley says the paper conducted last year. “For men, investigative journalism was the No. 3 thing,” Stanley said. “No. 1 was the Packers. I forget what No. 2 was.”...
http://www.niemanlab.org/2013/09/what-does-the-milwaukee-journal-sentinel-know-that-your-newsroom-doesnt/
Cell Phone Activities 2013 in USA
Pew reporting:
Fully 91% of American adults own a cell phone and many use the devices for much more than phone calls. In our most recent nationally representative survey, we checked in on some of the most popular activities people perform on their cell phones and found:
Fully 91% of American adults own a cell phone and many use the devices for much more than phone calls. In our most recent nationally representative survey, we checked in on some of the most popular activities people perform on their cell phones and found:
- 81% of cell phone owners send or receive text messages
- 60% of cell phone owners access the internet
- 52% send or receive email
- 50% download apps
- 49% get directions, recommendations, or other location-based information
- 48% listen to music
- 21% participate in a video call or video chat
- 8% “check in” or share their locationhttp://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Cell-Activities.aspx?utm_source=Mailing+List&utm_campaign=d5f32541a0-Newsletter_092713&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_79a7fe984b-d5f32541a0-387794238
Who’s Not Online and Why in USA
PEW reporting:
As of May 2013, 15% of American adults ages 18 and older do not use the internet or email.
Asked why they do not use the internet:
34% of non-internet users think the internet is just not relevant to them, saying they are not interested, do not want to use it, or have no need for it.
32% of non-internet users cite reasons tied to their sense that the internet is not very easy to use. These non-users say it is difficult or frustrating to go online, they are physically unable, or they are worried about other issues such as spam, spyware, and hackers. This figure is considerably higher than in earlier surveys.
19% of non-internet users cite the expense of owning a computer or paying for an internet connection.
7% of non-users cited a physical lack of availability or access to the internet.
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Non-internet-users.aspx?utm_source=Mailing+List&utm_campaign=d5f32541a0-Newsletter_092713&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_79a7fe984b-d5f32541a0-387794238
As of May 2013, 15% of American adults ages 18 and older do not use the internet or email.
Asked why they do not use the internet:
34% of non-internet users think the internet is just not relevant to them, saying they are not interested, do not want to use it, or have no need for it.
32% of non-internet users cite reasons tied to their sense that the internet is not very easy to use. These non-users say it is difficult or frustrating to go online, they are physically unable, or they are worried about other issues such as spam, spyware, and hackers. This figure is considerably higher than in earlier surveys.
19% of non-internet users cite the expense of owning a computer or paying for an internet connection.
7% of non-users cited a physical lack of availability or access to the internet.
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Non-internet-users.aspx?utm_source=Mailing+List&utm_campaign=d5f32541a0-Newsletter_092713&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_79a7fe984b-d5f32541a0-387794238
Tech More: Chart Of The Day Twitter CHART OF THE DAY: Twitter Is Still Very Small Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-twitter-is-still-very-small-2013-9#ixzz2gB9T5rMV
Business Insider reports:
Twitter, despite feeling ubiquitous to people in the media, remains a relatively small platform.
This chart from BI Intelligence shows that just 18% of U.S. Internet users are on Twitter. The people that are on Twitter are using it largely to track news.
There's two ways to look at this. On the one hand, it means Twitter has room to grow. On the other, it suggests Twitter isn't mainstream, and it might not ever go mainstream.
Twitter, despite feeling ubiquitous to people in the media, remains a relatively small platform.
This chart from BI Intelligence shows that just 18% of U.S. Internet users are on Twitter. The people that are on Twitter are using it largely to track news.
There's two ways to look at this. On the one hand, it means Twitter has room to grow. On the other, it suggests Twitter isn't mainstream, and it might not ever go mainstream.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Digital puts news consumers in control
Newsosaur and Editor&Publisher reporting:
News consumption in the digital era has become far more of a participatory activity than it was in the days when folks plopped into a La-Z-Boy to read the paper or watch the evening news.
Publishers hoping to connect with modern audiences need to understand the radically different expectations that consumers have about when, where and how they get the news – and how they proactively mix, match and remix the information they acquire.
The surprising degree to which consumers are using digital technology to personalize and control the news-consuming experience is illuminated in a recent study from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.
Conducted online in the United States and eight other countries, the Oxford study shows an eclectic appetite for news sources and platforms around the world, as well as a sharp generational divide in what consumers do with the news after they obtain it. In particular, the findings show that digital natives under the age of 45 are more proactive than their elders.
While the online-only nature of the study may not give the print and broadcast media all the credit they are due, these trends are too significant for media executives to ignore. You can read the full study here. Meantime, here are the key findings:
http://newsosaur.blogspot.fi/2013/09/digital-puts-news-consumers-in-control.html
see also http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/
News consumption in the digital era has become far more of a participatory activity than it was in the days when folks plopped into a La-Z-Boy to read the paper or watch the evening news.
Publishers hoping to connect with modern audiences need to understand the radically different expectations that consumers have about when, where and how they get the news – and how they proactively mix, match and remix the information they acquire.
The surprising degree to which consumers are using digital technology to personalize and control the news-consuming experience is illuminated in a recent study from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.
Conducted online in the United States and eight other countries, the Oxford study shows an eclectic appetite for news sources and platforms around the world, as well as a sharp generational divide in what consumers do with the news after they obtain it. In particular, the findings show that digital natives under the age of 45 are more proactive than their elders.
While the online-only nature of the study may not give the print and broadcast media all the credit they are due, these trends are too significant for media executives to ignore. You can read the full study here. Meantime, here are the key findings:
http://newsosaur.blogspot.fi/2013/09/digital-puts-news-consumers-in-control.html
see also http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/
How many people really pay for digital news?
Newsosaur (Ken Doctor) reporting:
Now that roughly a third of the nation’s newspapers are charging for access to their web and mobile content, the early evidence suggests that digital audiences aren’t nearly as enthusiastic about paying for news as publishers are about charging for it.
Although digital-only subscribers make up 37.6% of the total circulation of the Wall Street Journal and 34.4% of the total readership of the New York Times, the number of digital-only subscribers at Gannett, the largest publisher of general-interest newspapers in the land, is 2.2% of its average aggregate weekday circulation of 3 million subscribers.
Notwithstanding the relative productivity of their paywalls, the paid penetration at the Journal and the Times pales in comparison to the success that Netflix, Spotify, Major League Baseball and other ventures have had in selling entertainment-oriented digital content. As illustrated in the table below, Netflix, the most popular digital pay service of our time, has 40 times more monthly subscribers than the New York Times.
The disparity in the demand for news and entertainment subscriptions suggests that the market for digital news may be less robust than newspaper publishers want it to be. But there is no doubt that publishers are counting heavily on it. ...
newsosaur.blogspot.fi/2013/09/how-many-people-really-pay-for-digital.html
Now that roughly a third of the nation’s newspapers are charging for access to their web and mobile content, the early evidence suggests that digital audiences aren’t nearly as enthusiastic about paying for news as publishers are about charging for it.
Although digital-only subscribers make up 37.6% of the total circulation of the Wall Street Journal and 34.4% of the total readership of the New York Times, the number of digital-only subscribers at Gannett, the largest publisher of general-interest newspapers in the land, is 2.2% of its average aggregate weekday circulation of 3 million subscribers.
Notwithstanding the relative productivity of their paywalls, the paid penetration at the Journal and the Times pales in comparison to the success that Netflix, Spotify, Major League Baseball and other ventures have had in selling entertainment-oriented digital content. As illustrated in the table below, Netflix, the most popular digital pay service of our time, has 40 times more monthly subscribers than the New York Times.
The disparity in the demand for news and entertainment subscriptions suggests that the market for digital news may be less robust than newspaper publishers want it to be. But there is no doubt that publishers are counting heavily on it. ...
newsosaur.blogspot.fi/2013/09/how-many-people-really-pay-for-digital.html
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
The Type of Second-Screen Apps That Keep Users Engaged the Most How advertisers can best leverage them
adweek reporting:
These days, advertisers have to plan their TV strategies with second-screen viewing in mind. But not all co-viewing behavior is the same. A series of studies by Time Warner Medialab showed that branded apps (which are designed by the networks) are ideal for generating strong engagement with the associated TV content, while users of interactive apps are more likely to be focused on the app itself (no doubt trying to rack up points and rewards).
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/type-second-screen-apps-keep-users-engaged-most-152538?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=AWK_TodayTV&utm_campaign=Adweek%20Newsletter%20Template%20-%20TV%20Today%20-%20July%2012
These days, advertisers have to plan their TV strategies with second-screen viewing in mind. But not all co-viewing behavior is the same. A series of studies by Time Warner Medialab showed that branded apps (which are designed by the networks) are ideal for generating strong engagement with the associated TV content, while users of interactive apps are more likely to be focused on the app itself (no doubt trying to rack up points and rewards).
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/type-second-screen-apps-keep-users-engaged-most-152538?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=AWK_TodayTV&utm_campaign=Adweek%20Newsletter%20Template%20-%20TV%20Today%20-%20July%2012
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Pew: Internet now leading news source for Americans under 50
Pew reporting:
t's not exactly a surprise, but now we have data. According to the Pew Research Center's biennial media attitudes survey, the internet is now the leading source of national and international news for Americans under age 50.
And the younger you are, the more likely you'll turn to the internet first for news. According to Pew: "Overall, 71% of those 18-29 cite the internet as a main news source, more than the percentage that cites television (55%). Among those 30-49, 63% say the internet is where they go to get most of their news, up 13 points from 2011 and, for the first time, the percentage of this group citing the internet as their main source matches the percentage who say television is their top news source. (Respondents were allowed to name up to two sources)."
Given this, the recent purchase of the Washington post by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is starting to make more sense.
http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/news/2013/08/pew-internet-now-leading-news-source-americans-under-50
t's not exactly a surprise, but now we have data. According to the Pew Research Center's biennial media attitudes survey, the internet is now the leading source of national and international news for Americans under age 50.
And the younger you are, the more likely you'll turn to the internet first for news. According to Pew: "Overall, 71% of those 18-29 cite the internet as a main news source, more than the percentage that cites television (55%). Among those 30-49, 63% say the internet is where they go to get most of their news, up 13 points from 2011 and, for the first time, the percentage of this group citing the internet as their main source matches the percentage who say television is their top news source. (Respondents were allowed to name up to two sources)."
Given this, the recent purchase of the Washington post by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is starting to make more sense.
http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/news/2013/08/pew-internet-now-leading-news-source-americans-under-50
Got a cell phone? You're probably online with it, says Pew
Pew reporting:
If you're trying to engage your community with digital news and information: they're on their phones. You should be there, too. This week, a new report from Pew Internet underscores the importance of putting mobile first in engaging almost any community.
Pew found that nearly two thirds of U.S. adults now use their cell phone to go online -- nearly double the proportion since 2009. Furthermore, one in five cell phone owners report that their cell phone is their primary access to the internet.
…And that's in reference to all kinds of cell phones, including feature phones (many of which support e-mail and web access). When focusing only on the 56% of U.S. adults who currently own a smartphone, the vast majority (93%) of smartphone owners use their phone to go online.
Pew defines "cell internet users" as anyone who uses their cell phone to access the internet or use e-mail. Pew found that one third of all cell internet users rely mostly on their phone to access the internet (as opposed to other devices like a desktop, laptop, or tablet computer).
Pew did not specify whether "accessing the internet" means only accessing websites and e-mail, or whether it also includes using apps that deliver information transmitted via the internet -- something that many apps do, especially for news and information.
Some demographic highlights about cell internet users from the Pew report:
http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/blogs/agahran/2013/09/got-smartphone-youre-probably-online-it-says-pew
If you're trying to engage your community with digital news and information: they're on their phones. You should be there, too. This week, a new report from Pew Internet underscores the importance of putting mobile first in engaging almost any community.
Pew found that nearly two thirds of U.S. adults now use their cell phone to go online -- nearly double the proportion since 2009. Furthermore, one in five cell phone owners report that their cell phone is their primary access to the internet.
…And that's in reference to all kinds of cell phones, including feature phones (many of which support e-mail and web access). When focusing only on the 56% of U.S. adults who currently own a smartphone, the vast majority (93%) of smartphone owners use their phone to go online.
Pew defines "cell internet users" as anyone who uses their cell phone to access the internet or use e-mail. Pew found that one third of all cell internet users rely mostly on their phone to access the internet (as opposed to other devices like a desktop, laptop, or tablet computer).
Pew did not specify whether "accessing the internet" means only accessing websites and e-mail, or whether it also includes using apps that deliver information transmitted via the internet -- something that many apps do, especially for news and information.
Some demographic highlights about cell internet users from the Pew report:
http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/blogs/agahran/2013/09/got-smartphone-youre-probably-online-it-says-pew
The mobile war is over and the app has won: 80% of mobile time spent in apps
VentureBeat reporting:
Only 20 percent of American consumers’ time on mobile devices is spent on the web. A massive majority, 80 percent, is spent in apps: games, news, productivity, utility, and social networking apps.
Turns out, it’s an app world, after all.
According to app analytics firm Flurry, which tracks app usage on a staggering 300,000 apps on over a billion active mobile devices, we spend an average of 158 minutes each and every day on our smartphones and tablets. Two hours and seven minutes of that is in an app, and only 31 minutes is in a browser, surfing the old-school web.
A big chunk of that 158 minutes is taken up with games — 32 percent — but it’s almost shocking to see how much time a single app and a single company eats up. Eighteen percent of all the time that Americans spend on their phones is spent in the Facebook app, a figure that by itself dwarfs all other social networking apps.
Combined, the others only take up six percent of our time.
...
In an interesting twist, however, HTML5 is actually being used more as a tool for cross-platform native app development. In fact, it’s now the number one choice for developers building apps for multiple platforms.
Flurry also says that people are now using more apps than ever, launching 7.9 per day in the last part of 2012 versus 7.5 per day in 2011 and 7.2 per day in 2010. Consumers are continuing to try new apps as well, with long-term users adding new apps regularly to their existing stack.
http://venturebeat.com/2013/04/03/the-mobile-war-is-over-and-the-app-has-won-80-of-mobile-time-spent-in-apps/
Only 20 percent of American consumers’ time on mobile devices is spent on the web. A massive majority, 80 percent, is spent in apps: games, news, productivity, utility, and social networking apps.
Turns out, it’s an app world, after all.
According to app analytics firm Flurry, which tracks app usage on a staggering 300,000 apps on over a billion active mobile devices, we spend an average of 158 minutes each and every day on our smartphones and tablets. Two hours and seven minutes of that is in an app, and only 31 minutes is in a browser, surfing the old-school web.
A big chunk of that 158 minutes is taken up with games — 32 percent — but it’s almost shocking to see how much time a single app and a single company eats up. Eighteen percent of all the time that Americans spend on their phones is spent in the Facebook app, a figure that by itself dwarfs all other social networking apps.
Combined, the others only take up six percent of our time.
...
In an interesting twist, however, HTML5 is actually being used more as a tool for cross-platform native app development. In fact, it’s now the number one choice for developers building apps for multiple platforms.
Flurry also says that people are now using more apps than ever, launching 7.9 per day in the last part of 2012 versus 7.5 per day in 2011 and 7.2 per day in 2010. Consumers are continuing to try new apps as well, with long-term users adding new apps regularly to their existing stack.
http://venturebeat.com/2013/04/03/the-mobile-war-is-over-and-the-app-has-won-80-of-mobile-time-spent-in-apps/
Most mobile news consumers prefer browser over apps, RJI finds
Knight Digital Media Center reporting:
While many news organizations still focus much of their mobile strategy and budget on building apps, new research from the Reynolds Journalism Institute finds that more people access mobile news via the web browser on their smartphone or tablet, rather than an app. What's more: mobile news consumers seem to like the browser experience better.
According to RJI, This preference spans all adult age groups. More than half of all mobile news consumers aged 18-54 said they prefer the mobile browser to apps for mobile news. And for mobile news consumers age 55 and over, the browser was still their most popular mobile news option (43%).
Responsive web design may account for some of this popularity. In
2012 more mobile news sites began adopting responsive web design,
creating a better media experience in mobile web browsers.
http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/news/2013/09/most-mobile-news-consumers-prefer-browser-over-apps-rji-finds
While many news organizations still focus much of their mobile strategy and budget on building apps, new research from the Reynolds Journalism Institute finds that more people access mobile news via the web browser on their smartphone or tablet, rather than an app. What's more: mobile news consumers seem to like the browser experience better.
According to RJI, This preference spans all adult age groups. More than half of all mobile news consumers aged 18-54 said they prefer the mobile browser to apps for mobile news. And for mobile news consumers age 55 and over, the browser was still their most popular mobile news option (43%).
http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/news/2013/09/most-mobile-news-consumers-prefer-browser-over-apps-rji-finds
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Esquire’s Paywall Experiment
Folio reporting:
Esquire made big news in the world of paid Web content in July, putting one of its magazine features behind a paywall. “The Prophet”—for sale on Esquire.com for $1.99—wasn’t the title’s first experience with a paywall though.
Esquire has been testing paid content models for ebooks and anthologies since last year. More recently, they’d solicited more than 100 stories for a similar project with the charity Narrative 4.
Tyler Cabot, articles editor for Esquire, has been behind each of the recent paywall initiatives. He admits they’re still very much in the experimentation stages, but they’re learning about models, distribution and security with each step.
...
Cabot: We’re still tallying all that stuff up, but I can tell you that our conversion rate is up to 5 percent. It’s still selling. And somewhere around 42 percent of people who start purchasing it, end up finishing [the purchase process].
FOLIO: One of the big arguments against paywalls is that they hinder social sharing. What was the net impact of the article on social media?
Cabot: This is something we thought about, but didn’t understand exactly how it would work. If you have content behind a paywall, how do you get people talking about it? How do you get people writing about it?
There was a lot on social media, a ton on Twitter and so on. A lot of people were linking to The Atlantic [Wire] article about our article though [“The ‘Proof of Heaven’ Author Has Now Been Thoroughly Debunked by Science” | 7.2.13].
One thing we did to help [mitigate that impact] was to partner with Longreads and with Matter. They both have big sets of subscribers and they said it was a piece that their subscribers would love, so they wanted to make a deal. It seemed to us to make sense to do that—to sell it in bulk. But also, there are a lot more readers there who are going to be talking about it....
http://www.foliomag.com/2013/esquire-s-paywall-experiment#.UjnfJrxz_x4
Esquire made big news in the world of paid Web content in July, putting one of its magazine features behind a paywall. “The Prophet”—for sale on Esquire.com for $1.99—wasn’t the title’s first experience with a paywall though.
Esquire has been testing paid content models for ebooks and anthologies since last year. More recently, they’d solicited more than 100 stories for a similar project with the charity Narrative 4.
Tyler Cabot, articles editor for Esquire, has been behind each of the recent paywall initiatives. He admits they’re still very much in the experimentation stages, but they’re learning about models, distribution and security with each step.
...
Cabot: We’re still tallying all that stuff up, but I can tell you that our conversion rate is up to 5 percent. It’s still selling. And somewhere around 42 percent of people who start purchasing it, end up finishing [the purchase process].
FOLIO: One of the big arguments against paywalls is that they hinder social sharing. What was the net impact of the article on social media?
Cabot: This is something we thought about, but didn’t understand exactly how it would work. If you have content behind a paywall, how do you get people talking about it? How do you get people writing about it?
There was a lot on social media, a ton on Twitter and so on. A lot of people were linking to The Atlantic [Wire] article about our article though [“The ‘Proof of Heaven’ Author Has Now Been Thoroughly Debunked by Science” | 7.2.13].
One thing we did to help [mitigate that impact] was to partner with Longreads and with Matter. They both have big sets of subscribers and they said it was a piece that their subscribers would love, so they wanted to make a deal. It seemed to us to make sense to do that—to sell it in bulk. But also, there are a lot more readers there who are going to be talking about it....
http://www.foliomag.com/2013/esquire-s-paywall-experiment#.UjnfJrxz_x4
Brands as publishers: why traditional media should be scared
MediaBriefing reporting:
Advertisers
pay publishers for access to their audience, but what happens when
brands reach their customers via their own digital products using their
own content?
This is happening across medialand. And most worryingly for traditional publishers, brand-produced media can be interesting, engaging and effective.
We heard of two such brand-driven products at the Content Marketing Association's latest breakfast event this morning.
...Given the dry subject matter, The Project Factory was tasked with creating an engaging way to explain the issues the film was about with a focus on what life was like for Brits before the end of the war.
It uses interactive videos and timelines and allows people to translate basic details such as age and profession into a profile of what their life would have been like pre-1945.
Both asthetically and functionally it is similar to the interactive storytelling constructed by newspapers such as the Guardian's Firestorm or the New York Times's Snowfall, but it's purpose is to sell cinema tickets.
http://www.themediabriefing.com/article/cma-content-marketing-brands-direct
This is happening across medialand. And most worryingly for traditional publishers, brand-produced media can be interesting, engaging and effective.
We heard of two such brand-driven products at the Content Marketing Association's latest breakfast event this morning.
The Spirit of '45
Developed by The Project Factory, this interactive website was developed for Film4 to promote Ken Loach's film about the post Second World War Labour Party manifesto that led to the creation of the welfare state....Given the dry subject matter, The Project Factory was tasked with creating an engaging way to explain the issues the film was about with a focus on what life was like for Brits before the end of the war.
It uses interactive videos and timelines and allows people to translate basic details such as age and profession into a profile of what their life would have been like pre-1945.
Both asthetically and functionally it is similar to the interactive storytelling constructed by newspapers such as the Guardian's Firestorm or the New York Times's Snowfall, but it's purpose is to sell cinema tickets.
http://www.themediabriefing.com/article/cma-content-marketing-brands-direct
Advanced Search Nielsen: Consumers Trust WOM Over Other Messaging
MarketingDaily reporting:
The
recommendations people make to their friends and family carry more
weight than the messages companies put out on their own behalf.
According
to Nielsen’s 2013
“Global Survey of Trust in Advertising” (which surveyed more than 29,000
Internet users in 58 countries about 19 forms of paid, earned and owned
media), 84% of consumers worldwide say they
trust word-of-mouth recommendations from their trusted friends and
families -- an increase of 6% over the past six years.
Meanwhile, owned advertising -- in the form of content and messaging on brand-operated Web sites -- is the second most-trusted form of advertising -- trusted by 69% of survey respondents, up 9% since 2007. Coming in third were online customer views and opinions, trusted by 68% of worldwide consumers (up 7% from 2007).
Meanwhile, owned advertising -- in the form of content and messaging on brand-operated Web sites -- is the second most-trusted form of advertising -- trusted by 69% of survey respondents, up 9% since 2007. Coming in third were online customer views and opinions, trusted by 68% of worldwide consumers (up 7% from 2007).
Given
that recommendations from friends and family hold the highest trust
value (a status held since the inaugural
Trust in Advertising study from 2007), marketers would be wise to
incentivize customers to provide positive feedback and/or by referring
friends to the company, according to a Nielsen representative.
The high regard consumers have for branded Web sites is reflective of
consumers’ interest in more (and more detailed) information. Indeed,
having a Web site adds a level of
“legitimacy” to a brand, she says.
Although it did
not make the top three trusted forms of advertising, paid media --
particularly television advertising --
continued to remain strong. Sixty-two percent of consumers trusted
television advertising (up from 56% in 2007), while 60% trusted magazine
advertising (up 4% since 2007). Newspaper advertising was
the only format to decline over the past six years, to 61% from 63%.
In
keeping with their growing influence, online and mobile advertising
also saw sharp upticks in consumer
trust. More than half (56%) of consumers said they trusted e-mail
messaging (up 7% from 2007), while 48% trusted paid-search ads, online
video and social network advertising. Trust in banner
advertising jumped 16% since 2007 (to 42% in 2013). Forty-five percent
of respondents trusted mobile display advertising, while 37% trusted
mobile text advertising.
Tablet Users Set the Bar High for Keeping Connected Across Devices
eMarketer reporting:
The vast majority of consumers who use tablets also own a host of other web-enabled devices. From laptops to game consoles to smart TVs, tablet owners overindex in tech device usage—particularly smartphones—compared to the average consumer, according to a new eMarketer report, “Tablet Users' Multidevice Habits: Connected Morning, Noon and Night (But On Different Devices).”
Given their penchant for web-enabled devices, this cohort is rarely “off the grid.” While that makes them highly accessible to marketers, tablet users are a slippery bunch that frequently shifts attention from one device to another. The good news for marketers is users’ transitions between devices largely mirrors the home-work-home transitions made in a typical day. Brands implementing a measurable “all-screen” marketing strategy will have the best chance to win this group’s “catch me if you can” game.
The increasing popularity of tablets has many questioning the future of other digital devices, including desktop computers, laptops and even televisions. However, research suggests that tablet users are a device-dependent group that is not abandoning legacy devices as they add new technology to the mix.
Based on an analysis from multiple sources, eMarketer estimates more than 73 million tablet users—57% of the US tablet-using population and 30% of US internet users—will also use a smartphone at least once per month this year. And in 2017, the number of dual tablet/smartphone users will top 126 million and represent nearly 80% of all tablet users—almost half of US internet users.
Understanding the number of duals is important when assessing the impact mobile device usage has on overall digital engagement. For instance, December 2012 data from comScore showed tablet and smartphone usage extended the reach of the top 25 US digital media companies by an average of 29%, and some mobile-centric properties such as Pandora experienced triple-digit audience gains.
The vast majority (90%) of tablet owners polled in May 2012 by research firm GfK MRI said they simultaneously used their tablet while doing other activities, like eating a meal, getting dressed, exercising and perhaps most interestingly, while using other digital devices. Thirty-six percent of those polled said they talked on a mobile phone or smartphone while using their tablet, and 28% used a tablet and traditional computer at the same time. By far, the most common pairing was the tablet with the TV: Some 63% said they used the two devices together.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Tablet-Users-Set-Bar-High-Keeping-Connected-Across-Devices/1010222
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Tablet-Users-Set-Bar-High-Keeping-Connected-Across-Devices/1010222
The vast majority of consumers who use tablets also own a host of other web-enabled devices. From laptops to game consoles to smart TVs, tablet owners overindex in tech device usage—particularly smartphones—compared to the average consumer, according to a new eMarketer report, “Tablet Users' Multidevice Habits: Connected Morning, Noon and Night (But On Different Devices).”
Given their penchant for web-enabled devices, this cohort is rarely “off the grid.” While that makes them highly accessible to marketers, tablet users are a slippery bunch that frequently shifts attention from one device to another. The good news for marketers is users’ transitions between devices largely mirrors the home-work-home transitions made in a typical day. Brands implementing a measurable “all-screen” marketing strategy will have the best chance to win this group’s “catch me if you can” game.
The increasing popularity of tablets has many questioning the future of other digital devices, including desktop computers, laptops and even televisions. However, research suggests that tablet users are a device-dependent group that is not abandoning legacy devices as they add new technology to the mix.
Based on an analysis from multiple sources, eMarketer estimates more than 73 million tablet users—57% of the US tablet-using population and 30% of US internet users—will also use a smartphone at least once per month this year. And in 2017, the number of dual tablet/smartphone users will top 126 million and represent nearly 80% of all tablet users—almost half of US internet users.
Understanding the number of duals is important when assessing the impact mobile device usage has on overall digital engagement. For instance, December 2012 data from comScore showed tablet and smartphone usage extended the reach of the top 25 US digital media companies by an average of 29%, and some mobile-centric properties such as Pandora experienced triple-digit audience gains.
The vast majority (90%) of tablet owners polled in May 2012 by research firm GfK MRI said they simultaneously used their tablet while doing other activities, like eating a meal, getting dressed, exercising and perhaps most interestingly, while using other digital devices. Thirty-six percent of those polled said they talked on a mobile phone or smartphone while using their tablet, and 28% used a tablet and traditional computer at the same time. By far, the most common pairing was the tablet with the TV: Some 63% said they used the two devices together.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Tablet-Users-Set-Bar-High-Keeping-Connected-Across-Devices/1010222
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Tablet-Users-Set-Bar-High-Keeping-Connected-Across-Devices/1010222
Oyster Launched Netflix For Books
Forbes reporting:
More and more we are transforming into a society of subscribers. Netflix NFLX +0.68% gives us endless, on demand movies and TV. Spotify does the same trick for music. And even though libraries have done this for books, for free, for more than a century, so far there hasn’t been a digital, all you can eat subscription platform for books. Start-up Oyster is changing that.
Today Oyster launches its iPhone platform giving users 100,000 titles, from publishers like HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Workman and self-publishing giant Smashwords , for $9.95 a month. An iPad version will be released later this fall.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2013/09/05/oyster-launches-netflix-for-books/
More and more we are transforming into a society of subscribers. Netflix NFLX +0.68% gives us endless, on demand movies and TV. Spotify does the same trick for music. And even though libraries have done this for books, for free, for more than a century, so far there hasn’t been a digital, all you can eat subscription platform for books. Start-up Oyster is changing that.
Today Oyster launches its iPhone platform giving users 100,000 titles, from publishers like HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Workman and self-publishing giant Smashwords , for $9.95 a month. An iPad version will be released later this fall.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2013/09/05/oyster-launches-netflix-for-books/
Meet Beacon, The 'Netflix For News'
Forbes reporting:
Would you pay $5 a month to support your favorite writer? What if doing so gave you access not only to that writer’s articles, but also to a large and growing body of exclusive work from like-minded journalists?
That’s the idea behind Beacon, a new startup that catchily describes itself as a sort of “Netflix NFLX +0.55% for news.”
Beacon was conceived in response to a problem and an opportunity, says Dan Fletcher, one of the company’s three co-founders. The problem is that an unbundled digital news environment encourages production of clickable journalism: celebrity reporting, buzzy scoops, cute animal slideshows and so on.
“When the pageview model is the only model that supports journalism, that incentivizes certain things,” he says. “There are just stories that freelancers can’t sell, and it’s not because they’re bad stories.”
On the other hand, social media has made it possible for journalists to market their work directly to readers in a way they never could before. That’s the opportunity.
“Social media’s made it so that writers have stepped out from behind the byline,” Fletcher says. “They have their own personal brands. But no one’s really come up with a clever way to tap that in a way that makes them some money.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/09/17/meet-beacon-the-netflix-for-news/
Would you pay $5 a month to support your favorite writer? What if doing so gave you access not only to that writer’s articles, but also to a large and growing body of exclusive work from like-minded journalists?
That’s the idea behind Beacon, a new startup that catchily describes itself as a sort of “Netflix NFLX +0.55% for news.”
Beacon was conceived in response to a problem and an opportunity, says Dan Fletcher, one of the company’s three co-founders. The problem is that an unbundled digital news environment encourages production of clickable journalism: celebrity reporting, buzzy scoops, cute animal slideshows and so on.
“When the pageview model is the only model that supports journalism, that incentivizes certain things,” he says. “There are just stories that freelancers can’t sell, and it’s not because they’re bad stories.”
On the other hand, social media has made it possible for journalists to market their work directly to readers in a way they never could before. That’s the opportunity.
“Social media’s made it so that writers have stepped out from behind the byline,” Fletcher says. “They have their own personal brands. But no one’s really come up with a clever way to tap that in a way that makes them some money.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/09/17/meet-beacon-the-netflix-for-news/
What Part of a Web Page Gets the Highest Viewership? Chartbeat's findings may surprise you
adweek reporting:
There’s been a lot of attention paid lately to the fact that a lot of
online ads going unseen, and with it, the assumption about what parts of
a Web page are most valuable. Chartbeat analyzed 25 million user
sessions across the Web and turned up some interesting findings. Despite
what many advertisers may think, it’s not the top of the page that’s
the most viewed; it’s actually the part of the page just above the fold.
Looking at where viewers spend the most time on the page (and
presumably seeing the adjacent ads), it’s even further down.
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