New York Times swings to loss on charge, lower ad sales
"While online revenues are rising, that growth isn’t coming nearly fast enough to offset losses in print advertising and circulation. The company said in February that the New York Times would need to cut its newsroom staff by about 100 positions."
Cheap Editing Tools a Boon for Media Makers
"In addition to being free, the online editing tools require no special equipment beyond an Internet connection and a fairly new browser… these services can get simple jobs done and even help hone editing skills. Here’s a look at some of the more useful ones."
Music magazines shaking and rattling
"Ad pages for the three biggest music magazines slid 26% in the first quarter. Jann Wenner’s Rolling Stone, the category’s iconic publication, saw a 33% drop, according to just-released numbers from Publishers Information Bureau."
Six Apart to offer ad network to bloggers
"The goal: become a one-stop shop for bloggers big and small who want to make money on their musings."
How ‘Gossip Girl’ Is Changing the Way We Watch Television
"How a wunderkind producer, seven tabloid-ready stars, an army of bloggers, and a nation of texting tweenagers are changing the way we watch television."
Modesto Bee offers buyouts to 100 employees
"We’re really just managing through a very challenging business environment. Our business model is changing," publisher Margaret Randazzo said. "We’re realigning our resources to support a multi-media operation and changing our business practices to become more efficient."
Mobile data: Next hurdle for journalism
"In addition to making voice phone calls, mobile users are texting, e-mailing, sending instant messages; taking pictures; looking for maps or directions; recording or watching video; listening to music; playing games."
Digging Deeper: Public Documents + Shoe Leather Reporting = The Smoking Gun’s Staying Power
"I realize it’s still the infancy of the Net, but it amazes me how few places are doing this sort of stuff, at least that aren’t tethered to huge news organizations. There are a lot of people commenting on stuff and riffing on things and blogging, but actually reporters breaking stories on the Net — there are a lot fewer than I would expect…Even though we’re no longer running the site out of my living room and sold it, we’re still a three-person outfit."
What makes a design "Googley"?
A look into Google’s goal "to design products that satisfy and delight our users."
Facebook Platform Faces Rough Road Ahead, Despite Successes
"All panelists agreed, however, that CPM rates on Facebook are miserably low, perhaps averaging 15 cents. Developers have begun experimenting with other sources of revenue, such as the sale of virtual goods and premium services, but advertising still generates more than 80% of the platform’s revenue."
Making Money, the How-To Way
"In the last two years, investors have put tens of millions of dollars into start-up companies with names like WonderHowTo.com, VideoJug, Howcast, ExpertVillage and Graspr, which are all hoping to become the YouTube of how-to video clips."
Inspirational PDF Magazines
"Numerous visual arts publications from around the world are available for you to draw inspiration from. These magazines serve as excellent sources of both conceptual and visual design."
The Reality of Depending on True Fans
"The sort of artist who survives at the long tail is the sort who would be happy doing nothing else… In reality the life of a "microcelebrity" resembles more the fate of Sisyphus, whose boulder rolls back down the mountain every time he reaches the summit."
Twitter May Not Have To Care About Uptime Any Longer
Michael Arrington on Twitter: "It is now an important part of my work and social life, as I carry on bite-sized conversations with thousands of people around the world throughout the day. It’s a huge marketing tool, and information tool. But it is also a social habit that’s hard to kick."
Tension Over Sports Blogging
"The explosion of new media, especially with regard to advertising income, has made competitors out of two traditional allies — news media and professional sports. At the heart of the issue, which people on both sides alternately describe as a commercial dispute and a First Amendment fight, is a simple question: Who owns sports coverage?"
Tweeting for Companies 101
"There are no rules about what you should tweet out, here are a few suggestions for you. It is important that you balance the ‘outbound’ with the ‘inbound’. In otherwords, the announcements with the conversations…"
A Web Shift in the Way Advertisers Seek Clicks
"…the threat of a recession has not slowed the migration of ad dollars to the Internet" but it "might be changing where those ad dollars are being spent."
On the Internet, It’s All About ‘My’
"The “my” prefix has become an easy and increasingly popular shorthand for suggesting that bond between consumers and corporations."
The Rise of the Creator Class
"Looking back, I now realise why content was king. Because we’d managed to drive a wedge between creators and their creations. It’s not going to be that easy any more, separating the creator from her creation."
Social Networking Advertising – It Will Be Even Harder than we Think
"Models that rely on capturing value based on social recommendations, particularly those models which want to tax those transactions by taking a share of the transaction, are going to have a hard time getting traction today."
Who Are The Top Tech Bloggers?
"[These] are the top 100 tech bloggers/authors, based on the total number of headlines they have had on TechMeme from January 1, 2008 to today."
ReadWriteWeb Turns 5
"Today the blogging landscape is vastly different. The top blogs now are full-on media businesses. ReadWriteWeb, which started out 5 years ago as an evening hobby for me, has evolved with the times and is now the 11th ranked blog on Technorati’s Top 100."
Ning’s Infinite Ambition — Viral Networks
"a viral loop [is] the "most advanced direct-marketing strategy being developed in the world right now." And make no mistake: Viral expansion loops are about marketing, just not in the traditional sense. "Nothing can be truly viral unless it is good…"
Encyclopedia Britannica Now Free For Bloggers
"Like the music labels, [Encyclopedia Britannica] still somehow feel as though people should pay to consume their content. And that means search engines can’t index their content. And that means they don’t exist."
Can User-Generated Content Generate Revenue?
"Advertising revenues against user-generated content are modest, and they are expected to stay that way for some time."
Startup School
An interesting look at key issues a startup faces.
The Social Map Is All About Me
"Not only did Google-ification disrupt entire industries (like media and packaged software), but it operated like a tornado on business models, distribution, marketing and product lifecycles across many segments. History suggests, however, that it created a rising tide that lifted a lot of boats."
How I Use Different Social Networks for Different Purposes
"With so many social networking sites out there for so many different things, I figured I’d give my take on what’s best for what and how I use the different primary social networks I’m on."
Most Bloggers Don’t Deserve Any Ad Revenue
"There are millions of bloggers out there today, screaming for their "fair" share of the advertising pie. And while Google rakes in cash from vendors by the billions, some smaller bloggers are crying foul at the perceived inequalities. But it’s more likely they are getting exactly what they deserve when it comes to ads – pennies."