Digital Discourse / Archives for Content

VIA Recap: Facebook and Google+: Is the Reach Worth the Risk?

May 15, 2012 By

Rachael Monroe

On May 9 & 10, the SIIA Content Division hosted Content VIA Platforms – a conference dedicated to educating media, publishing and information professionals about the technology and business issues related to distributing content via mobile, social and other platforms. Guest blogger, Rich Kreisman, gives his write up on the session Facebook and Google+:  Is the Reach Worth the Risk? 

 

This session, moderated by Rachael Monroe, Vice President, Client Services, BBN Networks, brought two experts on social media, Jim Brady, Editor-in-Chief, Digital First Media, and Christopher Carfi, Vice President – Social Business Strategy, Ant’s Eye View, before the VIA attendees to share war stories of the learning years in social media  (since Facebook’s launch in 2004)– and the future, which both Brady and Carfi see as bright for publishers who innovate and experiment with social media.  Publishers are still finding their own formula to leverage social media platforms – for traffic, customer acquisition or to create new hybrid products combining their own content and user insights, both Brady and Carfi acknowledge.

Jim Brady

Carfi, whose consulting firm advises large companies like Cisco and Starbucks on social business strategies, says most companies (including publishers) view social media platforms as a broadcasting megaphone. “Social media is not just another ‘channel’.” Companies who look at it as a one-way communication tool are not succeeding, he says.  “Rather, my clients who really learn how to listen and engage in the conversations are getting the most benefits.”  Listening involves active monitor of all social media channels and engaging in two-way conversations with users – even if the news is  negative. Talking about his experiences at WashingtonPost.com and at Digital First Media (a venture of Journal Register Publishing and MediaNews Group), Brady notes, “Social media has to be in the DNA of everyone in the organization to make it work…and, in most newspaper newsrooms, it is not.”  To coach editors and writers through their initial forays into social media, Digital First Media offers training and support sessions.  

Christopher Carfi

But unless writers see a direct benefit for their reporting, they are unlikely to take the risk associated with the two-way conversations of social media.  “I always tell people to be patient,” Brady says. “It takes a while to build the conversation up.”   Brady finds when social media does take root in a newsroom, it becomes an important arrow in a publisher’s quiver and can deliver unique insights to readers.  Both men definitely seem to believe the reach of the large social media players is worth the risk.  However, they advise the audience that an 18-24 month learning curve should be expected for the average publisher. Experimentation and learning are key, says Carfi, as well as finding the champions of social media throughout the organization to prove its value to others.

—————————————————————————————————————————–

 Post written by Rich Kreisman, Principal Partner, Kreisman Information Consulting

Rich Kreisman is Principal Partner of Kreisman Information Consulting, LLC, a San Francisco-based consultancy advising publishers, content creators, websites and mobile providers on content licensing, syndication and distribution partnerships to meet their strategic business needs.  Rich can be reached at rkreisman@kreismaninfoconsult.com


Share|
Filed Under: Content, Content VIA Platforms, Events, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

VIA Recap: The Gang of Four: Why Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook Dominate the Market

May 15, 2012 By
On May 9 & 10, the SIIA Content Division hosted Content VIA Platforms – a conference dedicated to educating media, publishing and information professionals about the technology and business issues related to distributing content via mobile, social and other platforms. Guest blogger, Rich Kreisman, gives his write up on the Keynote by Kara Swisher, Co-Producer, D: All Things Digital; Co-Executive Editor, AllThingsD.com.
 
Kara Swisher’s keynote reminded me why humor is an outstanding trait to maintain in a complicated and turbulent business landscape. Speaking to a roomful of top publishers, Swisher – with a wave of a hand – says, “You’re endangered – or really just irrelevant,” as she put up a slide of two dinosaurs chomping on each other, inspired by her 7-year-old son’s interest in All Things D – all things dinosaur, that is.
Swisher, who is the co-executive editor of the other AllThingsD (www.AllThingsD.com) and a noted Silicon Valley observer, delivers her dry one-liners like a techno-Fran Lebowitz.  But Swisher’s message was clear:  Publishers in the room need to pay careful attention to each move by the Gang of Four (GOF) – Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook.   While acknowledging Microsoft, Swisher believes the software giant is too late to today’s platform game and purposely leaves them off her GOF list.

Swisher discussed the 4 key trends she sees among the GOF – along with new players vying to nab market share through platforms:

  1.  SoMoLo - social mobile local are keywords for all of the large players, looking to combine their users’ passion for social media on mobile devices, often to identify local information.  “But no one is succeeding in local yet, “ says Swisher. 
  2. Ubiquitous  - “Really more like promiscuous,” quips Swisher.   All GOF companies seek to be interwoven in all aspects of their users’ lives, she believes.   Poking fun at Google’s augmented reality glasses (dubbed Project Glass at Google), Swisher says she understands why Google is experimenting with them:  “Their business is search – they want to be with you at all times.” Of Apple, which carefully controls all elements of its hardware and software, Swisher hilariously likens the company to “an elegant fascist universe… like living in Monaco or Switzerland.  It’s lovely, but it isn’t going to change for your benefit.” 
  3. Geolocated  - “You are never alone,” says Swisher, thanks to the geolocation abilities of mobile devices, allowing companies to highly target their data offerings to users.   Swisher speculates we are in the early stages of companies’ leverage of geolocation in their products.  Again, no clear winners yet.
  4. Data Flood – We are all drowning in the flood of information generated by the Web and social media.  Companies who address this issue – through better search, content curation and other data management tools – are going to be winners for the new consumer, Swisher asserts.   Many startups are trying to address data flood and some of them will be gobbled up by the GOF.

Swisher says the “always on” aspect of technology platforms – and consumers’ seemingly unquenchable thirst for more access to more data through new platforms — has led to a phenomenon she calls  “continuous partial attention”.  Users are interacting with information all the time, but in smaller chunks.  “This is probably most important trend for content providers to watch,” says Swisher.

Publishers either need to be “analytic, funny or obnoxious” to gain user attention in this intense, distracted environment.  “You must have some sort of take that adds value for the GOF” to be part of their future as a business partner, Swisher says —  or risk joining the universe of Protoceratops, Velociraptors and their long-lost friends.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Post written by Rich Kreisman,Principal Partner, Kreisman Information Consulting

 Rich Kreisman is Principal Partner of Kreisman Information Consulting, LLC, a San Francisco-based consultancy  advising publishers, content creators, websites and mobile providers on content licensing, syndication and distribution partnerships to meet their strategic business needs.  Rich can be reached at rkreisman@kreismaninfoconsult.com

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Content VIA Platforms, Events Tagged With: , , ,

Gearing up for DataContent: Data Insight from Russ Perkins

May 14, 2012 By

We are excited about our partnership with the InfoCommerce Group to produce DataContent 2012, coming up October 9-11 in Philadephia. The conference will focus on discovering the next big thing in publishing: The intersection of Data, Community and Markets at DataContent 2012.

If you don’t know him, Russ Perkins the founder of InfoCommerce Group is one of the more thoughtful individuals in our industry on all things data. As we lead up to the conference, we will be highlighting posts from his blog which focus on the issues and topics we will be discussing at DataContent 2012. Enjoy!

To Find Gold, Dig Deep
The travails of the traditional yellow pages industry are serious, with no end in sight. There are some interesting lessons and insights that can be drawn from the remarkable and relatively rapid meltdown of this seemingly bulletproof and impossibly profitable segment of the data publishing industry. Read more

To Market, To Market
I have long been interested in the fine line that often divides marketplaces and buying guides, a topic that I am sure keeps all of us up at night at least every so often. A string of recent new website announcements has me back thinking about this again. Read more

If the Pipe Fits
Clay Shirky, the well-known professor at the renowned Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU, in a recent interview gave this summation of the publishing industry: Publishing is not evolving. Publishing is going away. Because the word “publishing” means a cadre of professionals who are taking on the incredible difficulty and complexity and expense of making something public. That’s not a job anymore. That’s a button Read more

Tracking Error
A new report released by the Federal Trade Commission this week makes a strong case for increased online consumer privacy protection. This report builds on the “Consumer Data Privacy Bill of Rights” issued by the White House last month. The White House document is largely aspirational, setting general goals such as “Consumers have a right to secure the responsible handling of personal data.” The FTC report is far more specific, and includes an endorsement of a “do not track” option for consumers, along with a recommendation that “data brokers” be required to allow consumers to inspect the data that have been collected about them. Read more

Made to Measure
It’s been well-known for many years that Google periodically alters its search algorithms. These changes are made for two reasons: to improve the quality of search results, and to push back against those sites that it believes are gaming the system. To Google, gaming the system means that a website operator has divined in part how the Google search algorithm prioritizes results, and uses that knowledge to improve its own search results rankings. Read more

Dead Letter Office
I got a call from the new postmaster at our local post office the other day. Her staff had apparently discovered a sizable stack of year-old nixies from our conference promotions, and wanted to know if I would still be interested in them, for the requisite fee of course. After ruefully noting that the Postal Service is, “really hurting for money,” she pretty much offered to drop them off right away if we would just have a check waiting. Read more

Jennifer HansenJennifer Hansen is Program Manager for the SIIA Content Division.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Content Events, Data Content, DataContent, Events Tagged With: , ,

Content VIA Platforms Conference to Feature Execs from Altimeter Group & Storify, All Things D’s Kara Swisher

April 26, 2012 By

SIIA today announced keynote speakers for Content VIA Platforms-an all-new event that will address the multiplatform publishing challenges and opportunities facing publishing, media and information companies. Content VIA Platforms will be held May 9-10 at San Francisco’s Palace Hotel.

Publishing content across multiple emerging platforms is one of the biggest challenges facing information and news providers this year. At Content VIA Platforms, industry leaders will provide strategies for companies to maximize their audiences and revenues by utilizing a variety of different platforms, monetization strategies, devices and app distribution models, and more.

Content VIA Platforms will feature a number of mobile, publishing and technology thought leaders and key executives from the information industry. Keynote speakers include:

• Burt Herman, Co-founder, Storify
• Charlene Li, Founder, Altimeter Group
• Chris Silva, Mobile Industry Analyst, Altimeter Group
• Kara Swisher, Co-Producer & Co-Executive Editor, All Things Digital, The Wall Street Journal

Kathy Greenler Sexton is Vice President and General Manager for the SIIA Content Division.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Content VIA Platforms, Events Tagged With: , , ,

SIIA Content Division Announces 2012-2013 Board of Directors

April 3, 2012 By

SIIA has announced its new Content Division Board of Directors for the 2012-2013 term!  These newly elected executives from SIIA member companies will develop and prioritize the Division’s initiatives and determine the projects, activities and events to be undertaken.

Newly elected and reelected board members serving 2 year terms are:

  • Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel – Vice President and Publisher – Pearson Education
  • Simon Beale – SVP, Global Sales & Training – ProQuest
  • Chris Broekhoff – COO, VP Business Development – MEI
  • Dan Duncan – Sr. Director, Government Affairs – The McGraw-Hill Companies
  • Barry Graubart – Vice President, Marketing – ReisReports.com
  • Kevin Novak – Vice President, Integrated Web Strategy and Technology – The American Institute of Architects
  • Larry Schwartz – President – Newstex, LLC

They will join the following members who are continuing their service on the board:

  • Robert Barber – CEO – Environmental Data Resources
  • John Blossom – President – Shore Communications Inc.
  • Anthony Capon – Vice President, Content, Corporate Markets – Dow Jones & Company
  • Edward Colleran – Senior Director, International Relations – Copyright Clearance Center
  • Adam Gross – CMO – The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc.
  • Edward Keating – Chief Content Officer – BLR
  • Daniel Kortick – Partner – The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C.
  • Scott Livingston – Vice President – LexisNexis Group
  • Peter Marney – Senior Vice President, Global Head of Content Marketplace – Thomson Reuters
  • Guillaume Mazieres – Executive VP, North America – TEMIS
  • Ann Michael – President & Principal Consultant – Delta Think, LLC
  • Jeffrey Massa – President & CEO – YellowBrix, Inc.
  • Robin Neidorf – Director of Research – Free Pint Limited
  • Claudio Pinto – Director Business Development – Thomas Industrial Network
  • Frank Rubino – Director – MarkLogic
  • Daniel Schaible – SVP Content – BurrellesLuce
  • Mary Jo Zandy – Managing Director – Berkery, Noyes & Co

“The SIIA Content Division is successful because of our members, and our success is most apparent in the strength of our Board of Directors,” noted Ken Wasch, SIIA President. “The commitment made by these industry leaders allows SIIA to draw more companies into our community and grow our influence in the digital information market and the broader technology sector.”

I would like to add that the content industry is deep in talent and leadership, and we are proud to reflect its quality in the people serving on our Board of Directors. The Content Board members bring industry perspective to discussions, act as the voice for our member companies, and help SIIA advance business priorities for the industry. Welcome all!

Kathy Greenler Sexton is Vice President and General Manager for the SIIA Content Division.

Share|
Filed Under: Content Tagged With: , ,

Creating Energized Enterprises: A New SIIA Member Interview with Marc Strohlein of Agile Business Logic

March 29, 2012 By

I had a chance to talk with  new SIIA Member Marc Strohlein of Agile Business Logic and learn how Agile Business Logic is helping create energized enterprises. Marc is on also on the Steering Committee for Content VIA Platforms May 9-10 in San Francisco.

_______________________

Marc Strohlein, Agile Business Logic

Kathy: Tell me about your company, what you do.

Marc: At Agile Business Logic we create energized enterprises by helping organizations to optimize strategies, people, processes, and technologies and their interactions. I apply my experience gained as COO, CTO, CIO, and SVP of Operations at companies including Outsell Inc., Classroom Connect/Harcourt, Gartner Group, and Dataquest, to ensure that my clients have the right strategies, talent, organization, and technologies to succeed.

My passion and focus over my career has been in unlocking energy, focus, innovation, and growth in individuals, teams, and organizations—creating energized enterprises that outperform their peers. Now at Agile Business Logic , I work with technology and help with positioning, messaging, and go-to-market strategies. Technology marketing is growing increasingly difficult with crowded and noisy markets—it takes highly relevant and well-timed content to get potential buyers attention. I help vendors implement a “buyers journey” approach to content marketing.

 

Kathy: That’s great Marc, and what types of organizations do you typically work with?

Marc: I work with organizations of all types, but especially like working with publishers and information providers. I have been in the information industry much of my career and I have a deep appreciation for the power and value of getting the right information to the right person at the right time to help businesses cope with challenging and volatile business environments. I also like working with associations as I bring ideas and expertise from the for-profit world that are often new to non-profits. And, as I noted, I work with technology vendors, especially those that sell content software technology solutions.

 

Kathy: What is unique about your approach?

Marc:  I focus a lot of attention on the components of an organization and how they interact; in other words, I take a holistic systems view of organizations and create recommendations and solutions based on that viewpoint. I also pay a lot of attention to people, culture, and management styles, even when the problem at hand is purportedly technology related. Most technology-driven initiatives, whether product or enterprise, either succeed or fail based on how well peoples’ needs and behaviors are considered and integrated into solutions.

That also applies to the vendor side of my practice—the challenge for vendors is to get inside the heads of their prospects and I use my years of experience as a CIO and CTO buying and managing technology, as COO and business executive leveraging technology, and as an industry analyst studying and writing about technology to help them solve that challenge.

 

Kathy: Thanks Marc, is there any new or recent news you would like to share?

Marc: I’m three chapters into writing a book on Energized Enterprises for publication later this year.

 

Kathy: Very exciting!  Tell me more about what the book will cover.

Marc: Sure–the book is about tapping hidden or latent energy in organizations. It’s for managers and executives that have made investments in talent, technology, and consulting and training, but still find their teams or organizations unable to perform effectively. The book contains frameworks and tools to help tap the latent energy and create “energized enterprises.”

 

Kathy: We’ll keep our eye out for updates on the book. What do you see as the biggest trends in the industry the next 12-18 months?

Marc: Tablets, HTML5, cloud computing, mobile and big data are the most obvious technology trends, but I like to study disruptive forces and their interactions and have found that the most potent disruptive forces come from the confluence of multiple trends. For example, while the rise of cloud computing, big data, localized computing, semantic technology, and social media are all important trends on their own, collectively they are going to enable massively scalable hyper-personalized content and advertising—that is beyond the 18 month horizon, but the early strands are starting to become visible. This is a classic “skate to where the puck is going” opportunity for publishers.

 

Kathy: So what is the best way for people contact you?

Marc: Email me at mstrohlein@agilebusinesslogic.com or call me: 650.766.1067

 

Kathy: Thanks Marc, we’ll also make sure to look for book and business updates via twitter @mstrohlein!

Kathy Greenler Sexton is Vice President and General Manager for the SIIA Content Division.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Content VIA Platforms Tagged With: , , ,

Buyer-Seller-User: Learnings from the Buyer Supplier Forum

February 24, 2012 By

In case you missed it, the Buyer-Supplier Forum at this year’s Information Industry Summit finished strong with buyers, sellers and users in breakout sessions discussing key issues from some very different points of view.  Courtesy of Robin Neidorf, leader of the Buyer-Seller-User session, and Director of Research for Free Pint Limited, has provided key takeaways on what was covered:

If you are interested in attending or receiving information on future Buyer supplier events please contact Jennifer Hansen.

Jennifer HansenJennifer Hansen is Program Manager for the SIIA Content Division.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Information Industry Summit Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »