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Why Print News is on Life Support

Print news is in trouble and it is not a cost issue. The fact is, our communication has evolved. Speed of information is valued as much as depth of information. Access to multiple points of view on a subject is as important as reading an authority on a particular story. And our appetite for rich graphics, audio, and video outshines those AP photos and images in print news. The point is, those organizations that continue to say cost is the driving force for shutting down a publication is over simplifing the reality. The truth is consumers helped to shape and change the communication ecosystem and technology made it easy to get to the tipping point. Cost will always be a factor in business, online and offline, the key is to know your customer base and learning how to connect on mutual terms. Cross train your employee base and layoffs become less of an option. Keep in mind, change is the new status quo.

Friends, Followers and Critics

How are you functioning in a profile based world? The social media platform and blogosphere is shaping world culture in profound ways. Some of us are striving to have the most friends, others want the most followers, while others want to have the most critics leaving comments and feedback for us to feel attention worthy. Much of our attraction is based on our online profile. My hope is that in 2009, quality will rule over quantity. And your profile will only represent a small portion of who you are to the world.

Is Your Privacy Protected?

VIRUS ADWARE MALWARE

Have you ever had a virus attack your computer?  In 2008 Symantec revealed that its anti-virus software now protected against more than one million viruses.  Most of these viruses get launched from emails but the new trend is to attack users through injecting malicious code into web pages.  At a time in our history where our digital connectedness is vital to our activities we can hardly afford to go down because of some malicious bug.  Viruses are not the only problem, adware and malware is annoyingly rampant on the web.  I am an advocate of open source development but a downside is that an open source approach may allow hackers to know about the weaknesses or loopholes of the software.  We need to encourage government agencies to do more to prosecute the criminals practicing this behavior and send a clear message that it does not matter where they are, the crime will be handled in a swift and severe manner.

Broadband Smells Good

I sent a letter to President-Elect Obama asking to have broadband infrastrucute as part of the stimulus package – it is good he seems to agree – but the sharks are now swimming in the broadband ocean. Here is a recent article: Source: Reuters
Author: Kim Dixon
TELECOM LOBBYISTS LINE UP FOR PIECE OF OBAMA STIMULUS

President-elect Barack Obama’s frequent use of the words “broadband” and “stimulus” in the same sentence has lobbyists lining up to get a piece of the expected largess in an economic stimulus plan. Telecommunications companies are hoping to benefit from a variety of incentives under consideration, including a tax credit to target rural America, as lawmakers draft an economic recovery plan that could run about $600 billion. The key to any proposal is to prove it will create jobs. “They (lawmakers) are looking at them through the lens of how many jobs will be created,” said Jeff Campbell, senior director of technology and trade policy at Cisco Systems Inc., which makes network equipment. Every one percentage point boost in broadband penetration per year is projected to increase jobs by 300,000, assuming the economy is not at full employment, according to a 2007 report by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. “The goal is to revitalize rural America by bringing high-tech jobs to replace those lost in manufacturing,” said Derek Turner, research director at Free Press, a reform group that introduced its own $44 billion investment plan this week. The Free Press proposal includes a $15 billion broadband infrastructure fund overseen by the Federal Communications Commission and run by the states, and a $10 billion program to issue corporate bonds for broadband-related investment. Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America want Congress to give direct grants to consumers to buy computers and Internet services, rather than “to corporations with a hope and a prayer that stimulus will trickle down to citizens.”

Screen Me

In this fast pace communications world, we are required to discern what is real and what is fabricated in an instant. We get messages at work, at home, constantly on our handheld devices and even a good amount of snail mail still makes into our lives. Our social media forums are full of messages that are substantial and some that are meant to be inconsequential. We read online magazines and newspapers and steadily check google news and other digital news gathering sites for up to the minute information. All of these streams of data every now and then produce stories that seem perfectly legitimate yet only to find out the story is not real. We need to create better filters that are able to check the validity of a story right down to the source of the material. A “screen me” feature that does not clog your gateways with misinformation. Digital technology has made our ability to engage easier but the quality of our sharing is compromised if these connections are rooted in falsehoods.

TV Guide Network Sold

Another media property has been acquired.  TV Guide Network which includes TVGuide.com was sold to Allen Shapiro and One Equity Partners for approximately $255 million plus up to an additional $45 million earnout payable through 2012.

If you are in the position to buy good brands at low cost, now is the time.  The digital platforms available to put these brands in leadership positions again is worth the risk.  If you are not in that position, my recommendation is to look for talent in these companies that become casualties as a result of these takeovers.