Chip Griffin: Pardon the Disruption

Content is Not -- and Should Not Be -- Free

I was listening to Joseph Jaffe's Across the Sound podcast recently and he expressed the oft-heard point of view that "content wants to be free."  Though I often agree with what Jaffe has to say, in this instance I must say "hogwash." 

Simply put, there is no such thing as free content.  Content providers receive value and consumers expend resources.  It need not always be a pure and direct financial transaction, but ultimately producers and publishers are "paid" and the audience "pays."

Lots of Thinking About "Free Content" Today

Jeff Jarvis, who spends more time thinking about the future of media and content than most (other than perhaps Rafat Ali though I guess he more reports than predicts), wrote about this last month when he said:

Who cares whether content wants to be free? It already is. Deal with it. ... I criticize publishers for still whining about circ revenue and not figuring out the ways to go with the flow and find their cash flow in new ways.

Ultimately, Jeff and I are probably in a similar neighborhood of thinking on this, but I think it does a disservice for those of us who focus on these issues to talk about the need for content to be available for free.  I realize it is semantics, but I have opined in the past on the power of language, and I do believe that talking about content wanting to be free leaves many with the wrong impression -- namely, that content cannot be monetized.

Jason Calacanis has been a particular champion of financial compensation for those who create user-generated content, and indeed he did just that when he reinvented Netscape and sought to lure link contributors from rival sites like Digg and reddit.  And I support efforts to do that, though we must also acknowledge these content producers are already compensated in other ways.

Matt McAlister yesterday keyed off of something that Dave Winer recently wrote ("what we’re doing now, in journalism, as with all other intermediated professions, is decentralizing") to conclude that this whole debate is moot.

Umair Haque and John Hagel have suggested in their investigations of edge economics that any job function that makes money off the friction of distribution of information is threatened.

This kind of ends the whole debate about whether or not content wants to be free. That doesn’t really matter. The question is more about how else can we remove friction in the flow of information.

What we really need, however, is a better understanding of the value extraction and contribution process that goes on with all content. Ultimately, consumption of content results in a series of value-oriented transactions.

How Content Providers Get Paid

In each content transaction, those who provide, produce, and publish content receive some sort of payment, though not always financial. Some of the compensation models are listed below (with examples of what I mean by each)

• direct monetary remuneration
• subscription fees
• advertising revenue
• psychic value
• emotional pleasure in sharing information/commentary
• cathartic release of writing
• satisfaction at publishing written material or releasing audio/video content
• indirect revenue generation
• improving individual/corporate profile and reputation
• educating potential customers
• professional development
• learning through writing/producing
• networking with like-minded individuals

How Consumers Pay for Content

Just as the producers get paid, so too must consumers pay.  Indeed, in some cases the consumer pays in multiple ways for a single piece of content, even though the individual may not readily realize that fact. Examples include:

• direct monetary payments
• subscription fees
• per-item charges (DVD/CD purchase rental, archived article fee, MP3 download, etc.)
• indirect financial compensation
• clicking on ads
• visiting sponsors
• buying products
• contributing to psychic rewards
• contributing comments
• rating content
• thanking the producer
• magnifying the content value
• sharing it with colleagues/friends by emailing, discussing, etc.
• quoting the content in new works
• personal sacrifice
• time commitment

In addition to what I have outlined, you may want to check out Chris Garrett's excellent e-book on "Killer Flagship Content" in which he describes many of the benefits of creating blog content.  Many of these translate into other media as well.

Content Isn't a Zero Sum Game

Even though content is not free, it isn't always a 1-to-1 transaction either. As you likely noticed from the lists above, what a consumer pays doesn't always match up precisely with what the producer receives. Moreover, this analysis doesn't consider how producers pay nor how consumers receive value. Ultimately, the best content is that which allows both the consumer and the producer to end up with a net increase in resources. 

Conclusion

Content isn't free -- and it shouldn't be.  Content producers must -- and do -- receive value for what they create and publish.  Consumers must -- and do -- pay for what they read, watch, and listen to.  We simply must recognize that these aren't all cash payments and receipts and that there are other ways to contribute and extract value in a content transaction.

But, please, let's end the whole "content wants to be free" meme that circulates regularly.  As Jeff Jarvis has said, the debate needs to be about different things.

Technorati tags: content wants to be free, free content, paid content, media, content monetization, value of content, content producers, Jeff Jarvis, Chris Garrett, Matt McAlister, Jason Calacanis, Dave Winer, Joseph Jaffe, Across the Sound

Defrag Conference to Focus on Information Intelligence

So along comes an event that sounds like it's right up my alley.  Here's how organizers describe the Defrag conference:

Defrag is the first conference focused solely on the internet-based tools that transform loads of information into layers of knowledge, and accelerate the “aha” moment. Defrag is about the space that lives in between knowledge management, “social” networking, collaboration and business intelligence. Defrag is not a version number. Rather it’s a gathering place for the growing community of implementers, users, builders and thinkers that are working on the next wave of software innovation.

I first read about it earlier this week from Brian Oberkirch and I immediately put my name on the list for more info from the organizers.  Then one of those organizers, Brad Feld, wrote about the conference this afternoon and it got me noodling on the topic again.  He likes to talk about the issue in terms of "Intelligence amplification" to address the "trust/attention/relevance" challenge.

Obviously, this is an area that I focus on a lot every day, as CustomScoop's mission is to turn piles of news stories, columns, and blog posts into actionable media intelligence for clients.  As the mass of information continues to expand daily, our clients need more and better tools to monitor, analyze, and understand what's being said about their company, products, competitors, issues, etc.

Brad, Brian, and others emphasize that this conference will evolve based on public discussion of its content, so I want to do what I can to contribute to that process.

Off the top of my head, some of the topics I'd love to see this conference explore include:

• Understanding relative relevance in the social media space -- what matters and what doesn't?
• Extracting value from reader comments on blogs
• Exploring patterns of message travel in the blogopshere
• Focusing attention through niche information organization and analysis
• Blending and correlating disparate information sources -- corporate financials and news coverage, for instance
• Distilling information from fire hose to water glass to facilitate reader consumption

There's a lot of interesting activity going on in this space and there's huge room for improvement in the tools and services available to extract intelligence from information.

Hopefully as I spend more time with this and hear more about what others are suggesting, I'll be able to refine these ideas and come up with others.  Regardless, I'm enthusiastic about the potential for this event and wish the Defrag team luck in putting it together.  I plan to be there in November and expect I will extract a lot of value from it.

Technorati tags: Defrag, conferences, intelligence amplification, trust, attention, relevance, Brad Feld, Brian Oberkirch

Bidding War for Tribune Could Prove Newspapers Not Dead

A bidding war for a newspaper company?  Who would've thunk it?  Today's New York Times reports:

The drama for control of the Tribune Company intensified last night as two Los Angeles billionaires put in a last-minute bid, topping an offer from the Chicago real estate magnate, Sam Zell, by a dollar a share.

The two billionaires, Ronald W. Burkle and Eli Broad, sent a letter last night to Tribune management prior to the company’s self-imposed deadline of Saturday, according to a person with knowledge of the proposal.

Now, the Tribune isn't purely a newspaper company.  They own broadcast outlets and the Chicago Cubs, too.  Nevertheless, as I noted recently on the Disruptive Dialogue podcast, Mr. Zell has publicly acknowledged a more bullish look on newspapers than the blogosphere does.

There's another catch, too.  Both offers rely on employee stock ownership plans (ESOP's) to consummate the deal and both would ultimately make employees majority shareholders in the company.  Now, I'm not an expert on such things (this is where it would be good to have someone like resident blogopshere expert Paul Kedrosky weigh in).  But it appears that the ESOP would play the role that debt would otherwise.  I wonder if this suggests a degree of risk management by the potential buyers? 

I have a general familiarity with how ESOP's work in a small business setting, but much less so as it relates to taking a public company private, in large part through an ESOP.  Indeed, the article makes the point that this is an untested model:

Both offers are based on a relatively unusual device of employee stock ownership plans, which have been successful for many small companies but have had mixed results for bigger companies.

Such plans, specialists say, have been virtually untested in the last two decades on companies the size of Tribune, which has about 20,000 employees.

Nevertheless, this interest in the Tribune Company should cause those declaring the death of print media to step back and consider whether the reports of its demise may be just a bit premature.

Technorati tags: Tribune, Samuel Zell, Ronald Burkle, Eli Broad, Paul Kedrosky, ESOP, employee stock ownership plan, media, newspapers, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, mergers and acquisitions, m&A, LBO, leveraged buyout

WebInno11: Demos from Virtual Ubiquity, Cardvio, and MyDesignIn

I was going to do this great write-up about WebInno11 that took place in Cambridge, MA last night.  Unfortunately, my new friend John hit the key points I would have addressed.  And in the comments on his post, Virtual Ubiquity even addressed my biggest concern about their web-based word processor -- the challenge with offline editing.  And I give David Colletta of that company particular credit for disclosing in the comments that they lost Internet access during their presentation which underscored the need for them to develop solid offline editing capability.

So yet again today I find myself pointing to someone else's post rather than writing my own.

Technorati tags: Web Innovators Group, WebInno11, Virtual Ubiquity, Cardvio, MyDesignIn, David Beisel

Outside the Bubble, Most Folks Don't Use Mobile Internet

Duncan Riley shares a statistic that he came across that should serve as a reminder to those of us living inside the technology bubble: just 5 million Americans use mobile Internet services.

Technorati tags: mobile Internet

Wired, Microsoft, Waggener Edstrom, and the Ethics of Interview Prep

I was prepared to write up a post today disputing the criticism of Microsoft and Waggener Edstrom for their preparation for an interview with Wired. But Joseph Thornley beat me to it and did a better job than I would have.  Go read his post instead.

Technorati tags: Wired, Microsoft, Waggener Edstrom, PR, ethics

Rules Won't Stop Crazy People from Acting Crazy

The regrettable and offensive Kathy Sierra situation has spawned a story from the BBC about calls for a "blogger code of conduct."  Frankly, the story is thin on facts, and carries little more than Tim O'Reilly saying

I do think we need some code of conduct around what is acceptable behaviour, I would hope that it doesn't come through any kind of [legal/government] regulation it would come through self-regulation."

But neither he nor anyone else in the piece offers up any specifics or explains how this might cause future situations like Kathy's to be avoided.

And the fact is it won't stop crazy people from acting crazy.  Rules constrain those who generally behave well; those involved in this latest incident clearly aren't inclined to behave well.  Indeed, they have likely broken laws, so what makes anyone think they would be deterred by some "code of conduct"?

(hat tip to Neville Hobson for pointing out this story on Twitter)

Technorati tags: blogger code of conduct, Tim O'Reilly, BBC, Kathy Sierra, bloggers, blogsphere

What to Measure When Growing a Company

Dick Costolo has an interesting post on how and what to measure when creating metrics to judge company progress.  It also spawned a few interesting comments ... including the argument that measurement doesn't work.

Technorati tags: Dick Costolo, entrepreneurship, company growth, measurement, metrics, sales

A New Kind of Book Promotion

At the behest of Bryan Person, I attended a social media meetup last night in Boston in promotion of the book "The Strategy Paradox" by Michael Raynor of Deloitte Consulting.  Organized by Eli Singer out of Toronto, it offered a whole new way to promote a book.  It wasn't a typical book event where the author stands up and spouts on about (or worse, reads from) the book.  Rather the focus was on social interaction among the attendees and with the author.

Everyone in attendance got a book and was encouraged to talk with each other.  The interaction was partly about the book and partly about meeting new people or reconnecting with old friends.  But for the 30 or so people who came, there's little doubt that everyone had a thought or two about the book itself.

The author, Michael Raynor, did get up to speak about an hour into the event, but it was for only about 5 minutes.  And rather than having everyone subjected to the Q&A (which at most such events often ends up being more about the questions than the answers -- for some reason far too many attendees like to hear themselves talk), the focus was on having people approach the author for more discussion afterward.

Hopefully others will try similar events to promote their books to bloggers and podcasters.  It was a very pleasant environment to learn more about this book. 

My primary suggestion for improvement would be that organizers should do a better job of educating attendees about the book in advance.  I didn't feel I was prepared enough to do an intelligent podcast interview, so I will wait until I have read the book and am able to do a meaningful Q&A by phone instead.

I suggested to the organizers at the end of the event that in the future they consider distributing a short book summary -- something like a Cliff's notes or a Executive Book Summary style report that would help prepare the bloggers and podcasters in attendance.

Overall, though, a very successful event and certainly one that opened my eyes to this book.  I might have read it and reviewed it even without this event, but now I am much more likely to do so.

And as a bonus, I got to meet a lot of interesting people and learned a good deal.

UPDATE: Paul Gillin and Bryan Person have both posted their own views of the event.  Paul says he's going to keep it in mind when he starts promoting his own book shortly.  He also made the interesting point that a significant number of attendees were self-employed.  Bryan will also be covering this in an upcoming episode of his NewCommRoad podcast.

Technorati tags: Strategy Paradox, Michael Raynor, Eli Singer, Bryan Person, BryPer, books, Deloitte, social media, marketing, book promotion

Disruptive Dialogue Podcast #4 - 03/27/2007

The fourth episode of the Disruptive Dialogue podcast is now available.  This one was recorded in Bow, NH and is 31:20.  You can download this podcast as an MP3 or subscribe to the RSS feed to make sure you never miss an episode.

Topics:

• 00:34 - Opening & Introduction
• 02:39 - Print Media - Dead or Alive?
• 13:12 - Live Blogging
• 22:56 - News about Twitter, Podcast statistics, and Kathy Sierra
• 27:35 - Listener Comments
• 29:46 - Wrap-up & preview of next episode

Show Notes:

• CastingWords.com
• InfoWorld ceasing to publish print edition
• Tim O'Reilly on San Francisco Chronicle troubles
• Samuel Zell to buy Tribune Co.?
• New York Times/Boston Globe Circulation & Revenue Data
• Steve Crescenzo on live blogging
• Shel Holtz on live blogging
• Shel Israel on live blogging
• Jen McClure's comment on live blogging at New Communications Forum events
• Steve Rubel on SMS costs for Twitter
• Erik Schwartz on Twitter's monetization potential
• Arbirtron/Edison Media Research stats on podcasting
• Kathy Sierra's disturbing situation

To Comment:

• Leave your comments here
• Call the Disruptive Dialogue comment line: (206) 424-4733
• Email me your comments in MP3 format (no more than 2 minutes and 5 MB, please)

Transcript:

• Coming Soon

Transcripts Now Available for Disruptive Dialogue Podcasts

Since not everyone has time to listen to podcasts, I have decided to make transcripts available of my Disruptive Dialogue episodes.  They will generally appear 4-6 days after the podcast. 

The transcripts for the first 3 episodes, plus the special on the "7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers," are now online.

Just visit the permalink for any of the podcasts on DisruptiveDialogue.com and you'll find complete transcripts.

Wisdom of the Crowds NCAA Bracket Update, Final 4

So using my "wisdom of the crowds" methodology, I ended up picking 3 of the Final 4 correctly.  The crowd picked Florida, Kansas, Georgetown, and Ohio State.  UCLA made it rather than Kansas, hence the picks are not perfect.

This past weekend of games did bump my bracket up from 24th to 15th place in my pool of just over 100 people.  Only 1 other person ahead of me has Florida beating Ohio State in the championship game, so if that were to occur, I believe I would finish in second place (though I don't fully understand the formulas used and guessing is probably risky).

So, 3 more games and we'll know how smart the crowd was in this experiment.

Technorati tags: NCAA Bracket, Final 4, NCAA Basketball, wisdom of the crowds

Roundup of Blog Advertising Networks

John Battelle mentioned on his blog today that he's experimenting with some new ad pricing models on his blog.  It got me to thinking about the blog advertising space generally, so I decided to take a look at the current options for advertisers seeking to target blogs specifically.

Note that I did not include ad networks that do not permit targeting specifically to blogs.  For instance Google AdWords and AdBrite include blogs in their networks, but (to my knowledge) do not permit targeting only those sites.

BlogAds

The BlogAds network created by Henry Copeland skews heavily toward the political, though certainly not exclusively.  Here's how they describe it:

We represent the blogs you read -- Dailykos, Perez Hilton, Hotair, Atrios, MyDD, Americablog, PoliticalWire, GoFugYourself, OverheardinNewYork, CrooksandLiars, RightWingNews, IndieWire, OutsidetheBeltway and Cuteoverload. And we rep many blogs you don't read but should. In all, we place ads on 1100 peer-selected blogs with 300 million impressions a month in hives like: New Yorkers, Gothamist blogs, lawyers, evangelicals, gizmophiles, gays, conservatives, baseball fans, foodies, liberals, scientists.

The site is organized by topical "hives" (or groups of sites).  You can choose to buy hives or individual targeted sites.  Browsing through the options allows you to drill down and see the components of a particular hive and how much traffic each receives.  It is relatively easy to use and generally transparent with the information it provides.  Ads allowed are mixed media with images and text, or simple text.   

Blogsvertise

This firm serves more as a matchmaking society between advertisers and bloggers.  Here's how they describe their offering: "We offer 3 basic types of Sponsorship Opportunities: Blog Entries/Advertorials, Blog Home Page Links, Blog Home Page Banners."  And here's how it works: "The blogger receives an advertising request from you/our system. They accept or decline the offer."

It is impossible to browse their offerings without registering, so I can't speak to the number of participating blogs or the quality of their product interface.  It does appear that they are in the same vein as PayPerPost, in that they pay bloggers to write about companies.  They don't require a specific message and bloggers can be critical, but I saw no mention of any sort of disclosure policy on their site.  Their site indicates that advertisers pay $4 to $20 or so per post.

This one seems to be more of an SEO play than a blog advertising one, despite how they are marketing themselves.  I'm not going to get into the merits of the idea, since that has been adequately discussed here and elsewhere in the past.

CrispAds

Providing a pay per click (PPC) advertising network covering more than 3,000 blogs with more than 421 million impressions per month, I was surprised I hadn't heard of them before I went searching today to to find blog ad networks that had escaped my notice.  They do have some surprising language on their site, so I wonder about their track record.  For instance: "We currently have 6,000 text advertisers available on our blog network. However, our CPC Text Ads are currently offline to the general public. They will be restored in the near future." I'm not quite sure what that means exactly.  The web site also includes news on the home page, but it hasn't been updated since 2005. 

After digging a little more, I discovered that CrispAds had been put up for sale on eBay late last year but received no bidders.  They claimed a 30% gross profit margin, but set the minimum bid at $90,000 so there seems to be some disconnect there.  If it were really profitable, why sell it so cheap?

You can't search their inventory without registering, so it is hard to say what they really have to offer other than the broad category statistics they provide on their site.  I find this one intriguing, but the evidence suggests this may be one to be avoided until they provide more information on their site about their reliability and viability.

Federated Media

The blog network assembled by Federated Media includes a number of "A-listers."  As their promo materials describe it: "Ten of FM's first twenty partner sites - Boing Boing, Dooce, Fark, Metafilter, BuzzMachine, TechCrunch, Google Blogoscoped, GigaOm, TechDirt and Searchblog - are among Technorati's Top 100 most-influential weblogs online."

Options include graphical or text ads, as well as CPM or flat fee pricing.  Their search interface for finding advertising options leaves a bit to be desired, however.  The search results take a while to navigate and there is only page navigation at the top of the search results, with none at the bottom where it would be more logical.  When I get to the bottom of the page, why do I want to scroll back up to the top to go to the next page?  The search results also include all of the advertising options for each blog.  Ideally, I'd love to see it return the blog names with the ability to click a button to expand the listings to include that level of detail.  Frequently, you may want to see which blogs are available first, then drill into the pricing and sizing details later.

Despite the awkwardness of the interface, FM's network quality make it a winner for potential advertisers.

Feedburner

The established leader of blog feed distribution, FeedBurner, now provides an advertising network as well. Using this service you can advertise not only the web sites of blogs, but also in their feeds (naturally).  Ads can be in graphic or text format.  Targeting is done by channel, not by individual outlet.  Categories available include:   Arts & Entertainment, Business, Computing & Technology, Consumer Electronics, Current Affairs & Politics, Digital Culture, News & Information, and PC & Console Games. 

Using the site is pretty easy.  You simply browse through the available networks and channels to figure out where you want your ad to appear and go from there.  CPM rates are clearly posted for each and you have access to a list of included sites and recent blog posts to give you a clear idea of what you're signing up for.  There's even an online video to help you get started if you're at all intimidated.

PayPerPost

If you're interested in blog advertising and haven't heard of these guys ... I'm not sure where you've been.  Clearly the most controversial player in the space (and arguably not even in the space since they are generally perceived to be more SEO focused than advertising oriented), PayPerPost has certainly developed considerable name ID.

Nevertheless, they describe their offering as blog advertising, so they're included here.  The basic concept is that advertisers pay bloggers to mention their company or product.  Bloggers need not write positively.  They must disclose that they have been compensated for blog posts, but many believe the disclosure policy does not go far enough because it does not require the individual item to be labeled as a paid post.  (Here is not the place to discuss the merits of this, so I won't.)

Without registering, advertisers can't learn much more about the offering beyond a blurry screen shot and a picture of a smiling woman.  So I can't comment on how easy it may be to use or the quality of sites included in their database. 

PayPerPost is certainly a lightning rod for criticism so it would be wise to consider this as an advertiser since it could end up reflecting on you in the end.  If the company can sort out its image and disclosure issues, it could provide value.  Clearly identified sponsor posts likely have merit as a blog advertising device and would go beyond the SEO play they currently have going, for better or for worse.

Conclusion

Advertisers have more choices than ever in how to communicate their message throughout the blogosphere.  Let me know what you think about the companies included in this roundup and tell me if I have missed any that you are aware of. 

Technorati tags: John Battelle, BlogAds, Blogsvertising, CrispAds, FeedBurner, Federated Media, PayPerPost, Google AdWords, AdBrite

Getting Your PR Industry News Online

I thought now would be a good time to review the web sites of the major PR industry trade publications.  Since PR Week recently announced that much of their content would be available online for free, the whole marketplace deserves a closer look.  I decided to focus this roundup on what is freely available from each site, although I do subscribe to most and there is additional content behind the "pay wall" for many of them.

Here are the five industry leading web sites I have identified in alphabetical order.  Let me know if I'm overlooking any you'd like to see included.

Bulldog Reporter

The first thing you notice when you visit the home page of Bulldog is that it focuses heavily on promoting events and training.  The only apparent way to get to any free content is to click on the "Daily Dog" link on the left hand menu bar.  This is unfortunate because the Daily Dog provides some of the best regular content from any of the online PR publications, and in fact is the one I read most religiously.  The Daily Dog is available by email or RSS delivery (not surprisingly, I favor the latter).  It includes a good mix of new account news, product announcements, commentary & opinion, and sound advice columns.

Holmes Report

This site provides headlines and a teaser paragraph for much of its subscription content, but if you're looking for free news you're mostly out of luck.  They do have a blog, but as of this update it hasn't been updated in six weeks (February 6 was the last post).  Ironically, the site indicates that they used to provide content for free but have recently moved to a subscription model.  The online subscription content appears to be focused mostly on personnel changes and account wins, as well as case studies.

O'Dwyer's

Jack O'Dwyer's longtime -- and often controversial -- coverage of the PR industry is legendary.  The web site itself is heavy on free resources, but not on news or commentary.  If you're looking for agency rankings, services databases, job boards, or useful links, this site is for you.  The newsletter itself requires a subscription (which many would argue is worth the price), but you won't find any of that legendary reporting and analysis on the web site for free.

PR News

The PR News web site features primarily teaser content designed to encourage people to subscribe to their full suite of content. Much of their home page is devoted to house ads of one sort or another, some featuring events, others various publications, and of course several imploring visitors to subscribe.  I couldn't even find a place on the web site to find out the content of the current issue without a username and password.  Overall this site offers very little for those interested in industry news but unwilling to pay for it. 

PR Week

First, these comments apply to the US edition of PR Week.  That's the one I am most familiar with, so I am sticking with it.  With the new direction PR Week is taking online, the site now serves as a valuable resource for PR pros.  It has a wealth of regularly updated information.  It tends to be fairly heavy on who won which contract and a little lighter on techniques and professional development.  The publication has a number of companion blogs to provide more up-to-date information than the print version could have.  The site does pitch subscriptions, but in a relatively restrained manner.  Overall the design seems focused on content over promotion.  PR Week does offer regular email newsletters to keep pros updated and RSS feeds make news more accessible for the more tech savvy readers.  The primary content that remains protected for subscriber access only are "features" from the print edition.  While it would be nice to see those made freely available as well, the amount of free content on this site is still impressive.

Conclusion

If you're looking for free news and commentary about the PR industry and prefer to rely on trade press rather than blogs, your best bets today are probably Bulldog Reporter's Daily Dog or the newly unshackled PR Week web site.  But perhaps you know of some publications that I'm overlooking, so be sure to let me know if you have other sites that you would include in this roundup.

Technorati tags: PR, public relations, PR publications, Bulldog Reporter, Daily Dog, Holmes Report, PR News, PR Week, O'Dwyer's, trade press

The Changing Face of the Music Industry

An interesting confluence of news and events today brings us information on declining CD sales at the same time that many in the blogosphere/podosphere are advocating an effort to "Bum Rush the Charts."

First the news. The Wall Street Journal reports that "compact-disc sales for the first three months of this year plunged 20% from a year earlier."  The newspaper describes this as "the latest sign of the seismic shift in the way consumers acquire music."

The evidence from the WSJ is stark:

One week, "American Idol" runner-up Chris Daughtry's rock band sold just 65,000 copies of its chart-topping album; another week, the "Dreamgirls" movie soundtrack sold a mere 60,000. As recently as 2005, there were many weeks when such tallies wouldn't have been enough to crack the top 30 sellers. In prior years, it wasn't uncommon for a No. 1 record to sell 500,000 or 600,000 copies a week.

Podcasting News takes this one on an says "While the music industry blames it on pirated music, there are more important reasons that CD sales are down."  Among the other explanations: the technology is 25 years old, people can buy just the songs they like rather than a full album, and the fact that other media are playing a larger role in individuals' lives.

But this all takes on an even more interesting flavor when you see the online effort today to drive an independent music song to the top of the iTunes charts.  Here's a more complete description of the campaign:

We can match and exceed the reach of big media, corporate media, labels, and the entrenched interests. On March 22nd, we are going to take an indie podsafe music artist to number one on the iTunes singles charts as a demonstration of our reach to Main Street and our purchasing power to Wall Street.

Now I don't go in for the whole anti-establishment angle, but I did do my part and bought the song today just to be part of the experiment.  It will be fascinating to see how successful it is.

Certainly a tectonic shift occurring in the music industry right now and definitely something to keep watching.

Technorati tags: Bum Rush the Charts, podsafe music, iTunes, music industry, Wall Street Journal, Podcasting News, podcasting, record labels, music labels, CD sales

What Baseball Teaches Us About Business

Ah, the first day of spring is upon us.  It doesn't quite feel that way here in New Hampshire where it is about 19 degrees with lots of ice and snow on the ground (and more ice reportedly on the way).

Nevertheless, Brian Oberkirch got me in the springtime mood with his post today that shows the lessons that baseball teaches those of us in business.  So go read his post and then come back here to read my additions. 

Brian's list is excellent and I agree almost uniformly with everything he wrote.  I do have 10 of my own to contribute, though:

• It's Not All About Superstars.  You need a solid team from top to bottom.  Having one superstar and a bunch of also-rans won't get you as far as a team full of solid performers.  Remember that especially if you have a top performer who doesn't play well with the rest of the team.
  
• It's Not All About Money.  Billy Beane and Moneyball anyone?  In business that means you don't need lots of VC funding to compete with the big boys.  You need a great idea, passion, a solid team, and excellent execution.
  
• Pitching Matters in the Playoffs.  Once you reach the post-season, you can't expect to bash your way through games.  The competition is tougher and it will likely come down to pitching.  Your business has some component that rises above the others in its significance.  Make sure you invest properly in it, whether it is technology, sales, customer service, etc. 
  
• Free Agency Rules.  Players want to go where they are well-compensated, appreciated, and can win.  You need to create the same environment for your employees.
  
• It's a 162 Game Season.  You need to try to win every game, but you won't.  Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and play the next game.
  
• You Need to Know How to Bunt.  Even my beloved Red Sox who in recent history have avoided the bunt like the plague occasionally need to employ it to win games.  It's not sexy, but it is necessary.  Remember all that hard, boring stuff in your business and don't ignore it.  If you can't bunt, make sure you have a specialist on your team that enjoys it.
  
• It's Not Just About Tickets Anymore.  Major League Baseball teams couldn't survive on individual ticket revenue alone.  That's why there's club seating, outfield advertising, stadium naming rights, merchandise deals, TV deals, etc.  Don't forget you might be able to find non-traditional revenue streams, too.
  
• The Brushback Pitch.  Most of the time players accept the brushback pitch with a glare and move on.  But sometimes they fight back.  Fighting is costly, so you need to pick your battles wisely.  Sometimes you're better off filing the information away for later use.
  
• Six, Two and Even.  The "other" Joe Morgan -- he who managed the Boston Red Sox in the late 80's and early 90's and was known as Walpole Joe throughout New England -- famously said "six, two and even" a lot, usually to reporters.  Nobody ever knew what it meant, but it kept 'em guessing.  A little mystery is healthy for any business.
  
• Keep It in the Clubhouse.  Baseball managers try to keep the private business of the team private.  When reporters start sniffing around about internal disagreement, many managers will say "we're going to keep that in the clubhouse" or some variation of that.  Businesses would be wise to do the same and not let dirty laundry or simple dissent come out in public.  It's family business and should stay that way.

Thanks, Brian, for putting me in the mood for spring.  Opening Day is just 12 days, 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 5 seconds away as I write this...

Technorati tags: Brian Oberkirch, baseball, spring, business advice, entrepreneur, startup advice, opening day

Podcasting Software for Vista, Part 2

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my search for podcasting software for Vista.  I ended up trying a number of different pieces of software, including CastBlaster, Audacity, and Adobe Audition.  Each of these programs has advantages and disadvantages that I found through testing.

Ultimately, it came down to a decision between Audacity and Adobe Audition.  Why?  Because I decided that the podcast format I would use would rely on segments independently recorded rather than a single "live to tape" session.  CastBlaster seems like it would be great for that sort of scenario, but I decided I wanted something with a little bit more editing and polish, so I went with the separately produced segments.

First, let me say that Audacity is a great free tool.  It does far more than one would expect of a piece of software that costs nothing.  It offers a tremendous amount of control and features.  And I will likely continue to use it periodically for simple tasks, like producing audio comments for other podcasts, where Audition may be overkill.

But for my regular podcasts that I produce, I determined that Adobe Audition is the best fit.  It has a bit more control and I like the UI a little better than Audacity.  Yes, it costs money -- a fair amount of it ($349) -- but to me it is worth it for the tool set that it provides.  One of the things I like best so far is the ability to easily drag tracks into a different order so that I can view them more logically.  In Audacity I had to move tracks one at a time and couldn't just "drag and drop" them into place.

As I continue to evaluate hardware and software for my podcasts, I will share information here about my selections and what my podcasting rig ultimately looks like.  I'm still settling on hardware choices, so I'm not ready to declare winners yet.

Technorati tags: podcasting software, podcasts, Vista, CastBlaster, Audacity, Adobe Audition, podcast editing

How to Blog Creatively

Mark McClennan of PRSA Boston offers a great post today where he compares PR to the children's television show, Dora the Explorer.  As a parent of young kids myself, I was actually familiar with the characters he mentions.  But even if I weren't, this style of blog post is an excellent example of how to get outside of the rut of simple commentary that appears frequently on most blogs (including this one).

Obviously, it would be nearly impossible to come up with something that creative or thought-provoking for every post, but trying to do so periodically helps break things up for the blogger as a writer and for the audience as a reader. 

So check out "What Dora the Explorer can Teach us about PR" not just for what it says about PR, but also for what it can do to help you blog better.

Technorati tags: Mark McClennan, PRSA Boston, Dora, blogging, Schwartz Communications

Ingredients for a Successful Blog

Chris Garrett offers an excellent post on the essential elements of a good blog.  He breaks it down into 3 key components:

• Content - fresh, quality material to interest readers
• Syndication - simple delivery of content to readers in convenient formats
• Conversation - a dialogue between the blogger and readers

Like all good products, blogs must serve the consumer -- in this case the reader.  Check out the full post for more great advice on how to build a solid mix and ultimately a quality blog.

Technorati tags: Chris Garrett, blogging

Disruptive Dialogue Podcast #3 - 03/20/2007

(also posted at DisruptiveDialogue.com)

The third episode of the Disruptive Dialogue podcast is now available.  This one was recorded in Bow, NH and is 27:38.  You can download this podcast as an MP3 or subscribe to the RSS feed to make sure you never miss an episode.

Topics:

• 00:34 - Opening & Introduction
• 04:40 - OnePipe by Marjolein Hoekstra
• 06:47 - John Kerry, Bloggers, and FOIA
• 09:10 - Jonathan Bernstein, I-Reporters, and Keeping the Wolves at Bay
• 12:27 - Interview with Ian Muir about South by Southwest & AOL
• 16:33 - Memetrackers
• 24:03 - Listener comment from Sara Adams on podcast quality
• 25:29 - Wrap-up & preview of next episode

Show Notes:

• OnePipe
• Keeping the Wolves at Bay by Jonathan Bernstein
• UserPlane by AOL
• John Kerry press release on FOIA
• The Big Memetracker Roundup by Stan Schroeder at the Frantic Industries blog
• Ian Muir's blog
• Memetrackers mentioned: Blogniscient, Buzzfeed, Chuquet, Daily Rotation, Feedable, Megite, Tailrank, Techmeme
• PRobecast by Topaz Partners
• South by Southwest

To Comment:

• Leave your comments here
• Call the Disruptive Dialogue comment line: (206) 424-4733
• Email me your comments in MP3 format (no more than 2 minutes and 5 MB, please)

Printing Blog Posts

There are times where I wish it was easier to print blog posts.  Just as the mainstream media found as they came online that they needed to make it convenient for readers to email and print stories, why isn't it easier to do so with blog posts? 

Feedburner has a widget that makes emailing relatively simple, but I have yet to find an option to convert blog posts to a printer-friendly format.  While most blog posts are short and easy to read and digest on-screen, I'm still old school enough that I like to print out longer ones or ones that I want to "chew on" a little bit. 

For instance, when Shel Israel posts excerpts from Global Neighbourhoods for review and comment, that would be a perfect candidate for printing.  Or Philip Liu's "101 Great Posting Ideas."  Or Stan Schroeder's "Big Memetracker Roundup."

Since all this stuff is available as a feed anyway, it would be great for Typepad, Wordpress, and the other platforms to make it an easily available link.  And Feedburner should make it part of its "FeedFlare" since so many folks use that. 

Technorati tags: Feedburner, TypePad, WordPress, blog posts, printing, printer-friendly

"Wisdom of the Crowds" NCAA Bracket Update - First Weekend

After the first 4 days of games, my "wisdom of the crowds" bracket is hanging in there.  Currently in 24th place in my pool of 107 people.  There are 38 correct selections on my entry so far, and the pool leader has 40, so the competition is clearly still bunched up.  Only 3 of the 23 in front of my entry have Florida as national champion, so that will likely be a huge factor. 

Stay tuned to find out whether the crowds really are smart.

Technorati tags: NCAA Basketball, wisdom of the crowds, NCAA bracket, office pool, basketball pool

So You Want to Build a Big Ad-Supported Web Site? Think Again

Today the New York Times points to an excellent blog post by Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners who details 3 ways to get to $50M in annual revenue with an ad-supported web site.  The bottom line is that it takes a lot to achieve it.  He thinks it is hard, but doable.  Jeremy says in the comments he thinks that a niche site is most feasible, but would still need to achieve 200 million or more page views every month in order to hit the goal.  If you're building a site with more general appeal, you'd need to have in excess of 4 BILLION page views per month to hit those kind of revenue numbers, according to Jeremy's calculations.

Unless you really think you'll be one of the handful of players to achieve these numbers -- and you may well be -- then you need to either set your revenue sights lower or you need to come up with a different model.  Just about a year ago, Fred Wilson raved about his favorite business model, which includes a mix of revenue streams sitting on top of a free service. 

To me, though, it also points to the need to think through revenue models before you start your business.  I know that it is fashionable to argue that with low startup costs today, you can just start your web site up and figure out how to make money after you get traffic.  Baloney.  You should have an idea as to how you plan to make money because how you structure the site may change based on your plans.  Now, you need not stick with that model as time passes if you have a better idea -- and in fact in most cases how you make money 12 months into the adventure will not be the same as what you predicted.  That's fine and expected.  But don't subscribe to the "build it and revenue will come" school of thought.

Technorati tags: Jeremy Liew, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Fred Wilson, business model, advertising, web traffic, page views, entrepreneur, venture capital

"Wisdom of the Crowds" NCAA Bracket Update - Day 1

After the first day of games, my brackets are doing OK but not great with my "wisdom of the crowds" methodology.  (See here for an explanation of this experiment.)

The crowd did make 3 mistakes however: #7 Texas Tech lost to #10 BC, #7 Indiana beat #10 Gonzaga, and #11 VCU beat #6 Duke.  So they missed one upset and picked two that didn't pan out.

We'll have to see what happens today to find out if I even have a fighting chance in the pool I am in.  Right now I am slightly better than average in the pool, but it is still very early.

Technorati tags: NCAA Basketball, wisdom of the crowds, NCAA bracket, office pool, basketball pool

How to Create Great Blog Content by Writing "Evergreen" Posts

Most of the time when you write for your blog, you're probably writing for the moment.  Expressing your opinion on some news of the day, reacting to someone else's blog post, or sharing timely information.  And this is all great for keeping a blog fresh and attracting subscribers. 

But what about attracting valuable search engine traffic?  If you're visiting a blog from a search engine, you want more meat.  And well-written blog posts can be very valuable sources of search engine traffic that can help raise your profile and that of your blog.  The trick is to come up with content that has "evergreen" value -- in other words it doesn't become immediately dated shortly after posting.  (The term evergreen is often used in business to describe a contract that doesn't expire; the origin is likely evergreen trees that never lose their leaves, even in winter.)

Evergreen posts will usually be about more substantive topics and are generally longer than typical blog posts.  Often, they provide good advice to readers or summarize important issues, market segments, or ideas.  I know from watching my own traffic logs that I have successfully written a number of evergreen pieces -- some by design and some frankly by accident.

Here are some guidelines to follow when developing evergreen content for your blog:

• Write a descriptive headline.  There's a time and place for ironic or funny headlines, but not with evergreen content.  Describe exactly what you're going to do in the post (as I have done with this one).
• Use phrases that readers will type in search engines.  One post I wrote last year continues to generate good traffic because it questioned how a lot of us who are technology entrepreneurs think.  But it also used a lot of the terms people search for frequently like Web 2.0 and referenced frequently discussed conferences, events and companies.
• Create a list.  Lists generate good traffic in the present as well as the future.  My "10 Ways Web 2.0 Promises to Change the Way We Live and Work" keeps on generating traffic today because it references a lot of hot button topics, but more importantly because it simplifies the thinking about what can be a complex topic for many people.
• Answer a burning question.  You probably aren't writing a FAQ, but sometimes you should treat your blog post as a Q&A to give it staying power.  My "Are Bloggers Journalists?" post still gets frequent visits because it offers my answer to a question that won't go away any time soon.
• Build a resource for visitors.  My posts about Microsoft's new operating system, especially the one on podcasting software for Vista, generate steady traffic because there aren't many resources out there on this subject right now.  Directories and "how to" posts can serve as an ongoing tool for people which will help generate search engine traffic and links.  More important, it actually provides a useful resource for the community.

Of course, sometimes you just get lucky and a post you had never intended to be evergreen, continues to be so.  I found that with my "Read This Before You Interview With Me" post that pops up all the time in my logs.  And we're not hiring that many people that it is just job seekers for my company!  Heck, it doesn't even have much original content in it; rather it seconds many suggestions by Guy Kawasaki and adds a bit to it.

For more on the subject, see here.

Technorati tags: great blog content, blogs, blog content, blog writing, writing, blog promotion, blog marketing, evergreen content, evergreen

It's Bracket Time

Today marks the start of a two day holiday at work for many Americans -- also known as the first round of March Madness.  By lunchtime, anyone with a TV will likely have it on in their office and the rest of America will be sucking up bandwidth by getting online updates and watching online video.  The productivity chart for today and tomorrow will look a lot like Chris Anderson's Long Tail.

Like many, I am participating in a pool with colleagues and friends.  This year, though, CBS Sportsline offers a feature that they have not had in past years.  (And hopefully you will see the relevance to this blog in a moment.)

As I was making my picks last night, I realized that when I hovered over a team name, it showed me the percentage of pool entrants who had picked that team.  Since I am terrible at picking these things, I decided I would engage in an experiment.  So I decided to base my picks on the "wisdom of the crowds" and I went with the choices that the plurality of other players had selected.

It will be interesting to see how it pans out (and for what it is worth, the crowd has picked a number of upsets).

Technorati tags: March Madness, NCAA Basketball, wisdom of the crowds, office pool, CBS Sportsline, college basketball, college hoops, Long Tail

The Differences Between Blogs, Podcasts, and Video

Mitch Joel has been talking recently on his podcast, Six Pixels of Separation, about the difference between audio and video podcasts.  Then I heard John Furrier of PodTech talking about it on a podcast with Heather Green of BusinessWeek.  And it all got me thinking.

Relative Value.  I think John made an interesting point when he said that he felt that there was a difference in the viral nature of various forms of social media vs. their engagement level.  He said that video and blogs are more viral than podcasts, but that podcasts result in higher engagement than blogs and video has higher engagement than either.  On the other hand, blogs are best at SEO value. 

I would also argue that web video has the potential to be more mainstream than podcasts and potentially even blogs.   Consumers I think will be more willing to embrace this medium than the other two because it has a greater potential to be fun and engaging.  Podcasts are likely to remain more of a niche tool -- though a valuable one because of their power to connect with an influential audience.  And blogs will continue to gain traction, though they lack some of the entertainment potential of video.

Format Differences.  Mitch and others have pointed out that it is much harder to watch video than listen to a podcast.  The number of opportunities to watch are smaller than the number to listen.  In addition, video and blogs require greater attention from the audience, in most cases, whereas podcasts are more passive and support other simultaneous activity by the listener.

This suggests that podcasts can be longer than video and blogs must be kept relatively brief.  To overcome those time/length limitations, they would need to be truly exceptional -- even indispensable -- content.

Interestingly, I find that for web video, I am more likely to engage in ones that have nearly as much value from listening as from viewing.  Interviews, panel discussions, event speakers, and the like are more likely to get me to call up a web video.  I need not watch 100% of the time to still extract value.  On the other hand, if I am going to watch a web video in its entirety, my limit is somewhere around 5 minutes or so.

Monetization Potential.  John thought that podcasts would be the most difficult to monetize, with video being easier because advertisers like to be able to show their products.  It is an argument that makes sense, though monetizing video still hasn't proven to be a wildly successful endeavor.  I do believe it is coming, however.  Blogs have certainly demonstrated some ability to be monetized and that trend will likely continue.

Conclusion.  Different forms of media serve different purposes.  Content creators should make sure that they deploy the correct medium for the goal they wish to achieve.

Technorati tags: PodTech, BusinessWeek, John Furrier, Mitch Joel, Six Pixels of Separation, blogs, podcasts, video, web content, Heather Green

KD Paine's Measurement Standard Blogified

Good news for those of you interested in measurement: Katie Paine's newsletter is now available in blog format.  Well, sort of.  The blog has teaser posts with links to the The Measurement Standard newsletter page that then links back to post comments on the blog.  I'd prefer to see the full content in the blog itself so that you don't have to go to the article and then back to the blog to comment.  But this is definitely an improvement for those of us dependent on RSS readers over email newsletters.

Technorati tags: KD Paine, Katie Paine, media measurement, The Measurement Standard, newsletter