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February 05 2012
The New York Times’ About.com: From All-Star to Albatross
paidContent :: About.com is in free fall. The New York Times revealed yesterday that its network of information sites suffered a 67% drop in profits and that revenues had fallen by a quarter. The new figures come at a time when the New York Times Company is trying to forge a digital strategy based on high quality content and the prestige of its flagship brand. About’s problems could present a distraction as NYT Co seeks to implement that strategy.
Continue to read Jeff Roberts, paidcontent.org
Paid posts growth: Facebook seeks more paid ads
Wall Street Journal :: Facebook's explosive growth attracted Omaha, Neb.-based retailer Gordmans to set up a free page on the site as a virtual hangout to have conversations with customers. "The cost was the time it took to build the content and post it," said Veronica Stecker, Gordmans' media manager. The retailer didn't pay a dime to Facebook.
But last year, as Facebook added more components to its site, and users shared exponentially more content with friends, Gordmans' free messages started getting drowned out, said Ms. Stecker. "There is simply more competition," she said. These days, she rarely even finds unpaid Gordmans posts in her own personal News Feed, the home page that displays status updates from users' friends, she said.
And Gordmans isn't alone.
Continue to read Geoffrey A. Fowler | Shayndi Raice, online.wsj.com
Why Google, Facebook are limiting people to the roles society expects them to play
The new advertising bias has severe social implications. Lori Andrews' piece is a must-read.
New York Times :: Facebook made $3.2 billion in advertising revenue last year, 85% of its total revenue. Yet Facebook’s inventory of data and its revenue from advertising are small potatoes compared to some others. Google took in more than 10 times as much, with an estimated $36.5 billion in advertising revenue in 2011, by analyzing what people sent over Gmail and what they searched on the Web, and then using that data to sell ads.
[Lori Andrews:] When young people in poor neighborhoods are bombarded with advertisements for trade schools, will they be more likely than others their age to forgo college? ... Advertisers are drawing new redlines, limiting people to the roles society expects them to play.
Lori Andrews is a law professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law and the author of “I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy.”
Continue to read Lori Andrews, www.nytimes.com
.@Biz Stone clarifies Twitter’s stance on censorship and China
AllTwitter | Mediabistro :: “They should have asked me write that,” Biz Stone says about a blog post on Twitter.com that set off a global controversy. Twitter’s new technology is “a huge win for free speech” Biz insists, and regrets that people are only hearing “Twitter is censoring now” in the uproar around the post. Today Biz clarified Twitter’s stance on their new technology that allows geo-targeted removal of illegal tweets, tweets that are then replaced with a message about the in-country laws leading to their removal.
Continue to read Lauren Dugan, www.mediabistro.com
Random House reaffirms commitment to library e-book lending while raising prices to wholesalers
The Digital Shift :: After an “upbeat and productive” meeting with leaders of the American Library Association, or ALA, on Tuesday, Random House reaffirmed its commitment to library lending of the company’s entire portfolio of ebook titles. At the same time, the company has announced that effective March 1 it is raising ebook prices that it charges library wholesalers such as OverDrive, 3M, and Ingram, which set the ultimate price libraries will pay to lease ebooks.
“Our commitment to libraries, as imperative to our momentum, if not to our existence as publishers, is greater than ever,” said Stuart Applebaum, a Random House spokesperson, who characterized the meeting with ALA as upbeat.
Continue to read Michael Kelley, www.thedigitalshift.com
Egypt to prosecute Americans in NGO probe
Washington Post :: The Egyptian government intends to prosecute at least 40 people, including some American citizens, as part of an investigation into non-government organizations that receive foreign funding, state media reported Sunday. The announcement came a day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned the Egyptian foreign ministry that failure to quickly resolve the probe could jeopardize the more than $1.3 billion Egypt expects to get this year in U.S. aid.
Continue to read www.washingtonpost.com
Arianna Huffington's vision of interactive video journalism
Beet.TV :: The Huffington Post, which has galvanized a massive community of millions of content creators who engage via comments, "likes," tweets and thousands of guest blog posts, will soon participate in an ambitious linear video network, says Arianna Huffington, editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media in this interview with Beet.TV.
[Arianna Huffington:] Advertisers want more and more video.
While produced in sophisticated studios in New York and Los Angeles with hosts and dedicated talent, a substantial part of the HuffPost Streaming Network will be integrating live, one-on-one and group dialogues and debates from the community, says Huffington.
Interview with Arianna Huffington - Watch Andy Plesser, www.beet.tv
More About Luca George Conte, A Connection to Babe
Jane and Luca Conte. Note the Fifth Army patch on his left shoulder, above his stripes; Babe had the same patch, which I have in my collection.
I’ve already made several references to Luca Conte, who served in the U.S. army at around the same time as Babe. The first reference was in this post, in which we confirmed that he and Babe left the United States out of Newport News, Va. The second was in the actual letter Babe wrote in which he refers to seeing “Lugi” Conte “on the boat coming over.” The Conte family was friends of my grandmother’s in Mount Kisco.
I remain puzzled about why Babe’s letter refers to him as “Lugi” when his name was Luca.
The final reference was in another post trying to pin down Babe’s initial movements after he arrived in North Africa.
I am grateful for hearing from Luca’s children, Pia and Luca Edward, when I initially sought out some information. Luca Edward gave me a summary of his father’s service in the war. In his introduction to the summary, Luca Edward writes:
The source for the following is primarily through personal conversations I had with Dad, although I did request and receive some records from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). Dad was reluctant to talk about his military experiences, and when we finally did get into detail—especially about Anzio—he cried, even after over 50 years!
Luca and Jane Conte; they met in Naples, Italy. She was an Italian national.
Luca George was inducted into the army just before Christmas 1942, about two months before Babe, though he was apparently a few years older than Babe. Luca had been at the University of Pennsylvania, while Babe had just graduated from high school.
Ultimately, Luca went to what was the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Md., and trained as an Italian interpreter. Nearly 10 months after his induction, he found himself in Naples, Italy, assigned to the Allied Military Government, the military command serving as the governing body for occupied Italy. Almost immediately, while serving as an interpreter and typist there, he met Jane DeAngelis, an Italian national working as a clerk for the Italian authorities.
Pia Conte
They courted through their separation over the next couple of years, but ultimately they married on June 24, 1945. Luca returned to the states in November, and his wife followed in April 1946.
There is much more to tell about Luca’s experience in Italy, but I thought this part of the story was so charming I couldn’t wait. Pia was kind enough to share photos of her parents, as you can see: One from when they were both very young and he was still in uniform, one from many years later, although I do not know the dates of either.
MARKETING AT ITS BEST: “FT RUN TO MONACO”
Financial Times reports:
Formula 1 World Champions from past to present will take part in the first ever Financial Times supercar experience – the FT Run To Monaco. The exclusive event will see former F1 champion Damon Hill leading the participants in a fleet of luxury supercars on a route from London, through France and culminating at the Monaco Grand Prix 2012.
My take: when you have a great newspaper yo have great readers and great advertisers, so you must have great marketing ideas. In a time of timid initiatives, second-class promotions, low budgets and lack of imagination, this is a refreshing event. Think Big to win Big. Bravo!
Thanks to INNOVATION’s Peter Litger.
(Something that my friend Javier Goizueta en his fantastic team can do for any Spanish newspaper)
Paradigm shift: Kyle Sandilands and the power of the direct voice, "outraged listener"
Consumer Psychologist Blog :: (Show host) Kyle Sandilands, Australia, is in a very unfortunate position. He is massively popular, yet widely disliked (follow the "Sack Kyle" campaign, see screenshot below) and no one wants to be associated with him - especially those with something to sell. We live in a world where most entertainment is commercially funded. Whether we watch TV, listen to the radio, or something else – the entertainment we choose is normally (at least in part) reliant on advertiser dollars. Social media is providing a direct feedback loop between the ‘ outraged listener’ and the advertiser and this is the new paradigm. Social media is giving people a direct voice to change what they want, and create their own standards
Continue to read Adam Ferrier, consumerpsychologist.blogspot.com.au
How show host Kyle Sandilands was humbled by Twitter - The "Sack Vile Kyle" campaign
It happened November last year, but the story is an extraordinary example of how social networks have altered the patterns of protest. That's why I post it here. It is also once more a proof of what I call News3.0. People will be more than ever part of the news ecosystem.
mUmBRELLA :: Almost exactly 16 hours passed between Kyle Sandilands, Australia, nasty attack on journalist Alison Stephenson and the world beyond his listeners noticing. And the way that this eventually became a news story was slightly more random than you may realise. Here’s how it happened.
The next night, like a rapidly diminishing number of viewers, I was watching Kyle & Jackie O’s Night With The Stars on Seven. I was one of many on Twitter who had a view. My tweet:
If you're not watching Kyle & Jackie O's Night With The Stars, tune in for a little piece of history - the worst Monday night TV of all time
— Tim Burrowes (@mumbrella) November 21, 2011
Naturally I was intrigued to see what the ratings would be like the next day. I made a mental note to examine the 15 minute breakdowns the next morning, to view the audience behaviour as the show progressed. Meanwhile, over at News Limited, Alison Stephenson was tracking the sentiment on Twitter. While it’s a crude tool, as Twitter only reflects the view of the tweeting demographic, not heartland Australia, it can be a useful first focus group.
Continue to read Tim Burrowes, mumbrella.com.au
"Sack Vile Kyle" campaign: If you think that this is the end of the story, continue to check out the website below operated by "@SackVileKylefb, ... a group of people petitioning to get Kyle off the radio and TV due to his disgusting comments." The campaign aims to "drive sponsors away" from Kyle & Jackie O's Night With The Stars. (Source: Jonathan Swan, "'Sack Vile Kyle' campaign drives sponsors away.")
Clipped from: sackvilekyle.blogspot.com (share this clip)
Picot Mini by Paola Lenti. Pouf for indoor & outdoor use.
Nice outdoor chair called 'pattern' with hexagonal pattern that decorates the seat and back.
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