Archive for January, 2007

A few years ago I wrote a short book about newspapers and new media. It’s actually the only book I’ve ever written, though I’ve written chapters for other authors’ books and for anthologies. It’s not that I don’t have much to say, but rather that I’ve never been able to afford to write books on the topic I know most about — the intersection of news media and the Internet — because it’s a topic too narrow for most authors to sell very many books. The many, many thousands of words that I’ve written about new media are mostly found on websites and in magazines (and occasionally newspapers).

An e-mail correspondent recently asked for my advice on the topic of paid vs. free niche content. I was happy to oblige with an opinion. Then he asked if I’d written a book on the topic. Nope, I responded, and pointed as explanation why to the quarterly royalty check for my one book, received the other day: 55 cents.

Perhaps writing books can become a retirement hobby someday, when money isn’t a necessity for my work.

And the most e-mailed New York Times story of 2006 is … [drumroll] … “What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage“!

Yeah, I remember that one. I read it myself when it came out, and e-mailed it to my wife (of course). It’s a story about how techniques for training animals also can improve human relationships when applied to a spouse.

Here’s the full list of most e-mail NYT stories last year.

Backfence.com is a company I watch very closely. Its citizen media based networks of hyperlocal news sites is the geographic equivalent of my company’s network of citizen media based topical websites on various adventure and participant sports. So it’s with interest that I note that CEO Susan DeFife has resigned, citing differences with the company’s board of directors.

LocalInsider.com quotes DeFife: “Ultimately, we did not share the same strategic vision for the company as the Board of Directors.”

DeFife’s departure follows the recent resignation of co-founder Mark Potts, who did stay on the board. Now Potts returns to Backfence as interim CEO. In late 2005, Backfence raised $3 million in venture capital funding (SAS Investors and the Omidyar Network; the latter also is an investor in my company). The company recently laid off 12 of its 18 members.

Sounds like quite the drama was on stage over there. Good luck, Mark, in getting things settled down!

I’m consistently delighted by some of the stuff that users post to our Enthusiast Group websites — which are citizen media based online communities geared for sport enthusiasts. And because we don’t censor or restrict what gets posted, some “interesting” content appears from time time to time — stuff that I just can’t imagine finding a home in traditional media.

Take this story, “Explosion on the Prow,” posted by a user to YourClimbing.com. It’s the story of a Yosemite climb with a real character who has a, umm, shitty mishap on the rock. It’s very funny and clever, and even includes a cartoon accompaniment. I suppose maybe a climbing magazine editor with a warped sense of humor might let this in, but I doubt it would turn up on the Outdoors pages of a newspaper. But we’re happy to have it appear on YourClimbing.com.

Bad taste? Should we exercise our editorial perogative and unpublish a story about a climber getting diarrhea mid-climb? Of course not. That would be old media, gatekeeper thinking.

As I write this, my speakerphone is playing music from Sirius, because I’m trying to cancel my account with the satellite radio service. It’s been playing for 20 minutes now as I’m on hold waiting for the department that will accept my cancellation. I used to like Sirius. I now think it sucks, big-time.

Why not cancel online? I tried, but they don’t make it easy. I sent an e-mail to customer service, only to be told in a reply that in order to cancel I need to phone in. So then I call in and they keep me waiting for way too long. At least the wait gives me the opportunity to blog this and criticize the company’s dumb customer service policies. Dumb, dumb, dumb. … Sirius should make this process available online. Now Sirius has a former customer who will trash them to anyone who asks about my experience with them.

As to why I’m cancelling, I don’t use it anymore, so it’s a waste of money. In the car I’m more interested in hearing music from my iPod. I used to listen to Sirius online (you get web access as part of the service), but Pandora is MUCH better (and that’s free, no less).

I used to be a supporter of satellite radio. No longer. I think it’s doomed, unless Sirius and XM can figure out how to create an on-demand Pandora-like experience for the car; I might pay for that.

Update: OK, they let me cancel. Took 25 minutes!

Is anyone else experiencing this? After the usual holiday-week lull, my e-mail inbox is exploding — and I don’t mean just with spam. (I’ve got pretty good spam filtering.) It’s like everyone has returned to work with a vengeance and they are hammering my inbox with stuff that needs to be dealt with. Arrrgh!

Every year, without fail, either in my Editor & Publisher Online column or in one or the other blogs I write or write for, I remind people on January 1 to check the copyright tagline at the bottom of their websites. So many people forget to change it to the current year.

Well, for the first year since I started doing this I not only forgot to remind everyone else on January 1, I also forgot to check this blog. So for the first three days of 2007 my blog was still in the past. In fact, it even said 2005, since a server changeover a couple months ago was troublesome; I not only lost a month’s worth of posts, but somehow the copyright footer reverted to 2005 and I didn’t notice.

So thanks to Monique VanDusseldorp for pointing out my aggregious error and oversight in not issuing my annual reminder! I’m now back in the present. Are you?…

The latest pop culture wisdom is that 50 is the new 40. I hope so, since I turned 50 today. Damn, that sounds old! At least I don’t feel old.

A line in Bill McCloskey’s latest E-mail Insider column resonated with me. In his latest, “What You Can Expect From This Column In 2007,” he wrote:

I have absolutely no idea what my readers consider the gems and what they consider the dregs. I’ve been writing columns for over 10 years now and I have never found a connection between what I think is good and what my audience thinks is good. The column I punch out in five minutes between drinks and dinner at some trade show are the columns that often generate the most excitement and conversation in the industry. Some of the ones I labor over go over like a lead balloon. I never know, so there’s nothing I can do to change it.

That’s been exactly my experience in writing columns for Editor & Publisher Online since 1995. I’ve written columns that took a lot of research and interviews to produce and that I toiled over the writing, and they’ve generated little or no after-publication conversation. And I’ve quickly banged out columns with nothing but the thoughts in my head, and those have gotten the most feedback and press coverage elsewhere. Go figure.

Perhaps this is a common thing for columnists. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone in this experience.

And BTW, my latest E&P Online “Stop The Presses!” column was published yesterday: “Some Words of Advice for Small Newspapers.” (This was actually my December 2006 column, but some e-mail problems over the holidays delayed its publication.)