George Dearing dot com

Nick Denton memo on Gawker's growth

Gawker's technology underpinnings have improved. (Yeah, I know that might seem a stretch after the problems of the last two weeks.) Pageload time has gone from 8 seconds to between 5 and 6. And the new design will take us down to 4 seconds.

Second, we've begun our first serious marketing effort. (We were always to editorially snobby before to pitch our wares in a consistent fashion; marketing was for losers.) The greatest success: Chris Mascari's drive to promote Fan pages on Facebook and distribute our stories into individual newsfeeds. Our Facebook refers were 6.2m last month, up 67% on the month before and triple what they were at the end of last year. Most of these are new readers; some of them we believe will become regulars.

But above all, our stories are stronger and sharper. The numbers on the Big Board have helped focus attention on the performance of each story; but the reports below from each site lead demonstrate something else. It's editorial flair, not some descent to the web lowest common denominator, that is rewarded and recognized.

Filed under  //   digital+journal   journalism   media+strategy   publishers  

Big Advertisers Prepping For iPad

The New York Times reports that a high-end credit card company has purchased its iPad ad inventory for the device's first two months on the market, while brands such as FedEx and Buick, are buying ads on the apps of other publications, including the WSJ, Newsweek, Time and Reuters. The NYT says the going rate is $75,000 to $300,000 "for a few months of exclusivity" on one of these apps.

Filed under  //   advertising   ipad   online+marketing   publishers  

You can't wait for your industry to change

In other words, online publishers - who have always had reason to be bullish because their medium offers advertisers more bang-for-buck - have lost their confidence as the ad downturn has flattened their perpetual up-curve.

Filed under  //   digital+media   online+publishing   publishers  

Scribd's new distribution deal with independent publishers

Under terms of the agreement with Scribds, authors will receive 50 percent of the net sales of their titles through the startup’s social platform. A default price of $9.99 will be set for each title, but authors will have the opportunity to set their own prices.

Filed under  //   publishers   scribd  

But It's About More Than Just Advertising

Using data to grow
Google wants to help publishers use web technology to grow, Mr. Varian said. "I think papers could better exploit the data they have. They need better contextual targeting and ad-effectiveness measurement."

Mr. Varian said Google advises some publishers from the Google News roster on ad targeting and engagement. But not all of the newspaper world sees the search giant as a friend; last spring, News Corp. boss Rupert Murdoch accused the company of trampling copyrights by displaying snippets of new stories and selling advertising against them, taking money out of publishers' pockets. And last week, digital marketing firm Outsell released a report claiming that 44% of Google News users don't click through to the original sites.

Filed under  //   advertising   google   newspapers   publishers  

Hyperlocal news: profits a long way off

In short, 2010 will not be the year of hyperlocal—these are the foothills, the beginnings of localised online publishing

 

Filed under  //   hyperlocal   media   news   newspapers   online+content   publishers  

UBS Media Quote On Opportunities For Local Media To Charge For Content @ UBS Media Week: Crovitz: More Opportunities For Local Media To Charge For Premium | paidContent

Crovitz said that news sites could target a 10 percent slice of its audience for paid content. “There’s one thing that stands out when we look at traffic patterns for local media,” Crovitz said. “The quality of the journalism at local papers is often unique. Unlike the major outlets, where there’s a lot of overlap of coverage, that differentiates local media

Filed under  //   content   paidcontent   paywalls   publishers   UBS+Media  

Google Unveils a News-by-Topic Service [NYT]

The Google project is now at livingstories.googlelabs.com, part of Google Labs, where the company tries out experimental products, but if it is judged a success, it would eventually reside on the site of any publisher that wanted to use it.

Filed under  //   google   news   publishers  

Newspapers Are What? Google’s Got Some Suggestions

8 out of 10 say they're toast.

Filed under  //   digital   google   newspapers   publishers